The Gadgets Our Editors Can’t Live Without on Their Commutes

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links. Here’s how we test products and why you should trust us.AmazonA good pair of noise-canceling headphones should be the first thing on your packing list, and this is about as good as it gets. For context, these are the latest in Sony’s long line of excellent flagship noise cancelers, and I endorse them as the lightest and most comfortable travel headphones. The sound is tops too, but the same can be said of the earlier iterations, which my colleagues are still enjoying as their main commuter headphones. Esquire entertainment editor Eric Francisco still rocks the XM5, while deputy editor Chris Hatler is perfectly content with the (evidently sturdy and long-lasting) XM4 headphones.This is something that never leaves my bag, and I know our editors who have to travel from farther away feel the same way. Nothing worse than seeing the “10 percent battery” warning pop up the moment you get to the office. If you’re going to be using your phone as the main entertainment device on your commute, it never hurts to have one of these on hand. And when it comes to power banks, I’ve never gone wrong with Anker.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowReading is the ultimate commute activity. A good book can kill time like nobody’s business, and you look smarter (and like a better person) for spending your time on words instead of scrolling through an endless trough of social vertical videos or playing a game. I’ve written extensively about e-readers for Esquire at this point, and my latest favorite is the Kindle Paperwhite, which I spilled a lot of ink to praise in March.In short, it’s the smallest, lightest Kindle yet, and you can load it up with a full library’s worth of novels, biographies, audiobooks, whatever strikes your fancy. At the very least, it makes it much easier to bring a 1,000-page epic on the train.“I have a long, early commute by train, so of course I sometimes try to get some extra shut-eye. Alas, the morning sun is bright and intense and often foils any comfortable attempt to keep my eyes closed. Enter the Brooklinen sleep mask, which is soft and silky and handily blocks any light in my path. Sometimes the conductor even has to wake me up with a tap on the shoulder before I reach my destination. Yeah, it’s that good.” —Chris Hatler, deputy editorAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below“Speaking of blocking out the morning sun, sunglasses are my must-have. Obviously when I drive to work, I use them. But the real service these provide me comes on public-transit commutes. A rush-hour New York City subway often puts me nose to nose, eye to eye with some stranger. Even when said stranger is being agreeable, sunglasses afford you a bit of personal space.“As for what sunglasses to buy, JFK wore American Optical’s Saratoga shape. They’re still made stateside, and they cost less than $300—as good as it gets.” —Luke Guillory, commerce editor We all have our handheld gaming console of choice. For me, it’s the Steam Deck OLED, and for my colleague Eric Francisco it’s still the ROG Xbox Ally, but I get that those are massive investments. For most of our gaming coworkers, a Nintendo Switch still gets the job done, and everyone on staff who has tried the Switch 2 think it’s a pretty great handheld console. With access to the entire original Switch library, it’s really just the move if you’re looking for a new handheld console. You can spend in an entire year’s worth of train rides on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom alone.I’ve linked to the bundle with the carrying case because that’s paramount for making this a commute essential.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below“Never underestimate the power of a good tote bag. Boasting many of the same build materials as the CPL (including the beautiful ballistic nylon), the Civic Daily Tote comes with a cavernous main compartment that features a sturdy floating divider (good for laptops) and tablet-sized drop-in pockets (good for e-readers). It’s got all the best features of a carry-on duffel, like a pass-through sleeve for slipping over luggage handles, as well as hidden security pockets to conveniently store keys, phones, and even passports.“Instead of yet more zippers, the main enclosure is secured by two rows of cylindrical neodymium grade N52 magnets, which is fancy talk for ‘super-secure magnets,’ that you can be sure will never open during a rainstorm. There are also low-profile magnets at the apex of both handles, allowing them to stick together and keep the handles standing—which can and will make a difference when you’re picking this baby up on a second’s notice.” —Eric Francisco, associate entertainment editorThis is my personal pick. You want to know boring truth? My morning train ride is the only time in my week when I get 30 unbroken minutes to focus on getting through The Lord of the Rings with no distractions. (The noise-canceling headphones help with that.) I didn’t lie about loving my Kindle, but right now I’m reading my fiancée’s brother-in-law’s copy of The Two Towers and I’m feeling a genuine connection through the physical object itself. I couldn’t get that digitally.Do yourself a favor and buy a physical book from Bookshop.org. You can find pretty much anything, from the latest best sellers to the obscure 20th-century sci-fi I can usually be found reading.