Recommended Accessories

Just things I personally recommend.

Battery Packs:

Battery Packs are a MUST in IRL Streaming, and the only brand I trust is Anker. Here are my recommendations:

Cheapest Reliable Option: $28.95 - 20000mAh/18W - I used battery packs like these for years and never had an issue. The reality is with a phone like an S20 FE 5G, it's more than enough to keep it at 100%, and with a phone like an S24 Ultra, if it's overheating you're locked at 5W charging anyways. 20000mAh will keep you fully charged all day. Fits in your pocket nicely as well.

Most 'Juice' Option: $69.99 - 40000mAh/30W - I've never owned or needed one of these, but if you expect to not be able to access a wall charger for some time, this option will keep you going for multiple days.

High Wattage Option (Last Gen): $109.99 - 24000mAh/140W - Supports Turbo Charging, great for other devices as well.

High Wattage Option (Current Gen): $229.99 - 26250mAh/140W - Supports Turbo Charging, less bulky than last gen. This is the battery pack I am currently using.

Selfie Sticks / Phone Holders:

You can get a normal selfie stick that will work for cheap at a local Walmart or Best Buy. However, here are some unique recommendations I personally recommend:

High Quality Selfie Stick: The go-to stick for years, high quality, long lasting, metal.

Battery Pack Selfie Stick: 10000mAh built right into the stick. Charge the phone with a short cable and you won't have to deal with carrying around a battery pack and long cables.

Discreet Travel Selfie Stick: I use this one all the time. It folds up extremely small and pocket size, and is easy to take into places where most selfie sticks are denied, like concerts, carnivals, events, etc.

Disney Friendly Phone Holder: Specific phone holder which Disney World in Florida allows on rides (non-extendable, small, can be wrapped around ride bars to prevent dropping)

Neck Phone Holder: Better than chest mounts in my opinion! Phone holder you wear like a necklace.

High Quality Car Phone Holder: Metal windshield / window suction cup phone holder I personally use.

Phone Mounts:

Many selfie sticks you will find and purchase include cheap plastic phone mount attachments that are not good causing your phone to easily fall out. These are the phone mounts I recommend.

Joby GripTight Mount Pro: Very high quality metal phone mount.

Leaplumin Aluminum Phone Mount: Cheaper metal option, and includes a cold shoe mount, great for holding a wireless mic receiver.

Joby GripTight PRO Mount for Tablets: Really the only good solution I've seen for tablets. I've never streamed IRL from a tablet, but maybe you want to.

Simple Plastic Mount: Cheapest option, but not by much. One of the best plastic mounts I've ever used, and I use it with the Neck Phone Holder from above to save a little weight.

Cooling Phone Mount:

Deserving of a category of its own, these really work. They do require being powered via USB (no battery built in), but they actually cool the phone extremely effectively to avoid or deal with overheating issues.

Black Shark FunCooler 5 NEO: Basically one of the only phone mount options that have a hole for attaching to a selfie stick. Many other options out there, but not with that screw hole.

Metal Tripod Attachment:

Like phone mounts, many selfie sticks you find and purchase include cheap plastic tripods that are not good and easily break. It sucks to be IRL Streaming and your tripod breaks.

Zeadio Metal Mini Tripod: Just a cheap, reliable, and universal metal tripod. I do also travel with a folding hex key set to easily tighten the legs when necessary.

Bluetooth Speaker (For Alerts):

Nobody wants to send a Text-to-Speech message if it comes out at whisper volume from your phone speaker. They want people around you to hear what they're saying, or to hear the alert when they subscribe to you. At the end of the day, any Bluetooth speaker is better than no Bluetooth speaker, but quality, battery life, and volume do matter.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4: Solid and very popular IRL Streaming speaker. It can be as loud as you want it, and more than loud enough to please your supporters.

JBL Clip 5: Very popular, cheaper, compact, lightweight - but much more quiet - IRL Streaming speaker.

Generic Carabiner Clips: With many speakers, including the Wonderboom, you need a way to attach it to your backpack, pants, etc. Just use a carabiner.

Microphones:

Microphones are totally not necessary for IRL Streaming. Most people don't use them. A lot of the biggest streamers do. The only real advantage I've personally experienced using them is being able to walk a good distance away from the camera and still being heard clearly. DJI Mic Mini: THIS ONE IS THE BEST. It is newer than the popular DJI Mic 2, and includes improved two-level noise cancelling, and automatic audio clipping prevention. The DJI Mic 2 does not have any audio clipping prevention. The DJI Mic Mini also comes out of the box with a phone adapter that allows you to plug it into the phone, and charge the phone and receiver at the same time via Type-C, so no need for a splitter (required for the other options if you want to charge your phone while using the mics). On top of all of that, it's much cheaper. You can get a one receiver, one mic package brand new for only $89 USD direct from DJI.

RODE Wireless Go II Wireless Microphones: The most popular wireless microphones for IRL Streaming. You may have seen your favorite IRL Streamer using these. I used these personally until the DJI Mic Mini launched. The big downside in my opinion was the need to use a USB splitter cable to be able to charge my phone while using the mics.

DJI Mic 2 Microphones: I've seen some others using these, and they say they're better. They are also more expensive.

Cold Shoe Mounts: If your phone or camera mount doesn't have a place to mount the receiver, I recommend the SmallRig Cold Shoe Mount (requires screw hole on top of phone mount) pack or the Insta360 Cold Shoe Extension Bracket.

Lighting:

If you want or need the option to have external lighting, these are my recommendations.

GoPro Light Mod: This doesn't require a GoPro, and works very well. The soft light cover is important, don't lose it! I'd personally probably glue it on.

ULANZI Vlogging Light: Much cheaper than the GoPro alternative, reliable, but doesn't look as nice.

More:

Anker Prime Charger (Type C + A): If you're traveling for IRL, you need a reliable charging station to use. This simply turns one wall outlet into four USB-C and two USB-A outlets. There are cheaper alternatives, I've tried them, they haven't been reliable.

Anker Charger (Type A): If you're traveling for IRL, you need a reliable charging station to use. This simply turns one wall outlet into six USB-A outlets. There are cheaper alternatives, I've tried them, they haven't been reliable.

Carry on Backpack: This may not be something you've thought about, but if you're going to be flying a lot, maximize your load by getting a backpack that is as big as it can be and still be a carry on. I personally use this backpack as my free personal item and have never had an issue.

Stadium/Event Approved Backpack: This may also be something you have not thought about, but if you're planning to stream at big stadium events, concerts, etc., venues generally have a clear bag policy with sizing limitations, usually 12x12x6. This one is great for carrying extra battery packs, cables, and anything else you may want or need.