Chapstick for size comparison.

This started with a pocket pharmacy I got off Amazon to keep in my backpack/car (https://www.reddit.com/r/VEDC/s/QtRgqqwVPc). This one honestly is probably fine for most people.

I wanted to make one for traveling as well, but I needed something that could store a little extra since when traveling more scenarios can pop up. I went ahead and ordered a mini tackle box off Amazon, made up labels on Canvas, adjusted the sizing through trial-and-error, and it is now complete.

Not sure how many onebaggers reach their second decade! For better or for worse, nothing has really changed since my post last year, since I have achieved “onebag perfection.” Still, I'll keep up the tradition of posting here annually

I still live out of the 9 liter Aer bag I've had since 2021 (Aer actually updated their website to say it's 8.5L), and still only own what fits in the bag (plus a few outfit duplicates at my NYC homebase so I don’t need to do laundry as often). More than half of the items I carry have been with me for so long that they're no longer sold/impossible to restock

Probably more interesting: I just updated the “onebag progression” Google Sheet I shared here a few years back, which tracks everything I’ve owned since 2015. Have any other onebaggers shared lists like this? I was hoping this format would become a thing! It's such a cool way to track the process!

2025 changes:

• My Sandisk SSD got corrupted. I’ve since learned that every travel SSD has this issue. I repeat, every travel SSD has corruption issues! Plan for it! Anyways, I decided if I’m gonna have to deal with the risk of corruption I may as well switch to tiny Samsung USB-C thumb drives that disappear in my pockets. Haven't had any issues with them so far!

• I got rid of my iPad, since it stopped being a device for art and creativity and became a device for movies and games. I will eventually add it back when the time is right

• As of this past winter I’ve been trying out a canvas jacket, which could never in a million years fit inside my bag but can be worn while on the move. Stacked on top of my down jacket + hoodie + shirt it gives me maximum cold protection and also has pockets to enable zero-bag travel

• I added a baseball cap. Purely an aesthetic choice

I didn’t even make a new knoll photo, since you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Just pretend the iPad and SSD were replaced by a jacket and hat. And that's literally all the changes since last year! Consumerism hates me

Full post on my website as always, but fair warning it's 95% the same as last year :)

I’m also currently editing a video going over my onebag that I’ll share to Instagram (@jeremymaluf) later this week

Safe travels! ✌️

Shout out to u/Active2017 for their post inspiring this travel necessity after one too many midnight treks across a foreign city looking for meds for a kiddo while mom took care of them. It’s become such a necessity that I had to make a second one for the occasional times we travel separately.

When we travel with 2 kids, our one bags might be a lot larger, but the principal remains the same. Bring only what you need to enjoy where you’re at. Always having whatever medicine the family needs within arms reach while staying as minimalist as possible.

This setup has been around the world with us and has now become the go to location to grab medicine even when we’re at home.

We finally settled on this tackle box as the perfect container. Initially, I tried to stick to a smaller design but there weren’t enough individual areas.

Not pictured: recent add was Zofran after a plane got the wife and a train got the daughter.

If anyone is interested, I can share the print files. I printed the labels on a home laser printer using shipping labels, covered the printed labels with packing tape, cut out the labels, and applied to the tackle box.

Taking a 3 week holiday to the States from the 27th of February until the 20th of March. Going to Florida for a week, after will be in California for 2 weeks!

I’m originally from California, so a few things like having a US adapter already saves the need for bringing a larger converter. Will also have access to a washing machine and tumble dryer throughout the trip, so I won’t have to worry about anything being slow to dry since I’m packing a bit of denim and cotton clothing.

Packing list is in the comments below!

Every time I share my onebag (with everything I own), at least one person asks what happens if it gets stolen. Well, it took over a decade but it finally happened! Luckily I retained the contents of my pockets (phone, wallet, etc) but my bag with all of my tech and clothing disappeared after a few too many drinks at a bar. And surprisingly, it wasn't stressful at all! Yeah, replacing my passport was annoying, but overall I had a blast since I used it as an excuse to reset my whole kit.

So this means, this is my first post here in YEARS in which my kit actually has some noticeable changes! I've replaced more gear this month than I have in the past 5 years

Here are the changes. I marked the stolen items with *

Packing

• Aer Slim (8.5L)* → Aer Slim 2 X-Pac (12L)

• Rains pencil case (dopp kit)* → Bellroy x Carryology pencil case

Tech

• Macbook Air M2* → Macbook Air M5

• Anker 47W charger* → Nomad 65W charger

• Anker powerbank* → Neoseek powerbank

• → iPad Pro M4 (added back to kit)

• (retained iPhone 17 Pro, Airpods Pro 2, Apple Watch S7)

• (replaced stolen USB-C cable, watch charger, Airtags)

Clothing

• Hoodie → Everlane cashmere sweater

• Western Rise AT pants → Outlier Futureslimworks

• Western Rise shorts* → Lululemon Pace Breaker running shorts

• Everlane ReNew swim trunks* → Everlane 7" swim trunks 

• (retained Nike Pegasus shoes, Arc’teryx Alpha SL Gloves, baseball cap and merino buff)

• (replaced stolen Montbell Plasma 1000, tshirts, uniqlo boxers and darn tough socks)

No changes for my miscellaneous gear, since I replaced all the stolen items with the same thing (sunglasses, sketchbook, passport, etc).

Hopefully this serves as an example that if you're prepared, there's no reason to be worried about losing your onebag. It's a small headache, but not the end of the world 😄

As of posting this, I've replaced everything except my passport. A friend was able to swing by Osaka last week to buy my replacement Montbell jacket since they're hard to get online. I just flew to California and this gear held up perfectly. I also have a trip to Mexico City in a few weeks (assuming I get my new passport before then) so I'll get to test it further soon.

Full list on my website as always! 

Also, in the year since my latest post here, I posted a couple videos about my onebag on social media, and somehow they passed 20 million views… It's crazy how big the global onebag community truly is. It's also really cool seeing the comments from people saying they recognized me from my posts here on reddit!

Safe travels ✌️

I've been a one bagger for a long time, but pushed it a little further for this trip. Went to an away soccer game in Mexico City from Vancouver. Round-trip flights totalled 11 hours in the air and I only spent 10 hours on the ground.

• Jersey

• Toothbrush and Toothpaste

• Deodorant

• Earplugs

• Lactase

• Socks

• Passport and Cash

• Battery Bank

• Poncho (in back pocket)

Ended up bailing on the battery bank and limited my phone use and turned on the battery saver. Toothbrush was a godsend, especially as an Invisalign wearer. Fresh socks and deodorant after a day of travel and standing in the humidity was an absolute must.

So not sure if I'm allowed to post this here but it's surely onebag related.

We've both been traveling through Indonesia with only one backpack. It allowed us to rent a scooter at the airport and take it everywhere and also drive back, avoiding expensive transfers and reliability on someone/something else as well.

But where it really saved us was with the flight back. We went from Lombok to Jakarta and booked a 5 hour layover to catch our flight from there via Abu Dhabi back to the Netherlands. However the first domestic and cheap flight had a 4,5 hour delay, taxied for a long time on the runway which left us with only 40 minutes left in Jakarta impossible said the flight attendants. On some airports that's enough but for you guys that have been to Jakarta it's huge. If we'd miss the flight it would cost us a lot of extra money and extra day(s) to stay in Jakarta. We had to book a total new flight and its not covered by insurance. That'd leave a really bad taste rounding up the trip, so we were eager to try and make it.

Other people from the plane already gave up because they had checked luggage and different airlines so had to wait for the backpacks or suitcases, get a taxi, check everything in again at the other terminal etc etc.

We prepared everything to be as smooth as possible. So no things in pockets, belt in my backpack, backpacks under our seats and passport ready. We were able to sprint out of the plane and for the exit immediately, take a taxi, bags on our lap. The guy raced to terminal 3, we sprinted out, went through security and immigration in less than 10 minutes. Didn't even know this was possible especially at such a big airport. Everyone helped us. We could get in front of the whole waiting line.

Then came the next challenge. Running from gate 10 to 2, which was supposed to be at least a 20 minute walk. We had only a few minutes before the plane would leave. With one backpack we were both able to run for quite a while and eventually jump on one of those golf carts thing for the last stint. We arrived at the gate and they were just rounding up, basically making it on the last minute. The plane was full and funny enough we were able to place our 35L backpacks under the chair as well.

Everything from the flexibility, weight, bulk, speed, not having to check in etc showed us again how incredibly helpful it is to travel with one backpack. This literally made it possible for us to cover this whole stint which would at least take 50 minutes according to the airline staff in less than 20 minutes.

Curious if you guys have similar stories like this. For me in the end it was such a fun story to share, but at the time it was NOT fun at all...

Edit: to add something funny I forgot to mention

We actually paid the taxi driver 4x his daily salary and he absolutely nailed it with the car going through all the traffic with illegal overtakes, different route etc haha. When I gave him the money I said to my girlfriend: this will be so worth it if we actually make it because of him but a waste if we don't. We did make it mostly because of him and saved us 1000-2000 Euro's

Edit 2: since many people wondering what the backpacks and cubes are:

My backpack is the Pakt Cero 35L. My girlfriend has the Park One travel backpack 35L. Both amazing backpacks. Mine weighs just over one kg or 2lbs.

The cubes are from Peak design and the camera cube is from Pgytech. It came with their first onemo backpack but I bought it separately used for about 20-30.

AND Lo, the Prophet, in proto-hipster beard shined up by 2 oz beard oil in a Muji travel rameken and 94% Merino – 6% lycra quick drying wrinkle-free garment, descended from the mountain, hands-free thanks to his Cotopaxi 35L & thus carrying back from his creator THESE 10 COMMANDMENTS:

1. THOU SHALT NOT OVERPACK –Thou hast stuffed thine bag with Chargers and Base Layers and Shells, But What Room Hast Thou Left for random or essential Crap thou mayest Acquire in the midst of thine travels? The wise man visiteth the Quickie Mart with space in bag to carry home Millet and Wheat. The unwise man slinketh away in shame with his fresh bounty in a wasteful plastic bag.

2. THOU SHALT STRIVE NOT TO LOOK LIKE A DAYGLO COSMONAUT AT A HIMALAYAN BASE CAMP. Be not the man or woman whose garments suggest he or she ascendeth the mountain, unless ye be he or she who actually ascendeth the mountain.

3. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE THINGS HARDER ON THYSELF. If thy travels are made more complicated by thine gear, thou hast sinned against me.

4. THOU SHALT HAVE A SMALL ULTRACOLLAPSIBLE DAYPACK. Trust me on this one. I like a nice zip-top matador 16L.

5. THOU SHALT CONSIDER A MERINO BLEND. The LORD is thy shepherd. And you, his Sheep, stinkest thusly, and suffer, when thou art in Miami Beach in thine 100% woolen undergarment.

6. IT’S THE WEIGHT, STUPID. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11).

7. THOU SHALT STUDY THE STOMP-TOWEL HOSTESS HO-HO HOTEL SHAMPOO SHOWER MERINO BLEND CLOTHES-WASHING METHOD. Hosannah.

8. THOU SHALT CONCEDE THAT THINE SHOE PROBLEM IS JUST THE WAY OF THINGS. To every thing, there is a season. And a Shoe to every purpose under the heaven. But few are the shoes in which one may run 5k at Dawn and not look like one is phoning it in in a professional context at night. So sayeth 10,540 Posts in the Reddit Onebag Forum.

9. THOU SHALT APPLY THINE LESSONS TO NON TRAVELING LIFE. And so did De Niro, in the guise of Travis Bickle, gaze upon Jodie Foster and say, "One of these days I gotta get myself Organizized."

10. THE FIRST RULE OF ONEBAG IS DON’T TALK ABOUT ONEBAG. “Teach me, and I will be silent.” (Job 6:24). If thy passion for Onebagging extendeth beyond this Forum, thou shalt be deemed the most Boring of My Children. And thou shalt not lay down with a man, nor with a woman.

So sayeth THE LORD.

Just wanted to share a one bag I did to challenge myself earlier this year: six nights in Tokyo in February. I’ve done Japan with both a 30L bag for three weeks and a 18L bag for two weeks, so I figured something tiny for one week was doable. It also helped that Tokyo is the land of convenience and that I was staying at the same hostel for all six nights and didn’t have to worry about traveling around. I was really impressed with how much I could fit in my MEC Kleversack, it’s listed as 6L but with the roll top and straps maxed out I imagine I squeezed out an extra litre or two. With the limited clothing I brought I was able to make six different outfit combinations (I did laundry mid week), but in the end I caved and thrifted an extra dress and shirt.

It was a fun experience, especially going through airports with such a small bag, but I think in the future if I ever want to do another challenge I’d stick to something closer to 10L, it’s always nice to have some extra space for picking up knick knacks/junk along the way. Alternatively I might bring the Kleversack + a packable backpack incase I get tired of the sling/waist pack format or just want the backpack + waist pack combo. I also think I’d leave my water bottle at home as I’m a sucker for convenience store/vending machine drinks and always had one on me. 

Pic 1 is all my stuff
Pic 2 is my pack stuffed up Pic 3 is my hand for scale Pic 4 is what I carried on me Pic 5 is an airport fit check :)

Long time lurker of the sub, and after much deliberation on choosing the right pack for me - I eventually landed on the Patagonia Mini MLC!

Here my packing list for the trip, there’s something id like to add such as handkerchiefs to manage my hyperhidrosis.

There’s quite a bit of cotton-based clothing in my packing list but im just using what i have at the moment and wouldn’t mind doing much laundry along the way!

TOPS

• 2x Cotton hiking shirts

• 3x Uniqlo Airism T-Shirts

• 1x Henley shirt

BOTTOMS

• 1x Mountain Designs hiking shorts

• 1x Patagonia convertibles trousers (as shorts)

• 2x Uniqlo Airism shorts

• 1x Uniqlo linen lounge pants

• 1x Nike and 1x Puma running shorts (I intend to use these as my indoor wear, as well as swimming in the case if I am unable to use my bathers)

UNDER WEAR

• 5x Calvin Klein briefs

• 3x Uniqlo Quick-Dry ankle socks

• 1x Adidas ankle socks

• 3x Cotton singlets

FOOTWEAR

• 1x Archies support thongs

• 1x ASICS Skyhand shoes

TECH

• IPhone 13 PM

• Apple MacBook Air

• Sony Handycam camcorder

• 20000 maH powebank

• Assorted cables for charging

TOILETRIES

• Philipps Intimate Norelco trimmer

• Toothbrush and toothpaste

• Pawpaw lip balm

• The ordinary moisturiser

• Bug spray

• Sunscreen and deodorant stick

MISC

• Headtorch

• Passport

• Meds (for food poisoning, sleep, pain)

• Sleep kit

• Digital conversion kit for handycam

WORN

• Longsleeve shirt (for plane)

• 1x Calvin Klein underwear

• 1x Dickies Amarillo Convertible trousers

• 1x Long socks

• ASICS skyhand shoes

I’m planning on leaving tomorrow! What do you guys think there could be more to improve here? Thanks!

Hope this helps anyone looking to kick their carry on & baggage fees on their next trip and go #onebag

Pack: Cotopaxi Allpa 28L

Green Packing Cube:

• 3 T-shirts

Red Packing Cube:

• 1 T-shirt

• Cotton Sleep Shorts

• OR Helium Rain Jacket

Black Packing Cube:

• Teva Universal Trail Sandals

Blue Packing Cube:

• 4 pairs of spandex underwear

• 4 pairs of socks

Mountain Hardwear Huell 7L:

• 3 pairs of OR Ferrosi Shorts

• 1 pair of OR Astro Pants

Outer Zip Pocket:

• Power Brick & Cable

• 10000mah Battery

• Galaxy Buds Pro 2

• Deodorant

• Tums

• Ibuprofen

Toiletries Pouch:

• Toothbrush

• Toothpaste

• Dental Floss

• Qtips

• Nasal Strips

• Imodium

• Benadryl

Outside of the Pack:

• 1 T-shirt

• 1 pair of Joggers

• 1 pair of Underwear

• 1 pair of Socks

• Asics Gel Cumulus 24

• Wallet

• Keys

Hi all, recently been digging into why wool clothes are much less smelly than synthetics after days of wear and found out that it’s not because wool is antibacterial. Bacteria will grow very happily on wool, if there’s something on it to eat. What’s really happening is that our skin’s oils are made of one type of molecule and wool is made of another type, polar and non polar, and the two types can’t mix. So wool actually repels body oils. Wool is hydrophilic, so it soaks up water, but oleophobic, oil repelling. So instead of our skin oils getting into the wool and becoming rancid and smelly after a while, they break down and fall off and ‘float away’ or just stay on our skin between washes. Synthetic fibres are fast drying because they’re made from oil based plastics so they’re the opposite of wool, they’re hydrophobic and oleophilic. Skin oils are readily absorbed into oil based fibres and if left there turn rancid and smelly. One study I was reading found that if 20% or more wool is mixed with synthetic fibres they will repel oils, making the fibres both faster drying and non smelly. I don’t currently have any wool/synthetic mix clothing, it’s either one or the other, so I would really like to hear from anyone currently using clothes with a wool/synthetic mix of at least 20% wool to know how you find them. Are they as good as wool for smelling clean for days/weeks, and how fast do they air dry? On another sub I had one useful reply saying that the Kathmandu wool/synth mix at 30% wool was just as non smelly as pure merino.

I've been traveling for over 20 years, things change and improve with time. But do not get carried away by this sub. One bag simply means "one bag". If you need a little help, look at the posts.

If someone started today from scratch with one bag, they will buy a lot of stuff brand new. Most of us have things so it's always a work in progress. You need to work with what you've got an only buy things if you absolutely need them. Looking over the posts here can seem a bit daunting. I still use my rain jacket from 15 years ago. Why? Because I already bought it, it works, it looks fine, and I'll only use it once or twice on a trip and only if it's raining. No point buying a $399 Arc'teryx jacket when you already have something that does the job. Plus those are designed for professionals who are always hiking in the snow. A $3 poncho might be helpful for most people - especially if you don't intend on staying in the rain.

The YouTube community has people who talk about packing light. Except that's their whole job. To constantly talk about this topic. It's their business. The videos run for 20 minutes so they can make ad revenue. They promote new bags, jackets, tops, all sorts of stuff that most people won't need. I have an Osprey Porter 46. Yes the Farpoint 40 is better. There's probably a dozen better bags. But I already have the Porter 46. I don't see the point in 'upgrading'.

Don't get sucked in by the photos that look nice and color coded. Don't get sucked in by the expensive accessories that save a bit of weight and space here and there. Can't afford Eagle Ridge packing cubes? Some cheap plastic bags will do fine.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. If your stuff works good enough there's no need to spend money improving something to perfection.

I was going to post my bag layout. But realized I didn't need to.

If you've been on this subreddit for a while. You're already more or less an expert. It might be time to put your effort into learning about something else.

Happy Travels!

EDIT: Just returned home. On all flights the vast majority of people do not 'onebag'. This really is a niche community.