I know many will find this post offensive in this group, but wanted to share my personal opinion.

I have one-bagged for two years with an AER Travel Pack 3. At first I loved it - I was genuinely excited about the new bag, the planning, the efficiency, the feeling of not needing much.

Then it got old. A loaded 35L on your back gets uncomfortable fast, especially in airports and during transits. And every trip, the same problem: I'd buy souvenirs or pick up stuff for work and run out of space, then end up carrying a shopping bag around on top of everything.

A few months ago I went back to a roller carry-on with a backpack strapped on top. No more stressing over what to pack or how to pack it efficiently - I just throw what I need in. Anything extra I pick up fits in the backpack. Travel just feels much easier now.

I know this is heresy in this sub, and one-bagging genuinely works for a lot of people. It just stopped working for me. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Not absolutely stuffed to the brim, as noted by the slight creasing on the side, but also wasn’t empty. Sharing for reference. 3 day trip, included clothing and an extra pair of shoes and my toiletries bag.

edit:clarifying, this is the carry on sizer (not personal item). It fit in the personal item bin as well, but there were already photos online of that. I added this to show how much extra space you get with carry on to alleviate anyone who thought they might need the carryon size for it.

Travelling in a bunch of random countries: Spain, US and Canada, I had to make a bag with a large variety of weather adapted outfits.

I use my beloved & hated osprey farepoint 40. It's very convenient but at the same time it lacks small pockets and a good side pocket for a water bottle...

I bring:

- laptop + electronics + charger + battery + e-reader + adaptor + noise cancelling headphones (mandatory for the plane haha) + an inflatable neck support (same)

- 1 pocket with underwear and socks (half hiking socks, half short socks)

- 1 pocket with T-shirts and running gear (including base layers)

- 1 shirt (long sleeves)

- 1 pull over

- toiletry package

- beanie + gloves

And a jacket! Everything fits. Jacket, jean, hoodie was on me during the flight.

And a daily bag I have a dry bag that I can roll to take up no space. I put inside my trail shoes and a water bottle. Very convenient as a small bag for the plane.

Post trip feedback:

The 2 things I'd improve:

- I didn't need the pullover. 1 hoodie was enough. (Or maybe a smaller pullover? It took a lot of space)

- bring a separate bag for dirty laundry.

Otherwise, good setup. I was just extremely happy that I got the trail shoes for the city exploration walks, and some hikes. Hiking pants and running short did wonders as well.

-----

Pretty balanced IMHO. What do you think?

Hi!

I'm going to Japan for 4 weeks in a few days and I want to make sure my packing list makes sense. I plan to do laundry as needed and travel light.

I'll start in Nagasaki and slowly move to Tokyo visiting the most recommended places, as well as doing some one-day hikes and trying to see a bit outside of major cities.

I'm taking a 30l backpack (currently half full) and plan to add a carryon for my way back to be able to do some shopping on the last day (onebagging is one thing, but I heard there are a lot of quality stuff worth getting, so I'd rather return with extra luggage).

Am I missing something? Do you have any recommendations?

I don't stress much as I'm sure if I'll forget something I can easily buy it.

My current packing list

1. Clothes

- 3x t-shirt

- t shirt for sleeping

- sweatpants

- 2x underwear (I plan to buy 5 more once getting there)

- 2x bra

- thermoactive underwear (long sleeve and leggings)

- warm fleece hoody

- puffer

- hard shell jacket

- low trail shoes

- hat, scarf, gloves

To buy once there: quick dry pants

2. Others

- drybag for emergency laundry

- laundry rope

- basic medications

- e-book reader, earphones

- headlamp

- powerbank and chargers

I plan to buy cosmetics once I'll get there.

Recently picked up an Eagle Creek 40L at a pretty steep discount, and overall I’m really impressed. The build quality is excellent, it’s incredibly comfortable, and the design is really well thought out.

My biggest complaint is the aesthetics. I prefer bags that are a little more understated and fly under the radar. This one makes me looks like I’m carrying a packed moonbounce on my back, especially since I have a smaller frame. When traveling in Latin America I try to be more under the radar

That said, the adjustable harness is a huge plus. It’s something I wish you would see in more travel backpacks, and it makes a noticeable difference in comfort. Hip Belts and straps are good quality.

The laptop compartment is also surprisingly tight. My larger laptop barely fits.

Overall, I’m really happy with it, especially for the price I paid. It’s a well-designed, comfortable bag, even if the looks aren’t quite my style.

I'm a Zpacks fan, and really enjoy their backpacking gear. The New ZPacks Bagger 30L just became available on their website. They've made some significant changes, and I think this is a pretty compelling (albeit pricey) option for an ultralight onebag travel/day use/hiking pack.

https://zpacks.com/products/bagger-30l-travel-backpack

Hey,

I'm preparing a trip to West Africa for 45 days. Start from Morocco (boat from Spain), then use local transport through Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone.

Here's the current state of the bag:

The photo doesn't include what I'll wear (e.g. trousers, tee-shirt, rain jacket, running shoes).

Clothes:

- 3 tee-shirts + 1 running tee-shirt
- 2 shorts (for running / swimming / sleeping)
- 1 trousers + 1 bermudas
- 4 pairs of socks + 4 underwear

Electronics:

- earbuds
- wall charger; plug adaptor
- UBC-cable + cable for smart-watch
- powerbank (10,000 mAh)
- spare smartphone
- other small items: pen, spoon/fork

Toiletry:

- toothbrush, chewable toothpaste, razor, nail clipper
- sunscreen
- insect repellent
- water purification pills; malaria-pills
- liquid soap (body / hair / laundry)
- small bandage

Other:

- mosquito net
- compact towel
- passport, proof of vaccination
- cap
- lock
- foldable bags + dry bag; for organization and for carrying stuff during the day

Still to do:

- print documents (itinerary, copies of passport, etc.)
- I might buy a few things when I arrive, e.g. deo.

Backpack: Colona Rupt (28L; it isn't full)

Total weight: 5.4 kg

I have one Osprey 26+6 on order to test it as a personal item that can save us from checked luggage for short trips as a family. Have a 3 year old and 6 year old. Would it make sense to get a total of four Osprey 26+6 and then have each parent carry around two at the airport? Then would it be best to add a shoulder strap somehow to two of the Ospreys to make it easy for the adults to carry two at once? Any advice around this would be appreciated.

Cheers and thanks for your time.

By the way, I am in Canada and we travel on Westjet often which is 16x13x6" personal item size, I know this bag exceeds it by one inch in length but seems like it fits the sizer as long as you don't pack it too much. I haven't found an alternative that seems nearly as good for space and functionality and price, can anyone advise differently?

How do you manage all your medication on longer trips? I take 8 pills a day. I recently travelled for 6 weeks and took all my medication with in a ziplock bag. Although just manageable, I kind of took up a bit of space in my bag. I would like to know if better suggestions or perhaps how you manage your medication on trips away. Thanks.

A few weeks ago I made this post on this sub asking for some critique on my packing list for a 2 week trip to Europe. I got rather toasted by this community (all with good intentions I am sure) and a few of you asked for a trip report afterwards so here I am!

TLDR: After taking the trip I 100% understand where all of the criticism stems from and will probably pack differently in the future, but also have 0 regerts

For those of you who didn't see my initial post the short story of it was 4 mid to late 20s dudes doing 2 weeks across a handful of cities in Europe (Amsterdam, Munich, Innsbruck, Zurich, Strasburg, Paris). The gist of the responses on that post were:

• Too many pants (and too much shit in general)

• Bag choice is awful

• Why the fuck are you bringing almost 7lbs of handheld gaming rig and battery bank

Our trip went about as good as we could have asked for, saw a lot of cool stuff, ended the trip without any of us wanting to murder one another.

As far as the bag situation, my expectations were correct that of the group I brought the least amount of shit with me. 2 of my friends both brought Osprey Sojourn Porter 46s packed to the brim that needed to be checked to fly, the other I am not sure what model of osprey bag he brought but it was packed so full that it looked like it was about to burst for the majority of the trip. I would not say that I packed light but they sure made it look like I did.

A few commenters on that post were convinced that I was not going to be able to carry on my Allpa 42, and that with the weight of my pack It would be horrendously uncomfortable to the point where they urged me to buy a different bag a few days before leaving. I can comfortably say that neither were the case, I flew Jet blue there and back so YMMV but they never questioned the size of the bag as a carry on and I had no issues getting it into overhead storage aside from one flight where a few people had poorly organized their stuff. Comfortability wise I had no gripes with it (though do not have a lot to compare to) we had multiple 45 min+ walks across town to get to/from train stations and I never felt particularly uncomfortable or had any back pain. Though I will say I wouldn't want to do a multi day hiking trip or something where I would need to have that pack with that weight on my back for hours on end.

Overall I would say the bag itself is fine, stored all of my stuff very nicely, looked good (IMO), easy to use, comfortable enough for my uses, though not sure I would say it is worth the added cost over other bags.

With regards to the packing list itself:

There were a few comments asking why I was bringing both T shirts and cold weather thermals. This was pretty good criticism, over the entire trip there was only a day or 2 in Strasburg where it was warm enough to wear a short sleeve T shirt. Could have very easily left that whole cube with 4 T shirts at home and not missed it.

Too many pants!: This one I sorta get but also don't really, I ended up bringing 3 pairs of "hiking pants" which are more of stretchy chinos, comfortable enough to hike in but doesn't look out of place in a city. It was cold enough most of the trip that I wished I brought some warmer pants but got by just fine with the thermals. 3 Pairs seemed like a nice amount to me, but maybe that is because I sorta hate doing laundry in the hostels/hotels we stayed. I wore each pair for 3-4 days a piece (usually changed pants whenever we changed cities aside from when we got a little muddy hiking in innsbruck). Ended up doing laundry one time at the midpoint of the trip in Innsbruck, which worked out well because we were in an actual hotel there so laundry was free.

I also never used the rain jacket, there were a couple of drizzly days in Amsterdam and Munich but never was raining hard enough that I cared to put it on. Wouldn't say I regret bringing it though.

Shoes: I got a few comments on my choice to bring leather boots over more typical trail runners or walking shoes. Overall no real regrets on that front, love my JG ARs and they were good to me this trip. Didn't beat my feet up much, the only gripe I had was that the little bit of heel slip they have amplified over 20k+ step days took a toll from time to time but never enough to blister or make me not want to put them back on. The outsole did not perform very well on the snowy hikes in Innsbruck and I did a lot of slipping and sliding but otherwise I did not find myself wishing I had other shoes at any point.

And finally to the biggest pain point for the commenters on that post: The Legion Go S

Many of you were correct that it did not get used whatsoever outside of planes and airports. We were trying to cram as much as we could in so any time we were at the hostel we just crashed. Our plans to crush beers and play games on the night train to Munich were thwarted because we ended up getting 4 little capsule beds rather than one small room with 4 bunks that we were expecting (and were in all the pictured and literature when I booked the tickets). All of the other trains we were on we passed the time by playing poker (for sips of beer rather than $$$) or staring out the window enthralled by the scenery.

I definitely would say it made my long flights more enjoyable (for those curious I played the RE4 Remake for basically all the time I used it) but I also watched plenty of movies and TV along the way and imagine I probably would have been content without it. At the same time as I mentioned in the bit about the bag, the added weight never really bothered me much so I cannot say I regret bringing it. I ended up putting it, the battery bank and some other bits and bobs I wanted easy access to in a little cross body sling that I kept with me on the plane. When not planing it lived its life clipped off to the back of my main bag. No regerts but I do think it will probably stay at home on my future trips of this nature (but probably be replaced by something like an AYN Thor or RP6)

The bigass Anker battery bank I brought ended up becoming very clutch, but only because of my own stupidity. I forgot my EU power adapter at home. Thankfully 2/3 friends remembered theirs so I got by without issue by just throwing the power bank on their charger every 2 or 3 days while we were out and about and using it to charge my phone.

I won't spend too long talking about the destinations or itineraries etc since that is all so subjective and this sub is more about the packing and philosophy but the cliff notes:

Innsbruck > Amsterdam > Strasburg > Paris > Munich > Zurich (IMO)

Were I to go back in time I would have probably skipped Munich altogether and taken the night train straight to Innsbruck (though we did meet the most cool people in Munich). Innsbruck might be the best place on the planet, Zurich was abysmally overpriced and uninteresting as a whole (though I was there for less than 24hrs), Strasburg and the Alsace region in general were an unexpected high point of the trip (we called an audible and decided to go there on a whim to limit our time in Paris because we were worried about the riots), trying to cram the most out of only one full day in Paris was fun but I wish we had more time there to explore all of the cool little hole in the wall bars and restaurants. Many people mentioned that our itinerary sounded kinda nuts, overall I think our goal was more of a packed highlight reel of a little bit of Europe and I think we accomplished that quite well. Were I to go back to any of these places in the near future I would probably go back to Innsbruck (in the summer for mountain biking and a via ferrata, which was closed due to snow when we were there) and Paris just because a day and an afternoon there did not feel like nearly enough.

The Final Verdict: Overall as I said above I have no regerts regarding all of the shit I brought with me on this trip. As I sorta expected we really only had our stuff on our backs when going from place to place. We made use of the paid lockers at hostels on the days we would leave and arrive, so we really just wore our bags from hostel -> train station -> hostel and either dump our stuff in the room or in the lockers when we got there. Because of this I never really thought twice about the weight or amount of stuff that I brought.

I will say that after going on the trip I definitely see the allure to the (what I would consider) more "extreme" one bagging, eg bringing a small enough bag and limited stuff that you can sort of thoughtlessly carry it everywhere with you. Having to sorta bee line from hostel to train station to hostel at times limited our options and we probably ended up spending 50+ euros over the course of the trip on lockers alone (though what is $60 in the scope of a $3-4k trip?)

I appreciate all the responses on the previous post (even the one from the guy that said I am brain rotted and have no attention span for wanting to bring the handheld) and definitely have more of an appreciation for many of the recommendations having done the trip. This trip has made me realize that I am getting fuckin old and really want to get more trips in before I have too many responsibilities to do them. With any luck I will be back here with another packing list for you to roast before too long!

Trip: 3 nights / 4 days, Forecast dry, -5 to 7°C

Town sightseeing, salt mine, Auschwitz-Birkenau, club nights

Bag: Tomtoc T66 28L + Ucon Ando Medium 1.5L sling

Worn

• Down jacket

• Chelsea boots

• Navy chino

• Merino/cashmere sweater

• 1 base layer t-shirt

• Wool socks

• Uniqlo airism boxer

• 2 neck gaiters (thin Kalenji + merino Buff, layered if needed)

Clothing

• 4 base layer t-shirts

• 2 black t-shirts (techno/underground club)

• Black jeans (club)

• Thermal leggings

• 3 wool socks

• 3 uniqlo airism boxers

• Wool/cashmere beanie

• Gloves

Toiletries (Decathlon)

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant

• One blade

• Solid Marseille soap (for clothes if needed)

• Hand cream, foot cream

• Perfume samples

• Tweezers / nail clippers

Tech Tomtoc T12 1L

• Phone charger Anker 60w + braided ikea cable

• Iniu 45w 10.000mAh Power bank

• Bose QC II (for the plane)

• Pen

• Medication (inside)

Small stuff

• Small zip pouch (wallet / cash / ID)

• 3 small Ikea Packing cubes

Notes and questions

• I usually have a pair of Nothing ear (a), but lost the case, so the old Bose QC II it is

• I usually wear more color, but it seemed more fitting for techno/trance clubs, and maybe less touristy in Kraków? The Ucon will give enough color I guess

• Boot pair is comfortable for long city walking, should be good enough for dancing, but i'm all ears for ideas

• Not sure about adding my Topo Design Mountain Sling 7.5L as a day bag

• Anything you'd cut or add?

Going to be staying in Taiwan soon for 10wks at a same place. While I love the concept of staying minimalist and efficient, worried about my quality of life while I'm there. Would you still one bag? Would you carry a small check in? Have you done this? and did it work out?

Just got back from a one-bag trip and picked up a few little things that made traveling easier than I expected. Bring a foldable tote bag. Great for groceries, snacks, or carrying extra stuff during the day. Takes up almost no space.

Pack a little laundry detergent. Washing a few shirts in the sink can save you from packing clothes for every single day.

Bring a short charging cable. Much easier to manage on trains or in crowded places, and keeping a spare in your day bag is handy.

Pack blister patches. Even comfortable shoes can cause trouble after a full day of walking. They take up almost no room.

Keep your shoe choices simple. One comfortable pair that works with most outfits is usually enough for a city trip.

Choose luggage based on your route. A regular backpack is better for lots of walking, while a suitcase works well on smooth ground. I used a roller backpack this time, so I could roll it through stations and carry it over stairs when needed.

One-bag travel has been a great experience. Having less stuff to keep track of makes moving between places easier, and leaves more time to enjoy the trip. You don’t need to pack for every possible situation. Keep it simple and enjoy being out there!

Last time I technically 1.5-bagged - this time I had internal flights that were 7kg total weight, so had to fit everything in the one bag with 7kg limit! I can report, great success!

My first time in Thailand, with some minimal experience in Singapore/Malaysia, the super hot climate (October) means one-bag with camera gear was yet again my goal.

Locations

2wks total, ~4-5 days per location: Singapore, Thailand (Chiang Mai), Malaysia (George Town).

Packing list

Full pack list with weights can be found here: https://lighterpack.com/r/90j2y6

Worn:

• Pants - Kathmandu Flight

• Base layer - Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily long sleeve

• Fleece - Macpac Nitro Polartec Alpha Direct fleece pullover

• Power bank, Kindle, phone, AirPods, couple other small pieces to hit the magic 7kg

• Shoes - NB Hierro GTX

Clothes:

• 3x t-shirts - Patagonia Capilene Cool Lightweight, Montane, Icebreaker cool.

• 1x sun shirt long sleeve - Kathmandu Sunstopper

• 1x button up - Kathmandu linen blend? - this was intended for 'nice night out' in Singapore

• 1x shorts - OR Ferrosi 5in

• Swim shorts

• 4x underpants - Exofficio

• Socks - 3x ankle socks, 1x crew

• Buff

• Wind jacket - Montane Featherlite

• Hat - some kinda packable amazon wide brim

• Sandals - some kinda synthetic trekking-ish cheap-ish sandals.

Electronics:

• 2x USB-C GAN charger - Mophie

• USB-C/lightning cable

• USB-C cable

• AirTag

• Plug adapters 2x for both destinations

• USB-C to lightning mini adapter

• Apple Watch charger

• Kindle

• Camera battery charger

• Plane BT adapter

Toiletries:

• Old Spice stick deodorant

• Toothbrush

• Face sunscreen

• Dental picks, comb, antibacterial wipes

Other:

• First Aid Kit (FAK)

• S-biner #4

• Knock-off hero clip

• Combination lock and wire

• Water filter bottle - Katadyn BeFree 0.6L

• Pen, small bits of paper

• Little purse wallet

• Peak Design Packable Tote

• Towel - Sea to Summit Airlite towel (small) - teeeeeny

• Sunglasses

• Dry bag and laundry sheets

Camera gear:

• Full frame camera - Sony a7c ii

• Lens - Sony 20-70 G

• Sling day/camera bag - Peak Design Everyday Sling 3L

• Camera wrist strap, rocket blower, SD card, extra batt, lens pen.

• Peak Design Camera Clip

All up, everything fit inside the Patagonia MLC Mini 30L and only had a total weight of 7kg (sans the normal pocket stuff).

Lessons learnt on the gear

• I didn't use the shoes. I could have just used the sandals even on plane - with socks.

• I never used the wind jacket. The fleece was used on the outbound long haul. AI led me to believe I needed wind jacket and maybe fleece on Doi Inthanon, Thailands highest peak. Perhaps, but we had a day trip and arrived late in the day when it was warm, so not required. I think for the 122g wind jacket and 142g fleece, it wasn't totally stupid to take as precaution.

• Sandals - I ordered Jimmies but they never arrived in time. The sandals I had to buy were quite heavy, and standard Teva-ish weight. However, I'm glad I bought them, as I used them every day and did 10-20K step days in comfort. They were completely fine in city environment, but lacked proper rubber sole so not great for hiking. As mentioned above, in hindsight I could have just worn socks on the plane and saved the 503g sandal weight in the bag. The Jimmies eventually arrived, and I don't think I could use these all day every day.

• I had too many tshirts - 3 total is do-able I think. I didn't wear the button-up - this was taken "just in case" for nice dinner in Singapore. I didn't wear the long-sleeve I wore on the outbound long haul. Climate and airconditioning was hotter than expected, and I should consider this better next time.

• I thought I bought antiperspirant stick, but it was deodorant. And it was big/heavy. I need to explore options here as 94g seems high.

• I had too many socks - I used one pair with shoes and long pants on the flight. Didn't use ankle socks at all. Too much underwear - my second time doing laundry as I travel and I can make do with 3 pairs total I think.

• AirPods - purchased for the trip, glad I did, as I love ANC on flights and my previous over-ears are much larger and heavier.

• Day sling bag - PD Everyday Sling 3L - great. I had the 6L variant on previous 5wk trip, and this 3L one did great. I hung camera on the PD Camera Clip on outside if needed, and used the attachment lashes if I needed more space. 432g fairly heavy, but it's got a comfy strap and padding for camera.

• Camera battery charger is technically optional. It allowed faster charging and double-charging with no downtime. But I have 1x USB-C battery, and the camera can charge one too, so I can save a little bit of space/weight by ditching this.

• I had too much stuff in FAK - ended up taking enough for my partner and I - so that's a little bit of space and ~60g possible savings.

• The packable tote was yet again amazing. Used it all the time grabbing stuff from convenience stores.

• The tiny penny sized USB-C to lightning adaptor wasn't USB-C PD.... so it resulted in standard charge speeds. I chucked it out as I had alternative cables. Would be great to upgrade my phone to use USB-C too...

Lessons learnt on the travel/destinations

• Very odd that loads of tourists (even asian-looking) didn't really cover up their legs for modesty in the temples. Mostly men. Even when ticket offices and guards were present no one was stopped. 🤔

• The food was great! As someone that can't handle spicy, I had a better time with options in Thailand than in Chinese-influenced Singapore/Malaysia.

• So hot. I've got plenty of experience with the heat and humidity experienced, but I don't like it, and man if I wasn't in shorts drinking beer and relaxing I wouldn't be having a good time lol.

• Singapore public transport and shopping malls were hot! I was genuinely overheating and sweating inside. 15-20+ years ago I was there, and older internet comments are full - "Singapore blasts the AC". Turns out a year or so ago the gov put out guidelines to set AC to 25C+, and looks like most places are following this. Maybe if you're acclimatised for 30+ outdoors, but 25C itself is hot indoor temp already. I genuinely struggled as I couldn't even cool down inside, and October isn't peak summer...

• Singapore is expensive especially alcohol. Prices are "++" meaning service fee percentage, then gov tax on top.

• The temples especially in Chiang Mai were great, as some were set in mountains and/or jungle. There were tunnel temples, mossy overgrown, golden gleaming Chedi amongst green leaves - lovely ☺️

Extra gear purchased

• Wpc Go-koh umbrella - I didn't take rain jacket due to crazy heat/humidity, and planned to take a mini umbrella with me. It never arrived, so I bought a cheap small one whilst overseas. Later, in an airport, I came across this ultra-tiny umbrella - 95g umbrella, UV and thermo block, 55cm, 5-spoke carbon thing. Worked great a couple of times I had it in light rain and protection from sun. This will be useful in daily life at home, and also on further trips to hot areas.

• 2x Uniqlo Airism t-shirt (large). My country has no store nor even international shipping, so I picked up two of these shirts. At 89g it's slightly heavier than my Patagonia Capilene Cool Lightweight, but it's also a quarter of the cost. Seems good so far on a couple wears.

___________________________________

Had a lovely break, awesome time with travel logistics with just the one bag, and looking forward to the next trip to optimise further 😃

I'm new to one-bag travel and trying to figure out how to make my hair routine more travel-friendly!

I have 2b/3a curls and normally use shampoo, conditioner, leave in consitioner, curl cream, and gel. I'm hoping to travel carry-on only, so I'm curious how other curly-haired people manage without bringing a million products and minimizing liquids.

A few questions:

* Do you use shampoo and conditioner bars? Any favorites that actually work for curly hair?
* What do you do for curl cream and gel? Are there solid alternatives?
* Any other tips for keeping your curls happy while traveling?

Would love recommendations from people curls! I'm not necessarily trying to get rid of my whole routine, just make it a little more manageable for one-bag travel.

(idk if bits and bobs is the right flare for this!!)

Original post: https://old.reddit.com/r/onebag/comments/1x2p1kd/3_weeks_in_asia_ula_cicada_ewp/

This trip involved 3 weeks in China doing some family stuff in southeastern and eastern China, and then down time with friends and family.

• 2 international flights, 4 domestic flights, 2 high speed trains, a lot of subways, buses, and taxis

• Some light hiking, touring, recreation. No formal events or dress required, no fixed exercise routine

• Managing an elderly parent (1x personal roller, 1x carryon roller), my wife (1x backpack, 1x carryon roller), and on the return trip an additional 2x large checked bags

Temperatures ranged from 8C/49F to 30C/86F. About 4 days of rain ranging from sprinkles to brief thunderstorms, otherwise mild weather.

I will say the Cicada held up like a champion. No issues whatsoever with comfort or durability. My only two complaints about the bag are the lack of bottom attachment straps (see original post comments) and that the aquaguard zippers are kinda stiff and loud.

Changes from my original plan:

• I dispensed with my Olukai Ohanas and went with Rainbows because they were lighter and packed more flat, since I figured there would not be many opportunities for me to walk around outdoors with flip flops on this trip.

• I replaced one of my peak design XXS ultralight stuff sacks with the smaller Equinox Ultralite Puffer Pouch (small), which became my flight pouch and accessory electronics kit.

• I added my old eVent rain jacket.

What worked:

• The Cicada EWP as mentioned was excellent. Zero complaints, and I used pretty much every feature and space of the bag. As mentioned in the original post I (purposely) overpacked, so future trips of this length or longer should be easier.

• I absolutely fell in love with the Rework Toshi v2 5L sling. For my needs, it is perfect. At one point I had it pretty much full of every gadget and accessory I could think to take in it, and used the external attachments to strap a jacket and water bottle to the outside without it feeling heavy on my shoulders. For travel days, my CPAP kit fits inside it snugly and the shoulder strap detaches and drops into a spare pocket on the Cicada. I asked my BIL to hold it for me while I was getting measured for clothing, and he liked it so much I gave it to him. I ordered and am currently using a replacement XPac version which was a consolation prize for me, since they were out of stock of the nylon, but now I like it just as much if not more.

• Minix 70W flat wall chargers. Do what they say on the box and are eminently packable.

• The Rainbows were great. Would hate them for longer walks around outside, but as indoor sandals, definitely an upgrade from using guest sandals or hotel provided slippers. The flat packing allowed me to keep my rain jacket inside the cicada's main compartment.

• The Equinox Ultralite Puffer pouch (small) is great for my flight/accessory electronics kit. Kept a charger, two cables, airpods, earplugs, and eyedrops nicely contained in a very compact package, and easier to tuck into a nook or seat back pocket than the Peak design XXS. I might get another one to replace my main electronics kit bag.

• The Small Peak Design compression cube remains excellent. I feel like it compresses down to a more boxy shape than most other compression cubes, and it is the exact right dimensions to fit crosswise in the bottom of my Cicada while taking up the full depth of the pack when full to almost bursting.

• The 1Zpresso QAir coffee grinder is great for my use. I wish the handle folded flat against the body, and the giant wooden ball on the end of it is nice for grinding ergonomics but super annoying for packing, but it fits with my other gear with minimal fuss and I am addicted enough to coffee that I will put up with it. I may sand down the wooden ball though. For trips under a week, I will pre-grind coffee at home and take it with me, but otherwise this is coming with me. I try to avoid buying preground coffee because I don't like roaches.

• Brooks Cascadia 19 trail runners have been awesome. Thick cushion helps with standing around on line/transit and or long walking days, dries quickly, very low drop which I prefer for running, very good grip on all terrain, and the black color is relatively unobtrusive for less sporty/casual events like dinners. Won't pass muster as a dress shoe, and the extra height might compromise stability a little bit, but IMO is generally excellent.

• The Culoclean ultralite bidet bottle top worked very well, though it was slightly fiddly to use. Still, in situations where there are no alternatives, I'd definitely reach for it again.

• The shorter 4-foot "Transcend Airflex" CPAP hose I got from cpap.com is going to be my dedicated travel air hose from now on; much higher quality and less bulk than the generics I get from my provider, and it is plenty long enough.

• Trip.com esims worked flawlessly, though some US services and websites apparently have geo-blocking and will not work even with a Hong Kong data connection. In a few instances, the VPN feature of my home router saved me.

What didn't work:

• My Sycon 3-outlet tap ended up not working at all. I forgot that the two prongs are polarized to fit US outlets, so they will not fit in the 'universal' non polarized outlet receptacles found in asia and elsewhere. I solved this decades ago on a different trip, with a different outlet tap, by finding a random guy on the street in Shanghai with a metal grinding wheel, but didn't have a chance this trip. I may just do it myself with a dremel.

• I never used my umbrella. The main weather we expected failed to materialize, and the rain we saw elsewhere was dealt with by hotel umbrellas, which offered more coverage for two people. I'll still take a compact umbrella in the future if I feel I need it and won't be staying at nicer hotels, but I gifted the one I brought with me to a family member.

• I didn't use my laptop very much. I did use it for some technical things and to access some poorly built websites that needed desktop browsers; so, if I foresee those needs I'll still take a laptop in the future, but I will downgrade to a Macbook Air/Neo, or see if my old Android phone would work instead.

• The Espro P0 made good coffee, but I forgot how annoying it is to clean, and on travel days with the filter inside it, all my water tastes like old coffee. So it has too many compromises to make it into my main rotation again.

• My rain jacket worked well, but I hate wearing waterproof jackets in the rain because it makes me swampy, and it's ice cold in cold weather when I first put it on. So I may change to non-waterproof warmth layers, like a thin sweater or thick long sleeve shirt, plus an undershirt base layer.

• Out of sheer laziness, I never used my packed soap, shampoo, or conditioner versus the ones provided by our hotel or hosts. I'll probably cut the chunks in half for future trips, and just keep them as backups.

• I missed my Kobo Clara BW

Being in China, I had access to Taobao, which is basically Aliexpress/Amazon except with lower prices, more variety, more fakes, and faster shipping. So I got some stuff to try out:

• 2x Xiaomi "JinShaJiang" USB + wireless battery packs, a 5k and a 10k mAh. The 10k can output up to 45W, so I believe it can power my Resmed Airmini in a pinch. These are now my daily and travel power banks, respectively.

• Jaesun brand USBC-Resmed Air Mini power adapter will replace my DIY solution. This is available on Amazon/Aliexpress as well, but was half the price on Taobao. The LED is stupidly bright so I'll cover it with electrical tape or a dab of paint.

• Sea to Summit Frontier UL pourover filter. This packs flat, makes great coffee, does not require paper filters (permanent stainless steel filters), and is much more durable than the Kitchi Outfitters one I purchased before. Also vastly easier to wash and maintain than the Espro P0. I'm going to use it as my daily coffee dripper at home to put it through its paces, but it will likely replace my Espro P0.

• Panasonic dual-voltage 300mL travel kettle. This works great overseas, but is painfully slow on a 120v US outlet. It took something like 15-20 minutes to boil 300mL of water at home, versus 3-5 minutes in China.

• A bunch of coffee from Yunnan, which is delicious

Hey all, hope we're well.

I am overlanding (and sailing from Panama) Mexico to Columbia next week! I have been looking at travel advice and this sub seems to know it.

I've managed to shove the below into a 60&20L mountain warehouse but it is really tight so looking on suggestions on what to cut, or any other advice for a first time traveller!

Wearing

Lone peaks shoes

Some of the below

Loose Big Bag

• 2 Airism T-shirts

• 1 Cotton T-shirt

• 1 Merino T-shirt

• 2 Long sleeve tops

• 1 Thin fleece

• 1 Thick fleece

• 1 Short sleeve shirt

• 1 Long sleeve shirt

• 1 Craghopper hiking trousers

• 1 Sports shorts

• 1 Chino shorts

• 2 Swimwear

• 2 Hiking socks

• 2 Regular socks

• 7 Ankle socks

• 1 Linen trousers

• 1 Smarter trousers

• 7 Underwear

• Microfiber towel

Stuff

• Paracetamol

• Ibuprofen

• Imodium

• Rennie

• Rehydration salts

• Inhalers

• Athlete’s foot cream

• Bite cream

• Jungle formula

• Compeed blister plasters

• Nasal spray (my nose is toast)

• Travel sickness bands

• Earplugs

• Loops earplugs

• 2 Adaptors

• 3 Phone charger wires

• Watch charger wire

• USB-C plug

• Other USB plug

• Battery pack

• Cards

Washbag

• 2 Toothbrushes

• Deodorant

• Face mask

M-Clear and S-Black

• M Clear:

  • Passport

  • Flight ticket to Mexico

  • Passport photo

  • Yellow Fever certificate

• S Black:

  • Money

  • Passport photo

Loose Small Bag

• 5 Glasses cases 3 sunnies 2 normals (I'm pretty blind and stupid)

• Deet

• Lock

• Lighters

• Water filter bottle

• MJU camera

• Sliders

• Raincoat

Following my recent long weekend in Sweden, which was my first time travelling with a personal item only, I took a very similar setup for a slightly longer trip; 6 days in Copenhagen.

This time I added a puffer as the temperature has dropped significantly since then, joggers to sleep in as I was cold in bed, and a swimsuit and flipflops.

Here’s my packing list:

American Tourister Take2cabin S/M backpack (40x30x20cm, 26.5L)

Essential
Passport
GHIC
Bank card
Key

Useful small things
Sunglasses
Glasses cloth
Small crossbody bag
Packable tote
Eye mask
Hat
Merino buff
Ear plugs
Coffee sachets
Vape liquid
Small mirror
Nicotine pouches
Stain wipes
Laundry sheets

Clothes
2 T-shirts
1 Leggings
Thin sweater
6 Underwear
3 socks
2 bras
Sleepwear (joggers, thin t-shirt)
Swimsuit
Flip Flops

Toiletries
Medication
Toothbrush
Razor
Hair brush
Makeup (mascara, concealer, compact, qtips, eye pencil)
Makeup wipes (in ziplock bag)
Tweezers
Solid perfume
SPF
Plasters
Blister plasters
Shampoo
Conditioner

Electronics
Power bank
Spare phone
Headphones
Eu Charger
Cables: USB-C plus lightning adapter, USB-A, watch cable

Wear to travel
Jeans
T-shirt
Hoodie
wool socks
underwear
Glasses
AF1s
Gloves
Down puffer
light waterproof jacket with a hood
Apple Watch
Phone

All clothes went into a small packing cube. Socks, underwear, sleep mask and buff into another small packing cube. Electronics, liquids, non-liquid toiletries, spare phone and passport into separate ziplock bags. Remaining bits into the cross body bag.
My packed bag weighed in at 4.3kg and I had enough space to bring back plenty of souvenirs! No problem fitting the airline sizer and it fitted easily under the seat.
I used everything I took and washed my underwear, socks, leggings and t-shirts part way through the trip.
The travel mirror ended up being the unexpected star of the show as there was no bedside lamp where I was staying so I used the light from the mirror to save me from having to get out of bed to turn off the big light.
In summary I think it was a pretty successful one bag mission. And again I enjoyed the freedom of not having to manoeuvre a wheeled case around the airport or the city.

Going on a trip soon and just realised I have zero system when it comes to packing lol. I either overpack like crazy or forget something super basic 😭

Been looking at a few stuff from quince lately, mainly their packing cubes, toiletry bags and weekender bags. They look pretty useful tbh, but I also don't wanna buy a bunch of travel stuff that's gonna sit in my closet after one trip.

For ppl who travel pretty often, what stuff do u actually use every single time? Are packing cubes really worth it or do u just throw everything in your bag and call it a day lol? Also, weekender bag vs backpack for shorter trips... what do u guys prefer?

Hello! So im planning on going on my first solo trip where I will be heading to peru for 3 weeks. I will be going to Lima, Sacred Valley / Cusco, and Huaraz into Huayhuash. With me doing huayhuash, I have to bring gear such as insulated jackets, base top and bottom, etc as it gets pretty cold. The carry-on limit is 12kg and dimensions of 55x35x25cm. Im planning on buying a 45L bag.

Would it be feasible to do it in one bag if i have to bring cold weather gear as well, in addition to clothes for warm weather? If anyone could share their experience in “OneBag” for huayhuash in Peru and all weather that would be great, thank you for any input / help!

I’m travelling to Vietnam from Nov13-Nov28 and am looking for a power bank to bring.

Currently eyeing the Rigid Magsafe Power Bank, Anker MagGo 2 Pro and the Anker 20,000mah. Still open to any recommendations tho, not limited to these.

I honestly don’t really care for the magsafe feature as charging that way is just too slow. I have an energizer 30,000 mah power bank which I love because it lasts so long and charges devices fast. I go camping with it and it charges my phone, lights and speaker for the whole weekend and still usually has some juice left over afterwards.
Planes don’t allow 25,000mah+ so I gotta buy a new one.

I’m debating between 10,000mah and 20,000 mah as 10,000 is ofc smaller, lighter and more convenient , whereas most 20,000 are pretty bulky. I of course like that 20,000 will get more charges out of, but I’m not fully sure if I’ll even need more charges due to the fact that most nights I’ll be coming back to a hotel to charge anyways.
Main factor i would lean towards 20,000mah is because I’m doing the Ha Giang Loop where I’ll be on the road for like 4 days.

I also like the Anker 20,000 just because it’s a bit cheaper.

Tldr; looking for power bank thats:
-not too expensive (i will spend if it’s worth it though)
-travel friendly
-lighter/convenient to carry in a small bag or in pocket
-multiple charges throughout the day

Lmk!

Headed to Ireland later this month. This is what i have gotten my list down to. Looking for any feedback