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In my bag I only carry a few things:

  • Moleskine (keeps my todo list)
  • iPhone/iPod
  • Altoids (or other breathmints)
  • extra pen
  • whatever book I'm reading
  • small bottle of Advil

...I rarely have a need for much else, truth be told. I keep an "emergency $20" in my Moleskine in case I have to have cash somewhere. I also keep a couple of business cards with me, but I don't know that I've actually ever needed them.
 
Your survival kit seems to be missing anything for self-defense. Get a conceal carry permit and start packin'. :cool:

Well, I've been meaning to get a CCW for awhile now, just not gotten around to it. I have a handgun already, and I'm a semi-avid shooter as well as having spent 8 years in the Army Reserves. But, it wouldn't go in the bag, it would go on my person, both for purposes of usefulness and also because I work for the government, in a government building, so firearms are strictly illegal. I need to be able to bring my bag to work.

And another thing to add: firemaking tool. Not sure I want a $70+ firepiston, but a lighter will do.

I'm not sure I'd use an umbrella or a poncho, but a large garbage bag can multitask as rain gear if needed, and is otherwise useful.

Finally, I can't believe I forgot the most important piece of gear anyone can have on them: a towel! ;) (Some of you will get that, some might not).
 
You call that a man bag?

Hmmm, well this is what I carry.

-Leatherman
-Knife (Emerson or Gerber)
-SureFire Flashlight
-Oakley Sunglasses
-Hand Sanitizer
-Face Cleanser
-Clone
-Bleach Pen
-Blackberry 8830
-Laptop Asus EEE PC (Soon to be replaced with an MBA or MBP)
-USB Flash Drive (4 GB)
-Canon G9
-8GB SD Card
-Canon 430 EX
-Spare Battery for Blackberry and Canon G9
-Charger for EEE PC
-Gum
-Two Condoms & Lube (Just in case, still a virgin :) )

There's probably some more, just to lazy to look. My current bag is from American Eagle, but I am keeping an eye out for a nicer one. But keeping under $150...
haha, cant help but think of superbad:cool:

and I agree, that definitely is not a man purse
 
Your going to carry that with you everywhere, all day?

...I'll stick with my wallet and keys; if I need anything while I'm out and about, I'll just buy it. :D

If I was traveling, that would be a difference story entirely, and then (and only then) would some of your items make sense. :p

Me too... wallet in the back pocket, keys in right front, change in left front...

What's the heck is happening to you people? I wouldn't carry a man purse if I was castrated.

While I'm at it... you guys can put an extra set of earrings in your man bag too. I just don't get it?
 
Me too... wallet in the back pocket, keys in right front, change in left front...

What's the heck is happening to you people? I wouldn't carry a man purse if I was castrated.

+1
except i carry my phone in my front left pocket.
That's all I need except for sometimes i have my ipod on me too.
 
I think this thread would be a lot more interesting if the OP would explain at least one situation in which he found himself in need of each item in his purse.
 
Good grief man, throw your "man purse" into the bin! If it doesn't fit into your pockets, then you probably don't need to carry it. :p




Good luck in explaining those away to a policeman. :eek: ;)

Your going to carry that with you everywhere, all day?

...I'll stick with my wallet and keys; if I need anything while I'm out and about, I'll just buy it. :D

If I was traveling, that would be a difference story entirely, and then (and only then) would some of your items make sense. :p

Tampons.


I can't believe all the crap you people carry around.

+1
Most of the time my id, bank card, and cash are in my back pocket. I hate purses though I carry them to work.

Me too... wallet in the back pocket, keys in right front, change in left front...

What's the heck is happening to you people? I wouldn't carry a man purse if I was castrated.

While I'm at it... you guys can put an extra set of earrings in your man bag too. I just don't get it?

I want all of you to remember this thread next time you are wondering around your office/a restaurant/your in-laws cabin/a hotel/in the car/etc looking for one of these things. Remember that you mocked and just sit quietly in a corner and wait for a real man to rescue you with his "purse". :p
 
I think this thread would be a lot more interesting if the OP would explain at least one situation in which he found himself in need of each item in his purse.
OK.

  • multitool - I don't think I should have to explain this. Any man who doesn't have some sort of multitool on his person is just wrong. Funny example, though. Yesterday I was out having lunch w/ my wife and a woman with her grandkids was in the deli getting drinks for the little girls. The littlest ones were small enough that the straws were too long to use without them knocking the cup over. She was trying to cut them with nail clippers :rolleyes: so I pulled out my little keychain Swiss Army knife and cut them with the little scissors.
  • duct tape (small sized roll) - This is another once that I think should be self explainitory... if you've not fixed something with duct tape you haven't lived. Once repaired a broken trailer tongue with duct tape and a metal bed frame on the side of the road at 2:00am.
  • small roll of electrical tape, too - I'm a computer tech at the moment, so electrical tape is handy in that regard. It's also really handy for car repairs.
  • zip ties - See above. I think half the Army is held together with zip ties. We used to use them for EVERYTHING. Easy example is attaching broken tent walls together.
  • travel sewing kit - I sewed a button onto my shorts while on vacation once. It was the only pair of non-swimming shorts I had with me, so this $3 investment saved me $20 for new shorts. Same for shirt cuff buttons, etc.
  • dental floss (not for my teeth, but it's an amazingly handy way to pack pretty strong string - I've sawed through 1/4 plastic with floss before. Don't ask.) Since you asked, I once sawed through the little plastic tube they attach around the coax connector on hotel TVs so I could plug a VCR into it (this was awhile ago) using dental floss. It was the only thing that would have worked in that situation because of the angles involved.
  • Small flashlight - Remember me mentioning repairing a trailer tongue with duct tape and a bed frame on the side of the road at 2am? It was very dark.
  • AA and AAA batteries - Both for the flashlight and, as I mentioned in an earlier post I have a 6 month old, and kids toys have batteries these days (as do most "adult toys"... and no, not the dirty kind, I mean gadgets :p)
  • USB Dock cable
  • standard mini-USB cable
  • USB to AC charger
  • Spare cellphone charger (I can save space here using the USB cable for my Palm and the above USB to AC adaptor) - all four of these go together. When you're gadget runs out of juice you want to charge it wherever you are. Doing it this way (everything to USB, USB to AC and I should add a 12v charger to the pack, means there's less stuff to pack as it's all interchangeable). I can't think of a specific example, but it's sort of a common problem.
  • blank DVD/CDs
  • USB flash drive (actually I'll be super efficient here and pack a 2gb microSD card in a tiny USB adaptor, and my microSD to SD adaptor... I'll be able to plug the card into any PC, my/most digital cameras, and my/most cellphones, too) - these two go together... it's nice to be able to grab data from computer A and get it to computer B regardless of the capabilities of the computers, one of these things will work. The microSD card with SD and USB adaptor also handy on trips because given computer access I can get photos off my camera and onto discs, etc. The other neat thing, and I've done this, is that I can take a picture on my digital camera (a good picture, not a cell cam pic) and then blog/email the picture from the field by putting the microSD card into my phone. :p
  • Digital camera (about to get a Nikon D40, but it's pretty small, so it'll should still fit even with a smallish case/wrap around it) It's just nice to have your camera around for when good opportunities arise.
  • Cellphone/iPod (though those are usually in my pockets) - I don't feel these need explanation.
  • ziplock bag with: travel toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hand sanitizer, "wet wipes", and some extra, empty, ziplocks - If I have a dentist appointment it's nice to brush, or a stinky lunch for that matter, or I'm sweaty for whatever reason and end up in a meeting it's just nice to not be the stinky guy. We used to BATHE with wet wipes in the Army. Only wetwipes for days. Sometimes it's nice to be able to quickly wash up your face/whatever wherever you happen to me...
  • .5L bottle of water (if it gets too full this will be the first to go. Water is heavy/dense, but I'll keep an empty bottle for refilling when thirsty)
  • couple of energy/granola/candy bars - If I'm hungry or thirsty and it's not convienient to stop somewhere? This doesn't happen to everyone sometimes?
  • gum/mints - see stinky breath above. Also, after you eat, chewing gum helps produce saliva which breaks down bacteria in your mouth and also helps get food from between your teeth. Tooth decay is the most common disease in the world you know.

I guess all of those things seem pretty mundane to me. They're just generally handy to have around, I don't see what the big deal is. I almost didn't post this because I didn't think I'd get any responses, but I'm really glad I did! Lots of these ideas are very good and I'm sure I'll use all the things I forgot and you guys didn't at some point or another.
 
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Lifehacker did an article about Go Bags, as they put it.... take a look at http://lifehacker.com/software/screenshot-tour/show-us-your-go-bag-289933.php. That should give you some ideas.

I liked this:
we asked you to send us pictures of your "go bag," and submit you did. There was a good amount of debate over proper terminology (is it a purse, satchel, man bag, murse, urban assault bag?

Urban Assualt Bag, or UAB, sounds like somehthing we would have used in the Army. :p I might use that from now on. As I mentioned, my wife calls it a man purse, I've tried calling it a Jack Sack (Jack Bauer reference) but that sounds almost as gay as man purse. :p UAB has a good ring to it.
 
I want all of you to remember this thread next time you are wondering around your office/a restaurant/your in-laws cabin/a hotel/in the car/etc looking for one of these things. Remember that you mocked and just sit quietly in a corner and wait for a real man to rescue you with his "purse". :p

Why did McGiver die?
mcgiver.jpg
 
That's not a purse; that's an overnight bag. :p

I think it's a great idea for traveling, but for a quick jaunt to the grocery store? It's just too much.

Shrug. It's not much, that's the thing. It's ONE messenger bag. Probably end up weighing in at under 10lbs. It'll take an afternoon to get ready and then it's just grab and walk out the door. I might not take it into the grocery store (or I might) but it'd be in the car.

Sure, it'd be MOST useful while traveling, but since you have it all packed up why not just bring it around with you?

Oh well, there's no convincing some people. Thanks everyone else for the suggestions!
 
Shrug. It's not much, that's the thing. It's ONE messenger bag. Probably end up weighing in at under 10lbs. It'll take an afternoon to get ready and then it's just grab and walk out the door. I might not take it into the grocery store (or I might) but it'd be in the car.

Sure, it'd be MOST useful while traveling, but since you have it all packed up why not just bring it around with you?

Oh well, there's no convincing some people. Thanks everyone else for the suggestions!

If you take an afternoon to get ready then it is all becoming clear to me. ;) Don't spend your life trying to convince anyone online of anything you want to do, it's a waste of time. If you must ask what to put in your purse then maybe you do not need one. It is entirely up to you and you shouldn't let a pack of strangers deter you from strapping Ace Hardware to your hip. :D
 
If they ask to search you, just tell them you have a knife and where it is located. There is no crime in caring a knife, it's a tool. That is if I let them search me, they better have a very good damn reason.
Well, up to a certain size there's no crime, but most multi-tools are under it anyway.
ah dude, don't call it a man purse. please. it's a messenger bag. a jack bauer bag if you will. :cool:
When did he ever carry a bag around with him?
Finally, I can't believe I forgot the most important piece of gear anyone can have on them: a towel! ;) (Some of you will get that, some might not).
If you just carry a towel hooked around your belt, you won't need to carry the bag around. Just be careful of what color it is in certain parts of town...
Me too... wallet in the back pocket, keys in right front, change in left front...

What's the heck is happening to you people? I wouldn't carry a man purse if I was castrated.

While I'm at it... you guys can put an extra set of earrings in your man bag too. I just don't get it?

+1
except i carry my phone in my front left pocket.
That's all I need except for sometimes i have my ipod on me too.

Wallet: back right
Keys: right cargo (if available, otherwise right front)
Phone: Left cargo (or left front)
Knife (Kershaw Ken Onion Random Leek): clipped inside of front right.
 
Counterfit,

I'm pretty sure the towel was a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-reference :)
 
NOt sure if it's already been mentioned but there was a decent thread about this on lifehacker a while back if the OP wants ideas. dangerchromic glasses?
 
Isn't the OP talking about a satchel bag? I had one at Infant school...
 
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