Lighten up that gear bag

I have always prided myself on having the lightest gear bag possible when I was working all over town and living out of my car.  I still have my Booq bag and I always felt that I had the lightest load possible given the small mobile computers I have been using for years.  Recently I have been experimenting with the mobile work kit I carry with me when I head out to work in the streets.  I’ve made numerous jaunts to various coffee houses and other venues where I could work for extended periods and have been carrying different tech loads with me to see what would work well.

I detailed this in an earlier article and I realized while performing this experiment that my "lightest load possible" I have used for years is not necessarily so.  One of the first things I buy when I get a new mobile computer is a Waterfield Designs SleeveCase for the gadget.  These cases are custom designed to fit the device in question and are as light as possible so as to not add unneeded weight.  The single pocket allows me to only carry a very small kit like the EVDO modem in case it’s needed.  I have four of these sleeves to fit each of my computers, including the giant MacBook Pro 17".  Recently I have tried carrying the MacBook Pro with me to work in coffee shops and noticed something interesting.  When I put the MBP in the sleeve and throw in the wireless mouse and EVDO modem the loaded case is lighter than my old Booq bag kit!  At first I didn’t believe that but when I tested the heft I found that indeed the heavy MBP in the light case is lighter than a much smaller notebook in the Booq bag filled with my normal loadout.

This got me to thinking and analyzing what I have been carrying around in the gear bag and I realize that I have been carrying far too much gear "just in case I need it".  Cables, pens, flash drives (many), laser pointers, etc. etc.  I figure the gear bag loaded with my lightest mobile PC, the Fujitsu P1620, probably weighs about 10 lbs.  The MacBook Pro load as I’ve outlined it above on the other hand is only about 8 or 9 lbs. max.  So all this time I thought I was as light as possible and that was just not so.  Sure should something crop up where I needed something unusual in my bag it was likely there but at a high cost of weight I had to bear every single time I picked up the bag and hoisted it over my shoulder.  Ouch.  I strongly recommend you go through your gear bag right now and get rid of everything you don’t use absolutely every day.  Your back will thank me.