Skip to content

What's In My Bag

2023-05-03 · Tech review, setup or bag tour · Ali · recording, 9:26 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech (also: YouTube, writing online and creators) · mode: Demonstration and walkthrough · tags: His own products discussed

In his annual what's-in-my-bag video, filmed on a trip to Kiruna in Sweden, Ali goes through his Peter McKinnon Everyday Travel Backpack compartment by compartment: laptop, iPad and laptop stand, a camera kit he calls a one-man studio, a sample mechanical keyboard from his team's accessories brand, and small carry items such as a padlock for the gym, AirTags and a stain pen.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The annual what's in my bag video; the Peter McKinnon Everyday Travel Backpack

  • ★★ Ali calls the Peter McKinnon Everyday Travel Backpack by Nomatic the best everyday carry bag he has ever used: pretty huge, it fits all the tech he wants, and though designed for cameras it adapts to anything else. — 00:00:00 · Peter McKinnon

00:00:29 — Laptop compartment: MacBook Pro, iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard, Oripura laptop stand

  • ★★ Ali carries his 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro in the official Ali Abdaal collaboration dbrand skin, which matches his iPhone case. — 00:00:29 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali always carries his 11-inch iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard, handy on aeroplanes and trains and in tiny coffee shops where he does not want to take the laptop out. — 00:00:29 · iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard
  • ★★ Ali carries a Herman Miller laptop stand, which he thinks is the Oripura: it props up his laptop so that with a keyboard and mouse he has a portable productivity desk setup wherever he is. — 00:00:57

00:01:19 — Camera compartment: Sony A7C, lens, ND filter, shotgun microphone, charger

  • ★★ Ali always carries the Sony A7C with a 16-35mm f2.8 G Master lens and a Peter McKinnon variable ND filter, which he calls sunglasses for the lens; with this camera he can shoot basically any video or photo anywhere. — 00:01:19 · Peter McKinnon
  • ★★ Ali's Sony shotgun microphone attaches to the top of his camera; because it is a first-party Sony accessory, he gets audio without plugging in a cable. — 00:01:49

00:02:18 — Peak Design Tech Pouch, sunglasses and a sample mechanical keyboard from his team's brand

  • ★★ Ali has recently started carrying a mechanical keyboard, which he admits is a bit overkill, because it is nicer to type on in a coffee shop when working on his book or videos. — 00:02:18
  • ★★★ Ali's team is developing its own brand of productivity accessories, such as a mechanical keyboard and a bag; Ali uses a keyboard sample recently received from the factory in China every day, giving feedback on the tiniest details, and the team is still trying colours, aiming for a light-mode pastel look. — 00:02:18
  • ★★ Ali keeps his cables, extra chargers and a mouse in a Peak Design Tech Pouch. — 00:02:47
  • ★★ Ali always carries the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse in grey, because he likes everything to be light mode. — 00:02:47
  • ★★ Ali carries the Insta360 Go 2, a small camera he can attach to a necklace to capture first-person shots for his vlog or while surfing. — 00:02:47

00:03:05 — Inside the tech pouch: mouse, Insta360 Go 2, power bank, EarPods, Apple Watch, cables

  • ★★ Ali keeps wired Lightning EarPods in his bag for calls: his AirPods Pro sometimes bug out, especially in the middle of a Zoom call, while the microphone on the standard EarPods is incredible. — 00:03:36 · Zoom, iPhone

00:04:34 — Storage compartment: card reader, physical card, nail cutter, dongle, SSD, breath strips

  • ★★ Ali always carries a physical bank card because some places do not accept Apple Pay or contactless payment. — 00:04:34
  • ★★ Ali has taken to carrying a nail cutter in his bag, because nails that grow too long stop him typing efficiently. — 00:04:34
  • ★★ Ali carries a SanDisk 2TB portable SSD for editing and for offloading footage from a trip, so he has a backup on top of the SD card. — 00:05:03
  • ★ Ali carries Listerine Cool Mint breath strips, an idea he took from a blog post on things every gentleman should carry in his backpack. — 00:05:03

00:05:29 — Top compartment: notebook and pens, headphones, deodorant, pencil case, two tripods

  • ★★ Ali always carries a notebook and prefers the A5 Leuchtturm1917. — 00:05:29
  • ★ The pen on Ali's notebook is a prototype sent to him by Grovemade, which is doing a collaboration with the YouTuber Matthew Encina; Ali is giving them feedback on it. — 00:05:29
  • ★★ Ali recommends a pen loop on the notebook, sold separately for Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, so he is never without a pen when taking notes. — 00:05:29
  • ★★ Ali has not upgraded from his Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones to the fifth version because he does not need to: he calls them amazing noise-cancelling headphones for a plane, a train or a coffee shop. — 00:05:29
  • ★★ Ali enjoys physical note-taking and physical journaling, so he carries a pencil case of pens, highlighters, a fountain pen and fine liners. — 00:06:15
  • ★★ Ali's Joby Telepod phone tripod gives him time-lapses anywhere and group photos on a timer when friends come for dinner; it has come in so handy that he always carries one. — 00:06:57
  • ★★ Ali's second tripod, the PGYTech MantisPod, attaches to his Sony A7C and has a hook attachment, so it can be fixed in odd places. — 00:06:57

00:07:26 — Easy-access compartment: passport, cables, WeWork card, AirTags, padlock, stain pen; sign-off

  • ★★ With his tripod, camera, microphone, SD cards, SSD and laptop, Ali can film basically any video anywhere: he calls his bag a one-man studio that he carries at all times. — 00:07:26

    “It's basically a one-man studio packed into a bag”

  • ★★ Ali carries a Mophie cable kit with USB-C and Lightning cables, so he always has a spare when his other cables do not work or a friend needs an iPhone charger. — 00:07:55

  • ★★ Ali keeps an AirTag on his keys so he never loses them. — 00:07:55
  • ★★ Ali keeps another AirTag in his backpack so he knows where the bag is at all times in case he loses it. — 00:08:24
  • ★★ Ali always carries a padlock so he can go to the gym at any time wherever he is: too often he wanted to go but could not leave his bag of expensive gear without one. — 00:08:24
  • ★ Ali carries a Tide to Go stain pen, from the same list of things a gentleman should carry, because he always spills coffee down his top. — 00:08:53

In the description and comments

  • ★ Ali made his annual what's-in-my-bag video on a trip to Kiruna in Sweden. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Peter McKinnon Everyday Travel Backpack

Also: People: Matthew Encina · Peter McKinnon

Projects: Ali's tech, keyboards and bags product brand

Organizations: dbrand · Grovemade · Herman Miller · Nomatic · WeWork

Places: China

Products: AirPods Pro · Apple AirTag · Apple Pay · EarPods · Insta360 Go 2 · iPad Pro · Joby GripTight TelePod · Leuchtturm1917 notebook · Logitech MX Master · MacBook · Magic Keyboard · Mophie Cable Kit · Oripura Laptop Stand · Peak Design Tech Pouch · PGYTech MantisPod · SanDisk Portable SSD · Sony 16-35mm G Master · Sony A7C · Sony ECM-B1M · Sony WH-1000XM4 · Tide to Go · Zoom

Only in the description or credits: Kiruna · Sweden

Replies to

← Previous: John Grisham's Daily Writing Routine ✍️ · Next → Why stupid people think they're smart 👀