A quick end of the year round up of the bags I have, and what I use them for:
- Mystery Ranch ASAP: this is my most used and go to bag. I mostly use it for the office right now since going places isn’t really a thing, but I do have it setup to swap into hiking quickly if the kids want to go for a hike. I use this bag 95% of the time out of all of the others on this list. Which is insane, but really is the case now that I am back in the office.
- Filson Original Briefcase: I love this bag, and I use it about 0.75 times a week. Maybe once a week, it actually holds everything I need. One thing that makes this bag stellar is how simple it is, and how great looking the bag is. If I dress up a little for the office, or have a shorter day, this is generally the bag I take. I do feel like at some point I am going to be writing how I used this bag straight for a few weeks and how it is so good. Sorry in advance.
- Filson 48hr Duffle: I am upset writing about this bag because I really didn’t get to use the bag much at all this year. I love it, this is one of my faves, and this is my go to travel bag. I like to take this and a sling, or small backpack. An ideal setup. I only used it twice this year though. Dang.
- Mystery Ranch 3 Day Assault CL: I actually only used this bag a few times this year for filling it up, which is also annoying to me. This is my go to if I want to onebag a trip, or if I need to cover almost every base with a single bag. Good stuff.
- GORUCK GR1 26L: I was using this in the office for a time, then my wife stole it until she got her own Rucker, as it was her rucking bag. I mostly do not choose to use this bag right now, but that’s because I like the other bags better. That said, it always sits empty and ready, and will be the one I grab if/when I need something and I am unsure what might be needed of the bag. “Old reliable” if you will.
- Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 21: this bag mostly stays with me for comparison as I have no real use for it. I initially kept it in case my wife needed a bag, and she loved it — then demanded a different color. It’ll stay as a back up and for comparison sake. The ASAP covers what this bag would have otherwise.
- Mystery Ranch x Oshmans Drip Bag: I bought this as my daughter needed a good mesh backpack for school. This was the solution and she used it for a good chunk of the year. But now the school lifted this absurd rule and she’s off to a different bag. I’ll be selling this as I can’t think of a scenario where I would prefer using this bag.
- GORUCK Kit Bag 32L: My emergency/bug out bag. That said, if I didn’t have the 48hr this would be the bag for that. I am starting to move the tote bags into my emergency bags (seem really useful there) and thus a Kit Bag might make the perfect tote replacement for me day to day, or maybe another small duffle of some sort. Open top bags aren’t really my thing it turns out.
- Tom Bihn Road Buddy Duffles: Right now, this is an emergency bag for my wife and the other a backup duffle should we need it. I love these bags, and one reason they work well as emergency bags is because of the great organization, and large size — meaning there’s room for the gear I store in them, but also room for people to cram in a bunch of extras at the last minute. Something that I think is an underrated consideration when it comes to emergency bags — imagine grabbing the bag, having 5 minutes to grab a few more things to take before you have to leave, but your bag not having room for those things. What a frustrating moment that would be. Anyways, one of these is my wife’s bug out bag and the other is likely to be a travel bag for the kids.
- Hill People Gear Belt Pack: this is tied for the top spot as my go to sling. I love this, and they are coming out with a slightly larger size — I’ll instantly buy that too. I keep it packed and ready to go. Anytime I am not taking a larger bag with me, I take this.
- Mystery Ranch Forager: this is the other one tied for that top spot in slings. It’s small but somehow not too small. It works really well and doesn’t really have any associated ‘vibe’ with it, which means it works great everywhere. I bounce between this and the Belt Pack. Great sling.
- Code of Bell X-Pod S: I moved this to my ‘fast kit’ that stays near my bed. Seems like a nice spot to use it in and keeps the gear more organized than my Mystery Ranch Full Moon. Basically it sits under my bed and should I wake up needing to scramble (fire, tornado, etc) I can grab this without any thought or time added and get to my kids.
- Mystery Ranch Full Moon: my sling I keep in my car. I keep it empty and ready should I need a sling and not have one with me. Simple and effective.
- Mystery Ranch Scree 32: this is my get home bag in my car. I am making a big effort for my get home bag being my primary emergency bag (meaning it has the best gear in it), and this bag is fantastic for that.
- DSPTCH Daypack: a backup bag I keep in storage. Need to sell it.
- Filson Small Rugged Twill Duffle: new to me just this week! Can’t wait to use it more, it looks and feels amazing. It will likely take the place of my totes and other random use bags. Probably see a fair share of trips too. Looks amazing.
An exclusive look into my backpack cave.
I don’t have a good picture of everything together but that is my bag shelf with my go to bags on it.