What's in my bag? (And wait, what is my bag?)

2026-04-05T15:38:00Z

I've settled on a bit of a peculiar everyday setup, driven by my choice of devices and some of my particular needs. At the encouragement of some internet friends, I figured I'd write something up to go through what I use, in case others find it interesting or useful.

As a note, this genre of posts on the web can at times encourage consumerism, and I'd like to be mindful of that. So right up front, I'd like to say: I'm not recommending that you go out and buy any of these things! As I say, this setup is pretty specific to my own needs. While I hope this gives someone some inspiration, consider your actual needs before opening up your wallet.

Similarly, while I'll include links to the various components so the specs are easy to find, none of them are affiliate links. I'm not selling anything here.

So, here it is:

The main device I keep with me, and what I needed to make sure to accommodate, is the MNT Pocket Reform. I've used several tiny computers over the years and have always been fond of them. One of the first laptops I ever used was my dad's Toshiba Libretto 70ct back in the day, which I later got as a hand-me-down once it had gotten pretty outdated. Later, in high school and early in college, I would use an Eee PC 1000.

The netbook trend died for a number of reasons, but I always missed them - so when I heard that MNT was making what was effectively a modern open hardware netbook, I just had to give it a try. And, well, I've been using it as basically my main non-work machine out of the house since I got it.

It has its flaws (I should really do a long-term review soon), but it's close enough form-factor-wise to my ideal computer that I hope I'll be able to continue using, maintaining, and upgrading it in the long run.

Now, the Pocket Reform is tiny enough to fit in nearly any bag, so why do I have this weird-looking pouch system? Well...

I've had chronic back pain for well over a decade now, and it's exacerbated by (unfortunately) nearly any backpack, including small sling bags. Despite my best efforts, I've never been able to do much to eliminate it. I've discovered that backpacks with a hip belt and sternum strap can be less of a problem, because they shift more of the weight to my hips, but you need a pretty big backpack to make that practical and it becomes more cumbersome to put on and take off. I do now use one of these when I head into the office, because my company-issued laptop is not as small as the Pocket Reform. But outside work, I have more options. :)

Besides bags with hip belts, I've also found that lightweight enough shoulder bags that put the weight more to the side and in front give me fewer problems. For a while, I was using a Tom Bihn cafe bag. This worked pretty well, but had two problems:

It only had one large compartment, which meant I also tended to keep the Pocket Reform in its sleeve to keep it from getting scratched by other things in the bag. That took up a lot of internal space.
It didn't have enough room for both the Pocket Reform and a water bottle, and I also get dehydrated very easily so I wanted to have an easy way to keep a water bottle with me.

So when I stumbled upon this modular pouch sling from DSPTCH, the gears in my head started turning.

It's basically a shoulder sling with a strip of MOLLE webbing on it. The same company also sells a bunch of things that can attach to MOLLE webbing, including a water bottle holder - which has turned out to be very nice, because it keeps my water bottle in reach all the time when I'm out walking.

Aside from the water bottle holder, I have three pouches on this thing. The smallest two, also from DSPTCH, are where I keep various odds and ends. One of them is the unit zipper pouch, which is stackable as it has webbing on both sides. So I have a second pouch attached to the front of that one, which is an older model they no longer sell that I got on clearance. The zipper pouch holds some cheap (but quite good!) Koss headphones and a screwdriver; the pouch in front holds a small USB-C power brick and some cables.

Then there's the larger pouch - that's where I keep the Pocket Reform. That one's this utility pouch from Condor. This is also where I keep a long (10-ft) USB-C cable and a small bag with some adapters that are useful for the Pocket Reform. It's a bit snug, but it all fits.

And a cassette tape patch on the front to add a little bit of personality, and in a (perhaps futile) attempt to make it all look just a little bit less tacticool.

Probably the thing I'm least happy about with this setup is the larger pouch, because it has velcro holding it shut. That makes it obnoxiously loud to open in a quiet room, which isn't often an issue for me day to day, but it's something I occasionally need to consider. (The Pocket Reform's keyboard is also pretty loud in those situations though thanks to its clicky mechanical switches. MNT's working on a newer revision of the Pocket keyboard, and I'll probably get the DIY kit and install quieter switches once that's out.)

This has worked well enough for me that I think I'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. It doesn't put much extra strain on my back, and it puts everything I need within reach. And I have come to appreciate how much customization potential there is when things are modular. I like that in my hardware, and it's kinda nice to have in my, ah, soft wear too.

As always, my inbox is open. Do you have a similar setup? Do you have suggestions for how I could improve this? I'd love to hear about them!

Terracrypt

What's in my bag? (And wait, what *is* my bag?)

What's in my bag? (And wait, what is my bag?)