PCA 2024: What’s In My Bag — Brian Burt

For the first time in a long time, the list of what is in my bag has changed.

Shocking, I know. I’ll give you a minute to recover.

Now that you’ve composed yourself, the reality is I’ve just dropped a few things off the list because the way we’re covering the show is so much different than in years past. Gone is the laptop, as we’re not writing booth posts on the show floor. Gone is the microphone and video setup as we’re not doing interviews, as is the GoPro for booth walkthroughs. The eagle-eyed readers might notice a couple of new small items here or there, but those are just things I usually do carry and have forgotten to add to the list previously. However, I’m left with an efficient list of items that are only the essentials needed for our coverage. So, without further ado…

Here is the complete list of what’s in my bag:

• PCA 2024 Badge — Necessary to get onto the floor.
• Nikon D500/Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 lens — Still the odd man out on the halfwheel crew using the Nikon platform.
• A reporter’s notebook, a Lamy Safari Neon Lime Special Edition pen, and some preprinted forms to better organize our data.
• Business cards and my XIKAR business card case — While I’ve been covering the show for over a decade at this point and most of the companies I regularly cover know me, there are still new companies or new employees each year here at the show who want my contact info. On the flip side, it’s a great place to store the business cards I get from these new contacts in case I have any follow-up questions and need to get in touch.
• Warped Series I Case — I might carry one cigar onto the show floor, but if I’m handed something that needs extra protection from being jostled around my bag, it goes in here.
• Elie Bleu J-14 Diamond Jet Flame—It’s not the most compact lighter, but it’s certainly not as bulky as other options. The fuel tank is also pretty decently sized, meaning I usually don’t have to refuel throughout my stay.
• XIKAR MTX Cigar Multi-Tool — This cigar accessory, however, is compact. I love this cutter, and while I usually cut my cigars with a XIKAR XO cutter at home, the XIKAR MTX scissors save quite a bit of room in my pocket.
• Snacks and water — Especially with the higher number of booths to visit this year, but certainly every year, sometimes you just need a quick bite to eat, and I don’t have the time to hoof it clear across the show floor to the food vendors. Also not in the video is a bottle of water. Need to stay hydrated!
• Hand Sanitizer — Lots and lots of handshaking goes on at a trade show. I mean no offense to anybody, but this gets used as much as any of the essential tools in my bag.
• Lotion — Along the same lines as the item above and below, the environment is brutal on my skin, particularly my knuckles.
• Ziplock bag with Boveda humidity pack — The desert environment here in Las Vegas will dry your cigars out almost in real-time as they sit outside a controlled environment like a humidor or a bag. Any samples you care about trying later need to be kept with some kind of humidification, and Boveda does the job well.