i get asked this a lot. usually by people who've just watched one of those youtube bag dump videos where someone pulls out fourteen perfectly clean items from a bag that costs more than my first camera.
this isn't that.
my daily carry is messy, practical, and changes depending on what i'm doing that day. but the system underneath it stays the same. and that's the part worth talking about.
the bag itself
i don't have a dedicated camera bag for everyday use. i have a regular backpack — nothing fancy, just a standard roll-top that i've been using for years. it's got one main compartment, a laptop sleeve, and a couple of small pockets.
that's it. no dividers. no padded inserts. no "camera cube" that never fits right anyway.
the reason this works is because i organise from the inside out. everything that goes in this bag goes in inside something else first.
the pouch system
here's the thing that changed my workflow more than any piece of gear i've ever bought: using pouches to group related items.
i carry three POUCHes in my bag at all times:
POUCH small — this one holds the stuff i need constant access to. sd cards, card reader, usb-c dongle, a spare lightning cable, and whatever random adapter i'm currently depending on. the mesh front means i can see what's inside without opening it, which matters more than you'd think when you're in a rush.
POUCH medium — this is my power pouch. laptop charger, camera battery charger, spare camera battery, and a small power bank. everything power-related lives here. when i'm packing for a shoot i just grab this pouch and i know i'm covered.
POUCH large — this one's more flexible. some days it holds my wireless mic kit and a bunch of xlr adapters. other days it's got a compact camera and a couple of spare lenses. it depends on the job. the three internal mesh dividers keep things from rattling around inside.
the snap hooks on each pouch are key. when i'm at my desk i clip them to the edge of my desk organiser. when i'm on set i clip them to a c-stand or a cart. when i'm traveling they go in the bag. same pouches, different contexts.
the wrap situation
my camera body rides in a WRAP medium inside the main compartment. fold, press, done. it sits at the back of the bag against the laptop sleeve, which gives it an extra layer of padding for free.
if i'm carrying a second lens, it gets its own wrap. the two wrapped items sit side by side in the bag and don't touch each other. this is the key thing that camera bag dividers do — they separate your gear. wraps do the same thing without the rigid structure. (i have a whole post on why i stopped using cases and socks for lens protection: stop wrapping your lenses in socks.)
the ssd setup
my sandisk extreme pro lives on a SCREENMOUNT on the back of my laptop. this means i never have to think about where the drive is. it's always there. i open my laptop, the ssd is already connected from yesterday's session. (if you've ever had a drive disconnect at the worst possible moment, i wrote a whole post about the dangling ssd problem and why this matters more than people think.)
i carry a spare ssd in my small POUCH as a backup. that one's formatted and empty, ready to go if i need to offload cards on location.
the extras
a few other things that are always in there:
- two rolls of CINETAPE (one green, one orange). i use these for labeling pouches on multi-day shoots, marking gear that's been checked, and occasionally for taping down cables. it tears clean and comes off without residue, which is the whole point.
- a CINEMARKER. for writing on the tape, obviously. but also for marking sd cards, writing slate info, or leaving notes on gear cases.
- a small microfiber cloth. although honestly, the inside of my WRAP handles this job most of the time.
the system, not the stuff
the reason i'm writing this isn't to show off what i carry. it's to talk about the system.
the system is: group related items in pouches. protect fragile items in wraps. mount things that need to be accessible. label anything that might get confused.
that's it. four principles. they work whether you're carrying a mirrorless kit to a commercial shoot or just your laptop and an ssd to a coffee shop.
the biggest shift for me wasn't buying any specific product. it was stopping the "throw everything loose in the bag" approach. the moment you start grouping things intentionally, everything gets faster. you pack faster. you find things faster. you never have that moment where you're digging through the bottom of your bag looking for an sd card you're sure you packed.
what i don't carry
no lens caps. i know, i know. but my lenses are always either on the camera or wrapped in a WRAP, so the front and rear elements are always covered. i haven't used a lens cap in two years and nothing bad has happened.
no gaffer tape. CINETAPE does everything i used to use gaffer tape for, except it doesn't leave sticky residue on everything it touches.
no dedicated cable organiser. the small POUCH handles cables. i've tried every cable roll, cable tie, cable organiser on the market. a pouch with a mesh window is better than all of them because you can see what's inside.
build your own version
you don't need to copy my exact setup. the point is the approach: categorise your gear by function, put each category in its own pouch, protect the fragile stuff with wraps, and label things when they might get mixed up.
start with one POUCH and one WRAP. use them for a week. i'd bet money you'll order more.
want the full set? grab the 3-size POUCH bundle and a WRAP to get started.
more from THE CRAP TIMES:
- the dangling ssd problem — why your ssd shouldn't hang by a cable
- stop wrapping your lenses in socks — the origin story behind WRAP
- labeling your gear so you don't lose it on set — a simple system with CINETAPE and CINEMARKER
- the solo filmmaker's packing checklist — what to bring when there's no crew
