Once the weather starts warming up here in Chicago I’m planning on doing some commuting via running to work a few mornings per week and I will need a decent backpack to hold my daily stuff needed for work. I’ve seen a couple that look OK online such as the Osprey Rev, Gregory Miwok and a few others.
The distance will be anywhere from 3.5 to 5 miles depending on the route taken. I will need to carry a laptop and dress clothes and other daily essentials. I keep shoes in a drawer at work already so I don’t need to carry those. We do have a fitness center at work so the shower, towels and freshening up items will not need to be carried.
Does anybody have any suggestions on what backpacks may work out well or better than the few I’ve already found?
Once the weather starts warming up here in Chicago I’m planning on doing some commuting via running to work a few mornings per week and I will need a decent backpack to hold my daily stuff needed for work. I’ve seen a couple that look OK online such as the Osprey Rev, Gregory Miwok and a few others.
The distance will be anywhere from 3.5 to 5 miles depending on the route taken. I will need to carry a laptop and dress clothes and other daily essentials. I keep shoes in a drawer at work already so I don’t need to carry those. We do have a fitness center at work so the shower, towels and freshening up items will not need to be carried.
Does anybody have any suggestions on what backpacks may work out well or better than the few I’ve already found?
Thanks
Jon
No offense, believe me, I have run commuted all over the place, including when I lived in Chicago, but have you thought about bike commuting at all? Can’t comment on run backpacks. I just used a simple North Face backpack but never ran with a heavy and bulky laptop.
I use an old Dakine Helipro pack (the same one for 5+years) and it’s been awesome; enough room for some clothes and food with very little movement or bounce when running.
I’m with TG on the laptop though. Unless it’s quite light, a laptop is going to have that pack bouncing or digging into the small of your back.
I used to run home from with with the Gregory Miwork all the time. I tried multiple bags over the course of several years and found this to be the best. Hope that helps.
There was a thread on this about a year ago. Just be sure that everything is fastened down inside the backpack. Stuff bouncing around drove me crazy. I would think that a model designed specifically for a laptop may be in order. My take was that it was a great way to get extra running miles but the backpack sucked so I went back to bike commuting. Good luck.
For me the laptop is a deal-breaker for a run commute. I have a bit of an odd setup - 1.5 miles to the train and then 1.5 miles to my office that I typically do on my bike. If I run, I make the part from train->office or office->train a little longer.
My issue is that the train schedule is fairly rigid, so the extra time of running + shower in the am is problematic.
FWIW I would try to cut down what you carry to just clothes/wallet/phone/keys and use the smallest pack you can.
I actually do ride the bike very regularly when it is not too cold or icy otherwise it is the bus. I’m just trying to get some run miles in early in the day that way it frees up the lunch hour for something else like eating lunch at an enjoyable pace instead of wolfing it down at my desk. Plus there is less traffic in the loop at 05:30 instead of noon.
I’m in IT and on call all the time so I need to carry the laptop home everyday in case I do have to do something. Believe me, if I didn’t need too I wouldn’t lug it around at all.
I had not considered making sure the laptop was secured well inside the backpack, now there is one more checkbox for the requirements.
I’m in IT and on call all the time so I need to carry the laptop home everyday in case I do have to do something. Believe me, if I didn’t need too I wouldn’t lug it around at all.
You just brought back nightmare flashbacks from nearly 13 years ago when I was on call as a process automation engineer and I would push something out with a bug in it and inevitably get the phone call when Europe was coming online in the morning. Thank goodness we had remote desktop capabilities back then
Once the weather starts warming up here in Chicago I’m planning on doing some commuting via running to work a few mornings per week and I will need a decent backpack to hold my daily stuff needed for work. I’ve seen a couple that look OK online such as the Osprey Rev, Gregory Miwok and a few others.
The distance will be anywhere from 3.5 to 5 miles depending on the route taken. I will need to carry a laptop and dress clothes and other daily essentials. I keep shoes in a drawer at work already so I don’t need to carry those. We do have a fitness center at work so the shower, towels and freshening up items will not need to be carried.
Does anybody have any suggestions on what backpacks may work out well or better than the few I’ve already found?
Thanks
Jon
If you can get by not having to haul the laptop and use another computer at home and connect to the cloud, then I would recommend some of the camelback options. Remove the bladder for liquid and put your lunch and clothes and cell phone in there. I’ve stuffed my laptop into my Salomon “Camelback” but it’s a bit of a stretch (literally).
My 2 cents is use the cloud to virtually carry your “work” back and forth to home and don’t physically carry hardware if possible. If you are moderately well organized and assuming you don’t need to run some specialty engineering/CAD tools from home, it might be possible?
I do the Camelbak-minus-the-bladder thing for cycle commuting, but even that is heavy without a laptop. You might weigh your pack before setting out for a commute to see if you really want that much weight bouncing on your neck and back? I would think it would put a considerable strain on you and set you up for some random muscle or other injury. I’ve “walk commuted” (2 miles) to work a few times, again without a laptop, and just a backpack with my work clothes, lunch, wallet and bathroom stuff was a noticeable strain on my neck. I’d proceed with caution.
I’m in IT and on call all the time so I need to carry the laptop home everyday in case I do have to do something. Believe me, if I didn’t need too I wouldn’t lug it around at all.
You just brought back nightmare flashbacks from nearly 13 years ago when I was on call as a process automation engineer and I would push something out with a bug in it and inevitably get the phone call when Europe was coming online in the morning. Thank goodness we had remote desktop capabilities back then
What we need is a laptop with an ejectable hard drive. Have exactly the same model with all the peripherals identical (same drivers) at home and work and just carry the hard drive. I am kind of waiting for when I can just do this with my google phone. Just dock it at whatever location I am at. Since we already have SSD hard drives and since we have SSD memory in our phone, we’re almost there. The main problem is all this Windows crap floating around the corporate world!
Unfortunately, this company is a little antiquated at remote access via RDP or other technologies. We did have a back door way for a number of years until we got bought at the end of 2013 and those access ports got turned of by our corporate overlords.
If possible, I would take extra clothing on the days that I do not run and stash it at work. That would allow you to run with just the laptop and other necessities without the bulk of the clothing. The laptop shouldn’t be that bad as long as it’s secure in your pack and the pack is secured to you. Stationary weight close to the body isn’t that bad to run with. Try the packs on first if possible. You never know which ones will be compliant with your body structure.
What we need is a laptop with an ejectable hard drive. Have exactly the same model with all the peripherals identical (same drivers) at home and work and just carry the hard drive. I am kind of waiting for when I can just do this with my google phone. Just dock it at whatever location I am at. Since we already have SSD hard drives and since we have SSD memory in our phone, we’re almost there. The main problem is all this Windows crap floating around the corporate world!
We shouldn’t even need that with Terminal Services, remote execution of applications and the ability for remote logins would not necessitate evening having to carry a drive. Using the browser for authentication and as a portal into corporate desktops really makes not having to lug the laptop or even a hard drive around not necessary.
Since we are a manufacturing company and not a technology company perse exciting things like this are not allowed by the corporate overlords. A fair number of us here have had these discussions. Heck we have even proven that we can do this yet it is considered a security hole as it leaves that access open for hackers by those who have no clue or understanding on how it works.
But it also leaves me fully unconnected when I go on vacation. Sorry boss, I’m out on my motorcycle and will not have room for a laptop - see ya’ in a few weeks!
Yeah, what you said. I used to run commute in Missoula MT even when my eyelashes would freeze shut from blinking. This is the pack I would want. (used, and still use an old GoLite until it truly dies). A laptop is just a lot. Those Salomans have a lot of “hugging” to keep things from bouncing but I dont know how to do a laptop while truly running. Maybe think fastpacking and change expectations on pace.
Strewth, after reading some of those replies it all seems a bit hard, but it isn’t.
I’ve been running to/from work for 15+ years and these days do most of my commute running. I only live 5.6k from work so either run that short distance or do anything else going other routes as far as I want (In Melbourne - Oz). I also work a squillion hours a week and unfortunately cannot run lunchtimes which I used to do in previous jobs, so running to/from work plus a long weekend run is it. So here are the tips:
Lot of talk on Laptop. I have the same issue, however as some have done - have a dodge lappy at home. TBH, I’ve done this and often not regressed to it preferring a paddy to deal with email or just running with the lappy in a bag. I don’t agree with some of the posts already had, but I just use basic IM competitor bags and tighten them up with the lappy and anything else I need if I’m doing a bag - but most times I don’t need to.When I run home, I have a little bumbag which has my access pass/keys and mobile phone. I leave my wallet and everything else at work. I run back in the very next day (having a 5.6k shortest trip allows for this regular double up).I also ride the bike to work when I don’t run, so when riding stock up with all the things you need. This is particularly so on Monday morning where I’ll put 5 pairs of Reg Grundies and socks and shirts (folded up then hang them in a locker when I get there). My shoes stay at work and so do my suits which I dry clean in town (where I work). I also plan how many run shorts/shirts I need and also bring them in. On Friday evenings, generally a pretty full plastic bag of clothes for the wash (My wife isn’t that impressed…)Lunches, On a Sunday, try to manufacture a stir fry for dinner and go overboard, that way there is generally plenty of left over for lunches for the week. Generally won’t cover five days, but if a ride home and back mid week, top up and do the same.Get into a routine.If wanting to run on a Monday morning, drive in Sunday evening and leave all your stuff at work and you’re good to go.2 pairs of runners. One for running to/from work and the other the home pair - and swap them around regularly.Cheers
