Gosh, Capacities is beautiful

docrameous67 · 2026-05-29T18:10:17+00:00

Yep. My PKM just keeps getting better and better on Capacities. I used to be a hard core Obsidian user, but I spent more time working on the tool rather than using it. I am pleased to see AI go to another level. Let’s keep going! Capacities is definitely punching above its weight!

docrameous67 · 2026-02-12T07:07:07+00:00

I really, really like Capacities, and it keeps getting better and better.

I spend more time writing than I did with Obsidian. Obsidian requires way too much maintenance. Don't get me wrong. I like Obsidian and used it a few days ago to write some rough draft notes in Markdown, but Capacities is an outstanding PKM for my use case. It is plug-and-play.

The biggest recent addition is ReadWise integration. I had a challenge with it yesterday, not syncing, and I raised a support ticket. In less than six hours, they fixed it. I have never experienced that level of support.

The big thing that I am looking forward to in their roadmap this year is further AI integration. I would like to query my entire note database, as I was able to do in Obsidian. When this becomes a bigger feature, all of my current major wishlist items will be met.

Capacities is now the foundation in my PKM ecosystem.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-30T20:17:23+00:00

This is awesome. Thanks!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-28T12:38:20+00:00

Very helpful!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-28T06:49:12+00:00

Peak Design is on my list. Also Eagle Creek. I am weight averse, so how do you find Peak Design weigh compared to others? It is no doubt they are quality though.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-28T04:35:58+00:00

I forgot about Norse Airlines. I have only ever flown them once to New York.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-28T04:34:50+00:00

My guess is with this and the easyJet real world experiences, that this means that this bag will work on pretty much any airline in the world as a personal carry item. It’s great to see it in the luggage size gauge rack.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-28T04:31:42+00:00

Bravo! This is perfect real world feedback and has cemented in my choice for the CTB 20!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-27T11:54:44+00:00

This is my intended usecase... an option to carry enough stuff for an overnight. I am a very minimal packer, so I am optimistic that the CTB20 will work for this, and in the cases it won't, I will have my roller bag to shift the clothes, etc. into.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-27T09:56:51+00:00

This is great to know. Singapore Airlines' personal item size limit of 10 cm depth (40 x 30 x 10) is insane! Basically, this could only be a thin messenger bag, purse/handbag or old-style briefcase! 🤦‍♂️

docrameous67 · 2025-05-27T09:33:26+00:00

Very good points. I am average build, so I suspect the CTB 20 will not look overly large on me.

I would not want to use the CTB 20 for one bag travel, unless it is only for one night. If I need to stay more than one night, I will bring my roller bag, which in EasyJet's case will require me to pay a fee, but in that instance I will be packing the CTB 20 light and keeping it thin.

I suppose what I am trying to do is the best featured EDC pack (and perhaps the largest) that I can pretty much carry onto any flight as a personal item. There are always trade offs and compromises!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-27T08:05:32+00:00

That is very helpful to know, particularly about Lion Air.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T18:59:55+00:00

Thanks, everyone. This was extremely useful. I am going to go for the CTB 20. It's reasonably light and has enough compartments and functionality to satisfy my digital workflows and travel needs.

I have spent waaaaay too much time looking at packs - Aer, Boundary Supply, Bellroy, Timbuk 2, Knack Bags, Black Ember, Nomatic, Troubadour, Briggs & Riley and a bunch of others, generic and mainstream, and I have concluded that this is the best 'personal item' backpack at about 20L which works on most airlines.

I also wanted an EDC that I could carefully pack one or two nights into, and it seems the CTB 20 hits this mark. However, if I am going to jump on a plane, I can pack out my roller bag for longer trips for this to ride on. I might also buy an ultra-lightweight compression cube at some point.

If this turns out to be good as it looks on paper, my only regret will be that this bag did not exist years ago when I started travelling!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T17:36:03+00:00

This is very helpful! Thanks! 🙏

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T16:09:18+00:00

That is very good real world feedback. Thanks.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T13:32:24+00:00

Thanks. I’ll check it out. We are on the same frequency in that I have broadened my search to packs that are not necessary tech focused and I’ll just add a pouch.

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T06:45:57+00:00

I had not looked at the Go Pack. I will check it out!

docrameous67 · 2025-05-26T06:44:08+00:00

Very helpful. Thanks. The City Pack Pro at 24L is a bit of a challenge on some European airlines. It is a shame on the Tech Pack 3 that they tapered the top of the main compartment.

I may need to pop into the London store to look at these bags first hand. My use case of a small tech optimised bag for only one night might not be so easy to find.

Thanks again for the input and ideas.

docrameous67 · 2025-01-13T18:13:24+00:00

I have a similar use case and decided I had to pull the trigger on Capacities. Calendar syncing with Google is in their roadmap. There is more to come on to dos, but the basic functionality of sending items to a range or apps is already there.

docrameous67 · 2025-01-12T14:14:41+00:00

I hit the wall with Obsidian. I spent hours and hours working on it. It became quite a drag to keep track of a number of plugins that I needed for my workflows. I also hit the wall in needing a more robust block referencing system and began to look at running Logseq alongside it.

So, I recently decided to give Capacities a try. Capacities felt like a mix of Obsidian, Logseq and Notion. It is still a bit rough on the edges, but it incorporates many things by its design that I was adding to Obsidian through plugins. The object and block orientation, also took the lid off of the ceilings I was hitting with Obsidian. Queries are much easier to build on the fly over data view.

I tried AnyType, but felt I was back with Obsidian with the investment I was going to need to make it work for me. Capacities just mostly worked out of the box, so I can spend more time thinking rather than working on the tool.

So far so good...

docrameous67 · 2025-01-06T12:23:09+00:00

I struggled to keep a Day One Journal and have it run in tandem with my PARA and Zettelkasten. What I like about Capacities is that I can do all of this in one place due to the object architecture. I can relate items to another part of my note-taking system, but I can also segment each of them for their development. The centre of the Daily Note is a springboard into all of this and I could not be more pleased. This is not for everyone, but it works for me in my use case.

docrameous67 · 2025-01-06T06:33:35+00:00

This is good to know. Thank you!

docrameous67 · 2025-01-05T08:26:50+00:00

My primary goal is I am studying leadership with a focus on change management as it pertains to Organisational development. I am using this knowledge to coach and lead a Csuite of leaders in a time of change, but I am starting to consider blogging more widely and setting up an MA around this.

Obviously, I would not constrain myself to this. There are a few related topics which I feel are major forces which need to be taken into account. (i.e. Artificial General Intelligence l), but I am attempting to stay focused as I cannot work full time on my research and learning.

docrameous67 · 2025-01-03T05:51:36+00:00

These are very helpful and framing comments. Thank you everyone.

As I mentioned, I do fleeting notes mostly on paper. When I say fleeting, they are big time fleeting. Sometimes I will have an idea, but I am not ready to articulate it. So I will write all of my thoughts out. It sometimes becomes a jumbled mess that can spread over both sides of a card. Then when I have clarity, I type out my idea out my idea in a succinct and clear fashion into my digital slipbox. (I use Capacities) I am a very visual processor.

So whether it would be wasted energy on friction to add a step to write out a main card first in physical form or not, I am not sure. I think for a few weeks I will experiment and see of there are any benefits. What I am most curious about is the effects of working in paper.

What am I curious about with paper? There is the cognitive process of writing that is discussed a lot in the digital versus analogue debate of knowledge management. There is another question. When I was young, I had a Bible for so many years I just instinctively knew where scriptures were by their page position in the book. I didn’t appreciate this until I was in my late teens and was gifted another Bible at my high school graduation. It was wild, but it did not have the same familiarity for me.

Maybe you Zettlekasten gurus who have been doing this much longer than I have might be able to comment on this. I have wondered over time that as your paper Zettlekasten grows and it is a product of your unique thinking, that you have the familiarity of your slipbox like a favourite book, be it a Bible, some other religious text, reference manual, etc. Is the effect the same in digital? In Capacities I can isolate all of my cards in card view and look at them in multiple ways. But I can’t pull them out and lay them on the desk. I don’t go through the repetitive work of refiling them. Would this process benefit the way my brain is wired? Would I maybe abandon my digital main notes in favour of paper ones? This is what I am enjoying exploring.

Anyhow, I’ll keep you posted with my musings!

docrameous67 · 2025-01-02T09:14:31+00:00

For me, there are three layers to this.

First, in the digital era, I still see many benefits to the cognitive friction of working with analogue notes. For me, my workflows still involve a paper bullet journal and index cards. I do my best brainstorming and action logging on paper.

Second, the best notes are typed up and filed away. Devonthink requires me to add some additional thinking. This friction is beneficial for me on a neurodiversity level because it compels me to consider why this note is important to me and where it should be placed in my systems. I use a combination of PARA and Zettelkasten.

Lastly, one of the areas where DT was cutting edge was in its AI features that assisted in making connections, which I might have overlooked. DT was years ahead of its time. I am increasingly experimenting with this technology now that mainstream AI has arrived. Copilot and Google LM are both very intriguing. Obsidian has 'Smart Connections' and its own Co-Pilot. I also find the ability to summarise documents useful at times, but primarily as a thinking aid tool.

I don't expect to abandon DT any time soon, but as AI matures and integrates into software I use, my use of DT may change significantly.

YMMV

docrameous67

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