Joi Ito: What's in my bag


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I change my bag depending on whether it's likely I'll be riding a bike, snowmobile, etc. I also sometimes carry an iPad. The amount and type of dive gear and camera(s) changes with where I'm traveling to as well. (Click here for full-size photo.)

However, this is a pretty good sample of what is typically in my bag these days.

Joichi Ito is the Chairman and CEO of Creative Commons. He is a co-founder and board member of Digital Garage JSD:4819.

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The Chrome messenger bag is an old favorite. It work fairly well in the airport and is super on bicycles, snowmobiles and other fast moving vehicles. Downside is that the buckle is a bit bulky and cheeky people can hit it and the bag falls from you back.

I use my Galileo Sol as my main dive computer and the ScubaPro XtenderV3 as my backup. The Xtender is only available in Japan and is small enough to be used as my primary watch.

I carry rope and a knot guide and practice knots during landing and takeoff sometimes.

The oxygen analyzer is necessary to test Nitrox diving cylinders.

The first aid kit is obvious.

The "barrier" is a plastic thing you put over someone's face to protect you from cooties when giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation during CPR.

I carry various dive certification cards and insurance cards with a few dive log pages and leave the rest of my logbook at home.

When I am on the plane, I load up my wallet with the credit cards, metro cards, ID cards, membership cards, currency and other local things I will need in the place that I will land and stash the other cards and currency in a big wallet thingie.

I keep various crypto keys on a keyring together.

I used to have at least one hard disk failure on my MacBook Pro each year until I switched to SSDs. I removed the DVD and put in another SSD which is RAID mirrored because I'm not paranoid. I carry a full backup on an external hard disk and put all of my images on a separate external hard disk.

I have a Blackberry Bold with an etisalat SIM with a global data and email roaming plan. The iPhone 4 is unlocked and I swap SIMs on the plane based on where I'm going. The Nexus One also gets a local SIM. The Nokia 1200 is for when I need 390 hours of standby battery time and up to 7 hours talk time. I have USB data modems from Etisalat in the UAE, Verison in the US and emobile in Japan.

I carry a Leica M9 with a 35mm Sumliux. I used to carry the 50mm f/1 Noctilux, but I decided it was too heavy and airports tended to scrutinize it more than my 35mm.

I use the Flip MinoHD for video although sometimes I use a GoPro HD HERO.

I carry a universal power supply adapter that I restock at Narita airport since I often give them away.

I found that the hand sanitizer in the United Airlines amenity kit to be exactly the right size so that airport security don't notice it in your pocket.

I carry a Livescribe pen and notebook that allows me to upload the notes to my computer which does handwriting recognition and search against my notes as well as link sound recordings to the notes.

I still sometimes use my HP12C because I like the way it feels.

I carry backup batteries for my Leica and my Blackberry.

I have various earbuds and headphones and switch between them depending on how long my flight is and how much space I have in my bag.