The Laptop ‘Go’ Bag

The idea behind any kind of ‘Go’ bag is that it’s something that you can just grab on your way out the door and it has everything you need. Whether it’s a carryall for weekend traveling, a tote for beach day fun, or a duffel for Armageddon, you know your bag has been prepare for whatever your needs may be.

In this post I’ll be discussing things I have in my laptop ‘Go’ bag and why.

Now I’m not going to go deep into everything that I bring up, but I do have to talk a bit about the bag. Obviously it’s all personal preference. I’m a backpack fan myself. I’ve been using a North Face Surge pack for a number of years now and love it. It has plenty of room for all my things and then some for whatever books\magazines I’m currently reading, my lunch, and a spare set of shoes in case I need to swap out my sandals due to a change of weather. When packed I can still fit it under the seat in front of me during flights and gain access to most of it’s pouches while stoled. But, pick a bag that works best for you and your needs. Just keep in mind all things you’ll want to carry in it, the places you’ll take it, and how comfortable it’ll be during travel.

Ok, let's get started listing out things to place in the bag!

Legal pad of paper – I’m a jotter. I’m always scribbling down notes and having a legal pad handy is a must! The Ampad Evidence Dual Pad is nice since it has a think backing making it pretty stiff and easy to use anywhere.

Patch cable – Although it’s a wireless world, sometimes it’s just easier and quicker to just patch in.

Power adapter – If you’re on the go, you’ll need a to be able to charge your laptop. Buying a spare power adapter can be expensive, but you’ll never regret doing it.

Spare thumb drive – Make sure it’s big enough to transfer a gigabyte or so, but cheap enough that it won’t bother you if you lose it or gave it away.

Travel USB hub – You can usually find a compact, unpowered one for pretty cheap.  I carry this Belkin hub that was in a discount bin at Fry’s. Great to have if you only have a couple USB ports on your computer.

Travel sized extension cord – You never know if you’re out at a coffee shop and the person next to you grabbed the only open socket. If you can split it with them then they won’t mind a bit. And many now have USB ports in them that can be handy for other electronics. I carry a Philips SPP2110.

Blank CDs\DVDs – Handy for buring music CDs for the car ride or just a way to hand off some data to someone.

Bootable CDs\DVDs – I tend to be the guy that gets a lot of calls from family and friends to look at their computer issues. Having a Ubuntu, Clonezilla, GParted, and Duke’s Boot’n Nuke bootable discs handy has been a life saver on many occasions.

Head phones – The majority of people like listening to their music, so having a nice pair of headphone handy is always a plus. I recently received a pair of the Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones MDR-NC33 and can’t imagine flying without them now.

Various USB cords – Sadly all my USB devices don’t have the same connection.  Make sure you carry the different types for what you need.

Umbrella – I live in Seattle. Do I have to explain this one? J

Bluetooth mouse – I use a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. Sometimes using a mouse is easier than using the track pad. And since I have a Mac, I prefer having the 2 mouse buttons which the track pad lacks.

Pens\Pencils – Always useful to keep some on hand.

Small pad of paper – Another thing useful for quick notes without having to deal with a full size legal pad.

Video adapters – I usually keep a VGA, a DVI, and an S-video adapter on me. Those cover the majority of the bases.

Aspirin\Floss\eye drops\chap stick – Random medical items that may come in handy. Your wetware needs attention occasionally too.

Car cigarette lighter to USB adapter – This can be handy for charging your USB devices on the go. You can find them for pretty cheap as well.

Business\calling cards – Quick way to pass on your information for future contact.

Audio Y adapter – A way to share the audio of your laptop\MP3 player with someone else. Can be handy when on long flights and sharing the movie on your laptop with your neighbor.

Leatherman – I actually had Leather Squirt in my pack… and then I was stopped by airport security. They were cool about it and let me send it home, but I figured it would be best to leave this out in case I don’t have such nice security people next time.

Nail clippers – This may also be a problem with airport security, but I’d probably just throw it out if questioned about it since they’re so cheap. Hang nails just irritate the heck out of me and would be worth throwing into the bag.

Battery charger – Things like you’re wireless mouse and noise cancelling headphone probably take batteries. It’s probably ideal to have someway to charge them again.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas as to what to place in your ‘go’ bag. Everyone has their own ideas, but it’s best to check out what others have done and why so you can learn from their mistakes and avoid expensive trips to RadioShack while on vacation. Lifehacker also has a great post on this you should check out.

Did I miss anything? What do you have in your laptop go bag?