The work-from-home revolution has cut down on commute times, but it's also blurred the lines between work and play inside the home. You don’t want your home to become your office or your office to become your home. Sometimes you just need to get out.
Coffee shops have become a haven for digital nomads to create some distance from their home office. They're caffeine refueling stations but also places to get a few minutes of in-person social interactions with fellow remote workers, locals in your neighborhood, or that grumpy barista who knows how to make the perfect latte.
If you’re going to make that little wobbly table your own personal workstation, you’re going to need the proper gear to get you through that long shift as efficiently as possible. Here’s a list of the best tech for making a coffee shop your office, all of which can fit into your backpack. Pick something up for yourself or grab something for the remote worker in your life this holiday season.
A Fits-Everything Backpack
XD Design Bobby Hero Regular Anti-Theft Backpack
Speaking of backpacks, the XD Design Bobby Hero Regular Anti-Theft Backpack has no front access, meaning those behind you can't easily access any pockets. It has hidden zippers, as well as zippers that can be padlocked (padlock not included). The backpack is also RFID-protected pockets and cut-resistant. Once opened it can be organized with different permutations depending on how you use the bag’s three foam dividers. It’s spacious enough to hold a camera, laptop, and more and features a USB charging port to discreetly charge your phone on the go.
Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones
Coffee shops are never guaranteed to be quiet. With the sounds of steamed milk, baristas calling out drink orders, and way-too-loud early morning chatter, you’ll need something to cancel out all that noise. Look no further than noise-cancelling headphones like the Bose QuietComfort 45, which offer some of the best active noise cancellation to date.
In our review of these headphones, we noted how well the noise cancellation worked when up against a simulated restaurant environment. The sounds of humans talking, glasses clinking, and general populated white noise faded into the background. The headphones also feature two modes: quiet and aware mode. Quiet mode brings full noise cancellation, reacting and adjusting to the noise around you, and aware mode does the opposite, allowing you to hear when your latte is ready for pick-up.
Avoid Tech Neck
Roost Laptop Stand
You don’t want to spend 6 to 8 hours hunched over your laptop, but even with the best posture in the world, it’s hard to find a coffee shop with the perfect table to chair height ratio. The Roost V3 Laptop Stand is a portable and versatile laptop stand that can fit all laptop models and uses pivot grip clamps to secure the laptop in place. Its height is adjustable (from 6-11 inches), and the form factor is light and small. When the Roost V3 is folded, it can easily slip into a backpack.
Wire-Free Point and Click
Touchpads on laptops have come a long way, but for extensive computing a wireless mouse is preferable. One of the best reviewed wireless mice is the Logitech MX Master 3. This ergonomic mouse can connect up to three devices and has a long lasting battery life. Below the scroll wheel is a button that can adjust the scroll speeds, as well as a secondary wheel on the side of the mouse for horizontal scrolling. Beside that second wheel are two buttons that can act as backwards and forwards inputs. The mouse can also be paired with Logitech Options, a configuration software that can allow users to customize the mouse’s inputs depending on which app they’re using.
If you’re reluctant to travel with a $100 mouse, consider a more budget-friendly option with similar features, like the Microsoft Bluetooth Ergonomic Wireless Mouse.
Give Your Thumbs a Rest
The Logitech k720 is the ideal lightweight travel keyboard for your cafe computing. The keyboard is full size (meaning it has a number pad), which is rare among smaller keyboards. It also has a rack at the top of the board so you can slide in additional devices, like a tablet or phone.
ViewSonic VG1655 Portable Monitor
For some jobs, one screen isn’t enough. The ViewSonic VG1655 portable monitor has a built-in stand, two USB-C ports as well as a mini-HDMI port. It also boasts impressive onscreen display (OSD) thanks to a five-way mini-joystick controller. It comes in at a friendly price point considering its features versus the competition. And it’s compact enough that it won’t make you look like the person who brought way too much tech to the coffee shop.
Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD Power Bank
Ideally, you get to the cafe first to have your pick of the coveted seats near an outlet. But if an early bird beats you to it, you’re going to need some portable juice for your devices while you patiently wait for one of the “good” tables to free up. When fully charged, the Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD can power a USB-C laptop as well as your mobile device at the same time. During testing, we found the portable battery was able to power a MacBook for 9 hours, 17 minutes when streaming video over Wi-Fi at maximum screen brightness.
ZTE ZMax Connect MF928 Mobile Hotspot
ZTE Zmax Connect MF928
There are few things more frustrating than setting up your well-curated backpack full of quality, portable gear only to find out that the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi is down. A busy barista won’t have time to troubleshoot a wonky internet connection, so you’ll need to take matters into your own hands. Not all mobile phones come with the ability to turn your device into a hotspot, which is where a mobile hotspot comes in. Which one is best for you will depend on your preferred carrier, but there are low-cost, prepaid options, like the ZTE ZMax Connect MF928.
For an extra layer of protection on your new hotspot, consider getting a VPN to keep your information safe and secure even when you’re on the go.