What’s in Your HackPack is a recurring series where we take a look at the gear hackers are bringing with them to hackathons. For the inaugural installment, MLH’s creative director Aziz Ramos gives us a peek inside his backpack.
- FLUD Backpack: This bag fits all my tech and photography gear. I can stuff my 15” laptop, Canon 5D Mark III, extra lenses, books, and many other things for travel. I’ve had it for two years and I’m always ready to go the distance, crash your couch, and create wherever I am.
- Macbook Pro, 15-inch Mid 2012: I’m extremely attached to my laptop because it’s my canvas and my wand. From designing graphics to making beats and writing code, it has all my tools for building wonderful products.
- BoilerMake Notebook: This beats my jumble of composition notebooks. It’s small enough I can carry it in my back pocket and I love using it to jot my ideas into existence.
- Nokia Lumia 525 (cracked): My phone has gone through tons of battles in my recent travels. It couldn’t outlast my recent trip to Los Angeles.
- Woody: I carry him with me everywhere, especially when I go to new places. Sharing experiences with Woody is almost as good as sharing them with friends and family. His existence makes me question myself, which is good. As someone who aspires to be an artist, I believe you need to look deep inside to discover things you never knew you had.
- The World According to Mister Rogers: I always looked up to Mister Rogers growing up and I got this book as a gift from one of my friends after she discovered my admiration. The book has really profound quotes on almost every aspect of life.
- Canon AE-1 Program: It’s an old camera, which is actually more fun to shoot with than my 5D Mark III, and it weighs less. It’s not too invasive, so I can capture photos without people on the street noticing.
- Toshiba 2TB External HDD: I have a fear of letting go of my raw photos, and when I’m recording beats and hopping from one studio session to the next, producers let me copy rare songs and samples.
- Old Spice Deodorant: It comes in handy during hackathons, especially when you’re not able to shower for over 24 hours. It also doesn’t hurt to have it for my day-to-day grind.
- Audio Technica ATH-M50x Headphones: I love music and bad headphones give me a headache. I got these because the sound quality is amazing.
Aziz Ramos is the creative director for Major League Hacking. He enjoys design, making ill beats, and shooting photos.