Back to School Loadout Changes!

A new year and a new semester, and unlike past semesters and years this time I’ve got some cool new gear to show off! So I’m going to walk you through my previous loadout compared to my new loadout. Hopefully I don’t bore you along the way, but here we go.

I’ve been using something similar to the CamelBak H.A.W.G.500 since I started going back to school in 2015. The pack itself is from 2007, but it doesn’t show a bit of age. The hydration system is still pristine, all the MOLLE is still intact, the plastic snap/buckle system all still function, basically the bag is a BEAST. It’s slightly smaller than a run of the mill backpack/bookbag in both width and depth, but I’ve not found it hard to use except last semester when I literally had a class that required a book too large to fit. For that reason I went with a two bag system last year which worked well, but this was still my MAIN bag.

I’ll go down my must have’s that I loaded it out with. MiquelRius notebooks, I’ve talked about these at length before and will continue. They are far more difficult to find, in fact, I’ve yet to purchase any this year but last year I had four of the 5-Subject notebooks that I filled. I also kept a smattering of 15-20 pens (ballpoint and fountain), a REALLY cheap mechanical pencil, and some random colored pencils in my bag at all times. I carry iPhone accessories in a small cordura pouch from Yellow Birch Outfitters. It holds a charger, cord, and headphones perfectly and has a really small profile. That’s about all of the normal stuff from last year, I’ll get into more detail on my current loadout.

So recently Rickshaw Bagworks released their Cosmo briefcase. I love Mark’s designs, they are elegant but supremely functional and after looking at all the color combinations I knew I had to have one. I chose the Moss-Orange combination. It literally showed up today, so I’m a bit psyched about it still. Regardless it’s freaking AMAZING. If you want all the down-and-dirty details on the bag I HIGHLY recommend checking out Matthew Morse’s review of it. He did a solid job of cataloging the features and maybe I’m not as big of a bag snob as he is, because I don’t really have anything negative to say about the Cosmo. I have a 13 inch Macbook Air, and while I would like the 13 inch sleeve it would only be so I could remove just sleeve by itself. When used with it attached in the bag, the 15 inch sleeve works quite well. The fact that I can comfortably carry a 5-subject notebook and several books plus my laptop with me in a small briefcase/messenger bag is DOPE. My only regret is that it doesn’t have Velcro on the outside for all my patches, but it is supposed to be a little bit more professional so the patches will have to remain on my backpack.

As for the rest of my wonderful loadout. I’ve already mentioned my Macbook Air, it’s also new because this semester was the first where two separate professors said we’d need laptops in class. My old laptop did what old laptops do and died. So I used my student discount and grabbed this lovely gem. It’s fast, has the basics a student like me needs (word processing, internet, and a battery with LONG life). I decked it out with a Mosiso olive snap on case for added protection.

While I’m still search for an adequate replacement for my MiquelRius notebooks I’ve settled on far inferior Mead 5-Subject notebooks. They are NOT fountain pen friendly at all, so I’ve been forced (not really) to use pencils and rollerballs. For that I use a Zebra M-301 mechanical pencil, I’ll replace that with a Karas Pen Co pencil soon. I also carry a black Retrakt R-Type that I’ve swapped in a Pilot Precise V5-RT refill, it’s really the only rollerball refill worth using in my opinion unless you’re willing to spend money on Ohto rollerballs which are also superb. I do carry a grey Fountain K with EF titanium nib and a few other fountain pens (Sheaffer Snorkel, Omas Extra, INK, Carolina Pen Company custom) those are all currently uninked, and I’ll be adding my Lamy 2000 to the bag when I get home.

I have a couple of Field Notes notebooks, specifically the Starbucks larger-format with grid paper in the outside pocket but those two will go away and be replaced by a Nanami Seven Seas Crossfield, literally the best A5 notebook on the market. Perhaps the best notebook period, in my opinion. The paper is simply outstanding, the dot grid is perfect for writing or drawing (I’m not an artist but if I wanted to I wouldn’t’ have an issue using this to draw in). The lay flat design is comfortable. It really is just a superb notebook all the way around.

Besides that I have transferred my cordura pouch from Yellow Birch over. There’s also some random things in the Cosmo I won’t get into, you don’t need to know how many Ibuprofen or Zyrtec I haul around. I’ll likely find a few more things to add to it, but overall I’m super happy with the bag. It’s comfortable to carry with the padded shoulder strap and has just the right amount of space to carry what I need on a daily basis as I wrap up my last in-class semester before my internship. If you’re in the market for a quality EDC briefcase or messenger bag, this is the one!