I carry a lot of stuff with me everywhere I go, and the bag I use has to be able to take the brunt of my day-to-day life. I have tried several backpack designs from many different companies over the years. I have found myself coming back to one brand time and time again: SwissGear. I find that the SwissGear bags check most of my requirements for my EDC bag.
First, it must be a backpack I can take anywhere and carry all my daily essentials. I have medical equipment for my t-stent and airway, writing tools, and technology devices and adapters. All this adds weight to the bag, and I want a backpack over a sling bag to distribute the weight. I also need a padded bag to provide a comfortable carrying system. The bag must also be large enough to hold all my stuff. I will not go below 18 liters compactly. I find that is the sweet spot—much more than that, I tend to add more junk to the bag, and things get lost. Any less than 18 liters compactly, and I feel constrained, and I always make sacrifices for equipment that makes me less efficient. Lastly, SwissGear bags are made to last. I have never wholly worn out a SwissGear bag, and I have tried. If a bag is going to be my EDC, it needs to be able to take a beating. It’s not that I don’t take care of my stuff. I travel a lot and need something that can take the load.
The current SwissGear backpack I’m using is the SwissGear 5977 ScanSmart Backpack with 17-inch device compatibility. It’s a heavy bag. I like that it has the capacity and is built out of heavy materials. I could live without all the pockets and paddling inserts designed to keep a large laptop secure during long-distance travels. I find that all that padding hinders my day-to-day usage of the bag. The bag is also huge for my needs at 30.7 liters. This is my bag for right now, but the search for my grail bag continues.
