It took a few years, but I zeroed in on a group of items that balanced out exactly what I needed with not packing too much stuff. As I did last year, I referenced my previous What’s In My Bag post to make sure I grabbed everything – which worked out great because there were a couple items I had forgotten that would’ve been slightly inconvenient.

In previous years there was always a little too much stuff in my bag to carry it in a backpack, but I think I might have trimmed it down enough to potentially return to that medium. Until then however, I’m still using the same Wenger Patriot rolling bag, which has certainly been one of the best choices I’ve made next to my choice of shoes.

  • As always, you’ll need a badge to get in the door.
  • Right next to that is my hand sanitizer. In a crowd of this many people that you’re constantly shaking hands with and needing to not come down with some sort of super-death-flu this week, it’s a necessity.
  • I’m still using the same Microsoft Surface Pro 3 that I’ve used the last two trade shows as well. It continues to perform wonderfully and is extremely compact and light in the bag.
  • Business cards in the same XIKAR business card holder
  • Anker USB battery for charging up the phone that’s almost constantly in use.
  • XIKAR MTX cigar scissors
  • Prometheus 2012 Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Ultimo X lighter – which you can read my review of here.
  • Warped Series I Case to protect the one or two sticks I bring with me each day that I inevitably don’t get a chance to smoke.
  • RØDE Stereo VideoMic Pro — Much better for trying to interview somebody while the cacophony of the show is going on behind you.
  • A Field Notes notebook and a Lamy Safari Neonlime Special Edition pen – same as last year, certainly a great improvement to the unwieldy notepads I’ve used in the past.
  • Lastly a new camera body this year – the Nikon D500. It’s a significant improvement over the D7200 of last year, as it’s Nikon’s top of the line DX format camera. I would’ve probably asked for a full frame FX format, but I’m still using the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens, which is made for a cropped sensor. Overall the duo has performed phenominally.

Not pictured are a handful of odds and ends I didn’t have with me for the photo, including a GoPro and Feiyu-Tech G4 handheld 3-axis gimbal combo that I used to shoot all the booth walk-through videos you’ve seen this year. Of course a few smaller things as well like baggies, Boveda packs, chapstick and water – all necessary in the dry heat of Las Vegas.

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2017 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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Brian Burt

I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.