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Indefinite Backpack Travel

jeremymaluf.com

151–160 of 429 posts

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#151
post #88
post #15

I also recommend the 3F UL Gear tents. I bought the Taiji 2 for motorcycle trips. Very roomy for one person. https://3fulgear.com/product/freestanding-tent/taiji-2/

For what it's worth, at least in cold weather, roominess isn't really desirable. You should have a pack that can handle inclement weather and a really tiny tent in a perfect world.

On one hand, you're right and I do have a smaller tent. On the other hand, on a motorcycle you have a lot of bulky clothes and you need to put them somewhere. So it's always a bit of a balance.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#152

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…

> I got comfortable with it and told myself that I had overcome my materialism

Vervaeke's "Meaning Crisis" talks have interesting things to say about this sense of the world between modes of "having" (material) and "being" (existential).

  Fromm's point is we get mixed up. We try to satisfy our being needs within 
  the having mode. We suffer from "Modal Confusion". Think about how much our 
  culture is organized around this because it serves a lot of market interests 
  if I can confuse you, if I can get you to try and pursue your being needs 
  within the having mode. 
https://www.meaningcrisis.co/episode-7-aristotles-world-view...

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#153

I am surprised one bag crowd seem to pack so many computing devices with them. Some have phone, laptop, ipad and kindle and pride themselves on being minimalists.

I'm one of those.

I'd go iPad only, it's a versatile device after-all, but the truth of it is: it can't beat a laptop for "real work" (unless, real work is replying to emails and running an extremely cut down version of excel).

Yet, a laptop is significantly more awkward to read with or watch media. When flying I have (nearly) lost a screen to someone reclining in front of me while I was using my laptop; this is not an issue with iPads.

As it stands, the iPad is practically an essential, it's just so versatile and useful that it's omission would cut comfort more than it's weight. But I need an additional device, likely a laptop. One can't live without headphones either, and at least a smart-phone for payments, SMS and phone-calls.

So, it looks outsized, but a laptop can't substitute an iPad, and an iPad can't substitute a laptop (yet; it's a software failing mostly)

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#154
post #3

A rather depressive color pallet, pick your black, silver or white :) I'm going to steal their approach at rolling up clothes, though.

I tried the rolling clothes thing. And it does work. But as I got older, I found using packing cubes to be better.

This way things have their place and you know where to find something specific.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you about the breathability of those merino t-shirts, but I think the author is right about their fragility. I feel like mine constantly get runs or shrink even though I’m careful (I’m a frequent business traveler and they do get heavy use). I’m considering switching back to traditional undershirts.

That's weird, because I am still wearing the same Icebreaker t-shirts I bought in 2015, a decade later, through many many washes. They have thinned out some, and I've added more new shirts over time to my rotation, but the very first one I bought is still perfectly wearable as a daily undershirt. I've never had one shrink, I do have some small holes in the oldest shirts, but nothing that impedes its basic function.

I think it's like Apple cables: for some they're frayed in a month, others still have perfectly serviceable 30-pin cables that they've used daily. Personally, I wear Unbound merino t-shirts and underwear, and they last for years.

(I'm also convinced that front-loading washers make clothes last longer because they don't literally beat your clothes to death.)

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#156
post #147

I tried long term backpack travel and it wasn’t for me but trying (many times) basically perfected my packing for all trips. Between a backpacking trip to northern Europe to 3 day quick trip to Chicago, I can be ready to in like an hour and still, according to friends, be the most prepared. It also bled into my daily life and I picked up some really good habits. I am not a minimalist but I would say I have very littl…

Ever think about writing some of those habits down? Might be able to impart wisdom without the mess of backpacking days on end; or maybe the lessons have to be hard-earned?

Unless he found some secret magic trick, I believe they have in general been written down already a millions times by now. And yes, they have to be hard earned, meaning when you do carry your big backpack around way longer than you planned for (because a bus was not there or whatever) - you do learn to not appreciate all the useless things you carried for no reason and leave them at home next time.

Best advice:

Travel light

But still, mind where you are going. If it is the mountains, you still want to bring warm clothes and they just are heavy.

I am right now preparing for the mountains and think of whether to take a tent or not (the huts for sleeping are mostly closed already)

The heavier the backpack, the less fun is walking with it.

And that works also as a metaphor for everyday life. The less shit you take with you, pulling you down, the easier it is to make progress.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#157
post #147

I tried long term backpack travel and it wasn’t for me but trying (many times) basically perfected my packing for all trips. Between a backpacking trip to northern Europe to 3 day quick trip to Chicago, I can be ready to in like an hour and still, according to friends, be the most prepared. It also bled into my daily life and I picked up some really good habits. I am not a minimalist but I would say I have very littl…

Ever think about writing some of those habits down? Might be able to impart wisdom without the mess of backpacking days on end; or maybe the lessons have to be hard-earned?

I have written it down but it is a checklist and there are thousands of those. Checklists are very personal so that’s why I suggested that you “do it for yourself.”

That said, these are the 3 main lessons I got:

- Everything needs a place. I need to picture that place before I even buy the thing, while at the store. When you are trying to fit everything into one backpack, you practice this a lot.

- Occasional I go look through all my belongings and toss. I did this a lot when I felt my backpack got too heavy or big. Do this enough times and getting rid of a belonging becomes emotionally normalized and easy.

- This may all seem like a lot of work but only at first. Why? Because it creates a mental feedback loop that discourages hoarding. You remember what kind of items you throw away so you stop even collecting them. For example, I use to keep all USB cables but I would always throw them out during these “spring cleanings” so now I throw them when I first get them.

So I encourage trying it yourself because things like having a feedback loop or being okay with discarding junk doesn’t come from just reading about it. Similar to being okay with being rejected when dating, you have to do it enough times so it becomes comfortable.

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, when we stop moving, it's so easy to start hoarding. I lived in Mexico for 10 years with just two duffelbags of clothes and essentials. I could carry both on a plane unchecked and be anywhere with nothing left behind, and I loved it. Now I look around me in my apartment I share with my girlfriend and have things I wouldn't have even conceived of, like a gaming PC with two monitors (for what??) and a closet full…

> like a gaming PC with two monitors (for what??) There’s nothing like the pleasure of idling in a pointless MMO on one screen while half-watching youtube autoplay on the other. Alternate Monster with White Claw and you’ve got peak hedonism.

My ideal is 3 monitors

One in the middle for a game

One to the right for a video

One to the left with systems stats and an RSS feed

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#159

> 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…

People freak out about this, but all it boils down to is bringing enough socks, underwear, and shirts for ~5-6 days, 2 pairs of bottoms, and (depending on weather) or a combination of 2 and/either sweaters and an outer shell. Wear the biggest stuff (pants/sweaters) on the plane. After that be willing to do laundry, which will often put you in a position that's outside the tourist mainstream and force you to slow down…

> Freak weather events can be used as an excuse to shop for clothing, too (the best rain jacket that I ever bought was in this situation in the Netherlands - it was expensive, but I'm still using it a decade later - a fantastic souvenir that people always complement me on when wearing it).

This doesn't make any sense. Going going to a random shop to buy a rain jacket is inevitably going to be worse than doing careful research and ordering from the cheapest retailer. Moreover after you bought your first rain jacket, then what? Buy another next time it rains? If not, why not just buy it ahead of your trip and pack it?

Re: Indefinite Backpack Travel

#160
post #38

Shoes are always what get me. Wearing the same pair 2 days in a row isn't great for bacteria etc. Plus wanting sandals/flip-flops for the beach. Proper boots for any kind of hiking. Then I feel awkward particularly in Europe in the evening going to restaurants in trainers, so a pair of smart shoes is useful. Not saying I always take that entire combo, but almost always more than 1 pair.

I used to be all boots all the time, but I realized somewhat recently that unless I'm carrying a heavy load, boots are significantly less comfortable than good e.g. trail running shoes. If I'm carrying the load that the OP is, hiking boots are not really useful for me. If you look at what e.g. extreme long-distance hikers are wearing on the Appalachian trail or the Pacific Crest trail, its usually trail running shoes, because it makes more sense for carrying a light load an extremely long distance.

Certainly, if you've a history of ankle injuries or some other podiatric necessity, go for it. But for me, a pair of good walking shoes and a pair of good sandals is all I realistically need.

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