What’s in your bag, Alex Firth?
I’m a fan of The Verge, I enjoy the way they report, it’s more transparent, and emphasises personality. Where other sites favour a degree of anonymity, The Verge highlight the importance of feel in their style, and allow their reporters to express this; feel is important in tech.
One established segment on The Verge is the ‘What’s in your bag?’ feature, wherein we are able to explore the contents of a Verge reporter’s bag. Whilst this may be considered a hyper-real representation of a mundane reality, I appreciate the consideration of once unconsidered elements.
So, I’m going to do my own, in the style of The Verge. What’s in your bag, Alex Firth?
Supreme Backpack
This is a brand new, SS18 Supreme backpack. It’s got the classic box logo and the cool Supreme adorned strap running round the top. I’m not a hypebeast by any stretch of the imagination, but I appreciate Supreme’s intentional scarcity, and its unique(ish) designs. I don’t own much Supreme, but I love the backpack.
MacBook Pro
I bought this whilst in high school, I considered waiting for the inevitable ‘new’ model, but after seeing that new model a year later, I like this one more. I’m glad I pulled the trigger when I did. It’s a 13", 2015 base model. I don’t need much storage, because the internet exists, and when I bought it, I didn’t think I’d need much RAM. As it turns out, Chrome is a sucker, so I wish I’d upgraded. I had stickers on the top, but I had my screen replaced, and lost them all, so it’s pretty bare right now.
Notepad
University Student here, I dislike when people take notes on laptops. In a mediated world, there is still room for pen and paper. My handwriting is, and always will be, atrocious, however I appreciate writing’s kinaesthetic abilities.
Gadgets
iPhone X
I get a new iPhone every year as a matter of course, and this year was no exception. The X is great, it’s super fast, and my god, that screen! I’m not sure it’s worth £1k, but that’s in the past now. I keep it in Apple’s Leather Case, because what other case would satisfy such an ostentatious phone?
Samsung Galaxy S7
I don’t keep a SIM in it, but I love my S7. I’d argue it’s the best looking Android phone to date, the screen is saturated and clear, and the Android experience is great for a two year old phone. Not a huge fan of TouchWiz, so I alleviate that with the Google Now Launcher. I considered upgrading to the S9, but I think nowadays, I’d prefer a Pixel.
Nintendo Switch
I don’t carry this everywhere, but I play it when I can. I carry it in a Nintendo Case, predominantly to continue a tradition; every Nintendo handheld I’ve owned, back to the GameBoy has been kept in a case. Also, those little cartridges would inevitably get lost. Nintendo have really hit the nail on the head with this one, the games are great, the console is robust and the concept is unique. I love my Switch.
DJI Spark
The Spark is a great backpack inclusion. It’s light, portable, and wickedly powerful. It’s fun to have such a capable drone on me at all times. I usually use the controller, but it’s empowering to have the option of just using my phone.
Bose SoundTrue Headphones
Again, I don’t take these everywhere, but if I need a pair of decent headphones, to be used with a headphone jack (APPLE!!), these do the job.
Essentials
Wallet
I wrote about My Wallet a while back, it’s just a rubber band with my cards in the middle. Found the idea on a LifeHacker article a few years back, and it became habit. It’s usually a pretty good conversation starter!
Apple EarPods
Not Airpods, yet. I did use the old ones with an adapter, but I lost them, so now I use the Lightning ones. Not a fan of the whole headphone jack removal, but, you have to make do.
Sunglasses
Classic Ray Ban Wayfarers, the original, the best.
Mophie Battery Bank
20000 mAH of Supreme lithium goodness, for emergencies only (hence the red).
Bike Lights
Safety First.
ETC
Fidget Spinner
Don’t ask.
Pens
I like the classic Bic Crystal Ballpoints, they’re a design classic.
Keys
Flat Key, Parents’ house key, and bike lock key. No Keyrings, can’t deal with the jangle.
Chewing Gum
Extra is my gum of choice.
Water
Voss right now, good stuff.