What Do You Carry: Thrillist’s Adam Rich

Adam Rich spends most of his time on the road. This isn't surprising, considering the fact that he heads the editorial team for Thrillist, an über-popular men's e-mail newsletter. Thrillist's city-specific newsletters reach over 3 million subscribers daily, covering what's hot, new, and happening in 18 different U.S. locations. The site also features Thrillist Nation, which compiles the best of the Web and delivers it to you via daily posts. As Co-founder and editor in chief for the site, it's Rich's job to know what's interesting and worth seeing around the world, from drinking and dining to entertainment, clothing, and gadgets.

Rich has a keen eye for finding the cool and unexpected. When asked to name something that's surprised him during his recent travels, he told me, "Honestly, this would have to be the Century Plaza hotel in LA. I was out for our LA launch about a million years ago, couch surfing and fighting a cold. My girlfriend got a last-minute travel package so she could join me, and bundled into the package for very little money was a room at the Century Plaza. The place was a total sleeper: It's this grand, sweeping crescent designed by the Twin Towers' architect. Actually, [it's got] generously-sized modern rooms, each with a deep balcony that looks out all the way to the Pacific."

NYC-based Rich told us that with 19 cities to cover, including London, he's getting on a plane at least every other week. He prefers flying Delta out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York because it serves the most markets. He decries that "checking bags is for the elderly." We couldn't agree more. Naturally, this begs the question: "Adam, what's in your carry on?"

1. Apple iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G)

Adam travels with an Apple iPad, because, as he says: "I'm able to get 99 percent of my work done on it, and the TSA doesn’t make you dig it out to get through security. One less bin."

2. Belkin Pure AV Audio Splitter Cables

Rich takes along a male-male 3.5-mm cable and an RCA-to-headphone cable on his travels, so he can listen to music in a rental car or through the TV if his hotel room doesn't have an iPod dock.

3. The New Yorker

Rich carries a multiple copies of The New Yorker because, he says, "Keeping up with a weekly is tough, but ever since I threw away the issue with the two-part John McPhee article on coal trains I've kept all of them until I can get through them. " Of course, he could also leave the hard copies at home and read the beloved mag on his iPad, with the free The New Yorker Magazine iPad app.

4. Communication Tools: The Basics, FaceTime and iChat

Rich communicates with his team through the "Big Three: e-mail, phone, and IM." Beyond that, he says, "I try to throttle my availability in any way possible. Travel just makes it that much easier as, for a few days a week, I can't be physically found at my home or office. I use iChat and FaceTime with my girlfriend though. The crazy things we do for love…"

5. Hotels, Restaurants, Hangouts

As a member of the FoundersCard program, a members-only community for entrepreneurs and innovators, Rich is able to take advantage of really deep discounts at great hotels, as well as other lifestyle, business, and travel deals. How does he pick? "That's easy: Why do you think we started Thrillist?"

6. Never Leaves Home Without?

"It's not terribly surprising, but that would be my iPhone. There's almost nothing I can't handle on it. Plus, I can stream Netflix down to it when my flight gets delayed. And the birds, they are so angry."

7. Travel Advice

What advice would he give to travelers to get the most out of a trip? This answer is not so surprising, either. "Thrillist! Our iPad app is especially helpful as you can smoothly browse a ton of our content, geolocate the places you'll be near, and organize them into a custom checklist that'll allow you to knock them out, one after another. You will never eat another room service club sandwich again."