Let’s see how much we have in common with our backpack inventories.
- Work laptop (although I use it as my personal laptop too)
- Kindle
- Bluetooth speaker (JBL clip 4)
- Surface Pro 3
- Folding mouse
- Folding keyboard
- prepaid envelope in case I forget to check my knife while flying
- notepad and pen
- Umbrella
- Flashlight (Nitecore T4K)
- craft hammer w/ flatheads in shaft
- mini ratcheting screwdriver w/ bits
- mini tape measure
- 130w usb-c charging block
- 10ft USB-C cable
- short USB-C cable
- adapters for everything
- folding lockpicks
- collapsible chopsticks
- Folding Allen wrench set
- sunglasses
- passport
- compressible shopping bag
- 20 Ah power bank w/ 65w output
- Small folding drone and controller
- Probably other things I’m not thinking of right now
Edit:
- Koss Porta Pro headphones
- 500gb Samsung T7 touch external SSD
- Surface Pen
- prepaid envelope in case I forget to check my knife while flying
Doesn’t list knife. 🤔
Edit: it’s in one of your pant pockets isn’t it?
It is indeed. Along with my Pixel Buds Pro and chapstick
you are ready for whatever comes your way!
That’s my goal! I like to be the guy that when someone needs something, they go “Oh, SaintWacko probably has it.” And they’re usually right!
Walking around with your passport is a dangerous game.
If I managed to lose my backpack, my passport is one of the things I’d be least upset about losing
Plot twist: I have two of them. Because of fear of losing it.
Tell us about your mini drone!
It’s an old DJI Mavic Mini! Great little drone, folds up small enough to fit in a coat pocket, but it’s got about half an hour of battery life. It’s one of those things I don’t use very often, but when I do there’s no substitute
I, too, am a real-life D&D character.
What bag you got?
The main bag is older gen SwissGear USB ScanSmart backpack, and then in one of the pockets I have an Everki Venue bag that has the surface and its peripherals, the tools, the flashlight, bag, chopsticks, SSD, and charging stuff. It’s nice because if I want something more compact I can pull out the Venue and still have almost all my stuff. What I’d really like to find is some sort of modular system, so instead of having bags inside bags I have multiple bags that hook together and I can combine them in different ways depending on what I need
Yeah if you find something like that I’d also be interested. I have a bag in bag situation too.
Ah the Koss PortaPros! Excellent choice.
- Two N95 face mask
- An USB charger
- Two USB cords a type C and a mini-B
- A pen a pencil a very small notepad
- A rigid sleeve for importants documents (actually the menu from a restaurant near my workplace )
- A scarf, two gloves, a wollen cap
- sunglasses
- no-sun-glasses
- cloth for cleaning glasses
- plastic bags
- flashlight
I hate having to put the labtop from work in here that bastard is heavy
You carrying my bag around? Hehe. I also keep a tablet, and a leash and collar for my dog.
Oh that was that kind of collar…
Woof ;-)
Wait, is this something characteristic of the spectrum?
I love to take a backpack nearly everywhere with 1st basis supplies
It’s a stability thing. The autistic brain tends to want a lot more structure around it. Unfortunately, life can often get in the way of this. A backpack can act as a “safety kit”. You know you will always have critical resources to hand, and so are less stressed with unexpected changes.
We think my son might have autism and trying to engage with the school and health services for a bit of support. So far no luck. Anyway, because of this we’re learning a lot and I’m now starting to think perhaps I have a touch of it.
I didn’t know a backpack was a thing. I take mine everywhere. Last year I met a group of friends I haven’t seen in years in a pub and I took my bag. They asked why do I have a bag. “It’s got my stuff in it”. They did enjoy trying my flash lights (I sometimes take two in case one runs out. It never has because they’re regularly charged)
I had no idea that was a thing. I used to take my backback everywhere to the point people asked me if I sold drugs. Apparently dealers often taken their backpacks everywhere cause of that. Eventually I forced myself to stop doing that, guess I was masking that too without knowing
One of the dudes on Love on the Spectrum went on a first date with his backpack. But, he was a gentleman and carried it by hand on his side.
I think it’s more common among us than NTs. Military veterans would probably be another group that has a high prevalence of backpack use.
- Cough drops
- Ear plugs (a few here and there)
- Microfibre cloth
- a lucky charm
- pocket-size tissue pack
- an emergency $50 bill
- an emergency snack
- an emergency Linux install USB drive
These are stuff then generally stay in the bag between trips. Stuff like a water bottle I add before almost any long trip out.
An emergency Linux install USB drive?? In what scenario would you imagine you would need that?
Probably one that can live boot and run right off of USB. There’s a computer, you might be able to use it without knowing how to log on by booting from that stick. Now you might send/receive messages in a dire circumstance.
Genius. I’m going to make one tomorrow.
Also, having a live USB is really handy for doing PC maintenance when the installed OS gets borked somehow.
Check out Ventoy, it’s a utility that lets you boot up any disk image from usb storage. For me, it condensed a keyring full of single-purpose flash drives down to just one.
Oh man, if you like Live Boot USBs, just wait til you see this thing: https://www.newegg.com/zalman-ve400/p/N82E16817379030
There’s probably an updated version available somewhere. Slap a drive in and load any ISO, and it can mount it as a virtual disc drive, or you can switch it to be detected as a regular external drive if you prefer, or both at the same time. I use it for booting my copy of Hiren’s Boot CD I’ve been lugging around for eighteen years, live-boot Linux and Windows PE/recovery environments, it’s brilliant.
A Frend getting tired of Windows /s
Never leave home without one. I’m always amazed others don’t do it as well.
I carry a 5.11 Rush 72. Uually there’s:
- a camera; Fuji X-S20
- contact lens cleaner and storage
- small bicycle pump
- 2 sunglasses (Oakley M2 & Ray-Ban Wayfarer)
- sunscreen during summer
- floppy boonie hat during summer
- one/two pocket knives
- a single watch storage case, usually with a watch in it
- a strip of blood pressure medication
- two powdered ibuprofen painkillers
- a bandaid or two
- a pen
And there’s bound to be something like a roll of candy, a snack, a water bottle, etc in it at any given time.
I love those Wayfarers. I have a pair of Foldies (knock off brand that fold into a sort of little cube) in light blue. Polarized sunglasses are the best!
They are excellent; very comfortable and always in fashion for those who care. My particular ones are non-polarized.
The Oakleys I have ARE polarized, and for a lot of situations it’s really handy for sure. Great at cutting annoying reflections on water, allows you to see through glass with reflections, etc.
Lol. Read the title and started giggling. Family asks why I giggle, I tell them and they start laughing.
So yes. After losing everything, including the backpack I always have it with me. It’s a hard rule - the moment I’m far from it, I need something from it.
The contents are pretty much everything I might need during an average day. Keys, vallet, medicines, a notebook and a pen, bandages, headphones, deodorant.
oh no!! losing that backpack must’ve been devastating 😩
i’ve been using the same backpack since 2001. i can’t imagine losing it. it’s part of my identity. if i don’t have it with me, people ask about it.
The worst was when it was stolen, while I was travelling, 3 hours before it was time to leave for the airport. Obviously my IDs, tickets, money, were all there.
That sounds terrible :(
- Change of clothes for my kid
- couple of hair ties for kiddo
- pouch (charging cables, blocks & headphones)
- kindle
- wet wipes
- notebad & pen
- medical bag (needle, emergency meds, bandaids Powerade packet) -powerbank
- sometimes pocketknife (depending on pants worn)
Bonus: Cannon T7 with 24mm EF-S f/ 2.8 (when I’m feeling artsy)
That’s it i think.
- Spare phone charger (USB battery pack before it turned into a pillow)
- Micro-USB and USB-C data cables
- Ethernet cable
- 32G USB drive:
- 8G partition with bootable Linux Mint (can you guess what I do for a living?)
- The rest is FAT32 storage
- A cheap wireless mouse
- Bluetooth earphones (currently Skullcandy Jib True)
- Flashlight
- Sunglasses
- 300ml bottle, even if empty
- Several plastic bags
- Bunch of rubber bands
- Fork
- Teaspoon
- Toothpicks
- A tacky collapsible cup
- Tweezers (one with a sharp tip, one flat)
- Ibuprofen
- Photocopy of my medical insurance card
- Sometimes an iFixit Essentials kit (not sponsored)
This excludes the content of my wallet.
Why is your piss bottle so small?
I drink most of it immediately, no need for storage
32G USB drive: 8G partition with bootable Linux Mint (can you guess what I do for a living?) The rest is FAT32 storage
That you specified the partitioning is my favorite part 😆
I could write a similar list about the flash drives I use at work or at home.
32G stick mentioned above
32G “Imaging” USB stick
- 400M partition with a customized bootable Clonezilla:
- One boot entry that loads the OS to RAM, brings up an ethernet interface with DHCP, and mounts a Samba share to /home/partimag
- One that loads the OS and brings up a bash CLI (Clonezilla is basically Debian with extras)
- One that loads the OS and mounts:
- A second FAT32 partition that contains:
- A Debian 11 image
- A Linux Mint image
- A customized Ubuntu 22.04 VirtualBox OVA image
2G “iHaxit” USB stick with a read-only switch
128G “Rescue”
- Bootable Windows recovery disk
- Plenty of space to save important documents before the subject computer is nuked
32G “DO NOT USE” stick that I nuke and reformat for whatever purpose I need (not to be used for storage)
…plus a lot of optical disks with various Windows installers.
Check out Ventoy, it’s a utility for booting any disk image fron USB storage and might help reduce the number of drives you need to carry. Also, it supports data persistence if you want a portable live OS. =D
- 400M partition with a customized bootable Clonezilla:
- chap stick
- second pair of glasses in another color in case I need to match my clothes
- wipes for glasses
- noise canceling ear buds
- a pen
- meds
- charged travel charger with solar cells for recharging
- plug-in charger with cable
- laptop with accessories: mouse, stylus pen, backup battery for pen, USB charger for back up battery (can’t be too safe!)
- hoodie
- whatever else I may need for the specific occasion
Sunglasses
Phone charger
Chapstick
Deodorant
Perfume
Glasses wipes
Lighter
Kleenexes
Hand sanitizer
Passport
Pens
Scarf
Sweater
Socks
Notebook
Binder
Work apron
Extra water bottle
Sunscreen
A metric fuck ton of receipts
Gum
A metric fuck ton of receipts
I feel this in my soul
What’s up with the receipts?
Too lazy to clean them out. One goes in every time I buy groceries, and I only get rid of them when I clean the backpack every month or so (or when I lose my name tag).
The MOMENT I get a receipt for groceries and stuff, I crumple it up and toss it on my way out the door. I hate having trash float around like that.
I’m okay with mess, but not dirtiness, so receipts are fine, but I’ll chuck food wrappers asap
In my backpack:
- 0.75L Water bottle + a smaller one if I’m going far
- Mechanical pencil, extra lead, eraser, notes and paper (all in one plastic folder thing)
- Usually my laptop and charger
- Headphones
- USB power adapter
- USB-C cable (for The Phone)
- Earplugs
- Multi-tool (Leatherman wave+)
- Hand sanitizer, multi-purpose cleaner (in a tiny spray bottle),
- Hand lotion, vaseline, sunscreen
- Tote bag
- Bicycle tire hand pump (usually travel by bike)
- Extra inner tube
- Tire changing tool
- Extra bicycle lights
- MicroUSB cable (for the lights)
- Gaffer tape, gauze, disinfecting wipes (and whatever else is in my first aid kit)
- Nalaxone (seen one too many OD’s)
- Small powerful magnet (emergency access through some electronically locked doors)
- Condoms (as if; emergency water storage lol)
- Permanent markers
- A Pen
In my various pockets:
- Facial tissues/paper towel
- Two more bicycle lights
- Cheap folding knife w/ window breaker and seatbelt cutter
- The Phone
- The Wallet
- All weather notepad
- Another pen
- Funny shaped Rock (and Stone) that I play with if I get nervous
Why so many bicycle lights?
Not all the places I go have lighted streets, so I want to be prepared in case one dies or is lost.
I like this question, yes I travel with a backpack.
- vape liquid
- coil making kit, sisors, cotton, stainless steel wire, hobby wire snippers
- 18650 battery’s
- backup headphones
- tissues
- a drink
- wallet and intern physical cash
- jacket/jumper
- hat
- USB c charger and cable
- 3 usb 32gb sticks, ventoy, films
- pocket knife
- bird seeds
I used to carry some general purpose rope but I dont do that now lol
I really should bring bird seed around with me. There are some friendly crows that I’d like to be friendly with.
I always thought I should try this but I have a vague memory of something I read about corvids. If you befriend them they’ll following you home, waiting for more and if you stop providing they might start being aggressive towards you.
Like I said this is just a vague memory and I have nothing to back it up. If someone has information about it being wrong, please share.
They also provide payment with shiny-shiny (CorVid Dollar). I imagine anyone would get pissed if they received no service after payment.
Bird seeds is an excellent idea. Got a thing for pigeons.
- USB power bank
- multi-tip charging/data cable (C/micro-B/Lightning)
- bandages
- ibuprofen
- nail trimmer
- small Maglite
- tiny tin of petroleum jelly (I dont like chap-skick)
- reusable silverware + chopsticks
- iPad Pro 10.5 & pencil
- Samsung Note 8 +512GB card (for music, podcasts, notes, OTG storage)
- headphones (Moondrop Chu2)
- pen & pencil
- sewing kit in a tiny mint tin
- Dirtywave M8 music tracker (my current obsession)
- Leatherman Juice Pro + Victorinox eyeglass screwdriver
- Leatherman Squirt S4
- cotton bandana & eyeglass cloth
- combination USB-A/C microSD card reader
- elastic band(s)
- OM System LS-P5 field recorder
- aux cable
I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten but there is a cat on me so I am unable to move until he leaves. Sorry, I dont make the rules.
Flashlight (off)
Lighter (10/100 Butane)
makeshift hammer
makeshift crowbar
pocket knife
smartphone (UPS) (80/100 Battery)
whistle
needs a screwdriver made from a chunk of steel and some tape and its perfect
Lets see…
My work bag has:
- Laptop/charger
- Faraday pouch w/ work phone and badge
- Water bottle (covered in stickers)
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, moustache wax, deoderant, and ADHD meds in case I forget them before leaving for work
- Chapstick
- Handwarmers
- Charging cables
- Pen and notepad
- Backup protein bar
- Mini first aid kit
- Fidget toy (begleri)
My personal bag gets repacked regularly depending on the outing, but typically has items from the above list plus:
- Multitool/iFixit toolkit
- Meshtastic radio node
- BTECH radio handset
- Solar battery bank
- Steam Deck, type-C hub, HDMI and Ethernet cables
- Flash drive w/ Ventoy, Linux disk images, and PC repair utilities.
- Portable hard drive w/ media
- Bluetooth keyboard
Are the meds in rx bottles? Don’t want the police to think you just have speed on you.
Of course. Work would kick me to the curb if they caught me bringing unlicensed meds into the office. XD
