asilentone- you are so right, those big bags are a status symbol. When I was first diped, and started to piosneer, I was about to order myself one of those big bags, because I was really into reasearch. My father and another elder both told me not to because they were for elders.
I know a few elders who would fill their bag so full of papers,mags, books, etc that they could not find anything in them. But boy did they look so theocratic. Then there were the elders that had this huge bag, with a WT,KM, Bible, and a Flock book. Oh yea a pen and a highlighter. They didn't look as "important" but they hadwhat they needed which was the point of having a bag to begin with, but the overkill on those large bags is silly.