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Indefinite Backpack Travel

jeremymaluf.com

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Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#121

Post by kakacik »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #2

> Onebag travel is unquestionably the best way to travel. Traveling without luggage removes just about every pain point associated with flying, such as checking bags, overhead compartments, bag fees, waiting in line, and needing to drop off luggage before an adventure. Just stroll into the airport an hour before your flight, and walk off your plane directly to your destination. This is absolutely true, especially whe…

Depends where you go, if planning some 3 week remote hiking in ie Nepal it may not be the best approach.

Ie I've recently spent 2 weeks in remote islands in Sulawesi, Indonesia and didn't bring enough mosquito spray. Well, on whole island chain I was in, nobody in tiny local shops ever had one. When asked, they told me they suck up malaria if caught and move on, sort of how we deal with flu. Luckily dengue wasn't there. So suck it up I did, luckily it seems I avoided it (knock on the wood).

With spray comes sunscreen. Some basic diving equipment. Non-tiny first aid kid. Some photography stuff. But yeah for that one I could still put it all into 1 medium backpack, just liquids travelled separately. For that Nepal, backpack was bigger. For Aconcagua, there was an extra big duffel bag. If doing full camping and cooking, one backpack but much bigger.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#122

Post by lisbbb »

I like that this guy's ethos is something along the lines of "better dressed homeless person." It won't last, though. Anyone of any means falls into the materialism trap. If you ever want to build anything, create art, open a business, all of that requires "stuff." If you're just some yob blogger dude then I guess you can make it work. I doubt very many women find it appealing.

I see people living out of their cars when I go to the library. It looks messy. My son gave up on Boy Scouts partially because camping and "urban outdoorsman" have become synonymous. The kids don't think camping is cool--at all.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#123

Post by lisbbb »

01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote: post #91
Arainach wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Where does the money come from that allows one to sleep in hotels, ride in rental cars, travel in airports, and eat in restaurants for years on end? If you keep your standards modest, the math isn't as bad as it intuitively seems. A $100 hotel per night is the equivalent of a $3000 mortgage/rent. And if you're living out of one bag you don't necessarily need that and probably have cheaper options like hostels (or te…

My mortgage is under a thousand :O If I had a few million in assets I'd be retired

Retirement sucks, tbh. The lack of well-defined purpose is awful.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#124

Post by seplox »

jryio wrote: post #108

I thru hiked the PCT. The one thing I learned as an engineer / technical person: bring one of everything. No redundancy. The gains from being ultra light, single-item-multi-purpose, are immeasurable

I think that minimum redundancy is a wiser ethos. There are a couple of places where the weight penalty versus cost of failure makes the decision a no-brainer.

In my case, that means bringing aquatabs to back up my primary water treatment system and a second way to strike my stove. An extra 2 grams for aquatabs versus 4 weeks of greasy diarrhea? Check. Ten grams for a second mini bic or small fire steel versus cold soaking meals that I designed for cooking? Check.

But I do agree with you that bringing less in general frees you to move faster, go farther, and enjoy the journey even more.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#125

Post by jeremymaluf »

w10-1 wrote: post #73

When traveling, I met many who lived by the mantra of self-sufficiency. It seemed both to liberate and consume them. Daily now I see people living on the street with a lot more, but still with needs of all sorts. In some schools of Buddhism, the tradition was to live with only one bowl and one spoon. The practice was to beg daily - yes, for food, but mainly to submit to the judgment of society as to whether one's pra…

[dead]

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#126

Post by probablynish »

Arainach wrote: post #106
ElevenLathe wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In other words, it's not a problem if you're one of the wealthiest people ever to exist in human history.

At no point was this positioned as a "for everyone" approach. It requires resources and compromises. None of the gear in this article is particularly cheap. That said, the cost is not significantly different from other forms of living. The average rent in SF/NYC/Seattle/London/etc. is sky high as well.

> None of the gear in this article is particularly cheap.

The $4 baseball cap isn't bad :) Darn Tough socks are also arguably also pretty cheap over a lifetime of use since the company mails you a free replacement pair if you wear one out

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#127

Post by jryio »

seplox wrote: post #124
jryio wrote: post #108

I thru hiked the PCT. The one thing I learned as an engineer / technical person: bring one of everything. No redundancy. The gains from being ultra light, single-item-multi-purpose, are immeasurable

I think that minimum redundancy is a wiser ethos. There are a couple of places where the weight penalty versus cost of failure makes the decision a no-brainer. In my case, that means bringing aquatabs to back up my primary water treatment system and a second way to strike my stove. An extra 2 grams for aquatabs versus 4 weeks of greasy diarrhea? Check. Ten grams for a second mini bic or small fire steel versus cold s…

Sure yes! Good shout.

At the end of the day my trail family had 4 levels of redundancy between us.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#128

Post by pythonaut_16 »

kakacik wrote: post #115
mbesto wrote: post #81

Few modifications. I would highly recommend: - Icebreaker Merino T-Shirts https://na.icebreaker.com/en-us/collections/mens-tshirts?cou... - Paka Alpaca Wool Hoodie: https://www.pakaapparel.com/products/alpaca-hoodie?variant=3... I wear those t-shirts in hot climates because of how breathable they are and the Alpaca Wool Hoodie is literally the best sweater I've ever owned. Super breathable, lightweight and I've washe…

Merino shirts are literally the only shirts I've worn through to have holes on various places. Its not that great and vastly overpriced material for many active uses, but marketing is strong with this one. To quote some mountain guides I talked about this - its a great second layer in snowy sports, ie ski touring. Wicking of sweat ain't great compared to synthetics (and thus drying takes also much longer), but when w…

From what I've seen merino tends to be more delicate than synthetics, but much more odor resistant.

Merino is the only fabric I've found that can handle multiple sweaty days or even workouts without a hint of smell.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#129

Post by nxobject »

doctorhandshake wrote: post #51

I’m all for minimalist travel but I feel like I picked up a number of cues that the author is buying and disposing of (somehow) items seasonally or even on an as-no-longer-needed basis. Hopefully that means donating the item and maybe even buying used to begin with but it’s not mentioned here. I don’t want to make assumptions but in the worst case this could be a very wasteful kind of minimalism.

Similarly (and this isn't a judgment), the ultralight outdoor gear – you trade off weight for durability.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#130

Post by kstrauser »

discomrobertul8 wrote: post #37
nradov wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really true since you can't even bring a little pocketknife or other cutting tool with you.

why do you need one? I see a lot of "edc" stuff online where people seem to carry knives and tools with them everywhere they go. I've never found a need to do so and never been caught out in a situation where I would have benefitted from a knife.

When I was a kid, my dad told me that all gentlemen should carry a pocket knife. (And presumably gentlewomen, too, but he was addressing me at the time.) I carry a nice Spyderco Para 3 with me at all times when I'm not flying somewhere and use it multiple times a day for random stuff like: trimming a loose thread on my shirt, digging out a splinter, trimming a hangnail before it can snag on something, cutting a length of rope, popping a piece of glass out of my shoe, opening an envelope, cutting tape on a box, slicing an apple or a piece of cheese, and so on ad infinitum. On the very few occasions where I didn't have it, I've reached for my phantom knife and been bummed to realize I didn't have the tool I was counting on. Without exaggeration, I use it every single day.

Note that crazy stuff like self defense absolutely, positively does not enter the equation. I mention that only because some people get weird about it in both directions, both "eek, you carry a weapon around?!", and "ooh, ever get to stab anyone?!" No. My primary self defense mechanism is good running shoes and decent stamina.

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