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OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

onebag.com

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Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#41

Post by Jtsummers »

welder wrote: post #33

My favorite travel hack: Wool shirts and wool socks. They need washing less often so you pack less clothing. And, showering with hand-sanitizer on arm pits. https://www.woolly.clothing/collections/190-gsm-shirts/produ... https://unboundmerino.com/collections/socks https://www.smartertravel.com/unbound-merino-womens-v-neck-r...

They also dry very quickly when you do wash them. Very convenient for hotel/hostel sink laundry days. My first longer-than-a-weekend trip was 2 weeks and I took cotton undershirts (mistakes were made). Since they tend to pick up odor quickly (at least the way I sweat) I had several days worth and they took a while to dry. Switching to wool shirts, I could pack 3 and do laundry once on the trip and no one would notice, and the faster drying time meant that if I did have a particularly sweaty and malodorous day, I could quickly wash that shirt and it would be dry in a couple hours.

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#42

Post by ghaff »

qnsi wrote: post #19
samschooler wrote: post #10

Reddit has an active community of Onebaggers. https://reddit.com/r/onebag . They have often great advice, although admittedly expensive taste.

I guess this subreddit's wiki gives a good overview of what onebagging is: 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…

That's a good summary.

I do carry a second small bag but that's in part because I want the bag anyway for walking around once I arrive at my destination. So why not compartmentalize?

I also don't pare my electronics and just in case stuff to the absolute minimum but that's partly because I like to have standard "grab kits" that I can just grab and throw in my bag most of the time. (With some exceptions, e.g. plug converters which I don't carry everywhere.) But it's all mostly small repair, medical, and other stuff that has been useful from time to time. I periodically revisit as otherwise it grows over time.

Fully agree on the large headphones. Never got the over the ear Bose noice canceling for that reason. I do mostly travel with a laptop. Never been able to get into working on a tablet. But I do have a strict rule of no more than one laptop-type device and one tablet-like device (iPad or Kindle).

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#43

Post by ghaff »

ubermonkey wrote: post #31
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #16

I used to travel every week as a consultant. I did this for about 2 years. The goruck GR1 26L bag is easily the best one bag travel bag imo. I'm 6ft tall 200 pounds and I can fit a week and a half of clothes in the bag depending on the weather. After I left my consultant job I took a couple months and just traveled around Europe with it. Trains, planes, etc. The open flat design is critical for good packing. The bag…

I was super tempted by the GR bags a while back, but I ultimately couldn't get past the "tactical" look. Where I live, at least, tactical stuff signals a political leaning I don't share.

I'm a big fan of the Osprey 46 liter bag. Used to use the Patagonia MLC but I prefer the backpack-first design of the Osprey rather than tack on a couple of thin backpack straps approach of the MLC.

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#44

Post by ngokevin »

welder wrote: post #33

My favorite travel hack: Wool shirts and wool socks. They need washing less often so you pack less clothing. And, showering with hand-sanitizer on arm pits. https://www.woolly.clothing/collections/190-gsm-shirts/produ... https://unboundmerino.com/collections/socks https://www.smartertravel.com/unbound-merino-womens-v-neck-r...

Or synthetic/wicking shirts. Packs extremely small and dries very quickly.

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#46

Post by et-al »

ubermonkey wrote: post #31
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #16

I used to travel every week as a consultant. I did this for about 2 years. The goruck GR1 26L bag is easily the best one bag travel bag imo. I'm 6ft tall 200 pounds and I can fit a week and a half of clothes in the bag depending on the weather. After I left my consultant job I took a couple months and just traveled around Europe with it. Trains, planes, etc. The open flat design is critical for good packing. The bag…

I was super tempted by the GR bags a while back, but I ultimately couldn't get past the "tactical" look. Where I live, at least, tactical stuff signals a political leaning I don't share.

They make "slick" versions of their bags without the molle strips, but the 1000D or 500D fabric is overkill for most. The one external pocket can be hard to dig into if the bag is packed full.

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#47

Post by throw0101a »

ubermonkey wrote: post #26

I've seen this site before. It's, um, zealous. I travel light. I have since the 90s. I never ever ever checked a bag before 9/11, but since then I've often done so for two reasons: - Absurd restrictions on liquids in the cabin; and - Equally absurd restrictions on carrying my Swiss Army Knife. Once you check a bag, you need another bag to carry some essentials aboard the plane. Even on a short weekend trip, though, i…

> - Equally absurd restrictions on carrying my Swiss Army Knife.

You're not wrong, but for possible future reference, multitools are fine as long as they don't have a knife (* https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/...

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#48

Post by ngokevin »

ubermonkey wrote: post #26

I've seen this site before. It's, um, zealous. I travel light. I have since the 90s. I never ever ever checked a bag before 9/11, but since then I've often done so for two reasons: - Absurd restrictions on liquids in the cabin; and - Equally absurd restrictions on carrying my Swiss Army Knife. Once you check a bag, you need another bag to carry some essentials aboard the plane. Even on a short weekend trip, though, i…

> One-bagging is also a poor choice for business travel, since you likely want a smaller computer bag so you don't have to use your much larger "one bag" as your office bag.

I just keep a very small shoulder bag inside my one-bag that fits my Macbook and acts as a walk-around. In travel mode, it's used to compartmentalize. Likewise, my wife has a small ~15L daypack inside her one-bag that is empty and rolled-up in travel mode.

No wheels is also great for sprinting to be the first to the border patrol line :D

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#49

Post by mauvehaus »

Alternative if you're flying: two bags:

1) A small backpack for anything fragile that goes under the seat in front of you.

2) A SOFT sided duffel for your clothes. Take than m-f'er and cram it into the overhead bin. It'll fit in the smallest crevice between two rollaboards with enough force.

For minimum clothing volume, pack one set of outer garments (optional if you're wearing them on the flight, which I presume you are. Maybe throw a jacket in instead if you need it) and a daily change of socks and undergarments.

Jeans and a fleece and n days worth of undergarments and socks is super efficient. If you can get away with wearing sandals, you need only one pair of socks (for airport security. I have no desire to go barefoot in the airport).

Edited to add: undergarments meaning something for your bottom half and a t-shirt you can wear without something over it. And bras if you wear them, obviously.

Actually, if you're going to a conference and feel sporting, skip the T-shirts and trust you can get them as swag as needed.

Re: OneBag: The Art and Science of Travelling Light

#50

Post by ghaff »

futureshock wrote: post #20

I’ll offer up my one bag take that’s very much against the mainstream of one bag aficionados. I love traveling light, but think the carefully curated list of expensive branded items are counterproductive. I’d much rather the bag and everything in it to be functional, ugly anonymous and replaceable. If the bag gets stolen, I should be able to walk into the nearest mall and replace everything that was in it without a s…

I do have a fairly carefully curated pile of stuff I travel with. But it's mostly a variety of practical/comfortable synthetic or merino wool shirts, pants, a light rainjacket, compressible outerwear, etc. It's not replaceable except as a stopgap with some cheap stuff from the nearest mall. But it's not fancy brands. It's just stuff I'm comfortable wearing, looks good but not fancy, and I can wash it in a hotel sink.
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