Since we have started commuting via walking we have become much more acutely aware of just how heavy our bag is. No longer being students, not much of the weight of the bag, if any, is caused by print books, so what is causing our bag to be so very heavy? Technology.
Granted, we are not exactly carrying a bag that is great for distributing weight, but we are surprised at what a difference removing a few pieces of tech makes on the weight of the bag. Taken separately none of the tech that we carry is very heavy, but together they are such a burden that we discontinued taking our Apple 15" MacBook Pro and Nikon D200 with us every day quite some time ago.
How much is too much? To prevent back problems it's recommended that your bag should not weigh more than 10% of your body weight. Our bag with the MacBook Pro and D200 was definitely over that limit and we are glad that we stopped carrying them every day. Of course with the new MacBook Air announced today we hope to add one to our arsenal as the travel/commute replacement for our MacBook Pro.
In case you were curious, this is the tech currently contained in our satchel:
- Apple iPhone 4
- Apple iPad 2
- Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable
- Apple In-Ear Headphones
- Panasonic DMC LX2 Camera
- Mimobot Blotz Flash Drive
- HP USB Flash Drive
- Duracell PPS2 Battery Charger
- Sound ID 510 Headset
If you are like us and cannot fathom going tech free for the sake of a lighter load, a good bag is must-have (we swear we are going to get one soon). For some bag shopping advice, a great place to look is in our archives which is where we culled these gems:
- Carry Your Tech In Style With A Backpack
- Travel Bag Basics: Features We Love for Tech
- The Best Bags For Your Photography Tech
What's in your bag and are you carrying too much tech?
(Images: Joelle Alcaidinho)
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
I've really trimmed down my bag and now use the nicely sleek
Baggallini Urban Backpack. It's a sling bag (available in a dozen colors!) that converts to wearing as a backpack and holds my iPad 2 with Smart Cover, iPhone, earbuds, charging cable and plug, microfiber cleaning cloth, stylus, slim wallet (the bag has loads of built-in slots and pockets), sunglasses, keys, foldable shopping bag, and other personal items. I no longer carry a separate camera as a matter of course, though there is certainly room for a small one with room to spare.
iPhone, MSi Netbook and, if I'm going on a long trip, my Nintendo DSi and my ipod and headphones. Oh, and my Morphie for my phone.
I am director of operations for a summer camp. I keep track of attendance, maintain our FileMaker database, design playbills, photograph students, videotape performances, edit the videos, and design the DVDs. This week I have the following items in an STM medium backpack:
• 2011 15" MacBook Pro Antiglare
• 2007 13" MacBook
• iPad 32GB WiFi (1st Gen)
• 320GB External HD (Time machine backup for 24" iMac)
• 2x 8GB iPod Nano touchscreen for instructors
• Sanyo VPC-FH1 1080p camcorder to record performances
• Samsung TL500 (EX1 overseas) 10MP Point & Shoot
• HTC Inspire 4G (office line)
• iPhone 4 (personal line)
• 85 Watt power adapter for laptops
• 8GB Flash Drive
• 3 or 4 30 pin to USB cables for iPods/iPhone
• Klipsch in-ear headphones
• 2 or 3 iPod headphones
• Clear 4G portable hotspot
I only carry the 15" MacBook Pro when I'm working on designing playbills, so about 1 week per month. Normally it stays at home - away from clumsy children.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work :)
I recently did away with my bag all together, and switched over to a ScottEVest. I love it, although some days I feel like I'm forgetting something by having empty hands.
I'm carrying way too much. If they ever do a 15" MBA I'll be the first in line.
Bag
Incase 15" Messenger Bag
Gear
• 15" MBP + Charger
• Magic Mouse
• Seagate External HDD
• Sony TG1 HD videocamera + 2 batteries
• Eyeglass case w/ 3 pens & 2 pencils
• Mini-USB, iPhone, mDisplayPort cables
• iPad Deuce
• Work Folder
• Textbook
• Squared mini notebook
• Sony MDR-D66 headphones
iPhone 4
Apple head phones
Kindle
Flash drive
Barely anything at the moment but that is just to go to and from work.