Hey what's goin on you guys?
So it has been about two years since I did a
What's In My Backpack video and things have changed.
Some of you guys have been asking for updates
so let's just get in to it.
So let's start right off with the backpack.
As you can see this is a different backpack
than what I was using a few years ago.
This is the Ebags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack.
It is my absolute favorite bag for work purposes
that I have ever used.
I do have some other bags for like hiking and for traveling
but this thing is amazing.
And it's actually a Colorado company which is pretty cool.
Didn't know that when I bought it.
But this thing I think it's about like 80 bucks right now,
so it's definitely not at that higher price range
that my other bags are at.
It's also not a 20 dollar backpack
but for my purposes it is awesome
and the price was pretty good.
So the main thing I love about this backpack
number one it can stand up on its own.
I've never had a backpack that really like stands up
and doesn't flop over.
But the big thing I love here is it's got this bottom
compartment here that is just like perfectly made
for my MacBook charge cord.
And every other backpack I've ever used
I've had to have some sort of like weird thing I've
gotta dig into or some extra case to keep the cord
nice and organized.
This thing has a little compartment built right in for it
and the nice thing is if you don't want to use this
as a cord space you can actually come in here
to the top of the bag and remove this little hard insert.
So you can create more space in this
main storage compartment if you want to.
But for me, this is awesome.
So the one caveat I will say about this particular
bag is it is a work bag first in my mind.
It doesn't have like a ton more storage than
what you'd see in like a messenger bag.
Maybe a little bit more.
But when it comes to things like stuffing a hoodie in here,
or stuffing a jacket in here that's where you start
to push the limits.
And I found that I can get a hoodie in there
but I don't think I'd be able to get a jacket.
Alright, that caveat aside let's talk about some
of the pockets here.
So the top you've got your standard laptop compartment.
I've got my laptop in here and we'll go over
what's in the bag in just a second.
And then there's a little divider where I like
to keep notebooks and a couple of other things in there.
Pretty simple and straight forward.
At the top of the bag you also
have a smaller iPad compartment.
And it's actually padded with like a fabric material
that's very soft.
So if you didn't have a case on your iPad this
would actually protect the screen pretty well still.
But where it gets really nice for organizational purposes
is this front compartment.
I really love this thing because it zips on three sides.
Instead of digging in and having to organize my things
from the top and find things, I can just open this
flap all the way.
And as you can see there are tons of zippers, there's mesh,
there's all sorts of compartments in here.
So everything is able to be kept very organized
and for me at least I really, really love that.
The one last thing I will mention is it has a
hideable water bottle holder, which is pretty sweet.
On some other bags you've got the water bottle holder's
like always just sticking out and getting in the way
if you don't have a bottle
but on some other bags you just never have one at all.
So this is a nice little compromise.
It doesn't have two so I can't carry like a ton
of stuff with me in terms of drinks
but it at least has this one.
(upbeat music)
Alright so enough about the bag itself let's get into
what I'm carrying in this thing on a daily basis.
Now keep in mind that I haven't been a student for
a few years so this is very tailored to the specific
work that I do and I'm carrying maybe far fewer papers
than you'd carry as a student,
but I still think there are going to be some things in
here that you might find useful regardless of where
you are as a student or as a professional.
First thing's first I'm rockin a 2015 MacBook Pro.
This thing is pretty spec'd out because I wanted to
have something where I could edit video on the go.
I've also got some paper stuff so I've got a very
simple sketch book I think this is just from Michael's
and I use this to make sketches for videos occasionally.
Or to do like maps of things that I'm planning out
for future videos.
And in addition to the sketch book we have got a regular
Mead Five Star notebook.
Nothing really fancy here.
Nothing fancy about the pen I have in here.
It's all from Wal-Mart or Target.
But I do like having a paper notebook
because sometimes being able to just write things down
while taking notes on an online course I'm taking
or planning out a videos B roll
I just like being able to do it on paper.
Finally I do have one single, very torn up and battered
purple folder.
So occasionally I will get receipts I need to keep
or handouts or just random papers.
There's like a contract I need to sign in here.
Now if you're a student and you have multiple classes
one folder is not gonna cut it.
And I've never been a fan of keeping multiple folders
in your backpack
rather I really like those accordion binder things.
Because they give you multiple different pockets
where you can keep every classes assignments and
handouts nicely organized and separated but it is
one unit it's not a jumble of folders.
The last thing I have in this main compartment is
one of these Apple Bluetooth keyboards.
I don't use this with my laptop but sometimes I like
to be able to write with my iPad because it creates a
much more distraction free writing experience.
And when I'm flying on a plane somewhere
using this in tandem with the iPad Mini works so much
better than using a laptop in those tiny little coach seats.
Speaking of the iPad I have the iPad Mini four
and this is using a very cheap but very high quality
case from Amazon that I'll link to in the description below.
It's got that magnetic front so you get that same like
smart cover on off thing.
And it can fold into multiple different configurations
for typing or watching movies.
So I really like this thing and I've come to use this
iPad more than I thought I would.
I use it for reading I use it for writing and also
basically every video I film I have this up next to me
somewhere kind of by the camera to bring up the script
outline for reference.
In the main storage compartment we have first and foremost
the Bose QC35 noise canceling headphones.
And I gotta be honest I was a little skeptical about
noise canceling headphones at first,
especially given the price at the time when I bought.
But my friend Martin got a free pair of
I think they were the Beats ones right?
- [Martin] Yup.
- Yeah you got the Beats ones.
And he let me try them out and I was like
these are a game changer.
So I went out, I tried the Beats ones, I didn't find
them comfortable because I've got kind of a big head
so I just went all the way up and I got the Bose ones.
And these things are great.
They don't sound better than a lot of the other non noise
canceling headphones out there.
But what they do at least for me is they open up a whole
plethora of other study spots that I wouldn't have
considered in the past.
Because now noise is almost like a non issue.
I can go study in very noisy coffee shop.
I can go study in somewhere where they're blasting music
and these things basically just drown out the world
allow me to play my study playlist or Brain.fm
or whatever I want to listen to.
It's just awesome.
It means I can wake up I can bike to pretty much
wherever I want to work and know I can focus there.
Now the one thing about the Bose QC35 in particular
is that they are expensive.
I think I paid about 350 dollars for these.
But like I said earlier that was back then and
noise canceling technology has both progressed quite a bit
and has gotten cheaper so if you don't want to pay this
much for these ones, these probably are
the best ones currently, but there's the Cowin E7
which are about 70 bucks on Amazon so less than one third
the price of these and a lot of people have said they
do almost just as good of a job with the noise cancellation
and just as good of a job with sound quality.
So that might be an option to look into.
Now in addition to the Bose I also have the Plantronics
BackBeat Fit Bluetooth headphones that I use for
both workouts and when I'm riding my bike on trails
to listen to audiobooks.
A lot of you guys have asked me about these on my
Instagram so I wanted to include them in the video
even though they're not always in my backpack
they're often in my workout bag.
The other thing that I keep in the
main storage compartment is books.
A lot of times when I go to a coffee shop to write
I have a lot of books with me to research, to pull
references from and these just basically help me
to write my videos.
And yes I do have the iPad but I'm a person who
really does like physical books as well.
So often times my bag is full of these.
Of course as I showed you before down in this cord
storage compartment I've got the charger cord to
my MacBook Pro.
And now we're getting into the small organizer compartment.
So in here I have got an extra charge cord for my phone,
very useful to have along with the little charger port thing
and this little accessory thing
that goes with the MacBook Pro cord.
I never use this but I keep it just in case
I happen to need it.
Up in here I've got one of these multi tools.
Now this isn't like a professional Gerber one that's
like 50 bucks it's like a ten dollar one from Amazon,
but it actually does a pretty darn good job
if I need to like cut something or need pliers.
Very useful to have.
And here's a bunch of business cards that are not
very interesting though I do have my membership
card to the Denver Botanical Gardens which
is a very nice place to go study sometimes.
Over on this side first and foremost I have some sunglasses
because I live in Denver which is about 4,000 feet
closer to the sun as the place where I previously lived.
And I also have some sunscreen for the exact same reason.
In here there's also these dongles for the MacBook Pro
I think to ethernet one.
There's gum and Halls I don't exactly know how
those got in there but I suppose those are helpful.
And the VGA port as well for the MacBook Pro.
Just in case I need to go to a conference and do a
presentation and they don't happen to have a
thunderbolt hook up this is nice to have.
And the last couple of items here number one I've
got an iPad stylus.
Now I don't use this very often but I did use it
for drawing on the iPad awhile ago and doesn't take
up a whole lot of space so it's nice to have.
And lastly I have got a pack of business cards.
And these are from MOO and they're just real simple
I designed them myself but they're nice to have
for conferences as well.
Are you fascinated by this thing?
- [Martin] Did that case come with them because
that's cool.
- You can buy it on MOO.
- If I were watching I would be interested.
- Good point yes you can also get this particular
case on MOO.
They don't come with the business cards
cause it's like this nice faux leather
but I don't know it was like ten bucks extra I think.
So, it's nice to have it's pretty classy.
So guys if you are curious about anything I talked about
I'm going to link to most of these things down in the
description below.
And additionally because it's near the beginning
of the semester we have a guide over on College Info Geek
my website, called the ultimate college packing checklist.
So if you're going to college and you need stuff beyond
what goes in your backpack we have compiled a huge
list of all the things you'll need for your dorm
including school supplies, kitchen supplies,
bathroom supplies all that stuff is linked down
in that guide which you'll find in the description as well.
Other than that I want to thank you guys as always
for watching.
I really appreciate you.
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