Load me up!

October 21, 2008 9:36 AM

If I'm going to carry a bag, I might as well put stuff in it. Help me fill the thing with useful stuff...

Okay... I'm a bloke. I'm used to having "everything I need" being limited to keys, wallet and mobile phone. I've never needed to carry a bag before.

New medical regime means I need to carry a load of pills with me, so I've started carrying a rucksack. A mostly empty rucksack.

So, with about 3kg/7lb weight limit and probably 15 litres of space, what things should I really carry with me? My MP3 player and digital camera have made it onto the list, but what else should go in there?

[ And just to make it more difficult, my phone is also a PDA, so contacts and diary are already covered. ]

If it matters, I'm an overweight geek who's into photography, who usually drives to his destination and shuns exercise. That said, weight is coming off, food is aiming for healthier and I walked to work this morning...

posted by twine42 to grab bag (33 answers total)

Some kind of Leatherman/Gerber multi-tool pocketknife thingy.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:43 AM on October 21, 2008

A pen and small notepad or pad of post-it notes.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:45 AM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

A portable tripod.

A beverage.

A book.

A sweater.

What's the question? What are useful things that fit in a rucksack? Because that might be kinda broad. What's your daily routine like?
posted by box at 9:45 AM on October 21, 2008

There's the What's in your bag? Flickr group if you're looking for ideas. It covers both man bags and purses.
posted by zsazsa at 9:48 AM on October 21, 2008

Leatherman or other multi-tool, utility knife, a couple of Sharpies, maybe masking/duct tape but that can get goopy over time. (Lockpicks are good too.) A few dozen 3x5 cards rubber-banded together make leaving notes ("hi, sorry I hit your car") easier.

And yes, clarifying whether you want to know whether you're asking if you should pack a salami or turkey sandwich vs. what kinds of tools are useful in the Himalayas would be good too.
posted by range at 9:50 AM on October 21, 2008

A bottle of water and reading materials - a novel and a magazine; you never know when you'll be stuck in line. A small notebook and pen. If you have a hobby that can be carried around in small parts, bits of that - you probably don't knit, but for example I always have a sock-in-progress stashed in my bag for lines and waits. Sunglasses - it stinks to be stuck without them when you could use them.

But don't fill it with stuff just to fill it - it's good to have some empty space to stash things you pick up. For example, if it's mostly-empty, you can now comfortably buy and transport a bag of groceries on foot. Anyway, would you carry a bag at all if you didn't have your pills? If you can pare them down to a handful a day, you might be better off using something like a pillfob and forgoing a bag entirely.
posted by peachfuzz at 9:50 AM on October 21, 2008

flashlight
aspirin
lighter
handkerchief/tissues
small pad and pen
safety pin
small water bottle
breath mints
lip balm
essential oil
posted by watercarrier at 9:55 AM on October 21, 2008

A detergent pen for unexpected stains/spills.
posted by docpops at 10:03 AM on October 21, 2008

This previous askme discuses purse contents but still applies as a man bag is really just a purse by a different name.
posted by jamaro at 10:03 AM on October 21, 2008

What's your job like? When I worked with computers for a summer job (kind of as an unofficial $8/hr system admin for a local business), I started to carry around a CD folder filled with OS CDs and common software/system utilities. I kept it with me at college, and it makes it very useful when I need to get a misbehaving computer to work for myself or a friend. If you're at all tech savvy (ie the person people ask for computer help), this could be good. Key things to include would be an XP CD, a Vista CD, a Live Linux CD with GT Parted and the ability to read NTFS and write to thumb drives (nearly all of them these days), and an antivirus/basic utilities CD. It's very handy for a place without broadband or blank CDs to spare. Commonly used software doesn't hurt either, should someone want to reinstall something.

Of course, this is what works for me. I don't really know what you're good at, but carrying the lighter tools of your trade can come in handy, and people like a person who can fix their problems.

Anyway, don't worry about loading the bag too much. Your back will thank you, and many of the things you'd like to have "just in case" could probably just live in the compartments in your car.

In terms of fun, gimmicky things, I like to carry a space blanket. Hopefully, you'll never need it, but they're useful for what they're designed for, and exponentially more useful as your imagination expands. Not only will it stop you from freezing to death, it's also a good emergency signal or last-resort umbrella. Takes up nearly no space, too. I keep one in my car and in my backpack.

A mini-first aid kit could be good, too. Nothing too fancy. Maybe just some assorted band-aids, ibuprofen and Neosporn.
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:05 AM on October 21, 2008

Towel.
posted by fixedgear at 10:28 AM on October 21, 2008 [3 favorites]

3 condoms folded into a 35mm film cannister.
posted by piedmont at 10:41 AM on October 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

floss
posted by Jaltcoh at 10:42 AM on October 21, 2008

If you're going to make walking to work a habit you may want to put your work shoes in the bag and wear some good walking shoes on the way there.
posted by geekchic at 10:43 AM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

Don't fill your bag with stuff just to fill your bag with stuff [that might be useful one day].
As someone with back problems, I'm constantly amazed at how much weight people carry on their shoulders every day without needing to. It makes me wince when I hold someone's bag for a minute or see people digging through piles of stuff because they can't find the one thing they actually need.

You can carry all the pills you need for the day [plus a backup set] in a ziplock bag in your pocket. Probably. You might need more pills than I'm imagining, but give it a shot.
You get to avoid wearing a bag and the only extra effort is portioning your pills so you're not carrying around your whole prescription with you [a bad idea anyway].
posted by Acari at 10:53 AM on October 21, 2008

Re pocket knives, if you're not going to carry a full-sized Leatherman-type plier-knife, or even a full-sized Swiss Army knife, I like the Victorinox MiniChamp and the Wenger Pocket Tool Chest.

Also:

Band-Aids, or the fancy elastic cloth sticking plaster of your choice.

One of those little oblong "purse packs" of tissues.

A few nylon cable ties of different sizes.

A USB Flash-RAM storage device. I like to use a microSD card in a reader, rather than a one-piece "thumb drive"; microSD cards usually come with a full-SD adapter so you can use them in a digital camera, and they're so tiny that if you want to do some James Bond stuff you can throw the reader away and hide the card almost anywhere (like, under your lip, or stuck on the back of a belt loop in your jeans).

Ziploc bags large enough that they don't look as if they're for drugs. (You can, of course, put various of these other objects in said bags, so you don't have bare cable ties and other random stuff bouncing around in your pack.)

A little multi-hex-bit screwdriver - you can get dirt cheap palm-sized ones that open like an undersized cigarette case, and give you a few Phillips and flathead bits and reasonable torque.

A small LED flashlight.

A small roll of duct tape. You can get rolls that're maybe an inch and a half wide and a few yards long; feel free to carry a full-sized roll if you like, but that plus the cable ties will make you look as if you abduct people for a hobby.

A lighter, even if you don't smoke. A human who cannot make fire is a poor sort of human.

(If you really want to show off, get a Swiss Army knife with a lighter in it. I think they're still not sold in North America, though.)
posted by dansdata at 11:09 AM on October 21, 2008

Might I recommend a ViewTainer for organizing all of the kipple that you'll be putting in the bag? I have one filled with IT junk (retractable iPod cord, 3.5" mm headphone jack splitter, retractable network cable, SD card reader, spare camera battery, mini tripod, lens cleaning cloth, & mini USB cable plus a pen and a Sharpie). If you travel by plane you can just take the ViewTainer out of your bag and hand it to the TSA rather than have them pawing through and unpacking your bag to look at the mass of wires and circuitry.

Additional items in the bag: mini flashlight, hacky sack, pocket knife, bike tool, and one of those small bottle opener/philips screwdriver/divot fixer combos.
posted by Challahtronix at 11:14 AM on October 21, 2008

errrr - how about carrying a smaller bag? This question seems a bit backwards. Why carry a rucksack for a few pills? Why not just get a pill box - or even an Altoids tin and carry on as you were?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 11:16 AM on October 21, 2008

I used to carry my passport with me so that I could jet off to somewhere exotic at a moments notice.

Sadly I never did, and now carry the wherewithal to change dogsbody jr.'s undergarments instead.

If you do decide to spontaneously see the world please do send a postcard.
posted by dogsbody at 11:17 AM on October 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Most useful things in my bag:

Aspirin
Band-Aids
Pen and pad
Antibacterial wipes for hands
Fingernail clipper
posted by triggerfinger at 11:19 AM on October 21, 2008

earplugs
water purifying tablets
compass
light reflector
collapsible cup
pepper spray
posted by watercarrier at 11:55 AM on October 21, 2008

I carry a LOT of crap in my backpack every day. As a female student, some of what I carry will be of no use to you (I'm assuming you won't need to carry tampons or makeup), but here are the things that are most useful to me:

- prescription meds, plus OTC ones (ibuprofen, paracetamol, imodium, anti-histamines, cold&flu tablets, etc)
- condoms
- socks and clean underwear
- duct tape
- umbrella
- swiss army knife
- lighter
- rubber bands
- comb/hair brush
- tissues
- hand sanitizer
- baby wipes
- mini first aid kit (plasters, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, scissors, etc)
- small torch
- a good book
- an emergency £20.
- travel toothbrush & toothpaste
- deodorant wipes
- notebook & pen
- small hand towel
- cereal bars, or meal replacement bars
- water bottle
- USB flash drive
- personal alarm
posted by shaka, when the walls fell at 12:11 PM on October 21, 2008

definitely a nail/hangnail clipper
posted by quinoa at 12:16 PM on October 21, 2008

Potassium iodide, to protect your thyroid from radioactive fallout.
posted by nicwolff at 12:17 PM on October 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

A book.
posted by djgh at 12:49 PM on October 21, 2008

Other bags. Seriously. When you go shopping you'll have the reusable bags in your bag instead of needing to grab them from the car or use the paper/plastic bags from the store. Plus when people ask you what's in the bag, you can say, "Bags."
posted by chairface at 1:18 PM on October 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

A bungee chord. They really do come in handy and there are various widths - so it doesn't have to be bulky or heavy at all. Definitely - you need one of those.
posted by watercarrier at 1:46 PM on October 21, 2008

Nthing bags, which is also a good idea because some stores (at least in my area) will give you a small discount if you bring your own. Plus, it's greener than either type of bag.
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:41 PM on October 21, 2008

stamps
copies of a local map (walking, bus, tube) for the lost tourist
an opener of some kind
bandana or kerchief
posted by TomSophieIvy at 5:25 PM on October 21, 2008

A Sigg bottle.
posted by paisley henosis at 10:02 PM on October 21, 2008

Batteries. I usually get taunted for carrying batteries, usually, by the person who is desperately looking for batteries.
posted by citizngkar at 11:50 AM on October 22, 2008

Seems kind of simple:

If you typically drive places, what sort of just-in-case items (non auto related) are in your car console/glove compartment/trunk? Anti-bacterial wipes? Tissue? First aid kit? Extra pens/pad of paper? Think about the items you cart around and fill your bag with those.

If you don't carry around any such items, think about the times you thought "oh, I wish I had XYZ" (pen, post-its, tissue, lip balm, whatever) and then fill your bag with those items.

If you don't have just-in-case items in your car and you've never previously wished you had particular items on hand, then there really is no use hauling around junk you'll never use. That turns into a shoulder-achingly obvious sign that you don't need to fill the bag, you need a smaller bag. Or, like others have said, ration out the day's pills into an altoids tin and throw it in your pocket.
posted by necessitas at 6:56 PM on October 22, 2008

Apparently I'm a female bloke, because I usually only carry my wallet, keys, and phone too (though my USB drive is on my keyset).

Whenever I bring a bag (when I'm out for most of the day), aside from the situation-specific stuff, I also bring:
Meds (I take mine in the afternoon. I place them in a 7-day container. It's too long for my pockets but I don't need a rucksack)
A book to read when I'm bored
An umbrella
My charm bag

that's about it really.
posted by divabat at 6:17 AM on October 23, 2008