Equipment guide
Power and connectivity for working away from a desk
Working from cafés, airports, and temporary accommodation puts different demands on hardware than a fixed desk does.
This guide describes selection criteria rather than tested units. We do not run a hardware lab, and nothing here should be read as a hands-on review. Where we link to a retailer, that link may be an affiliate link — see our affiliate disclosure.
The failure modes when working away from a desk are boring and predictable: the battery dies, the socket is the wrong shape, or the network drops during a call. Each has a straightforward hardware answer, and each is easy to over-buy.
Power banks
- Capacity is stated optimistically. A pack rated at 20,000mAh delivers meaningfully less than that in practice, because conversion between the cell voltage and USB output loses energy. Assume roughly two thirds of the printed figure.
- Output wattage decides whether it charges a laptop. Phones are happy with 18W. Most laptops want 45W or more over USB-C Power Delivery, and a high-capacity pack with low output will charge a laptop very slowly or not at all.
- Airline limits are real. Cabin rules commonly cap lithium packs around 100Wh, which is roughly 27,000mAh at typical cell voltage. Above that you may be asked to leave it behind.
- Pass-through charging lets the pack charge while charging something else. Useful with one wall socket; not universal.
Adapters and cables
A single GaN multi-port charger replaces several bricks and is smaller than the ones it replaces. Check total wattage is shared across ports rather than guaranteed per port, since a 65W charger driving three devices is not delivering 65W to your laptop. For cables, the relevant marking is the wattage rating and whether it carries data; many charging cables are power-only, which is discovered at the worst moment.
Connectivity
A phone hotspot is sufficient for calls if the signal is good. Where it fails is upload capacity, which is what video conferencing actually depends on and what most speed tests report last. A local prepaid data SIM is usually far cheaper than roaming and worth arranging on arrival rather than in advance.