Everyday Carry: 9-to-5 Edition

*My 9-to-5 Everyday Carry to and from the office.*

It's been over a year since I did a "What's in my bag?" entry (EDC Mini Carry from June 2022), and I felt I was due to write another. Serendipitously, Waterfield Designs had reached out to me near the same time, asking if I needed anything more for my growing collection of bags, and I had just one request: a svelte to carry my gear to and from the office. They sent along the Vitesse Brief in a durable brown waxed canvas, and it's been the perfect messenger bag for my commute. Let me tell you more about it & all the stuff I schlep with me to work each day.

Vitesse Brief

So, full disclosure: Waterfield asked that I do them a solid and write a bit about the bag they sent me, which felt fair. But the jokes on them, I would have done it for free because, since 2017, I have almost exclusively been using Waterfield products to protect my Apple devices. Over the years, I have bought numerous sling bags, sleeves (for iPads & MacBooks), messenger bags, and cases for my Nintendo Switch. I almost exclusively go for their waxed canvas and grizzly leather combo because I love the material's durability; the canvas develops an adventurous character over time, and I love the rich patina the leather produces over time. Paradoxically, I hate wear and tear on my devices, but I love the look of it on my bags and accessories! I have been a massive fan of waxed fabrics since I first discovered the material in a Jack Spade bag I purchased in the early 2000s. After that company folded, I was elated to find another bag manufacturer that used the material.

The Vitesse Brief is relatively diminutive compared to many messenger bags. Measuring 15.5" (l) x 4" (w) x 11" (h) and 1.7 pounds, with an 11L capacity, the bag's dimensions belie the fact that it holds a lot more than you would think. It comfortably fits my 13-inch MacBook Air (inside a sleeve), an 11-inch iPad Pro (also in a sleeve), AirPods Max, iPhone, cables, glasses, and more (we'll get to it all). The bag never feels cramped, and the construction balances a blend of structural rigidity & flexibility to expand as needed with little effort. It would also fit a 14-inch MacBook Pro, but 16-inch MacBook owners will want to look for a larger bag given the dimensions.

Inside the bags compartment is an unpadded area to secure a tablet, laptop, or both; and a main compartment where I have a cable bag for my MBA, pencil case full of random tchotchkes, and my AirPods Max).

Inside the main zippered compartment of the bag, there's a separate (unpadded) area for a laptop to go into, a primary area for belongings, and two hand-sized pockets to organize & store items. Because the bag is not padded (I repeat, not padded), I highly recommend carrying your laptop and pricier gear in a protective sleeve if you're considering a bag like this. Waterfield makes many bags with protective padding; this just isn't one of them. And since I always carry a laptop in a case, I opted for a bag without this redundant level of protection.

On the outside of the bag, a clipped flap hides another compartment area with three more small pockets and another compartment area for organizing various smaller odds and ends. Things like keys, cables, and my iPhone often find their way into one of these pockets. The bag features a strap to wear as a messenger bag, but there are also two handles for carrying the bag more like a brief.

Overall, it's a lightweight bag that is an ideal blend of casual & cosmopolitan. The waxed canvas and waterproof zippers give the bag some protection from the elements, and my experience with Waterfield bags is that they are meant to last. I have bags that are nearly a decade old that still look as good as new, and I've never purchased a bag because mine wore down or broke, only because I wanted more bags! This bag has limited protection for your tech, so either be VERY careful or invest in a case or sleeve if you plan on using this bag as your everyday carry.

The Vitesse Brief retails for $229, comes in Brown, Black, or Blue waxed Canvas.

M2 MacBook Air

*MacBook Air inside my office. And yes, I work in a very dim, windowless office.*

More days than not, I take my M2 MacBook Air with me to/from the office. I love my iPad, but macOS is still the better OS for file management and has all the applications I need to do my @BasicAppleGuy work. And when I'm on break or during the lunch hour, the MacBook Air is what I use to work on projects and manage my website. It's powerful enough for all my remote work, and its size and weight make it ideal to carry without hassle.

The case I'm using for the MacBook is an older generation Ultralight Sleeve in navy from Native Union. It's an incredibly lightweight case (you could say ultralight, I suppose) and offers all-around protection without adding much bulk.

iPad Pro

While there are days I leave my MacBook behind, I always take my iPad Pro to the office. This particular model is the 2021 11-inch M1 iPad Pro. IMO, 11-inch is the Goldilocks form factor for the iPad. It is perfectly sized for reading documents, taking notes, viewing content, and more. I mix and match between taking it to work in a Smart Folio or with a Magic Keyboard and keeping it protected using the same case I wrote about in 2021, the Woolnut Leather Folio.

Some essential & indispensable iPad applications I use primarily at the office include:

Apple Music & Endel: for listening to ambient sounds while doing paperwork and needing to focus. In particular, I love Endel's generative ambient music for creating a stream of sound that never feels repetitive (something that can otherwise break my focus on a task).
Goodnotes 6: My goto writing app on the iPad. The UI is clean and uncluttered, helps tidy my writing considerably, and has the option for a lifetime, subscription-free purchase. Well worth the investment. I jot down all my consultations, meetings and doodles inside the app.
Things: I plan much of my day in Cultured Code's fabulous task manager. It serves as a second brain that holds and organizes the myriad of tasks I need to do each day.

AirPods Max

I will do anything to avoid working some days. An exciting piece of gossip or water-cooler talk is all it takes to distract me from my task. For that reason, the three-year-old AirPods Max are invaluable. I put them on, toggle on noise cancellation, pump in some ambient music, and can very quickly get myself into an effective flow state. I find them comfortable for up to 90 minutes before I need a quick 5-10-minute break, but then they go back on again.

Tchotchke Case I

The first case of miscellaneous things is a small canvas pencil case I bought 4-5 years ago from Waterfield Designs. It holds a USB-C cable, Lighting cable, a stubbly Apple Watch charger, 20W Apple adapter, a tiny mister and cloth from Whoosh for screen cleaning, a random quarter from the Vancouver Olympics featuring one of their mascots, a spare Apple Pencil tip, a SIM ejection tool attached to a Cactuar from the Final Fantasy series, and a few other tiny dongles stuffed inside a pink iPod Sock.

Tchotchke Pouch

A little pouch from the Japanese outlet Muji holds lozenges, keys, ibuprofen, and lip chap. Nothing too exciting.

In Sum

I wanted a bag for my EDC to and from work that felt neither cramped nor oversized. Because there are days I choose not to bring the AirPods Max and MBA, I didn't want to constantly switch bags or feel like the bag I am carrying suddenly became too large for the job. The Vitesse Brief fits right into that Goldilocks zone, feeling perfectly sized, lightly packed or stuffed to the gills.

And most of the accessories in my kit - from the cases and sleeves - have followed me from bag to bag. Most are nearing a half-decade in age, and they continue to hold up & function exceptionally well. That's why I namedropped most of them in this entry: I've used and tested them for years and have nothing but good things to say about them. The accessories are designed to be as minimal as possible, focused on limiting weight, improving my workplace ambience, and enhancing my focus & productivity at the office.

Everyday Carry: 9-5