Carrying a New Old Bag
May. 21st, 2026 03:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerLately I've traded down on the shoulder bag I carry. It's what I use to carry my computer, cables, spare charger, lip balm, etc., when I travel— whether riding the train into San Francisco to visit my friend David for the day or flying across the country or overseas for days or weeks at a time. And by "traded down" I mean I've downed the size. The new bag I'm carrying is less than half the size of the previous one. It's also trading down because this bag is free. It's an old bag of Hawk's, and I'm just borrowing it.
For years I watched Hawk use this bag and thought to myself, "No way, that's way to small for me." And the thing is, it was too small. Keyword, was.
For years the shoulder bags I carried on work and leisure trips were about twice this size... the same height, twice as wide, and a bit deeper when fully stuffed. They were basically soft-sided briefcases with a shoulder strap.
What drove that sizing decision was, initially, the size of a laptop computer and its (large) power adapter. Back in the mid/late 00s those were a lot bigger than they are today. I also carried wire-bound engineering notebook because guest wifi access was generally not a thing. When I managed to downsize the form factor of my laptops in the early 10s I started carrying two computers at a time— work and personal.
Now that I'm retired 🏝️ there's no more issue of carrying two computers at a time. So why carry a big bag anymore? I asked myself a few weeks ago. Hawk lent me this bag, and it's been working beautifully. My MacBook Air fits snugly in the main pocket. The second pocket has enough room for the cables, chargers, pill bottles, etc. I need— even on a 2 week trip, like I'm on right now.
A big benefit of the smaller size is this bag fits easily under the seat in front of me on aircraft. My old, briefcase-sized bags? Those often had to be wedged in at a diagonal, making it hard to get my feet under there, too. And when it's time to get up and walk, this bag slings comfortably over one shoulder like a small pack.
For years I watched Hawk use this bag and thought to myself, "No way, that's way to small for me." And the thing is, it was too small. Keyword, was.
For years the shoulder bags I carried on work and leisure trips were about twice this size... the same height, twice as wide, and a bit deeper when fully stuffed. They were basically soft-sided briefcases with a shoulder strap.
What drove that sizing decision was, initially, the size of a laptop computer and its (large) power adapter. Back in the mid/late 00s those were a lot bigger than they are today. I also carried wire-bound engineering notebook because guest wifi access was generally not a thing. When I managed to downsize the form factor of my laptops in the early 10s I started carrying two computers at a time— work and personal.
Now that I'm retired 🏝️ there's no more issue of carrying two computers at a time. So why carry a big bag anymore? I asked myself a few weeks ago. Hawk lent me this bag, and it's been working beautifully. My MacBook Air fits snugly in the main pocket. The second pocket has enough room for the cables, chargers, pill bottles, etc. I need— even on a 2 week trip, like I'm on right now.
A big benefit of the smaller size is this bag fits easily under the seat in front of me on aircraft. My old, briefcase-sized bags? Those often had to be wedged in at a diagonal, making it hard to get my feet under there, too. And when it's time to get up and walk, this bag slings comfortably over one shoulder like a small pack.
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Date: 2026-05-22 08:12 am (UTC)