PCA 2022: What’s in My Bag — Charlie Minato

The trade show is more or less over, but here are the things I used to produce the content that you have read and will read. Don’t forget to leave a comment to win a prize.

Here’s what in my bag, I’ve noted new items with italics:

• Tom Bihn Shadow Guide 33 — Last October I finally replaced my just-out-of-warranty Tumi Tahoe Dale bag. I really liked the Tumi bag and if Tumi still made it, I probably would have bought another one. Unfortunately, they don’t and so I went with this bag from Tom Bihn, a company I once bought a bag from before. It’s a different bag from the Tumi but it works quite well and keeps the general theme of one very large storage area and a minimalist aesthetic otherwise.
• Trade Show Badge — These are much nicer than last year’s.
• Think Tank Cable Management 10 V 2.0 — A lot of what is typically stored inside here (dongles, Anker Lightning charging cables, etc.) is on my desk at the booth, but I still try to keep some essential back-ups.
• Sony A7RIV + Sony 16-35 ƒ/2.8 — At this point, we have more or less switched to this set-up with the exception of Brian who uses a Nikon.
• Sennheiser AVX — While Patrick has experienced some issues with his particular mic, the Sennheiser AVX remains a staple of our trade show coverage. These are durable, wireless mics that capture sound without being a major hassle.
• Peak Design Tripod — I get a ton of compliments about this tripod and really enjoy using it. There are much more affordable options but this works so much better than a monopod in my opinion. I would say the carbon fiber model is unnecessary, as it does not save that much weight compared to the standard one.
• Moleskine Reporter Notebook — I’ve almost run out of pages in here.
• Leuchtturm Medium Hardcover Lined Red — This has been used once.
• Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen — These are apparently discontinued, but it’s still my favorite. I have pens from Uni-Ball and Zebra as well.
• Blazer PB-207 — I’ve owned at least three of these in my life, bought another one about a year ago, and was reminded how great of a lighter this is. The single-flame torch lighter sips on fuel and works every time. I believe a review is coming of this from Patrick shortly.
• Kershaw Launch #4 — It looks a bit worse for the wear, but it’s still in my pocket every day.
• Sony WF-1000MX4 — I have used these a lot less than last year, but every once in a while I need to remove myself from the hum of the trade show and these work well.
• Apple Airpods Pro — As much as I love the Sonys, I find making phone calls from the Airpods easier.
• Business Cards
• Bottled Water — I was doing a great job of staying hydrated and then Day 3 happened.
• Anker Battery — I normally carry around two of them, but one of them is in my hotel room.
• Plastic Bag + Boveda — This ends up just sitting in the halfwheel bunker.
• Gum
• Facemask — COVID-19 isn’t done yet. I had COVID-19 in May, I’m hoping the antibodies are going to get me through this week.