Let’s see how much we have in common with our backpack inventories.
Haha, aaaabsolutely. I have:
- My portable game console (Retroid Pocket 3+).
- My cable pouch (need a charger for a 20 year old iPod? I got you fam. HDMI? No worries. USB micro B? All good. For some reason I hate being caught out without the right cable).
- My 60w UGREEN Gan USB A/USB C charger.
- At the moment, the book I’m reading (Relativity Visualized).
- My journal. I don’t write in it every day but sporadically.
- My medication.
- Battery bank.
- Laptop (ThinkPad T480).
- Deodorant.
- Hair wax.
- Toothbrush.
- A pen.
- My home and work keys with tag trackers on each and a multi tool on my home keys.
- External SSD.
- Umbrella.
- Ear plugs.
- Contigo go cup.
- A lighter.
Headphones, phone and wallet stay in my pocket.
Ooh, deodorant is a good idea!
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
Related question: what size backpack do y’all use? Every time I find a good one I start adding more stuff and then I want a bigger one to fit more 😭
I stick with ~30 liters. I can put my usual stuff and have place for some groceries.
I can’t remember if mine is 32 or 35 litres. It’s a good size. Not too small and not too big, but big enough to shove a bit of shopping in. There have been a few times I needed a bigger one but it’s a decent trade off for practically.
mine is around this size with 3 compartments: large/main, medium/middle, & small front pocket.
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 :(
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.
Not on a spectrum I believe, but I can’t leave my house without a backpack holding:
- A universal charger with a splitting cord for all popular connectors, a powerbank.
- Two pocket knives and one or two boxcutters\scalpels with exchangeable blades.
- 0.5-1L of water.
- Usual medications against head, stomack pain.
- Snacks and a fork\spoon.
- A book for leisure, a e-ink book and a notebook.
- A black marker and various pens.
- A rope I can use to carry multiple things.
- Carabins for the same reason.
- More usual options like plastic bags.
- Spare lighters and a flashlight.
- A copy of my ID to access services.
- Headphones and reflective glasses to turn off the surroundings when I need it.
Surprisingly, all of them came up handy in different contexts. Guess, just walking with all these things is a little training.
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- 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:
I use a Maxpedition Prepared Citizen Deluxe backpack. It looks like a JanSport, but it has a bunch of internal pockets. I added extra pouches and velcro pockets, made my own zipper pulls, and modified the straps.
I’ve gone a little overboard with the contents. Really need to reduce the weight. I’ve got a couple multitools in there, first aid kit, tourniquet, class III backpack armor, meds and snacks, Flipper Zero, earbuds, magnifying glass, charger cables, batteries, hygiene kit, pens and journal, a couple flashlights, water bottle with a filter, beard brush, and hidden cash.
Wait, is this something characteristic of the spectrum?
I love to take a backpack nearly everywhere with 1st basis supplies
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.
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.
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)
- 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.
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- 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
I, too, am a real-life D&D character.
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!
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
- 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
Walking around with your passport is a dangerous game.
Plot twist: I have two of them. Because of fear of losing it.
If I managed to lose my backpack, my passport is one of the things I’d be least upset about losing
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.
Yup.
Usually have a bottle of water, sun glasses, umbrella (yeah both, the Uk is wild), tablets, weed, cigs, grinder, keys, pen, and headphones.
Caffeine, melatonin and different painkillers. A book, my ID and priority card, a water bottle. And if I’m traveling I add an external battery and cables, a console. I also tried to put in my comfort food but it’s chocolate and it melt.
