2025.12.06
Field notes
5 min read
Beyond the ridge: a light list for city days
From the metro to the desk, then to the river after work — how much do you actually carry?
We asked five commuters to record what they carried for a week. The result was consistent: laptop, cable, bottle, a thin shell, lunch box, occasionally an umbrella. Total weight between 4.2 and 5.8 kg. The bags they carried averaged 1.1 kg empty.
Close to a fifth of the load came from the thing carrying the load. This is not a problem that needs a complex solution. It is a problem nobody had bothered to count.
Our suggested list: the 22-litre daypack, a windshell that packs into its own pocket, a 500 ml bottle and a spare length of webbing. Wear the shell when the morning is cold, pack it at noon — it takes up a fist of space.
If a day includes both a metro and a river path, shoes matter more than the bag. We do not make shoes and will not for a while. Doing one thing properly is already difficult.