lil brown bat

I think most people who post on these forums are probably overpacking, but what's overpacking for one is the basics for another. A lot depends on what you have to wear and what gear you have to have in the workplace, and whether there's a viable option to leave it in your workplace vs. lugging it in every day. Another big factor is how self-reliant you need to be on the road: for some commuters, if it breaks, they really have no good or safe option but to fix it right then and there. The key to packing is to understand the difference between, "might really need it in a realistic scenario," "could conceivably use it in some far-fetched scenario," and "don't really need it but would like to have it".