Here's the short answer: laptop, one 65W charger, one 6-foot USB-C cable, one short USB-C cable, a 10,000mAh battery pack, noise-canceling earbuds, a wireless mouse, a small notebook, a pen, a microfiber cloth, a water bottle, and lunch. That's eleven things. Total weight: about 6.5 pounds including the bag. It takes me four minutes to pack on Sunday night.
Now let me walk through it, because the interesting part isn't what's in the bag. It's what I stopped carrying, and why.
The Bag Itself
Aer City Pack Pro, 24L, $199.
I've used this bag for two years. It's the one I recommend most for train commuters, and it's the one I actually carry. Flat profile, so it doesn't bump people on a crowded L train. Suspended laptop sleeve that doesn't touch the bottom of the bag. A quick-access pocket at the top for my phone and transit card. A flat front pocket that holds my tech pouch without bulging.
The one thing I don't love: it's a little heavy on its own, at just over two pounds. If you want something lighter, the Bellroy Transit Backpack ($229) is about the same, and the Osprey Arcane Large Day ($120) is noticeably lighter but less polished.
The Laptop Compartment
MacBook Pro 14" M3, $1,599.
This is the laptop I use for work. It's heavier than a MacBook Air—about 3.5 pounds instead of 2.7—but it can drive two external displays, it has an HDMI port and an SD card slot, and it has a better screen. On office days I'm usually docked, so the weight is the only real cost.
In the same compartment: one microfiber cloth, folded flat. It lives there permanently. I clean my screen and my glasses with it about four times a day. I have never once regretted carrying it, and I have regretted not carrying it many times.
That's the whole laptop compartment. No sleeve inside a sleeve. No second laptop. No tablet.
The Quick-Access Pocket
Phone. Transit card. Keys.
That's it. This pocket exists so I can get through a turnstile without stopping. If I have to take the bag off to find my Ventra card, the pocket has failed at its job.
I don't carry a wallet. My phone case has two card slots—ID and one credit card. Everything else is in Apple Pay. This isn't minimalism as a personality. It's that I got tired of sitting on a wallet on the train.
The Flat Front Pocket: The Tech Pouch
Peak Design Tech Pouch, $59.
This is the compartment that determines whether your bag works or becomes a junk drawer. Mine is small enough to fit in a flat pocket and structured enough that everything has a place.
Inside it:
One 65W dual-port GaN charger. Anker 523, $40.
This charges my laptop and my phone at the same time. It's the size of a deck of cards. If I'm at the office, I leave it plugged in at my desk all day and the pouch stays light. If I'm working from a café, it comes with me.
One 10,000mAh battery pack with built-in USB-C cable. Anker 633, $50.
The built-in cable is the whole point. I don't have to hunt for a cable when my phone is at 8% and I'm on a train platform. 10,000mAh gets my phone through a full day and gives my laptop maybe an hour in an emergency. That's enough.
One 6-foot USB-C cable.
For when the outlet is behind the couch, or across the café, or on the far side of the airport gate. This cable is annoying to store and I use it about twice a week. Worth it.
One short USB-C cable, 1 foot.
For charging my phone from the battery pack while both are in my pocket or on the table. Short cables are underrated. Everyone carries a six-footer and then deals with the coil.
Logitech MX Anywhere 3S, $80.
Small, tracks on any surface including glass and train tray tables, charges via USB-C. On office days I use the mouse at my desk. On café days it's the difference between working and fighting a trackpad.
A small notebook and a pen.
The notebook is a Field Notes ($12 for a three-pack). The pen is a Uni-ball Jetstream ($3). I write in it maybe twice a week. Both are worth carrying because thinking on paper is different from thinking on a screen, and because sometimes you need to write something down while your laptop is asleep.
The Side Pocket
One water bottle.
I use a Klean Kanteen 20oz ($30). Side-access pocket on the Aer, so I can get it without taking the bag off. This matters more than it sounds. If I have to unzip the main compartment to reach water, I stop drinking water.
That's the rule: if it's not accessible without stopping, it doesn't get used.
The Main Compartment
Lunch. Occasionally a light jacket.
That's it. The main compartment is mostly empty on a Monday, because I'm not carrying a second monitor, a keyboard, a stand, or a change of shoes. If I need something at the office, it lives at the office. That's the whole strategy.
What I Don't Carry, and Why
This is the real content of this article. Here's what used to be in my bag and isn't anymore:
A portable monitor. I tested one for three months. It's too dim for a bright office, it takes up table space I don't have, and I used it twice. Sold it.
A second charger. I used to carry a laptop charger and a phone charger. Then I realized the 65W GaN charger does both. One charger, zero regrets.
A dongle bag. Three adapters, two of which I used once each. Now the laptop has HDMI and an SD slot built in, and the one adapter I actually need—USB-A—lives in the tech pouch.
A mechanical keyboard. I tried it for a week. It's loud, it's heavy, and my coworkers on the other side of the office could hear me typing. Back to the laptop keyboard.
A mousepad. The MX Anywhere 3S tracks fine on a desk, a train tray, and a café table. A mousepad is one more flat thing to lose.
A tablet. Redundant with the laptop. If I want to read, I read on my phone.
A notebook plus a second notebook. I have one notebook. Not two. Not a notebook and a journal and a sketchbook.
A giant water bottle. 20 ounces, not 40. A bigger bottle means a heavier bag and a refill I skip anyway.
"Just in case" cables. Lightning cable for a phone I don't own anymore. Micro-USB for a device I can't remember. A cable for a camera I sold. All gone. The rule: if I haven't used it in two weeks, it comes out.
The Four-Minute Sunday Night Pack
Sunday night, I do the same thing every week:
Charge the laptop, phone, earbuds, and battery pack.
Empty the tech pouch completely, look at everything, put back only what I used last week.
Refill the water bottle and put it in the fridge.
Put the bag by the door.
The second step is the important one. It's how the bag stays at 6.5 pounds instead of creeping up to 12. Every time you empty the pouch, you find something that snuck in and never left.
A work bag is not a bug-out bag. You're going to an office with electricity, Wi-Fi, and a bathroom. You don't need three days of supplies.
The test for everything in the bag: did I use this last week? If yes, it stays. If no, it comes out. If you're not sure, it comes out anyway, and if you miss it, you'll put it back.
Mine weighs 6.5 pounds. Yours should probably weigh less.
Start with the life, then buy the gear.
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