Or the backpack equivalent.
Welcome to the next installment of what's becoming an accidental series as I build my business. The transition from internal staff member who blends their time between office and work from home to full time consultant has required a few subtle changes and a few not so subtle changes:
- Buying new shirts and a jacket - check
- Getting into the habit of sharing business cards - check
- Becoming more active and less of a ghost on LinkedIn - begrudging check
- Ensuring my backpack looks the part - that's the whole topic of this blog post
Everyday backpack up till recently
We start with my most recent everyday backpack the 5.11 Covrt18.
Don't let the name fool you, in 5.11 language the "18" means 18 hours - this is a generous 32L backpack, with a very comfortable back plate, designed to look like an ordinary hiking backpack. To this day it's the single most comfortable laptop backpack I've ever owned. in keeping with 5.11's tactical heritage, if it apocalypse started today and my only chance of getting home was to hike from the city while still carrying my backpack with me, the Covrt18 is the backpack I'd want to be carrying. Unfortunately the "hiking day bag" aesthetic doesn't align well with my desire to find a more professional backpack and "look the part". Neither do the newer Covrt18 2.0 or Covrt24 backpacks, so unfortunately this time I'm giving 5.11 (possibly my favorite backpack brand) a miss this time.
Suit and tie
Of course the next obvious answer if we're trying to look professional is why not a traditional business backpack, like a Samsonite or similar? They're typically decent value, well reviewed and wouldn't be out of place in any professional setting. This is where my "chameleon" objective comes in to play. I'm not just looking for a professional backpack, I'm looking for a bag that isn't out of place if my client is a suit and tie bank - yes, but I'm also looking for a backpack that would be perfectly at home if my client the next day is a t-shirt and jeans startup. Backpacks like the offerings from Samsonite are unfortunately a little too suit and tie.
Time travel
The next bag is a decade old but it looks BRAND NEW. Not because I haven't used it, rather it represents everything I fucking love about Crumpler. It's the Dry Red No. 5.
So how does it look brand new? About 12 months back I threw it in the washing machine #crumplerthings. As much as 5.11 backpacks give every impression of being durable and overbuilt (tacti-cool to some), no one does understated durability like Crumpler. To put it in perspective, this was my everyday work bag pre-WFH for almost 7 years. Now in fairness, I tend to take care of my bags (I detail my OCD here) hence it's looking quite good. The real question is why did I stop using it?
Unfortunately the reason I stopped using it back then is the reason I'm not planning to start using it as an every day bag now. It lacks structure - both in the sense of rigidity and in the sense of organisation. The Dry Red lacks adequate (for my needs) pockets and organisation, instead choosing to offer a massive central compartment, it also doesn't have a backplate to provide structure, instead choosing to let your laptop act as a backplate. The result is a backpack that is excellent if you're carrying a laptop and a few odds and ends only, but quickly becomes uncomfortable the moment you need to load it up a bit more.
As a side note, this very same design choice that means it doesn't meet my needs as an every day work backpack makes it perfect as my gear bag for LANs, which is what this bag does as its primary purpose.
The Myth, the Bag, the Legend
Our next stop is STM and the Myth 18L.
Frankly I thought this was it, my chameleon. I received the Myth 18L as a gift. It was part of the "welcome pack" to the second last place I worked. I never used it that much, other than for simpler day trips where I only needed one laptop and not much else. At 18L I often found it cramped, but as my needs where to find a backpack that was both casual and professional I felt its style ticked all the right boxes. I even started using it as my daily backpack for meetings with prospective clients, hence if even featured in this post.
So what went wrong? It failed the wife test. She took one look at it and said "nope, don't like it". Who am I to argue with that logic? I was finding it a challenge to adequately fit everything, so back to the drawing board.
Work Smarter not Harder
I keep teasing the journey.
We're almost there I swear.
Did you know that STM stands for "Smarter Than Most"? - Yeah, I don't like it either.
We need to briefly talk about a backpack that wasn't a candidate at all. It's the STM DUX 30L. This bag wasn't a candidate because it's the only backpack that fits my Framework 16 and that computer isn't being used in my business. It's the bag that's so impressive that I dedicated a whole blog post to it previously. What blows my mind about the DUX 30L is the way it uses its space. In that previous post I was talking about the fact I can fit everything I could ever need (and some things I don't need) to attend a LAN -if I was using my laptop only- in a single backpack. It's a neat party trick. What's neater is if you compare it to my 5.11 Covrt18 at 32L, the 5.11's extra 2L are meaningless. I would never imagine trying to fit in the Covrt18 what I can fit in the DUX 30L. The DUX's approach of constructing the backpack as a semi-rigid shell makes it space-efficient in a way that puts other backpacks to shame. Where it is very different to all my other backpacks, is that it doesn't punish you if you try to make the most of its capacity.
karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon
With the DUX 30L as inspiration my quest took me to its baby brother - the DUX 16L. Yes, that's right 16L - this is the smallest backpack I own, but like it's larger 30L sibling is so intelligent with its use of space it's just not in the same class.
I opted for blue over black, even though it's a bold colour compared to every other backpack I own, I felt the clean aesthetic would make it work in a corporate setting as required. The blue helps it avoid the somewhat "tactical" look of my black DUX 30L.
So how does it work in various settings?
Chilling out between meetings in a city park? - Check.
Visiting a client at their corporate office? - Check.
Caffeinating, working nomad style? - Check.
It's clean and professional enough that it works as a pop of personality if paired with a suit and tie, but it's interesting enough with its bold blue and "puffer jacket" look that it would be at home under the bike rack in the front foyer of a start-up.
So what about the practicality of this 16L backpack? It doesn't have the same shelf system as the DUX 30Lm but the DUX16L still punches WAY above its weight.
A top compartment allows smaller items to be isolated for easy access.
Side access pockets (on both sides) allow me to quickly grab items from the main compartment without opening the whole backpack.
The combination of a tiered internal storage layout, the rigid bag structure and an included cable / accessory bag allow the DUX 16L to comfortably carry things my larger backpacks could carry - but without the comfort.
I just have to stress this because it still boggles my mind. Enough so I'm marking up this photo...
In the main compartment, RIGHT NOW I have:
- Framework 13 (have just taken out to type this post)
- iPad Pro 13
- Steam Deck
- Logitech Mouse
- Headphones
- Laptop Charger
- Battery bank - and not a little one, it's a massive 27,600mAh battery bank.
So I've found my chameleon, it's shockingly comfortable. Frankly I'm grateful my wife vetoed the first back I settled on.
Chameleon image sourced from Wikimedia (original here) under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.