The ultimate techie backpack

A list of gear we consider essential for any tech enthusiast with money to blow—and some low-cost alternatives for those who don’t.

Headphones

For the ultimate backpack, go in for the Sony WH-1000XM4 (Rs 22,990) or if you can find them, the recently launched Sony WH-1000XM5 (Rs 36,000). These earphones are the best for noise cancellation, battery life and call quality. It can play music for 30 hours, automatically pause when you talk, and even playback Hi-Res audio. However, if you don’t have the budget for these headphones, try the Sennheiser HD 250BT Wireless (Rs 3,500). The earphone offers 25 hours of battery life, app connectivity and excellent Bluetooth connectivity.  

Battery pack

There are a few things to look out for in the ultimate battery pack. First, it has to be of a considerable capacity. Second, it has to have USB PD charging, which means it can deliver enough power over USB-C to charge something like a laptop or phones that support fast charging. The Zendure SuperTank Pro (Rs 34,999) fits this profile perfectly. Its 26800mAh capacity might not be much, but it can deliver 100W of charging, enough to charge most laptops. The well-priced option is also one of the largest batteries on the market: the Ambrane 50000 mAh power bank (Rs 3,999). It delivers 20W of Power Delivery, allowing it to charge devices quickly. However, be warned that it may not be enough power to charge up a laptop.

Portable gaming console

Nintendo’s Switch would be the obvious ultimate choice here, but the top portable gaming console is probably the Ayaneo Next Pro (Rs 1,22,306 + Shipping). The Windows-based portable gaming console comes with a gorgeous 7-inch 1280X800 touchscreen. Under the hood, it has an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U processor, 32GB DDR4 RAM and a 2TB SSD to install any PC game you want. The 47WH battery can give you up to two hours of playtime on games like GTA 5. Not to mention that if you spring for the mini dock, you can use this thing as a PC. All you need is a keyboard, mouse and screen. I would suggest a SUP retro console (Rs 799) as the low-cost alternative. The console costs next to nothing, and it has every great retro title built-in. The battery is the readily available and cheap BL5C from Nokia; just buy a few and keep them recharged so you can switch them when the juice runs out. 

Phone

There is only one ultimate gamer phone, the ROG 5 Ultimate (Rs 79,999). It is due for a refresh soon but for now it is the best that money can buy. The ROG 5 Ultimate comes with a Snapdragon 888 processor, 18GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The 6.78-inch screen has an FHD+ resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. It has serious gaming chops and a massive 6000mAh battery to power it all up. If you don’t have the budget to go all out on the best gaming phone, the iQOO 7 (33,990) is a more practical choice. The phone sports the Snapdragon 870, which still performs well with games and heavy tasks. Additionally, it has 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 6.2-inch FHD+ screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Water bottle

A good backpack must always have a source of water. The Hidrate Spark (Rs 12,421) seems to hit all possible requirements. The bottle has a built-in sensor that tracks how much water you have drunk throughout the day. The LEDs at the bottom also indicate when you need to take another drink of water. The bottles are vacuum insulated and can retain temperature for up to 24 hours. It has an app that can pair with several popular apps to note the liquid you are drinking. We also have a Bluetooth speaker water bottle from Zebronics (Rs 1,050) for the low-cost option. It may not save you from dehydration, but at least you can enjoy some music while staying hydrated.

Backpack

The backpack is the ultimate pièce de résistance. Without a good bag, you do not have anything to tie it all together. A good backpack should last for years, so investing in a good one makes sense. We recommend the To Code Laptop Backpack (Rs 9,000). It’s big, with nearly 35 litres of space, and has pockets for just about everything. The laptop can handle a screen that is more than 17-inches, while still weighing in at just around a kilo. If you want something cheaper, check out the Wildcraft 44L Wolf Backpack (Rs 1,899). It has a lot of space and pockets, and is relatively inexpensive.

Laptop

Without a top laptop inside, you can’t do an ultimate laptop bag. One of the best gaming laptops is the ROG Zephyrus M16 (Rs 3,31,990). It’s got a 16-inch quad-HD Pantone validated display, 12th generation i9-12900H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 16GB GDDR6 RAM, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, 90WH battery and Dolby Atmos-certified audio. If you want a cheap gaming laptop, try the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 (Rs 53,490). It isn’t going to turn heads, but you can comfortably game on this. The computer has a 15-inch full-HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 10th Gen Intel i5. Its 18GB of RAM and 512GB SSD drive are practical, and the Nvidia GTX 1650 with 4GB of GDDR6 can definitely run most games with ease.

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