My Tech Bag
By: Paul Alvarez
Tags: Backpack, Minimalism, Review, Gadgets, Technology

I contemplated writing a standalone review for these headphones because they have been my favorite pair consistently for years now. The fact that Bose still sells these should be a good indication of how great these headphones are.

I am sure the QuietComfort 35’s and the Bose 700’s have slightly better sound due to my pair being quite a few years old now. But to me, they still sound amazing and the noise cancellation is the best.

The burden of having to still deal with a wire can sometimes be a pain. Especially when you have to also carry around a lightning to headphone adapter to use with my iPhone. Though I actually don’t really use these headphone that much with my iPhone.

Normally I use my AirPods when wanting to listen to something on my phone like a podcast or music. When I want to really concentrate or watch something longer I will use my MacBook or iPad Mini.

When writing I will plug these headphones into my laptop and repeat a non-lyrical playlist that I enjoy with the noise canceling on. Or when I am traveling and wanting to watch a movie on my iPad during a flight I will use my headphones. In both of these situations, I don’t need the adapter since headphones jacks still exist on Macs and some iPads.

The best use for these is definitely when writing. When I take a trip to a coffee shop or just at home, turning on the noise canceling is huge for my productivity. I am a huge procrastinator so the more I can block out to avoid distractions the better. All of the side conversations happening at Starbucks, my cats fighting each other under the desk I am writing on, or even the crying baby on a flight to Utah are all evaporated from my mind.

A few more things I would like to mention regarding these headphones is the fact that you can get a pair for a reasonable price (usually around $125 — $175 based on sales going on), not having to charge them is a bit convenient since popping a new battery for the noise canceling is effortless, and they are so comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

Glasses

You might find glasses to be a silly thing to add to this list since it is not really tech, I am it is but not the theme of tech that I am describing in this post, and it is also something that is required and not a choice for some.

The reason I added this as part of my tech bag carry is I actually use these glasses when using my laptop for long periods of time and nothing else. I am lucky enough to have almost perfect vision so the prescription in these is very minor. The main reason I wear them though is for occasional eye strain and blurriness that comes from Computer Vision Syndrome.

From the American Optometric Association, for extended period times at looking at a screen, you can experience symptoms such as:

eyestrain

headaches

blurred vision

dry eyes

neck and shoulder pain

I mentioned the eyestrain, blurriness and sometimes headaches to my optometrist who not only recommended getting a pair of glasses with a small prescription but also include the anti-blue “technology” coating to the lenses.

They have helped a lot when writing for long periods of time or while at work sitting at my desk all day. So though they are not really a gadget, they are a must-have in my tech bag.

ProCase Gadget bag

Speaking of gadgets, I bought this pouch before my trip to Utah to help make some kind of sense to all of the cables and dongles in my life. I originally bought this to fit in the bottom pocket of my Tom Bihn Synapse 25 which fits perfectly. Now with my Aer, I don’t have a perfect pocket for it but it does fit nicely in the bottom part of the outside duffle compartment.

Inside of the pouch I get the following compartments to fit wires, dongles, gadgets, etc; two small zipper pockets, one large zipper pocket, six elastic straps for cables, two medium-sized pockets and three tiny mesh pockets.

For my setup I have a USB-C to USB-A dongle in one of the small zipper pockets, a microfiber clothe in the large zipper pocket, a battery pack that has the ability to charge my MacBook Pro in a medium-sized pocket, a 10W and 5W power adapter in the other medium-sized pocket, two USB-A to Lightning Cables and a USB-C to USB-C cable. In the three small mesh pockets, I have an extra AAA battery for my headphones, my Yubikee for work, and USB-A thumb drive.

When I am on the road I will throw in an Apple Watch charging cable and maybe a few more cables for my wife's gadgets but this is what I normally keep in this pouch for daily use.