> The stick being external doesn't seem to provide much advantage otherwise, since if the laptop hardware is malicious it doesn't help, and if it is not malicio

> The stick being external doesn't seem to provide much advantage otherwise, since if the laptop hardware is malicious it doesn't help, and if it is not malicious then an internal trusted stick equivalent works just as well. You can take out the external USB and keep it in your pocket when you go someplace you wouldn't want to carry a laptop (eg. public bathroom). Whether this is necessary depends on how paranoid you want to be.