One of my goals for this trip is to look to minimise what I am going to need to bring within me on my travels. While I have very generous bag allowances I want to see how I can keep the amount I take reasonable and managable.
I am hoping that I can look to at least start my trip with on primary large bag and then look to send items home at periods to help keep the amount I am taking managable. As part of my research on this, I discovered a community of people on Reddit /OneBag who have some great ideas on Travelling light
The Onebag Secret
Anyone can one-bag travel, whether with expensive gear or their everyday kit. The secret: pack light, don’t pack your fears, take only what you need for about a week, and do laundry along the way. Plan the laundry into your trip. For some people this means booking an airbnb with a washer, and for others it could mean only bringing quick-drying clothing to make sink washing easier, and for some it might mean washing clothes in the shower. Once your clothing is down to a week’s worth, pare down your toiletries and your electronics to only what you absolutely need to take with you. Now everything you’re bringing should fit in a backpack or a small duffle/suitcase. If it doesn’t, pare everything down again. A good goal is to shoot for a 25L-35L bag.
Onebagging is a trade-off between the convenience of living like you do everyday, and the convenience of being mobile, traveling light, and fully experiencing the environment you are traveling in. A big saving is often electronics: do you really need huge headphones, that gaming device, or even a laptop? Remember, people almost certainly live wherever you’re traveling to. If you absolutely need something, it’ll be available when you get there. You may even have an adventure getting it!
OneBag Reddit
To help they have identified some great content to get anyone started.
Resources
- Onebag Gold — only the most valuable posts get Gold status!
- All the Shoe Recommendations from 2021 from u/GeoffMeetsWorld.
- The Onebag Website
- Checklist of what to do before you leave
- What to Pack
- What to Pack In
- How to Pack
- Universal Packing List Generator
Item Guides
- Popular bag comparison spreadsheet from /u/-Nepherim
- Buying guides by item based on community recommendations
I have some things to learn. I hope that I can use the bags that I have currently but I will make a decision that will enable me to travel more easily and lightly but at the same time not forgoing important things that will make a big difference in how I experience or record my travels.
