Your Every-Day Carry

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

condoms, whiskey, cash

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I ride my bike every day to campus, and I have had good luck with my Chrome messenger bag, which has a below-the-armpit clip to keep it from swinging/siding while riding. They're expensive, but also waterproof, sturdy, and cheaper than a car parking permit. It's worth it to also buy the little cell-phone-holder case add-on; it serves as a mini wallet for days on campus.

[CageFree]

I have a Dakine backpack... it's water resistant, has a cooler insulator pocket for lunch, a padded area for my electronics, and it's not too bulky. 

 

I bought a 11.6 in. laptop (it's not a netbook... it's an actual laptop but it's netbook sized)... it's not super powerful but that's actually a good thing, I can't do much more than use the internet and write. My husband got me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and now I don't even take the laptop with me everyday... I just take the kindle unless I plan to write on campus.

[Miro]

my Targus book bag contains:

lenovo laptop,lunch, gym clothes, wallet, iphone, keys ring, pen/pencil case, wtater bottle, small make up bag, and faminine products.

[antecedent]

I thought I'd update with what I ended up using for my Masters:

 

- Dakine 30L backpack waterproofed with Kiwi camping waterproof silicone spray

- HP folio 13 laptop with neoprene case

- Paper notebooks for in-class or reading notes

- Lunch

- Pens (Zebra z-grip or pentel RSVP), pencils, etc,

- Water bottle (currently a disposable plastic one) and plastic travel cup (from my uni)

- Smartphone

 

I need a whole other tote bag for my gym clothes and shower things, but I just bring them to school and leave them in a locker in my building and then swap my backpack for my tote to go to the gym. 

[runaway]

This is a fun thread!

I generally carry a purse and then throw whatever I need for that day into one of my many many tote bags. It ends up looking something like this:

 

Purse:

- wallet

- reusable grocery bag in case I run an errand on my way home

- lip gloss, lotion, etc

- sunglasses (I wear them even in London...which will forever mark me as an American)

- mini Moleskine for artist talks and lecture notes

- Pencil case 

- iphone

 

Tote:

- Atoma notebook (I'll need to figure out where to get them back in the states... they're my go-to notetaking system now)

- kindle

- thermos of coffee

- Usually my MacBook... but I just got a new MacBook Air! I second everyone's recommendations. The student discount made it fairly affordable. I've noticed my MacBook has started to go on the decline (mostly because I carry it EVERYWHERE) so I'm hoping a $900 investment now will save me from spending another $2500 for a couple more years.

 

I'm mostly paperless, but I still take my class notes by hand.

[SumEsseFuiFuturus]

I got a Fossil messenger bag at the start of graduate school, because I thought it looked a little more grown-up than a backpack.

 

Usually, I have:

• My Samsung Chronos Laptop (Like this one but a few months older than touch screen and Windows 8 fanciness). It's not like I'm an engineering student and need to do autocad or have an opportunity to game during the day, but it's nice to be able to have a slim, incredibly fast computer for my daily word processing and internet needs. The university's computers are not known for their... non-obsolescence, so I take it with me everywhere.
• My iPhone 4S, mostly for email purposes. It's always nice to surprise professors by responding within minutes, or sometimes seconds to queries.
• Books for the day
• Dozens of pens
• A legal tablet
• And, for some reason, a check book.

 

I've really found, though, that in graduate school, I don't take notes, except very rarely. All of my grades are based on written assignments that take weeks to do, and are done out of class. I've not found anything I've scribbled down, except marginalia, to be very useful, so I don't take much more than a single legal pad with me at any one time, to occasionally jot something down.

[misskira]

Ohhh, I looked up the atoma notebooks. So cool!

[Dal PhDer]

I feel like I carry everything I own everyday...

 

Bag 1: Normally my old MEC backpack

-Wallet

-Cell

-Laptop (cord and mouse)

-Headphones

-5lbs of keys

-Lip gloss

-Textbooks (1-2)

-Notebooks (1-2)

-Note cards

-Agenda

-Pens/highlighters

-Lunch & afternoon snack & a snack for emergencie

-Coffee mug

-Water bottle

-Costco sized bottle of Advil (not joking...it goes everywhere with me!)

 

Bag 2: Tote

-Sneaks

-Gym clothes

-Makeup / deodorant

-Hat for post-gym hair

-Towel

-Yoga Mat (occasionally)

[wildviolet]

-Costco sized bottle of Advil (not joking...it goes everywhere with me!)

 

OMG, me, too!!! I keep the Costco-sized bottle in my desk drawer, and I carry a travel-sized bottle with me.

[BrookeSnow]

For those who use Vera Bradley bags. Are you using the tote or the weekender? I really like the look of the tote but I think I need the strap. What are you opinions on the bags? 

[GreenePony]

Now I actually have an EDC with grad school- with a small Ellington Lucia satchel

• Kindle Fire
• Earbuds
• Chapstick
• Wallet/Checkbook
• SmartTrip Card/SI ID (I know door access cards eat smarttrip cards but it's so convenient)
• Keys
• 1000ml waterbottle (I empty it in one class)
• Pens and pencils
• Business cards
• Cell phone
• Notebook

[TeaGirl]

What I actually took with me during my Masters:

pen, notebook, keys, phone, sunglasses, wallet, and a reusable shopping bag. Occasionally, I also brought a book to read on the bus.

I rarely got my laptop and just used the computer in our lab.

 

I've got a 10 year old Eastpak that I use for everything, and on days when I'd have a heavy carry (laptop) I'd use it. Otherwise I have a messenger bag and a shoulder bag that do the job well enough. I'm thinking of getting a nice quality leather messenger/cross-body bag but I'm waiting till I start and see what I actually need.

[TheFez]

Seriously, I think these Moleskine pocket notebooks are the greatest.

 

I love my Timbuk2 messenger bag, and I should buy stock in Highlighter. 

 

I can't even read a newspaper without highlighting it anymore.

[gellert]

I have a Cambridge Satchel Company "batchel" that looks good as new after one year of daily use.

 

I usually carry 1-2 moleskines, a book (to read), pen, keys, sunglasses, my iPad, phone with earbuds, hand lotion (dry hands = curse of my field), wallet, lipstick in 6-7 colors (what can I say?), emergency heart medicine and emergency nausea medicine (for med problems), checkbook.  Occasionally I will put my 13" macbook pro in there as well, though I'm thinking of switching to a macbook air just to make it lighter to carry.  Sometimes I also bring a water bottle, thermos, or baggies of tea and/or snacks.

 

Am considering buying a Saddleback Leather bag.  Those are really expensive, but the quality is allegedly incomparable.  Maybe that's something to buy as a self-gift if I get a post-doc or assistant professorship in the far future, though.  Right now, my satchel is still working great for me.

Edited May 14, 2013 by gellert

[Neuro_Dave]

I havent started yet...coming up in the fall.  But I tend to be a "carry all you could possibly need" kind of guy. I plan to ride a bike to school every day, so I also wanted to consider being comfortable during a 10-15 minute bike ride through Atlanta.  With that in mind I will probably look into getting a Lowepro Fastpack 350.  It's primarily a heavy duty backpack for high end DSLR body's and accessories (of which I have a ton).  But it also comes equipped with a 17" laptop sleeve, room for books, papers, waterbottle, phone/Ipod on the shoulder strap, various smaller pockets for anything you could potentially think of.  It's waterproof, high quality with padding and sweat absorbent material with a comfort strap and everything you could really need. 

 

Granted I will rarely need to take my camera(s) with me to grad school, it would be very nice to have this as a day to day bag for laptop/Kindle/books/food etc, while also having it as an option as a carry on for air travel.  I always bring my laptop and camera equipment with me to research conferences, home visits, vacations, etc, and it is an incredible hassel to try and fit camera equipment into a carryon bag with your clothes, and personal hygiene supplies.  It would be so much easier to just have a backpack that can literally do-it-all. 

[Denisse]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a one-stop shop for school supplies, etc. that isn't expensive. I've been out of school for 3 years now, so I literally have to restock everything (pens, highlighters, labels, notepads, binders, notebooks, folders, etc.). Whenever I needed anything now, I would just run to CVS but that seems excessive.

[mpheels]

I used to use Staples and Office Depot for school supplies, but I'm going car free and won't have access to either one without using a ZipCar. I'm planning to order the basics on Amazon.

[fullofpink]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a one-stop shop for school supplies, etc. that isn't expensive. I've been out of school for 3 years now, so I literally have to restock everything (pens, highlighters, labels, notepads, binders, notebooks, folders, etc.). Whenever I needed anything now, I would just run to CVS but that seems excessive.

 

I love Target! 

[Gauche]

Does anyone know of any good rolling crates (something like what Staples and Office Depot have but maybe fancier) or perhaps bags that are fairly durable and lightweight (when they're empty)?

 

I'm going to be teaching two classes next year, and I'd like to have something to carry my students' papers and perhaps some books for my research, so anything waterproof would be preferable. I've been using a messenger bag for the last four years, and I noticed it took a toll on my back since I like to carry all of my supplies and books and articles for my research.

[Neuro_Dave]

Amazon.  They will likely ship all together as well.  If you're a Prime member (students can be for free the first year), you get free 2 day shipping as well.  Which has often translated into 1 day shipping for me. 

 

Nothing better imo.  But Staples, or Walmart, or Target are fine if you need something right away. Decent prices and competitive selection.

[Sigaba]

I am bumping this thread because of some of the comments and concerns in that thread.

#HTH

[kpietromica]

On 1/22/2013 at 7:58 AM, runaway said:

- Atoma notebook (I'll need to figure out where to get them back in the states... they're my go-to notetaking system now)

 

So I know this is years old, but I used Atoma notebooks in high school in the late 1990s and LOVED them! It took me until 2011ish to find ARC by Staples and then Levenger Circa and now Happy Planner. Discbound is my favorite!