Lifehacker's editors couldn't quite decide on what should be inside the Ultimate Laptop Bag. Instead, we're opening up our own road warrior satchels and examining what's inside that we can't live without.
We've asked in the past for a look at What's In Your Go Bag, and our readers have graciously, overwhelmingly responded (split into Part I, Part II, and Part III). We're not all that different from a lot of our productively mobile readers, but we wanted to open the conversation up once more on the the items, gadgets, and little tweaks that eliminate Should Have Grabbed That X Syndrome.
So I'm kicking things off with a look at my own laptop bag, which makes regular trips to a coworking spot, occasional coffee shop excursions, weekend jaunts to the parents or in-laws, and rare tech support tours. (Expect to see a few other editors open up their own bags soon.) Update: I added a few items I'd forgot to mention at first posting, such as headphones and, uh, the laptop bag itself.
Standard Targus bag: Decent at carrying my stuff, but it often makes me wonder if it's a bit too commonly known. In other words, perhaps the Targus branding and look yell out, "Hey, I've got hundreds of dollars in value inside if you can grab me while the owner's not looking!"
ThinkPad T61p: Bought when I officially started at Lifehacker, still going strong on 2GB of memory, 100 GB hard drive, and a serious video card. It ain't great with battery life, but ThinkPads tend to have lots of Linux compatibility, and they're built rock-solid. The folks at my coworking spot agree that it passes The Test—that is, you could use it as a blunt weapon to defend yourself, and still use it to blog about the incident.
Soft screen/keyboard wipe: Mine's a freebie from a NewEgg.com order, and has seen better days, but any kind of micro-fiber/soft cloth wipe will do. Until your laptop's out in the harsh light of day (or just another building's lighting), you don't realize how much cruft is stuck to your keys, around your trackpad, and clinging to your screen. Bonus: doubles as a glasses cleaner when I didn't have time for contacts.
Three plug, three-to-two-prong converter: The hardware store special, bought for something like $2. I know they're meant to be grounded with a screw into an outlet, but a fairly handy friend assures me that, for the occasional, awkward coffee shop/coworking moment when there's no open outlet, a quick question and plug swap gets you hooked up and going without much electrical danger. After some thought, though, I've put in an order for the Belkin Mini-Surge Protector with USB Charger that Adam recommended. Until it arrives, this little guy is a nice fall back (assuming the plug sharer isn't particularly neurotic).
LaCie imaKey: It's way too easy to lose or damage USB drives if they're just hanging around your bag and getting plugged into things. Not so much if they're made of stainless steel and attached to the same ring you need to get into your house or Nissan. I lost one 4GB drive after its keyring hole snapped open, and its replacement only attached on the cap, which makes it just as easy to lose. The imaKey thumb drive feels like a splurge, and it's not exactly a laptop bag item, but for 8GB of space I really can't lose (by itself, at least), it's kind of a perfect laptop accessory. What's on it? A host of PortableApps and my Keepass vault, of course.
USB phone charger: Not exactly a genius revelation, and certainly nothing new for iPhone owners. But if your phone didn't come with a USB cable, it's almost always worth getting one—and from a relatively trustworthy third party on Amazon or eBay, unless you just love paying a lunch worth of markup. If you spring for the Belkin mini-surge mentioned above, you can charge your phone almost anywhere without monopolizing a port. Even if not, you can at least grab just enough power to ensure you catch that next important call.
Reporter's pad and solid pen: It's something of a hold-over from my days as a newspaper reporter, but a really handy one (unlike, say, my ingrained muscle memory that capitalizes "Internet" or "Web site"). Reporter's pads, a.k.a. 4 x 8" Gregg-ruled "Pocket Notebooks," are sold at OfficeMax and many other supply stores. My wife loves them as grocery lists, their dimensions and ruling are perfect for to-dos, and they can fit in a pocket while still being firm enough to support being written on while free-standing. And keeping one or two really comfortable pens in a laptop bag ensures you've got something to jot with, and that a worthy pen doesn't get knocked under chairs or into heating vents by cats/kids/clumsy feet.
Phillips in-ear headphones: Bought off Woot, $10 for 2 pair. I'm not much of an audiophile, and I'm apparently rough on earbuds, having killed two of the standard iPod-issued pairs. I keep them in the bag using one of the best little techniques I ever saw on Lifehacker, the tangle-free "Devil Horns" wrapping method, and slipping the stereo plug into one of the Targus bag's pen slots.
Serious "Extended Life" battery: I bought my first real laptop when I started at Lifehacker, and I soon after learned a lesson about the inevitable disappointment of a lithium-ion battery. I killed the stock battery by keeping it plugged into the system at all times, and long writing/browsing/virtual-machine-running sessions took their toll. As Battery University explains, "The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case with running laptop batteries." So I hit up Laptops For Less and Laptop Battery Express, two sites I've read good reviews of, found a 12-cell battery for my ThinkPad, and keep it in the bag. The almost-useless 9-cell battery now serves as an emergency backup for saving and shutdown when the power's killed, while the serious battery is kept at around 80% power and fully charged when I know I'll need the full two hours of remote laptop time.
Notably missing: Bluetooth/wireless mouse, USB hub: I have a good mouse, dual monitors, and a USB hub at home for all my gadgets, backup drives, and even a coffee warmer. If I'm on the go, I force myself to get things done with very infrequent trackpad swipes and mandatory keyboard shortcuts.
So, that's what I carry around to get things done when I'm not at home. Feel free to offer up suggestions, (gentle) critiques, or your own go bag solutions in the comments. Even better? Post a link to your go bag shot that illustrates your road-hardened experience.