Yet a woman can carry a purse the size of a small car and no one calls her out for it.
Well, this thread keeps taking unexpected turns.
Now it’s a Men’s Rights issue?
Do we have to start a new thread, or just add it to this one? I hate women with some huge purse banging into me on the Metro.
Well, since I rarely work in the same office two days in a row I don’t have much choice. If you leave it at work and go to a different office the next day, how do you manage that?
Also, the equipment I carry around won’t fit in a briefcase. I have a small Li-Ion screwdriver, a set of bits, a set of hex wrenches, a battery tester, measuring tape, and often paperwork.
Also, briefcases suck. Why on Earth would you carry something heavy in your hand for long periods of time? That sounds like you’re trying to give yourself a back injury. A backpack spreads the weight evenly and being tight to your body is more ergonomic. Briefcases are for people who want to look important.
Strange definition of “heavy” you have 
And I don’t carry it for long periods of time. I carry it from my work to the Metro, about 500 feet. Then I set it down between my feet during the Metro ride. Then I carry it to my car. Another 500 feet. Then I set it in the passenger seat. Then I carry it to my house when I get home. About 100 feet. And it’s not a briefcase, it’s a laptop bag.
I’m DC area as well. The problem is often that employers do not provide any office space (or even lockable storage) because of the lovely space-saving concept known as “hotelling”.
So, we have to lug our computer bags with us to and from the office every day. I’m fortunate in that I only have to commute 1 day a week, and I live near the end of the Metro line so I always get a seat, which means I can always stow the backpack. Evenings are a different story, but I’ve taken to riding the train 2-3 stops in the other direction so I can reboard a different one, and nab a seat. 
The trouble with a backpack is that it’s not easy to get on and off without whanging your fellow commuters, AND its design is such that you can’t safely or easily carry it any other way. And no method of toting the thing (briefcase, roller, or backpack) is easy to manage securely on the train.
I’ve almost never been on a train so crowded that the backpack (mine or others’) was a huge deal. People try to be attentive and if minor bumps happen, they’re no worse than any other jostling. Though there was the time we got booted because the train broke down, and everyone pushed onto the next train, and it was so overcrowded and hot that I actually passed out. People helped me back up by using the backpack straps as handles, so it was actually useful!
That’s a secret! Don’t be telling everyone that trick! 
Also, I’m not familiar with “hotelling” What does that mean? You don’t have/can get a cable lock for your laptop? If you leave your laptop at work and it gets stolen, then you are responsible for it?
Nope. Just, if you’re going to complain about a guy having a big backpack, do you also complain about large purses? No?
I carried a small backpack on the bus for a while because I was carrying a computer, my iPad, maybe a book or two and sometimes things to and from my desk. I’d much rather see someone carrying a backpack than multiple boxes that they then set on the seat (or two) next to them or set on the floor and ignore people trying to step over or around them. Been there, suffered that. Six people standing on the damned bus and some jackass covers the seat next to themselves with a box, coat and other items. :rolleyes:
I think the only time I carry my briefcase/laptop case by the handles is when I’m boarding an aircraft, or in similar tight situations, where I might inadvertently hit someone with it. Normally, I’m carrying it using a shoulder strap.
Like hell will I put my backpack down, unsecured, on a filthy floor. However, if the train is really crowded, I will take one strap off and cradle it in my arm. Deal?
nm
What the fuck? This is your first post in this thread, and you’re preemptively claiming that anyone disagreeing with you is attacking you because of something you said years ago? You’re truly a fucking nightmare.
Lucky, lucky employees do not have an assigned working space. You just show up and grab whatever desk you can. This also means that you have to carry everything back and forth, because you don’t have an assigned space. Nifty, right? Whoever thought of that idea needs to spend a day getting clocked with backpacks.
If they are being inconsiderate twits, then, yes, they can be included.
Yes, that does sound pretty horrible.
They’re trying to push that at my work too.
What a baffling post.
I mean, the phrase “Appalachian Trail” is in the thread title, but the thread isn’t actually about that.
Understood. Just thought a slight hijack was in order.
For the record, if I’m ever attacked unfairly please do not defend me. I can handle it myself.
I thought the age of whataboutism had been drawing to a close. I guess I was wrong.