I've somehow landed a post retirement gig at a design firm and my new commute/work environs might push me into carrying my commuting gear a little differently. Thoughtful suggestions welcome.

The photo below shows a pretty accurate representation of what I'll be taking to the office daily. I won't be using panniers because a couple of the bikes I commute on don't have racks.



Notes: The papers I carry need to be kept in good shape and dry; which would mean well separated from my lunch and somewhat protected from being bent and folded.

I have a Chrome Metropolis that will work OK for this. Anything out there that might work better?

Can you safely leave anything there to lighten your load?

Banjo Brothers waterproof backpack? Two sizes, put the papers into the laptop sleeve.

Biggest thing to not "lighten" but lesson would be the tupperware bowl. I bag my stuff. Yep, bag-0-salad, bag-o-leftovers, etc. Fits better too.

And, because I Do do the recycle thang - I wash out my ziplock bags and re-use several times (unless of course - and I try not too - get a big greasy lunch in my Bag-o).

Plus - I see a big nalgene container. Can't you use a smaller water bottle and put it into the bottle cage - personally by eliminating those things - you have a winner of a minor backpack there. V8 - meh - drink that at home to eliminate weight.

I seriously use a minibackpack that I have bike tool bag for mtb (grrr, main commuter down so using off-road mtb and it's seat doesn't like my standard min-trunk) - digital camera (never go without it), office clothes (leave shoes there at work), lunch (bag-0-something), spare glasses and other misc stuff - including files, paper and assorted DVD's I took home to work on from work.

No problem. I would rather have a little backpack on my back everyday rather than deal with panniers everyday - although I enjoy them - but it's more room and I would pack more stuff into them and/or a trunk and <shakes head> no!

Actually I just purchased a new camelbak with a small backpack option and I''m thinking that I can use that as my commuter bag versus my other. Just have to take the larger backpack once in a while to stock up the office (like change shoes/boots out in Spring/Fall, etc) once in a while - other than that I'm good!

It looks like you and I have pretty similar loads (the documents - not so much. I rarely carry documents, but when I do it is imperative that they remain dry and unwrinkled). I got a plastic fold resistant portfolio at office depot, and both my messenger bags (one skooba for when I need my laptop, one cheapo S&B for when I dont) have document pockets inside them. Also, on the cheapo bag, I bought a can of aerosol water sealant for fabrics at a local camping store - I've been buying the stuff for years and it tends to effectively waterproof almost anything for about 6 months.

That's not much, a lot less than I carry--but I'm a beast of burden. (I notice, no bike tools, unless they're in the red bag?)

I think any small backpack will work nicely for you. Try to find one with a laptop compartment (for the paperwork) and a large main compartment (rather than lots of smaller compartments). Some are more durable than others--look for metal zippers, or at least the heavier nylon ones. Bright colors are good for cycling, and I think they look jauntier also.

This is a great time to buy a backpack because of back-to-school sales. You will find an excellent one for under $30.

P.S. You will probably put the papers in a ziplock bag in case the soup leaks out of the tupperware!

Yeah had a few occasions even out of having a bag of frozen veggies in a grocery sack - and the condensation leached over to mah papers. Not good.

While I double bag all the lunch time preps - I have seen some slim waterproof type zip up kinda cool small portfolios. Go to a Staples, etc for one. If you're carrying papers - it's a great thing, if you have to have original signature I mean - otherwise it's on the shared drive or e-mailed.

Looks like there might not be much out there that can handle my needs as well as the Chrome Metropolis does.



This image shows everything from the first photo (and more) loaded into the Metropolis, with plenty of room for additional cold & wet weather gear. Note that my large water bottle easily fits into a pocket and is well secured there, as are the headphones at the opposite side. The paperwork is in the laptop bag but I'm not very happy with this approach to carrying files.

While I was quite impressed the quality of my Chrome bag when I got it (direct ordered from them a couple of years ago), the heavy duty messenger format wasn't ideal for my long, high effort commute. That's all changed now and I have a fast, relatively flat ride to and from work. I appreciate the wide open access that the Metropolis gives me.

Perhaps the only thing left for me is to find a good way to carry my notepads and papers, in the Chrome bag.

Thanks for offering your slant on things.

My tools ride along on my bikes. My locks stay on the rack at work.

I have a TNF Skareb 40, which is what I used instead of my Metropolis for my old commute. It's certainly lighter and has some compartmentalization but not nearly as much as my Chrome bag. I haven't looked at any of the "messenger packs".

I was actually thinking about starting a thread to see what approaches people take when it comes to packing their lunch and keeping it from the rest of their gear. Few of my lunch containers truly seal.

I'm not certain why, but the front of the waterproof liner can be pulled back from the shell (perhaps for ease of cleaning), creating a place I could carry papers as shown. This would really keep the fruit juice from the forms.

However, I just thought of a simple solution to the lunch leak problem. We use light weight waterproof dry bags all the time when we go bicycle touring. Granite Gear is high quality at a good price and they've always kept our stuff dry. I guess that can work in reverse and will also really make your lunch easy to spot in the fridge at work. I might try one of their Air Space containers for my commuter food.

Why'd you ask the question if you already knew the answer? I feel kinda used. It only took a few minutes to type my "slant" but that's a few minutes I'll never get back.

So why don't you just come out and tell us now....what's the best kind of lunch container? Really--cut to the chase--I'm dying to hear your slant on it. Or do you just want to waste my time again?

Oh jeez--you really did do it again! You answered your own damn question. What an annoying habit.

Used? You don't think your input will help anyone tuned in?

After this thread started down the "change your ways to solve your problem" path, I started looking into things myself. I normally research my purchases to the hilt but it's been a while since I ran down this road and so I checked in to see if something else compares favorably to what I have. Appears that messenger style backpacks have gained ground but perhaps not much else has changed.

The only thing I reported with regard to possible lunch containers is what a company offers that I'm already somewhat familiar with. Probably something better out there and perhaps we'll hear about it here.

But forgive me for thinking fast.

I know this does not help you, but what are those head phones?

I keep looking for some that wont brake if I put them in my bag but I am afraid still,

No problem.

They're Sony MDR-V6

They won't likely break on you and they fold nicely for storage/travel. Mine are over 15 years old and are still nearly like new. Back then they came with a lightly padded bag for storage too. These have been something of a gold standard for a long time and you see them in studios all the time, even to this day. Of course this also means they are somewhat expensive.

Here's a LINK but you can find them cheaper.


Tailwinds,

They are monitor head phone, will they be good for listening to my Ipod still. I have friends that record, & they have kind of told me I don't need something with that frequency range. But those are actually higher end then what they are using(they only do little home recording), & for the prices I have seen that's not bad at all. along with knowing they will hold up. That is crazy good frequency range though.

You can just MP me if you want, I don't want to high jack your thread.

That "crazy good" freq range is exactly why I bought them 15-20 years ago, and they sound fantastic with an Ipod or anything else of quality. I got a kick out of seeing that two other designers at my office wear MDR-V6s while working at their Macs.

I used these phones heavily at home but never carried them to my other workplace. Now they go in with me everyday and I was happy to see them fit nicely in that messenger bag pocket. If they ever croak I'll replace them immediately.

A back back, that can be attached to the seat post: "KLICKfix Rixen&Kaul" either Meta or city. They have a sheet of fiberglass in the back and I find this is good to prevent papers getting bent, although there are two nuts that stick inwards in the bag. I use one and carry, just checking: a set of tools, oil bottle, oily rag, rain jacket, first-aid kit, iPod, homewards set of riding kit, a spare head lamp for if the main fails, a spare water bottle. Normally also carries a cable lock, but that's locking up the bike currently, and some papers which're with my secretary and I'm surfing here...

If you need to keep the papers pristine: another thing I use is a "Fast Rider" pannier, this is like a brief case that has a flap to hide the handle/hide the panier hooks. It is very stiff, which is better for keeping papers straight, and for carrying more papers or a laptop, but can't really carry anything like a sandwich box as it'd pop the lid off.

I'm actually pumped I came across this, I want to buy them right now. The only problem is jobless right now. But I might still have a little I can spend(horrible idea but that is how I live my life) B&H has them for a descent price, & I trust them. Hopefully I can order them soon.

Thank you very much for your help.

Being a Metropolis man myself, I think you're pretty well fixed up already, unless you've really got a jones for a regular backpack...

I'm glad that I'll finally be putting it to good use. Also good to hear from a fellow LCI.


Cheers,