creature comforts / more materialism, less materialism
materialism
Alright, if you know me in real life you probably already know that I’m weirdly into backpacks. Some of the most exciting days of childhood for me were the days I got a new backpack for school. I can tell you my lineup of backpacks from Kindergarten onward (not that you asked):
Jansport Superbreak (K-3rd grade)
Jansport Airlift (2x, I used the same model from 4th through 9th grade) - I was excessively hyped about the honeycomb cushioning in the straps
OGIO toploader (I carefully selected and purchased this based on its feature list from a catalog in 2nd grade, but it turned out to be adult sized and I never ended up actually using it because it was roughly half my size)
Jansport Right Pack (10th)
The North Face Mondaze (11th - junior year college)
Topo Designs Mountain Briefcase / Klettersack ( junior year college - now)
On my first day of mentoring for a product design program at MIT, we were asked to present on our favorite product and how it inspired us to pursue design. I presented every detail of my TNF backpack and what I liked and disliked about it (a lot of people presented their phones, since Apple products seem to be a common gateway). Backpacks have always been an integral part of my interest in design. Over the years, experimentation and research on all sorts of bags have led me to a specific list of criteria of what I look for in backpacks (why does this sound like dating?)
backpack criteria
Waist strap compatibility (swappable with a specific padded hip belt that I like from Tom Bihn)
Comfortable shoulder straps for long wear (ideally has sternum and lift loader straps)
Somewhat expandable capacity — feels okay when it’s empty but can handle larger loads (ie. blankets, big cameras, puffy jackets, etc)
Durable materials and construction
Decent organization pockets
Multipoint entry (ie. zip entry for rolltop or other ways of accessing laptop compartment)
Suspended laptop compartment
Subtle design — I’m not a fan of strong branding or a really distinctive look (except for my bright yellow Topo Designs bag, I guess)
Rigid, padded back panel (ideally not the spongey porous stuff that absorbs sweat…more dense foam, just for back ventilation)
Bottom compartment for packable jackets, shoes, or anything stuffable
Side water bottle compartment (not sure how necessary this is because I end up holding my water bottle the majority of the time)
bags i’ve tried:
Peak Design 20L (sold in 2018)
Waist strap - built in (unpadded) but usable
Comfortable shoulder straps - yes
Somewhat expandable capacity - no (rigid organization made this unusable as a travel bag but solid as a camera bag. I don’t have big camera kits so this was not suitable)
Durable materials and construction - yes
Decent organization pockets - yes
Multipoint entry - yes
Suspended laptop compartment - yes
Subtle design - SF bro vibe was not my thing
Rigid padded back panel - yes
Bottom compartment - no
Side water bottle compartment - yes
Evergoods CPL24 (sold in 2019)
Waist strap - no (dealbreaker, it turns out)
Comfortable shoulder straps - yes
Somewhat expandable capacity - no
Durable materials and construction - yes
Decent organization pockets - no
Multipoint entry - no
Suspended laptop compartment - yes
Subtle design - military vibe not my thing
Rigid padded back panel - yes
Bottom compartment - no
Side water bottle compartment - no
YNOT Magnetica (sold in 2018)
Waist strap - yes
Comfortable shoulder straps - no
Somewhat expandable capacity - yes, but too much. Was way too large for most public spaces and therefore pretty impractical for travel
Durable materials and construction - kinda
Decent organization pockets - no
Multipoint entry - no
Suspended laptop compartment - yes
Subtle design - yes
Rigid padded back panel - yes
Bottom compartment - no
Side water bottle compartment - yes
Tom Bihn Synapse 19 (sold in 2017)
Waist strap - yes
Comfortable shoulder straps - yes
Somewhat expandable capacity - no
Durable materials and construction - yes
Decent organization pockets - yes. Best organization I’ve seen on a bag
Multipoint entry - no
Suspended laptop compartment - yes, but only fit 13 inch laptops which was impractical for work
Subtle design - yes? It kind of looks like a turtle shell
Rigid padded back panel - no. This ended up being really annoying because random things would poke into my back.
Bottom compartment - yes. I realized how much I liked that feature from this bag. Great for packable jackets, snacks, shoes, etc.
Side water bottle compartment - no, but it had a sweet center balanced water bottle pocket that was awesome.
Topo Designs Klettersack
Waist strap - yes
Comfortable shoulder straps - yes
Somewhat expandable capacity - yes
Durable materials and construction - yes
Decent organization pockets - yes
Multipoint entry - no. One of my major gripes with this bag and why it doesn’t work for daily use. The drawstring top is great for security while traveling but pretty annoying to get in and out of quickly.
Suspended laptop compartment - no. Poorly padded laptop compartment but also doesn’t fit a 15 in laptop with a sleeve.
Subtle design - not subtle, but the bright yellow color makes me happy.
Rigid padded back panel - no. Second major gripe. It doesn’t hold shape well when it’s empty, and also the waist straps end up being useless unless there’s a laptop in there.
Bottom compartment - no
Side water bottle compartment - yes, but not functional for that purpose. Good for cell phone, snacks, tripod, etc.
Topo Designs Stack Pack
Waist strap - no
Comfortable shoulder straps - no
Somewhat expandable capacity - no
Durable materials and construction - yes
Decent organization pockets - yes, great for rectangular things because of it’s shape and design
Multipoint entry - no
Suspended laptop compartment - no
Subtle design — yes
Rigid padded back panel - no
Bottom compartment - no
Side water bottle compartment - yes, but also not functional.
other bags i’ve considered in my years of backpack rabbit holing
No waist strap compatibility
Tech bro vibe not my thing
The marketing irritates me and it’s a well-known camera bag at this point which might be more theft-prone
Military aesthetic not my thing
No waist strap compatibility
The laptop compartment isn’t against the back panel which is weird to me… seems like poor weight distribution
SF tech bro vibe not my thing
Beyond the standard backpack, I have a packable daypack, a more professional tote bag, a camera bag / messenger / small daypack, and duffel gear bag / car camping bag. Does this sound excessive? The average American woman owns 11 handbags (not that I, at all, aspire to be an average American woman). I own 6 bags that I use regularly, and I’ve traveled backpack-only for the last 4 years (is this justification?)
Anyway… I’ve considered designing and sewing my own bag because I’m so particular about them but that seemed like a long road with lots of wasted material so I eventually gave up and settled on a rotation of bags that worked for very specific purposes. The Topo Designs Klettersack is what I need 85% of the time. I put up with the lack of accessibility and annoyingly unstructured back panel because it’s a high quality bag that serves a wide variety of travel purposes even as it doesn’t quite work for daily use. I wasn’t looking for a new bag, but came across Burton’s line of bags at an REI recently and was intrigued. I get asked for school bag recommendations often, and I usually recommend Burton despite never having owned one because they are relatively affordable for quality bags, have a lifetime warranty, have a variety of different designs/colors for different purposes, are now a Certified B Corp, and have pretty demonstrated commitment to sustainability. I saw one marketed as a bike commuter bag, and started going down my list…
Waist strap compatibility (swappable with a specific padded hip belt that I like from TB) ✓
Comfortable shoulder straps for long wear (ideally has sternum and lift loader straps) ✓✓✓!!!
Somewhat expandable capacity — feels okay when it’s empty but can handle larger loads ✓
Durable materials and construction ✓
Decent organization pockets ✓
Multipoint entry (ie. zip entry for rolltop or other ways of accessing laptop compartment) ✓✓✓!!!
Suspended laptop compartment ✓
Subtle design — I’m not a fan of strong branding ✓
Rigid padded back panel (ideally not the spongey stuff, more dense foam, just for back ventilation) ✓
Bottom compartment for jackets, shoes, or anything stuffable ✓
Side water bottle compartment (not sure how necessary this is because I end up holding my water bottle the majority of the time) x
How interesting. Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend rolled around, I kept my eye on coupons and deals, and managed to snag it at a decent price…
Nice, plain, unmemorable design.
Side zipper access to main compartment!! Why don’t all backpacks have this?
Waterproof bottom compartment for stuffable things!
Compatible with my padded waist belt! Number one criteria.
I’m hoping this will finally be the bag that serves 95% of all my bag use purposes (very optimistic thus far). The lack of a water bottle compartment doesn’t seem like it’ll be a big deal because none of the water bottle compartments on my current bags are functional. I think it’s funny that after years of following backpack design news and trying out a lot of highly-hyped Kickstarter bags, it’s an unknown, unreviewed bag from a snowboarding company that ends up meeting the criteria for what I need. I will keep my yellow Topo bag for all the lovely memories and sweet patches, and use it for the occasional day hike, but will likely retire it from travel use. The green Topo bag will go up for sale as I’m trying to keep it at 6 bags (6 cameras, 6 bags, seems reasonable... right? Don’t answer that.)
non-materialism
Okay, now that I’ve gotten all of that material obsession out of the way…
With more end of the year reflection comes thinking through next year’s goals. There’s many facets to what I accomplish next year, but I think a lot of will be dependent on what I spend my time doing and how I use various resources. I will eventually write more about what that means, but this will be a reflection on what I don’t want to do (rather, what I don’t want to spend time and money on).
As someone who has had a lifelong interest in product design, I can get really roped into details and optimizing things in my daily life. I spend a lot of time reading product reviews and understanding nuanced design decisions that really make me appreciate well-crafted products. I think this attention to detail has been beneficial to my professional life, especially when I worked in consulting and having a robust understanding of the lay of the material land was an advantage. Throughout the last few years, however, I’ve struggled a lot in balancing my passion for sustainability, a general distaste for excessive consumption (while still sometimes falling into the trap), and my interest in thoughtful design. I’ve tried to balance it by being incredibly rigorous in my research process before buying things and planning purchases for the long term rather than going for more affordable, disposable items. Still, at a certain point, a lot of what I buy is unnecessary, and I would like to be even more mindful of my consumption of material things. I think I’m pretty good about buying things for demonstrated need and practicality and buying used, but I can end up in a similar loop of consumption because I’m eager to optimize the things I own and I have a high bar for what practical means to me (consumption through minimalism?). It’s honestly an endless process, and there will always be things to nitpick about. I’m tired of spending mindless time subconsciously hunting for the next best thing. I’m happy with everything I have now and I just want to leave it at that.
To hold myself accountable, I’m putting my off-limits list for 2020 here:
I will not spend on:
Backpacks (honestly my biggest weakness…I bought and sold 4 backpacks in 2019)
Cameras (my second biggest weakness…I bought 1 camera and sold 10 in 2019 though, so this should be easy now)
Clothing / shoes unless for a very specific purpose—consider borrowing or repurposing first
Pens
Audio equipment (unless something breaks)
Electronics (unless my phone dies)
Keyboards
Blankets
Desk accessories
I will thoughtfully spend on:
Experiences
Equipment that enables memorable experiences or encourages healthy habits (necessary camping / outdoor / exercise related gear)
Film / development
Food / life necessities
Gifts
Healthcare / skincare
Information / learning (news subscriptions, books if unavailable through libraries or other networks)
Interesting personal projects
New journal if I finish using my current one
Tea
Plants / gardening things
I plan to approach this in a few ways:
Stop reading product review sites for cameras, tech, backpacks, outdoor gear — this, more than anything, is what gets me hyped on cool things / cool design. I no longer work in the product design space so this doesn’t benefit me in any way anymore. Instead, I want to direct time and attention to better understanding software UX trends (actually relevant to job now) and reading more books
Spend more time taking pictures — feel okay about spending money on film and development as it encourages me to practice photography, something that has been demonstrably helpful for my general wellbeing, sense of fulfillment, and attachment to my surroundings
Spend more time outside / exercising / developing new skills — I bike, run, and TRX regularly now but I want to work longboarding into that rotation just to work different muscle groups and practice balance. I learned to ride goofy with a back leg kick when I started skating as a kid, so the goal is now to be able to skate regular and push mongo in either stance so I can alternate for balance. I also want to get better at pumping (propelling a longboard through motion instead of kicking, kinda like those RipStiks) so I can kick less on flatground.
This is both a mindfulness, constraint, and sustainability exercise as well as one that encourages me to continue building long-term financial stability and spend more time on valuable skill development.
I think this concludes the second (and last?) of my back-to-back material based blog posts. Will be back to the usual thoughts on books and photos from outdoor adventures soon. :)
reflection question
What are some goals you’ve started thinking about as New Year Resolutions?
