What’s In Your Overnight Bag, Merlin Mann?

Merlin Mann, founder of 43 Folders, is the most organized person on earth. Merlin Mann has a waste bin just for sandwich crusts. Merlin Mann can’t do anything with you on April 20th, 2025, because he has to get his oil changed. Merlin Mann drinks soda by descending tensile strength of each bubble. When Merlin Mann takes a dump it comes out like Tetris. Merlin Mann folds his shoes.

Merlin Mann is a talented, inspiring individual, which is why we are so pleased he responded to our query: What’s in your overnight bag?

• Husher earplugs – You must always carry earplugs. Everywhere. All the time. Like your wallet and keys. Because there’s no better way to blot out the big bad world without narcotic intervention. Use them on public transit, in waiting rooms, and most definitely stuff them into your earholes when you’re ready to bed down in that first-floor highway-facing “suite.”

• L-Lysine – Too often when I travel, I find that fatigue, weird eating, and general environmental entropy have the habit of landing directly on my lip in the form of a cold sore. It’s the body’s way of screaming “Slow the hell down!” You can come out punching by downing mega-doses of Lysine amino acid pills starting the second you notice “the tingle.” Costly OTC treatments will mostly just numb the pain (and, when carelessly applied, can actually spread a cold sore). But, in my fervent 25 year quest for the cure, Lysine is about the only thing I’ve found to really stop these bastards in their tracks and dramatically shorten healing time. From the standpoint of your lip, Lysine can singlehandedly salvage a trip, I assure you.

• Nalgene bottle – I loathe those jokey little drinking glasses hotels expect you to use. Hell, I’m a grown man with dozens of deadly toxins to flush out of my liver; I need a man sized glass of water, and that’;s what I get with my big-ass 32-ounce, wide mouth Nalgene. Tip: you can cunningly incorporate your Nalgene into the packing process by loading it with a few cigars, tiny electronic gadgets, bits of jewelry, or any other small items you want to make sure stay dry and (with a bit of added tissue paper) unjostled while traveling in your bag.

• Hipster Office – (from the makers of the Hipster PDA) You can make a compact, road-ready supply closet by loading up a small expanding folio with fresh manila folders, some blank CD-Rs, extra index cards, and even a spare pen or two. You will wish you had at least one of these items on the average business trip, so save yourself a walk to the crazy-expensive shops near your hotel, and keep a frequently-replenished hipster office in your bag or backpack.

• Honorable mention: Loperamide, iPod video cable, duct tape, and, of course, a Fisher Space Pen.

For more 43 Folders-esque travel tricks, the travel hacks section of the 43f wiki is loaded with clever and insane ideas for taking your show on the road.