The 5 Best MacBook Pro Accessories For Campers

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Built for portability, a MacBook Pro is designed to take up residence just about anywhere you need it. Coffee shops and public libraries are a couple of remote locations that come to mind, but who said you can't take your Apple laptop on a cross-country adventure? If you're all about the RV life, you may already be taking your MacBook Pro all over the continent. Even if you're just shopping around for a laptop (or an RV) to take on your many road-bound journeys, it pays to know what the best accessories to keep on standby are.

Unlike your personal office or the workplace, though, a camper and the camping lifestyle present unique challenges for using a MacBook Pro. Backup power becomes all the more important, and you should probably have one or two recharging methods for emergencies. You'll also want to be mindful of screen glare, because sunlight might be tougher to mitigate on the road than it is back home. It doesn't hurt to travel with a bunch of extra USB cables, either — who knows when you might need one?

We're only scratching the surface for ideas here, but we have a few more, and we'd also like to expand on the products we touched upon above. To that end, we have created the following list of the five best MacBook Pro accessories for campers.

Glare is going to be one of your toughest foes when using a MacBook Pro outdoors. The displays push a decent amount of brightness, especially on newer models, but there's no getting past the harsh UV rays emitted by the sun, not to mention the sheer intensity. It's also much harder to find a shadowed outdoor area in the middle of the day, which is why you might want to look into a gadget like the $36 Hoyixi Universal Laptop Sun Shade & Privacy Shield.

More than 170 Amazon users took a chance on this product, and based on user feedback, it earned 4.4 out of five stars. Much like a collapsible tent for your MacBook Pro, the shade provides enough real estate to cover a 13- to 16-inch screen fully. We also like that the fabric is fade- and water-resistant, so you won't have to worry about a little pond water ruining your M5 machine. It even has a large pocket that can fit a phone, tablet, and other accessories, as well as a built-in carrying strap.

We do feel it's worth mentioning, though, that you shouldn't expect it to accommodate anything bigger than a 16-inch laptop. This also isn't a miracle product: You may still deal with a bit of glare, so you should still try to find even a semi-shaded spot to use in combination with this portable shade.

Bringing our own source of electricity may not be one of the first things we think of when taking the camper out. After all, many RV-friendly campsites are equipped with electrical hookups that let you power and charge whatever tech you've brought along. But if you're staying overnight at a more remote campsite, or if you just want a backup solution for your MacBook Pro and other devices, you should invest in a grab-and-go power station.

One good option is the $259 Jackery Explorer 300 Portable Power Station. Delivering up to 292 watt-hours across six connections (two AC outlets, one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, and one DC port), the Jackery 300 is relatively lightweight (seven pounds), making it possible to carry it on a hike. It was also built around LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) technology, which supports up to 4,000 charge cycles before the power station drops to 70% capacity.

You can even pair Jackery solar panels with the power hub to charge it up during the day. The Jackery 300 is a perfect middle-ground between a portable power bank and a larger backup generator. It also scored a 4.6-out-of-5-star rating on Amazon, based on over 11,000 reviews. Get it in the traditional black/orange colorway, or spend a little extra for the Dune White version.

All MacBook Pro models include speakers, and the driver tech has gotten pretty impressive over the last several years. That said, if you're going to be anywhere near a body of water on your camping trip, and you want to listen to music that's stored on your MacBook, you might want to consider a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. One of the best of the bunch is the $100 Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4, a water-resistant Bluetooth speaker that punches above its weight class.

Designed to project audio in a 360-degree fashion, the Wonderboom 4 supports up to 13 hours of playback with a fully charged battery. It also includes two sound presets — Outdoors and Podcast — for fine-tuning the speaker to best match your outdoor environment. And most importantly, it has an IP67 rating, which means it's fully protected against dust particles and can even be submerged in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

If your camper is too far away from where you want to use the Wonderboom 4, you can always bring your MacBook Pro outside to bridge the gap between the devices. As long as you're far enough away from the shore or swimming pool to prevent your laptop from getting splashed, your MacBook should be able to pair to a Wonderboom 4 that's just over 300 feet away. The speaker can even be connected to two devices simultaneously if you'd like to share DJ duties with a friend or family member.

You really can't put a price on internet-connected defense, which is why we didn't hesitate to include the $170 GL.iNet Slate 7 Portable Travel Router in this roundup. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, this bite-sized device scored 4.6 stars out of five on Amazon based on over 1,300 reviews. RTINGs also put the product through rigorous lab testing, where it earned high scores for apartment or condo usage and overall speed.

The name of the game here is network security, and if you're traveling around with a MacBook Pro in your camper, chances are you're going to be pairing to a lot of public Wi-Fi networks. We've said it before: You shouldn't connect any tech to public Wi-Fi without some type of security buffer between your hardware and the internet. This is exactly what a router like the Slate 7 exists for, and it doesn't short you on physical ports either. It even comes with preinstalled software like ZeroTier and OpenVPN.

One of the only drawbacks of the Slate 7 is that it doesn't support 6-hertz connectivity. It also isn't the best travel router if you plan on gaming with your MacBook Pro. But shouldn't you be reading a book anyway? After all, you are on vacation.

Protecting your MacBook Pro from the elements is key, especially if you're camping in an area that's prone to sudden rain showers. For the best defense, look no further than the $33 tomtoc 14-inch Protective Laptop Sleeve. The company has several size options to choose from (depending on how big your screen is), each of which features multiple colorway options. Plus, all designs are made from spill-resistant recycled fabric.

Water resistance is cool and all, but before we dive into that feature, we'd like to direct your attention to the fact that this laptop sleeve is Military-Standard-Drop-Test-certified. The high-density soft padding treats your MacBook with care on the inside, while the case's highly resilient edges provide shock and impact support. More than 27,200 Amazon shoppers provided user feedback for this tomtoc sleeve, earning the product a 4.8-out-of-5-star rating.

We also appreciate the inclusion of an integrated pocket for storing things like a laptop charger and USB cables. We still wouldn't leave your MacBook Pro outside in a storm (the sleeve is water-resistant, not waterproof), but if you've been searching for physical laptop defense, tomtoc has more than got you covered.

Traveling in a camper can be an exciting experience, but when you're carting your expensive tech around, too, you want to make sure it's protected and supported by outdoor-friendly accessories. For this list, we focused on products that solve specific on-the-go problems while easily lending themselves to camper life — they have to be portable, light, and convenient.

We also made sure the gadgets on our list meet high quality standards so you can be confident they'll deliver on their promise. Specifically, we referenced Amazon user reviews and only included products that scored a 4-star (out of five) rating among users on the retailer's site. We also consulted professional hands-on reviews to help us hone in on the various pros and cons of each product.