Bag each purpose: Display, Charge 100W, Camera. Replace mystery cables instead of debugging them mid-conference.

Austin venues · Keyboard guide · Tags

Use heat-shrink flags or clip-on labels that survive bag abrasion. Permanent marker on rubber fades after one SXSW.

Photograph your kit inventory. When a cable walks away at Moody Center media check-in, you know what to reorder.

Keep a red-tagged “known good” HDMI and USB-C set sealed in a pouch — never loan them.

Building a label scheme you can read at a glance

A label only helps if it tells you something useful in the half-second you have while crouched under a press table. Before you print anything, settle on a short, consistent code and stick to it across every bag you own. A practical format puts three facts on each flag: type, capability and length. For example, "C-C 100W 2m" or "HDMI 2.1 1m". USB-C cables are the main reason this matters. Two cables can look identical but differ in charging wattage, data speed and video support, so writing the spec on the cable saves you from guessing.

Label both ends

Put a flag near each connector, not just one. When a cable runs from a laptop behind a mixing desk to a capture box on the floor, you will usually only be able to see one end. Matching flags also make it easy to trace a single line through a bundle without tugging on everything else.

Use colour as a second layer

Coloured heat-shrink bands or Velcro ties can carry meaning that text alone can't show from a distance:

  • Red – the sealed known-good set, never loaned
  • Blue – video and display
  • Yellow – power and charging
  • Green – data, audio interfaces and storage

Keep the colour key written on a card inside the bag lid, so a colleague who borrows your kit can follow it too.

Test, date and retire

Cables wear out quietly. Connectors loosen, strain relief cracks, and a cable that charged fine last year may drop to slow charging. Every few months, run each cable through a basic check: charge a phone, push video to a monitor, copy a large file. Then add a small date mark or tick to the label. Anything that fails gets cut in half and thrown away, so it can't drift back into the bag.

Mark ownership discreetly

Shared venue load-ins mix gear quickly. A small initial or a distinctive tape pattern next to the spec label helps you reclaim cables at the end of a long night without arguments. If you cover shows around town, our Austin venues notes cover what each room usually supplies and what you should bring yourself. More kit routines live in the guides section.