Things All Smart Men Carry in Their Bag
By Gary Kingsnorth published
Your packing checklist for the gym, work and a weekend away

Bags don’t maketh the man – what a man carries in his bag maketh, er, him! For instance, do you trust a man who has to remove a mountain of junk from his bag before realising he doesn’t have the thing he’s looking for? And would you trust a man who carries a bag merely to complement his outfit? No and no. The sort of man who carries the minimum of stuff, but is prepared for most eventualities, is the kind of man everyone looks up to.
To provide a bit of guidance in this regard, we’ve put together a ruthless edit of what to pack for a trip to the gym (you will never forget a water bottle again – rookie error), a weekend away or a day at the office.
RECOMMENDED: Gym Kit to Sweat and Look Good In
The Sports Bag
Sunglasses, £19.99, superdry.com (opens in new tab)
Blue duffle bag, £85, penfield.com (opens in new tab)
Water bottle, £9.99, penfield.com (opens in new tab)
Sneakers, £55, gola.co.uk (opens in new tab)
Eau de Lacoste, £47, houseoffraser.com (opens in new tab)
Skipping rope, £16.99, lonsdale.com (opens in new tab)
Blue sports watch, £69.99, timex.co.uk (opens in new tab)
Nike swoosh sweatbands, £7, johnlewis.com (opens in new tab)
RECOMMENDED: More Duffel Bags
The Weekend Bag
Sweater, £89, jigsaw-online.com (opens in new tab)
Blue suede driving shoes, £130, sebago.com (opens in new tab)
Dents driving gloves, £70, reiss.com (opens in new tab)
Passport wallet, £45, aspinaloflondon.com (opens in new tab)
Medium Clipper bag, £1,495, mulberry.com (opens in new tab)
Sunglasses, £320, eyevan7285.com (opens in new tab)
Men’s leather wash bag, £150, aspinaloflondon.com (opens in new tab)
Cufflinks, £220, dunhill.com (opens in new tab)
Brown leather belt, £65, simoncarter.net (opens in new tab)
Watch, £775, raymond-weil.com (opens in new tab)
L’Eau d’Issey pour home, £41.50, isseymiyake.com (opens in new tab)
The Work Bag
Access pack bag, available 1st July, thenorthface.co.uk (opens in new tab)
Notepads, from £20, jigsaw-online.com (opens in new tab)
Pen, £295, dunhill.com (opens in new tab)
White Marshall Majors headphones, £79, marshallheadphones.com (opens in new tab)
Blue iPad wallet, £225, uk.tumi.com (opens in new tab)
Wallet, £95, mulberry.com (opens in new tab)
Rue du Rhone watch, £895, 88rdr.com (opens in new tab)
Boss The Scent by Hugo Boss, £45, boots.com (opens in new tab)
Apple Macbook Air, £849, johnlewis.com (opens in new tab)
Jump lead (in bag), £40, jigsaw-online.com (opens in new tab)
RECOMMENDED: More Men’s Backpacks
Gary Kingsnorth was the fashion editor for Coach as well as Men’s Fitness.
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