Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys.
After spending a month in Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics, you’d think Team USA skier Alex Hall, who won a silver medal in slopestyle, might want to take a break before his next adventure. But no: I talked to him the day after he got home from the Games, and he was already getting ready to hit the road that afternoon. Beyond traveling for competitions, Hall and his friends started a film company about eight years ago, so they’re constantly shooting new projects across the country. Being on-the-go that often means he’s become a master packer.
“When you travel as much as I do, you kind of pack once at the start of the year, and you use whatever is in your suitcase for the rest of the season,” says Hall. “I keep everything simple, so I’m never second-guessing anything.” Below, the two-time Olympic freeski medalist shares a few of the top products he always keeps in his bag, whether he’s roadtripping or flying internationally.
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“It’s so boring, but something absolutely necessary for me is a power converter,” says Hall. “It’s always in my backpack, and I never take it out, even if I’m just traveling in the U.S. Knowing I’m going to be able to change all my stuff is important, so that’s the first thing I make sure I always have.” This travel adapter is compatible with devices like laptops, tablets, phones and cameras, as well as electronics like hairdryers and toothbrushes. You can use it in over 190 destinations, according to the brand.
“I’m a weirdo and I always want to be in slides,” says Hall, whose top pick is the Nike’s Victori One. “I hate wearing normal shoes — well, I don’t hate it, but slides are so much more comfortable. I’m usually the guy traveling in slides with socks on, even in the winter — there’s times when I’m walking around in slides and socks, but it’s snowing outside.”
Hall loves these slides so much that they were the only pair of shoes he brought to the 2026 Winter Olympics, besides his ski boots. “From going to past Olympics, I knew that you should really try to bring almost no stuff,” he says. “Athletes get a crazy amount of Olympic gear, like shoes and all these clothes, so you try to just bring your equipment. I only traveled there in my flops — I didn’t bring any other shoes. I just brought my slides and hoped we’d get some good shoes, which we did, so it worked out.”
“I’m pretty picky about keeping my stuff the same for the most part, and I always use the same brand of socks when I ski,” says Hall. “I’m particular about keeping as many things as I can constant so I don’t have to think about anything other than my sport.” Beyond wearing these socks under his boots, Hall uses them to store his Olympic medals at home, both the gold he won during the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing and this year’s silver. “They’re in my sock drawer pretty much nonstop, unless someone asks me to pull it out or I have to bring it to an event,” he says.
Compared to packing everyday essentials, Hall says packing film equipment is a whole different beast, especially since he and his two friends, a videographer and an athlete, shoot in different environments, like the mountains and more urban areas. “It’s a crazy amount of gear, so when we’re doing film stuff, we try to do it in the U.S. and we try not to fly with so much equipment,” he says. The three-person team fills their van with everything they’ll need, including shovels to build jumps and landings, ladders, ramps and avalanche safety equipment.
As for camera gear, Hall and friends’ shooting setup is quite extensive for short films. But when they’re working on YouTube videos, he uses his GoPro. “We make vlog videos with the handy cam, and they’re more about the behind-the-scenes of our lives than skiing,” says Hall. “They’re lighthearted and funny, and especially the younger kids enjoy that side of us that’s not just the athlete — they see that we’re real people, so there’s some relatability there.”
“Db, which is a company from Norway, sent me suitcases a long time ago, and they’ve been super durable, so I still use them,” says Hall. “I’ve used this backpack for 8 years — like, the exact same one. It fits everything I want to put it there and I’ve never misplaced anything. It’s got a spot for everything, like my passport and my chargers. I’ve had my Db suitcase for at least 8 years, too.”
“I always travel with a water bottle, so I have this one with me at all times,” says Hall. “I want to stay hydrated, but I hate buying plastic water bottles.” The skier’s favorite Hydro Flask is made from stainless steel, and it has double-wall vacuum insulation. It keeps beverages cold for 24 hours and hot for 12 hours, according to the brand, plus it’s dishwasher-safe.
“I always bring a beanie on winter trips to stay warm,” says Hall. “I also bring my boots, skis and other equipment when I’m traveling because even if it’s not a ski trip, I never know if I’m going to end up somewhere where I’m skiing.” You’ll find him wearing this Kysen Hall beanie most often, which is made from acrylic fabric and has a neon brick-pattern design on it.
Hall says the food in the Athlete Village, where he stayed during the Olympics, was very good, but he also enjoyed home-cooked meals throughout the month. His parents, who came to the Games, live in Switzerland not too far from where he was competing, so he occasionally went home for dinner between events. Gathering with loved ones around food has always been a big part of Hall’s life, which is why recently working with Rao’s Homemade makes so much sense for him.
“I’m half Italian, so I’ve been hoping to partner with a company that has Italian roots and feels true to part of my heritage,” he says. “Rao’s and I share a lot of common values in terms of really caring about the product and what you do, and having it be meaningful and not rushed. That’s kind of how I am as a person. I’ve never felt like I need to try and do something too quickly or crazily — good things come over time.”
One of the best parts about the partnership? “Hooking my parents with sauce,” says Hall, who likes Rao’s classic marinara best of all. “My mom’s a good cook, but she’s a simple cook. She doesn’t do anything too outside of the box, so simple pasta with marinara and Parmesan on top is all I need. That’s the kind of cooking I grew up with.”
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I’m a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Paris Hilton, Maureen Kelly, Hannah Berner and Chace Crawford. To write this article, I interviewed Team USA skier Alex Hall about his favorite products.
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