Bring Your Kit: The Gear Worth Packing for a Night Round a Mate's

By Jordan Hale

Packing a router to go to a friend’s house sounds unhinged. Hear me out, because if you take your online play even slightly seriously, it’s the single best thing in this bag. The rest of the kit is comfort. This one actually changes how you play.

So here’s what’s worth carrying, in order of how much it matters.

The hero: a pocket wired router

Your mate’s Wi-Fi is the weak link, every time. Wireless adds latency and, worse, jitter — the unpredictable little spikes that get you killed in a gunfight or drop your input in a fighting game. A wired connection cuts both. The problem is you can’t always run a cable to their router from where the TV is.

That’s what a pocket travel router solves. GL.iNet make the go-to ones (the Beryl AX is the popular pick), they cost about the same as a new game, and they fit in a coat pocket. You plug it into your mate’s network, and it gives you a stable wired port and your own clean segment to game on, instead of fighting the whole house for the 5GHz band GL.iNet Beryl AX travel router.

Honest caveat, because that’s the deal here: if you can simply run an Ethernet cable straight from the TV to their router, do that first, it’s free and it’s the same win. The travel router is for when you can’t reach, when the router’s three rooms away, or when you just want it tidy and portable. For a one-off it’s overkill. For someone who’s at game night every week and tired of blaming the host’s broadband, it pays for itself in saved rage.

Your own controller

This one’s not a stretch at all. The controller you’ve put hundreds of hours into has your muscle memory in it: the stick tension you’re used to, the trigger pull you trust, and the sticks haven’t started drifting. Borrowing a mate’s worn-out pad for a ranked session is self-sabotage. Bring your own, charged, with a cable so you’re not dead halfway through wireless gaming controller.

Your own headset

If there’s any team comms, bring your headset. You know its EQ, the mic is positioned how you like it, and nobody wants to share the communal one that’s been on six sweaty heads. A wired 3.5mm set is the no-fuss option: plug into the controller, no pairing, no battery, no lag wired 3.5mm gaming headset.

The nice-to-haves

Round it out only if you’re the type who likes being prepared:

• A long HDMI cable, in case the good seat is nowhere near the TV’s ports.
• A multi-port USB charger, so four controllers aren’t fighting over one socket.
• A short power strip if the host’s living room is, like most, one plug short of civilisation.

What actually matters

If you take one thing from this: the wired router is the only item that changes outcomes; the controller is the one that changes comfort; everything else is just being organised. Pack to your level of seriousness and don’t let anyone tell you the router was a step too far when you’re the one not lagging.

If you’re hauling the whole console round rather than just your kit, the PS5 packing list covers the case and the bits people forget, and the couch co-op games worth bringing sort out what to actually play once you’re set up.

Frequently asked questions

Is a wired connection really better than Wi-Fi for gaming? Yes, especially for online play. Ethernet has lower latency and far less jitter than Wi-Fi, which means more consistent response and fewer of the random spikes that cost you rounds. The difference is most noticeable in competitive shooters, fighting games, and anything ranked.

Do I need a travel router, or just an Ethernet cable? If you can run an Ethernet cable from your console or TV to your mate’s router, that’s the cheapest fix and gives you the same wired benefit. A pocket travel router (like a GL.iNet) is worth it when you can’t reach the router with a cable, or you want a tidy, portable setup you bring every time.

What’s the most important thing to bring to a friend’s for gaming? For online play, a way to get wired (a travel router or an Ethernet cable) makes the biggest difference to how you actually perform. After that, your own controller matters most for comfort and consistency, then your own headset if there’s team comms.

Will my own controller and headset work at a friend’s setup? Generally yes, on the same console family. A controller for the console you’ll be playing on pairs as normal, and a wired 3.5mm headset plugs straight into the controller on PS5, Xbox, and Switch. Check the console matches your controller before you pack it.