What’s in my bag (2018)

Don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of modern day gadgets.

They can make us more productive, make our everyday lives a little bit more convenient and help us feel more comfortable while travelling away from home.

(And some of them are simply cool to have, even if you don’t use them very often.)

So I decided to steal the idea from Matt Mullenweg and start a yearly tradition of taking inventory of the stuff that I carry with me in my backpack.

I’m very happy with most of these things, but some of them could be upgraded to something better. So please feel free to leave a comment and suggest a replacement.

What’s in my bag (2018)

1. Repel Windproof Travel Umbrella – One of the first things you learn after moving to Singapore is to have an umbrella with you at all times. Which means it has to be portable and lightweight. I tried a few cheap options from local stores, but they were no good. So when browsing Amazon I saw that this umbrella had “Amazon’s Choice” tag on it. I ordered two of them and I don’t regret it.

2. Kindle Voyage – I was resisting digital book readers for quite a long time. Somehow having a bookshelf with dozens of books you’ve read and dozens you’re about to read felt very satisfying. But I couldn’t take all my books with me to Singapore, so I purchased Kindle Voyage. I think my reading pace improved quite a bit thanks to Kindle (I’ve read 20+ books in 2017).

3. USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter – …because you can’t plug anything but USB-C into the latest Apple Macbook.

4. Samsonite “Torus” Backpack – I must say it’s a pretty cool “everyday” bag, but it’s rather small for a travel bag (and not very “packing-friendly” to be honest). So I’m thinking to buy myself this guy to travel with it.

5. iPhone 7 Plus – yeah, I didn’t upgrade to “X”. Let’s see what they release next.

6. Secrid Slim Wallet – without a doubt, this is the best wallet I ever had! I always hated bulky wallets and this one is super small, while fitting up to 10 cards and some paper cash.

7. EarPods (3.5mm plug) – I use them for Skype calls only (somehow they feel safer than AirPods, that may suddenly go out of charge).

8. AirPods – they’re amazing! You should seriously get them if you don’t have them already.

9. REMAX Proda PowerBank (10000mAH) – it’s a bit oldish and the capacity is not too big. So I am now deciding between this and this. Thoughts?

10. Jabra Sport Earbuds – AirPods are awesome, but not for running or workouts. And these Jabra earbuds hold onto your ear very firmly. I use them along with Seconds app, where I setup my training intervals and then just follow the instructions without making a single mental effort to decide what I should do next.

11. Transcend StoreJet 1TB – I try to do a backup of all my files once in 4-6 months and what I like the most about this hard drive is that it’s almost indestructible.

12. MacBook Pro 15″ 2017 – this piece of technology is almost a part of my own body. As of today, there’s nothing I would replace it with.

13. Cords – I’m a big fan of Apple products, but I hate their cords. So I got myself this and this and they feel MUCH better than default ones.

14. Sennheiser HD1 On-Ear Wireless Headphones – Singapore is quite a noisy city, so when I want to listen to some educational stuff on the go I use these noise-cancelling headphones. But when I’m at the office, I use the classic model that I purchased more than 10 years ago while being a DJ – Sennheiser HD 25 – they’re super lightweight, they’re almost indestructible (I used them almost daily for over 10 years!!!) and they give you very “honest” sound.
(Tell you a secret, I wish I would just lose them somewhere, so that I could buy myself a brand new pair, without dents and scratches.)

15. Lightning to 3.5mm adapter – don’t know why I’m still carrying it to be honest. I can’t even remember the last time I used it.

16. LAMY Pico Ballpoint Pen – ooh, this pen is crazy awesome! On the official website they say it won 3 design awards of some kind. I don’t use it as my daily pen, but it’s always in my backpack. So I never have these “where do I get a pen on a plane” situations (if you know what I mean).

17. Transcend Flash Drive (32GB) – this is yet another item that I’m not sure I will ever need again in future. Do you guys use flash drives to this day?

18. 3 in 1 Memory Card Reader – this is for when I need to copy some footage from my GoPro or Mavic.

19. Tweezerman Fingernail Clipper – actually I use this thing for clipping nails when I’m at home, but it doesn’t pass the security check in the airport. So I have Tweezerman nail clipper in my backpack at all times, just so I won’t forget to put it while packing for a trip.
(And I’m secretly dreaming to replace it with this clearly overpriced one)

And, finally, there’s one cool item that I don’t carry in my backpack every day.

But it has to be in this list, because it’s super useful.

20. Leatherman Wave Multitool – This little thing is very well built and it helps me solve countless small problems around the house. Highly recommend you to get one! Actually, it was my wife who found it on Giftpundits.com

And that’s pretty much it.

What do you think about these items I carry with me?

What else do you think should be included in this list?

I would love to get some comments from you!

Disclosure: some of these links are affiliate, which means I’ll get a small commission if you buy it (while it won’t cost you any extra). But all my recommendations are 100% sincere! As you can see from the picture, I do actually own all these items.