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Indefinite Backpack Travel

jeremymaluf.com

131–140 of 429 posts

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#131
post #83

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.

if you travel a lot... maybe the co2 saved from not lugging around a cheap thing offsets the production waste.

If you are flying with any regularity, you are completely exhausting your carbon budget. The remaining carbon budget is the CO2 if emitted will lead to 2C warming. IPCC estimates it to be 1150 GtCO2 in 2020 [1]. Which is ~140 tCO2/person over however many years we use to spend this. So if we want to limit warming to 2C by 2050, that leaves a budget of 4.7tCO2/person/year.

A transatlantic round-trip alone can be 2.3tCO2 [2].

[1] Page 48 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6...

[2] https://co2.myclimate.org/en/portfolios?calculation_id=82395...

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#133
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I feel like the real problem is tying one's purpose to employment. If you can't find value in your life without someone telling you what to do you should take some time off work and reflect deeply on that.

You don't have to sit at home in retirement. You can go out and be involved in any number of communities - volunteer, join local government, go do fundraising for a cause you care about. The biggest difference there is that if you're not enjoying it you can just leave and not worry about how you're paying rent.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#134
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Humans always and only generate their own purpose. The awfulness is entirely on the side of having to work hard to sustain yourself.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#135
post #98
post #49

Before being a digital nomad was cool I went full nomad. I remember being in a hostel in Thailand and just throwing away everything I had brought, going down to the basics. Ended up with a similar setup. The thing is, after years of doing it, learning new languages, making friends all over, and then leaving knowing you might not see them again for ever or for long stints, you start to feel the yearning to be able to…

>The thing is, after years of doing it, learning new languages, making friends all over, and then leaving knowing you might not see them again for ever or for long stints, you start to feel the yearning to be able to connect with people on a deeper level. A rolling stone gathers no moss, as they say.

"If you're everywhere, you're nowhere."

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#136

I lived out of a backpack for two months on a Pacific Crest Trail hike. I got comfortable with it and told myself that I had overcome my materialism, and could henceforth live happily without a lot of stuff and conveniences. Not so much. Now a couple of decades later, I've got a house and garage crammed with stuff. Yesterday I had a plumber here working on a leak, and this morning I have no running water, and here I…

[dead]

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#137

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.

When it comes to ultralight hiking gear, don't think durability is a major issue if it just sees occasional use in urban environments and you take good care of it.

I've travelled w/ a Montbell Versalite and Arcteryx Cerium LT for the past few years and both are like new, each probably getting around 200-300 wears in primarily city use while traveling to over 40 cities. Just picked up a Montbell Travel Umbrella (3 ounces!) a couple months back as I'll be in Mexico City for awhile and it rains like half the year.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#138
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…

I will add another data point to this: Unbound Merino tshirts※¹.

As other replies have mentioned, merino is definitely fragile (both of mine had holes within a few months). But the caveat being that I literally wear them every 2nd day (I own two day-use tshirts (2 more for night/spare) and rotate them daily, so they probably got 5 years of use in the year that I've owned them.

They are even more amazing for anti-smelling than synthetics with silver woven into them (like Lululemon Silverescent). They can go for weeks without washing (I've tested with other people's noses). Caveat being if you spill something on them or absorb a ton of barbecue smoke, they will need a wash (or at least spot cleaning).

I think merino tshirts (2 pair), lightweight synthetic everything else, powerful phones or ultralight laptops + USB-C has enabled folks like me to travel indefinitely (except in winter) with a 20-25L bag or less ※².

※¹ - https://unboundmerino.com

※² - That is if I didn't have a family incl. toddler, in my case I'll still LARP onebagging for our 1-4 week trips.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#139

Its SO ANNOYING to have to carry an Apple Silicon macbook AND an ipad. I'd love to see a touchscreen option for macbook and the option to run in ipad mode. But that would probably cannibalize sales. As it is, you can theoretically run ios apps on Apple Silicon, but most app vendors disable that.. My main use case for an ipad while traveling is to watch downloaded movies on a plane. "AR" (not really) glasses like nrea…

If only the macbook opened more than the 120 degrees (or so) angle with the screen I'd be sooo happy already (no touch required).

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#140
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I feel like the real problem is tying one's purpose to employment. If you can't find value in your life without someone telling you what to do you should take some time off work and reflect deeply on that. You don't have to sit at home in retirement. You can go out and be involved in any number of communities - volunteer, join local government, go do fundraising for a cause you care about. The biggest difference ther…

I certainly feel a lot better than where I was latterly. Would have preferred some projects that got a bit sidetracked for various reasons. Overall, pretty happy not having a full-time job. As I clean some things up though, definitely looking forward to having a more scheduled (if part-time) plan.
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