Recommend a backpack solution - heavy techie/lots of gadgets

All,

I generally carry a large 15" laptop (Dell Latitude C840) and a one inch thick book, a few magazines, iPod, Canon S45 digital camera, noise-canceling headphones, a few pens, a few manilla folders, power supply, mouse, and a bunch of other cords for a network, modem, USB, and phone connections.

What backpack and any accessories do you recommend? I travel heavily and it needs to fit underneath the seat in front of me on an American Airlines plane as I like being being able to pull anything out of it (IPod, etc.) on a longer flight.

Can I get by with the Smart Alec? I usually stuff my bags pretty full - so it's got to fit underneath the seat fairly full.

Another requirement is that I really need zipper type pockets so that I can put memory cards, GPS module, and other smaller types of electronic gadgets/cables into the backpack and I don't worry about having to reorganize it everytime I fly. :)

Let me know what you recommend!


Thanks,

Kris Arthur
krisarthur@yahoo.com

hi krisarthur,

i use a smartalec to carry the sort of gear that you are describing and it works very well for me. it also fits well both under the seat in front of me and overhead (even in those small canadian regional jets with mini-overhead bins). the monolith holds my powerbook, and i use the freudian slip to help me organize my books/magazines, camera, ipod, ac adapter, card reader and so forth. i've recently added to my smartalec a small pouch (4"x10") to carry cables and such. i used to carry these in the smart alec but i find a pouch does well for these sort of less frequently used cables.

i still have space in my smartalec to add other articles when needed, including a cd carrying case, a portfolio, and a sandwich.

i haven't used one, but the brain bag is a bigger backpack that will hold a lot more. the smartalec does well for my gear. it's very well constructed and is very light, which is easy on my shoulders.

zippers are an interesting idea. i find that the pockets in the smartalec and freudian slip do well to keep organized what i put in there. things put into pockets stay in those pockets.

i hope i addressed all of your questions. please ask if you have more questions. we're all here to help :).

maverick

I travel quite a bit and am wondering if the Brain Bag will fit underneath the seat in front of you - as my carry-on goes in the overhead bin.

I would probably stuff the backpack pretty good but I want to make sure I still put it underneath the seat.

Kris

My brain bag, when full, definitely doesn't fit under the seat in front of me on an airplane! The thing is BIG when full. :)