Caribbean Beat — November/December 2018 (#154)

in the bag
“A travel bag
should be a
bit ugly”
Mark Lyndersay —
photographer and writer
— on the importance of
a travel bag that keeps
professional gear in
shape, and doubles as a
portable workspace
Mark Lyndersay
A
bag, I’ve come to
believe, should have a
shape that conforms to
your travelling needs.
Most travel luggage
is pretty straightforward.
They are shells that offer varying
levels of protection, a few pockets to
organise the interior, but it’s just a hollow
box for your stuff. It’s also what leaves
you at the check-in counter. With a
decreasing amount of space available for
carry-ons, I need to make the gear I can’t
do without fit shrinking restrictions.
That’s led to reductions in the size of the
devices I travel with, but there are things
I absolutely need as a writer and photographer,
and my shoulder bag remains
the focus of my thinking whenever a trip
gets booked.
On my first professional travel assignment
for computer journalism reporting,
back in 2005, I crammed a laptop sleeve
into the back pocket of a photographer’s
bag, and hooked everything together with
carabiners. It was hideous, but it protected
camera gear and a laptop, with space for
all the peripherals I’m yoked to for working
remotely. It was also readily accessible
for security searches and for disgorging
equipment for separate scanning.
Business trips often require multiple
transfers, and sometimes jogs through an
airport terminal to catch a connecting
flight. Checked baggage is always more
prone to tardy arrival or complete disappearance
on such jaunts, so I try to keep
everything with me. A small roller and a
shoulder bag work well for my personal
travel profile, but everything has to fit,
even on smaller aircraft. I can work without
fresh underwear, but I’m helpless without
my devices, so the roller can go in the hold
— but I need the shoulder bag, thank you.
Over the years, I’ve worked with three
different bags, seeking the best possible
piece of hand luggage. The first, a hefty
marriage of camera and laptop bag, eventually
fell afoul of reduced dimensions
for carry-ons. Its successor didn’t have
a properly designed computer compartment,
and offered too little protection for
my taste, though it had the right shape.
My travels began with a small DSLR
kit, a fifteen-inch laptop, and all the
chargers and transfer cables associated
with making everything work. I’ve since
scaled down to a prosumer point-andshoot,
the Canon G1X, and the laptop is
a thinner, lighter model. The current bag
is the Urban Disguise 60, which comes
with sensible pockets and a truly crazy
number of separators. These are critical
to keeping gear organised and accessible.
The bag isn’t just for travel; it’s also a
workspace once I arrive.
When it comes to travel, form should
follow function. A carry-on shoulder bag
should attach firmly to the extensible
handle of your roller. There’s nothing
more appalling than having to stop a
desperate run for a closing flight to adjust
a bag that’s swinging wildly.
Any travel bag should be anonymous,
perhaps even a bit ugly. Bags that advertise
expensive contents should be avoided
at all costs, and while a carry-on should
never leave your side, it shouldn’t make
you a target. Eventually, it will have to
sit on your shoulder, so confirm it has a
strong, comfortable strap (same goes for
backpacks).
A truly great carry-on disappears. It
fits where it needs to go. Pleases check-in
staff and safety inspectors. And, most
critically, keeps your gear with you, ready
for action. n
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