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Indefinite Backpack Travel
- pavel_lishin 1y ago> 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 when traveling solo.
- nradov 1y agoNot really true since you can't even bring a little pocketknife or other cutting tool with you.
- Scoundreller 1y agoAnd different countries having different rules. Always fun to lose your contact lens solution at a transit airport that doesn’t embrace “one stop security” and find yourself tracking some down on a Sunday. Fuck you Heathrow.
- pavel_lishin 1y agoYes, that's one thing that I really dislike. I'm very used to carrying my Leatherman supertool around with me, and it irks me that I can't do that. But I do have a Wallet Ninja that's useful that's only ever been questioned once, and never taken away. And I used to carry a small knife that folds into a key, and nobody ever noticed until one particularly bored TSA agent decided I couldn't take it with me. I should really order another one, or dozen, and treat them as "disposable" for traveling with.
- synack 1y agoSwiss army knives are cheap and easy to find in every city.
- lm28469 1y agoYou can fly with a swiss army knife in europe, or at least nobody ever questioned me. If you buy local everywhere you fly look for opinels, for $10 you get the perfect camping/food knife
- unglaublich 1y agoAnd throw it away every time? Or at least give it away or so?
- Aurornis 1y agoLeave it at the hotel/hostel. I leave a small note so the cleaning staff knows it’s abandoned, not lost and in need of return. I’ve done this with various things I forgot, like a phone charger for the local outlet type.
- sib 1y agoBack in the the before times of the '90's, when it still existed, I flew on SwissAir in a premium cabin for work; they gave all the passengers Swiss Army knives as a gift while we were in the air...
- bongodongobob 1y agoI have every time I've traveled. Lighters as well. TSA is fucking useless.
- unglaublich 1y agoMost airports allow for 1 < 5cm knife and 1 lighter.
- nradov 1y agoNope, not in the USA. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/knives https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/...
- kube-system 1y agoLighters are allowed though: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/lighters-disposable-and-zippo https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/...
- discomrobertul8 1y agowhy do you need one? I see a lot of "edc" stuff online where people seem to carry knives and tools with them everywhere they go. I've never found a need to do so and never been caught out in a situation where I would have benefitted from a knife.
- coffeebeqn 1y agoHaving some kind of a sharpish edge is pretty useful in my experience. I just use a keychain multi tool that’s more like a screwdriver than a knife but you can open things you can’t with just your hands. A real pocket knife I only bring when camping or renovating or something like that
- zikduruqe 1y ago"My good reason to carry a knife is that God gave me rather weak teeth and rudimentary claws in an evolutionary trade-off. The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place. I wear a wristwatch whether or not I have an appointment to keep, and I carry a pen and/or pencil because I am a literate person whether or not I have a specific writing task ahead of me, and I carry a knife because I am a human and not an ape." - James Mattis
- kstrauser 1y agoWhen I was a kid, my dad told me that all gentlemen should carry a pocket knife. (And presumably gentlewomen, too, but he was addressing me at the time.) I carry a nice Spyderco Para 3 with me at all times when I'm not flying somewhere and use it multiple times a day for random stuff like: trimming a loose thread on my shirt, digging out a splinter, trimming a hangnail before it can snag on something, cutting a length of rope, popping a piece of glass out of my shoe, opening an envelope, cutting tape on a box, slicing an apple or a piece of cheese, and so on ad infinitum. On the very few occasions where I didn't have it, I've reached for my phantom knife and been bummed to realize I didn't have the tool I was counting on. Without exaggeration, I use it every single day. Note that crazy stuff like self defense absolutely, positively does not enter the equation. I mention that only because some people get weird about it in both directions, both "eek, you carry a weapon around?!", and "ooh, ever get to stab anyone?!" No. My primary self defense mechanism is good running shoes and decent stamina.
- Aurornis 1y agoIf you can’t go without, just buy one at the destination. Leave it at the hotel with a note that it’s free for the taking when you leave.
- avidiax 1y agoI have heard that people often forget that this is on their keys, and it is very rare that it is noticed: https://www.swisstechtools.com/product/detail.html?id=111 https://www.swisstechtools.com/product/detail.html?id=111 You could bring the Swiss Army Jetsetter, but the problem with that is that you are almost certain to get stopped by US security every time, and deal with a 1-15 minute delay depending on how well the particular agent you get knows their rules around scissors and how many times they mistakenly call your item a Swiss Army "knife". To save yourself some trouble, just put it on an s-biner on the outside of your backpack, and ideally extend the tools so it is obvious there's no knife. https://www.victorinox.com/en/Products/Swiss-Army-Knife%E2%84%A2-and-Tools/Essentials/Jetsetter/p/0.6263 https://www.victorinox.com/en/Products/Swiss-Army-Knife%E2%8...
- AlotOfReading 1y agoIf only it could solve the pain points from other people, especially overhead compartments and TSA/customs.
- turrican 1y agoIt’s uncomfortably close to bribery, but Precheck/Global Entry is worth every penny.
- hylaride 1y agoPeople 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 and take stalk for a few hours (single use detergent packs are a thing, but you can also just bring a few tide pods in a zip-lock bag). 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). Of course, if you need to lug more (for special occasions or business), that's another matter, but it still makes my jaw drop when I see people travelling on vacations with massive roller luggage that often sucks on cobblestone streets or lugging up stairs.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- arccy 1y ago> single use detergent packs are a thing, but you can also just bring a few tide pods in a zip-lock bag Even better these days there are laundry sheets that are light / compact.
- gruez 1y ago> 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?
- b_e_n_t_o_n 1y ago
- kakacik 1y agoDepends where you go, if planning some 3 week remote hiking in ie Nepal it may not be the best approach. Ie I've recently spent 2 weeks in remote islands in Sulawesi, Indonesia and didn't bring enough mosquito spray. Well, on whole island chain I was in, nobody in tiny local shops ever had one. When asked, they told me they suck up malaria if caught and move on, sort of how we deal with flu. Luckily dengue wasn't there. So suck it up I did, luckily it seems I avoided it (knock on the wood). With spray comes sunscreen. Some basic diving equipment. Non-tiny first aid kid. Some photography stuff. But yeah for that one I could still put it all into 1 medium backpack, just liquids travelled separately. For that Nepal, backpack was bigger. For Aconcagua, there was an extra big duffel bag. If doing full camping and cooking, one backpack but much bigger.
- mhitza 1y agoA rather depressive color pallet, pick your black, silver or white :) I'm going to steal their approach at rolling up clothes, though.
- ramses0 1y agoI'll do you one better- take ~6ft of paracord, tie a simple loop in one end and a stopper-knot in the other. You can then use the noose-end to start a loop and wrap the remainder (zig-zag) around the rolled clothes and tuck the stopper knot underneath the criss-cross sections. You go from "loose rolls of clothes" to "solid bundles of fabric". Makes it so you can take in/out individual items rather than having everything randomly unrolling every time you try and pull something out.
- stevezsa8 1y agoI 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.
- darntoughsocks 1y agoDarn Tough socks.
- yonaguska 1y agoI still have mine from ~7 years ago. I only wear them during winter but still.
- baldeagle 1y agoMy wife dropped a small mint for darn tough socks like three years ago as a father's day gift. It's been delightful.
- spongebobstoes 1y agoI find them too small, they're hard to get on my feet. Good quality tho.
- hitarpetar 1y agocheck out Wide Open, new line of wider socks from DT
- avn2109 1y agoStill not wide enough. If anybody has wider reccos in big sizes other than "oddball" brand, I'm all ears.
- RandomBacon 1y agoI have wide feet and Smartwool socks work for me. (I hate all the weird color combinations and designs that a lot of companies use, but thankfully Smartwool has a good deaign with their Hike Classic Edition Ankle Socks)
- entropie 1y agoI had a small hole in them and contacted support and they told me to send another photo of the socks after I destroyed them. Then I got reimbursed. I was under the impression I have to send them in and they are repaired. Nope. Probably my mistake to assume.
- delichon 1y agoI 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 am bravely holding back tears. My inner dialog is "this is unacceptable!" It turns out that climbing on the hedonic treadmill is practically effortless, but sliding down it is full of splinters.
- hombre_fatal 1y agoYeah, 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 of clothes as if I don't wear the same 5 things.
- TimorousBestie 1y ago> 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.
- riversflow 1y agoYou missed the geekbar and the penjamim. For max effect also put on a twitch streamer in a different game, listen to imported pop music or edm, and idle in a discord. Oh and have a collection of fidget toys on your desk.
- Mr_Eri_Atlov 1y agoMy 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
- drewg123 1y agoIts 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 nreal air are way smaller and lighter than an ipad and makes watching movies on my phone pretty amazing..
- pavel_lishin 1y agoOut of curiosity, what is it about touchscreens that's such a big selling point for you?
- achenet 1y agonot the person you're responding too, but I'm writing this on an older ThinkPad L390 Yoga with touchscreen, and I gotta say, being able to scroll on the screen when reading large documents (like PDF textbooks), or to just touch the part of the screen you'd like you're cursor to be if you've got multiple windows open is really nice.
- faeyanpiraat 1y agoapple pencil
- dredmorbius 1y agoWacom tablet?
- abdullahkhalids 1y agoAs someone who uses a Wacom tablet daily, it is not convenient for traveling because you don't always find the right table to use it. I can imagine OP wants to use his tablet while sitting on his bed in his hotel room.
- 1y ago
- bartvk 1y agoI 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/ https://3fulgear.com/product/freestanding-tent/taiji-2/
- kulahan 1y agoFor 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.
- Mistletoe 1y agoI love this post but ain’t no way I’m going minimalist and carrying a MacBook AND an iPad.
- Mr_Eri_Atlov 1y agoFor what it's worth, he did in fact abandon the ipad
- JamesAdir 1y agoI'm always suspicious of a long list of affiliate links in one article.
- unglaublich 1y agoAs the author says: The post is 10 years old and updated and read millions of times. Why would you _not_ put referral links there? It's just a more direct form of advertisment.
- dominicrose 1y agoI may be sceptic but showing that 50% of everything you own (99% of the price?) was made by Apple and as he said providing a long list of affiliate links doesn't make the author very believable
- reaperducer 1y ago"Indefinite backpack travel." We used to call this being a hobo. The only difference here is that this person is well-funded, so uses the latest high-end gear to do it, instead of a bindle. Yes, hobos do still exist. My recently deceased cousin-in-law was one, and proudly called himself a "hobo." Yes, they have smartphones.
- unethical_ban 1y agoHobo to me suggests lack of access to transit and housing on demand.
- bparsons 1y agoI am always confounded when I get off a flight at a vacation destination and see people dragging these 80L roller bags around. What are you putting in there? Pack the absolute minimum. If you really need something, you can almost always buy it wherever you are going. Even trekking in the deep Himalayas, there was always a spot to buy an extra t-shirt or socks every day or so.
- discomrobertul8 1y agoOften mine is relatively empty on arrival and I fill it with wines and other souvenirs to take home
- octo888 1y agoBack when you could bring the more fun stuff back from Europe (meat, cheese etc) my big suitcase would be well over half empty on the way out. Quite a bit heavier on the way back ;)
- dalke 1y agoOn the return from my first trip to South Africa I carried 12 bottles of wine in my luggage. That was back when flights included two free checked items. On my second trip to Europe one of my suitcases was full of T-shirt swag to give out at a conference. Lugging both up the stairs, across the train tracks, and back down was a hassle. Both of these were over 20 years ago. And then there's the story at https://notalwaysright.com/a-steam-powered-cruise/392530/ https://notalwaysright.com/a-steam-powered-cruise/392530/ of a couple trying to bring a full-size espresso machine on their cruise, so they can have their special coffee.
- octo888 1y ago> On the return from my first trip to South Africa I carried 12 bottles of wine in my luggage. Totally understandable! Amazing wine - I didn't want to leave Constantia. But I picked myself up and dragged myself to Stellenbosch ! And at the end of the trip, I didn't want to return home. Such an incredible country that still holds a very special place in my heart
- octo888 1y agoShoes 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.
- petsfed 1y agoI 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.
- b_e_n_t_o_n 1y agoI can manage Europe with a pair of white Air Force's and flip flops. But I do agree. An extra pair of shoes is really nice to have.
- driverdan 1y ago> Wearing the same pair 2 days in a row isn't great for bacteria etc. Do you have foot health problems? For much of my life I've had a single pair of shoes I wear almost daily and have never had problems with bacteria. The only issue I've found is going sockless. Even then you can put a little foot powder into the shoes once a week and it kills everything in them.
- octo888 1y agoYeah, excessively sweaty feet.
- rhubarbtree 1y ago
- losthobbies 1y agoI hope this doesn't mean I start looking to buy another bag or edc stuff.
- kstrauser 1y agoI bought a GR1 bag earlier this year. I am done with that for life.
- 5350-uiop-1130 1y agothis is like if patrick bateman read the 4 hour work week
- willguest 1y agoare we allowed to have any colours, though? but really, every person i've seen who "activates" a lifestyle like this one only ever seems to wear black. i suppose it's the choice of any committed rationalist, but i think it's dull also, fine so long as you don't need to go any where that requires a different type of shoe
- octo888 1y agoIt's the most versatile. It's more smart, hides sweat/stains, less noticeable if still damp etc. So if you're min-maxing it seems like an obvious choice. Though I agree a colourful linen shirt for example (pink, yellow) or a merino pullover wouldn't break your back
- egypturnash 1y ago"capsule wardrobe" is the relevant term here, you pick 2-3 colors that work together. It's the femme-coded equivalent. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=capsule+wardrobe&t=osx&ia=images&iax=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=capsule+wardrobe&t=osx&ia=images&i...
- tristor 1y agoI wear very little black, but I have tended towards darker colors. I've found that using earth tones blends well, similar to a capsule wardrobe, and you can incorporate greens, blues, and khakis along with darker colors like navy and black. Darker shirt, lighter pants, or lighter shirt, darker pants, and rotate through. You don't need to have very many different colors to effectively dress differently every day of a week or even across two weeks. Because of the need for minimalism in travel, my wardrobe does tend to be relatively conservative and muted, but it's not all-black all of the time. You can certainly have some color.
- unethical_ban 1y agoI'm wrapping a trip through Europe and I only packed black tshirts and a flannel button-up "for color". Black is timeless, hides stains and sweat, easily layers of you want to buy something to add to it, matches multiple colors of trouser/jean/shoe. I vow on my next trip to pack fewer jeans (2 pair vs. 4), more socks (4-6 thin pair vs 3), fewer overshirts (1 vs 3, maybe a second that is "classy"). I value having boots along with running shoes. I'm a 2 bag traveller. Even with my bloated clothing budget, shoes and toiletries volume, I was able to fit it all in a 46L carry-on backpack + a normal backpack, with a satchel rolled up for use on daily walks.
- blackhaj7 1y agoI did this for a year and half as I travelled around South America. Hard to describe how liberating it is to have so few possessions. So many choices you don’t have to make. You become so fleet of foot that serendipity is everywhere. Glad I got the chance to do it
- esafak 1y agoI experience the same liberation when I go to an all-inclusive resort! No choice to make but what to eat (which matters to me since I do all the cooking).
- nadermx 1y agoBefore 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 connect with people on a deeper level. Now I have an apartment and basically only travel for weddings, I still go super light. But there is a joy in having variety in clothing or sneakers to wear. Friends who you've had multiple conversations with over the year's, even family who comes to visit you. I'm happy I rid myself of it all, but I'm also happy that now my apartment has the basics, and maybe a bit more. And I'm fine with it. Life doesn't have to be binary, you can mix and match and end up happy either way.
- qgin 1y agoI think this is key. I travel nearly zero these days due to a long list of reasons, but the mental exercise of thinking about whether I could travel with my stuff helps me be more conscious about accumulating things that I don’t really need.
- dalke 1y agoI was a nomad for about a year. Towards the end I was tired of the constant leaving. I asked for advice from an NGO who moves countries often. She said what happens is the NGO members become part of the extended connection, which helps with that situation. Even when I was a nomad, I wouldn't have been without a suitcase. My big hobby then was dancing - mostly salsa and tango - and I needed several changes of clothes and dance shoes. And, umm, not all black clothes. To make it worse, indoor smoking was legal, so I would come home with stinky clothes that I wouldn't want to wear again until washing. I also did some upper undergrad/grad level visiting teaching, and would stay at a staff members home, or in one case the home of the parents of one of the grad students. I brought a dozen or so greeting-style cards with nice pictures of the city I used to live in, so I could leave them as a thank you, with an image of what for them would be an exotic place.
- radicalriddler 1y ago
- doctorhandshake 1y agoI’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.
- coffeebeqn 1y agoFunny thing is the list is not at all far from “latest Apple and arc’teryx” which I’d consider the consumerist side he’s complaining about but - some of those items are objectively really high quality and durable
- bluehatbrit 1y agoI found this a bit odd, especially when the author mentioned they lose their apple watch a lot so buy an older one. It feels peculiar to buy such an objectively expensive high end item when you know you constantly lose it, and barely use any of it's features. To me that is continual overconsumption. I can't pretend I don't have my own contradictions going on, so I'm not having a go at the author. But I did find it a little funny when reading it.
- kemayo 1y agoI do wonder if the sort of person who can lose a watch "frequently" is also the sort of person who would immensely benefit from only owning 20 things and having absolutely zero choices to make about clothes.
- reassess_blind 1y ago'One baggers', at least those who post online about it, are very consumerist in general despite the practice being about minimalism. You'll find people posting about upgrading their bag from the $300 Aer Travel Pack, to the $400 Goruck GR2 because of style preference. I've seen someone talking about repurchasing items they already own in a particular color to match their packs color scheme. I think the motivation for many has nothing to do with being anti-consumerist and more about just freedom to travel without paying-for/carrying-around checked-in luggage and all the other benefits of travelling light, which is fine.
- tristor 1y agoI spent 18 months doing this as a digital nomad. When I started out I had a rollaboard suitcase, a checked 60 inch bag, a pelican full of camera gear, and a 28L backpack. By the end I had a 28L backpack only. All that said, there were things I gave up in my travels that I missed and make it a point of taking now when I go on shorter vacation-like trips. Simple example was having good coffee. When I started out I had a jet boil, an aeropress, a hario hand mill, and a vacuum container of good beans, by the end I had given that up to save space, but there's really no reason not to have good coffee if you have the space to do so. I also had given up my much better camera gear for a single point and shoot camera to cut down on space requirements, since then I've taken to traveling with the pelican again most of the time, and when I don't I have a micro 4/3rds camera that is better than the point and shoot, but almost as compact. I do think there's value to learning how to live with less, and it also helps unencumber you more than just in physical weight, but spiritually, to allow yourself to explore and go forth without concern. I could just hop on a train, bus, plane, and go somewhere else even as a side trip without needing to be concerned with any of my belongings because it was all with me all of the time.
- owenversteeg 1y agoI've done this before (not indefinitely, but for many trips around the world.) I agree with the author on a lot: 1) it's not a good way to live long term, 2) traveling with as little as possible completely transforms the traveling experience, 3) zero-bag travel is great, 4) a good quality small bag with well designed compartments is critical, 5) M-series Macs are the only way to go, 6) two thumb drives is very convenient if you're not worried about searches, 7) darn tough socks, 8) first aid with bandaids/antiseptic/mylar blanket, I also include benadryl, ibuprofen and other common OTC meds. I disagree on: 1) I prefer a 2M USB-C cord over 1M, 2) I have mostly cotton or merino clothes and try not to use any synthetic fabrics, especially no synthetic underwear, 3) I prefer jeans, especially in colder climates and 4) carrying "stuff" on you long term (like a jacket with things in the pockets) can get sort of annoying after a while. And finally, extra stuff I carry that the author doesn't: separate camera, snacks (mostly nuts), Garmin inReach, handkerchiefs, wired earbuds, flashlight, knife, an eye mask, sometimes a Travelrest pillow, and two sizes of paper notebooks and pens.
- Onawa 1y agoWhy no synthetic underwear? I feel like I would be miserable with only cotton boxer-briefs... I sweat entirely too much even in moderate weather to be comfortable in cotton. I am partial to Pair of Thieves extra long boxer-briefs, they don't ride up at all since I have big thighs. When travelling I can wash them in a sink, and they dry way more quickly than cotton.
- dkarl 1y agoThe replacement for synthetic underwear is wool, not cotton. For weeklong wilderness backpacking trips, I used to vacillate between a fresh pair of synthetic boxer briefs every every day, which took a lot of space, and one for every other day, which was gross. Now I wear a single pair of wool boxer briefs all week, and it feels and smells better at the end of the week than synthetic underwear does after two days. Same for sleeping: I used to bring a couple of pairs of synthetic boxers, and now I'm down to one pair of wool underwear. Two pairs for the entire week, one for days and one for nights. Granted, wilderness backpacking has completely different standards for smells and grossness, but the comparison carries over to the higher standards of the "front country." In hot, sweaty weather, synthetic underwear gets noticeably grosser and smellier than wool over the course of a day.
- jalapenos 1y ago[flagged]
- senordevnyc 1y agoYour younger self sounds a lot nicer.
- rocketvole 1y agoyeah- "genetic dead end?" what did he do to you lol
- jalapenos 1y agoJust pointing out someone who's committed to living like this isn't going to reproduce. Even Marie Kondo had to give up the minimalism stuff after having a kid.
- jalapenos 1y agoProbably, but to clarify, I'm pointing out that this lifestyle is maximally opposite to having kids, and so still being obsessed about it after 10 years means he's committed to being a genetic dead end.
- elheffe80 1y agoSo, this article is great and has some great items in it if you fit them. The pants look great but max out at 34" waist in the pair I checked. The towel is barely 4.5 feet and is far too short for a beach towel for someone who is 6' (though I still want it because I love these types of towels). I could not do this lifestyle though, not now in my life. I was in the military and traveled a lot for extended periods of time (year long deployments to the ass end of nowhere) and we traveled HEAVY. HEAVY heavy. Not my favorite way, and I got to the point where I would ship everything home and when we traveled I had a day bag with 3 days worth of clothes and such. So there is a crossover of this and that lifestyle. I still wouldn't want to go to it, I like having a home too much, even if I am renting.
- cynicalsecurity 1y agoNothing on his budget or income.
- w10-1 1y agoWhen traveling, I met many who lived by the mantra of self-sufficiency. It seemed both to liberate and consume them. Daily now I see people living on the street with a lot more, but still with needs of all sorts. In some schools of Buddhism, the tradition was to live with only one bowl and one spoon. The practice was to beg daily - yes, for food, but mainly to submit to the judgment of society as to whether one's practice is worth it to others. The premise was that people would give if they see you as worthy, not because they pity you. I would ask the OP to reflect publicly on what he discovered about his own attachments, sense of place, and relations with others and himself. That could be helpful even to people in more tangled circumstance.
- jeremymaluf 1y ago[dead]
- AxEy 1y ago> "In some schools of Buddhism, the tradition was to live with only one bowl and one spoon. The practice was to beg daily... " Interesting. So the practice of (these schools) of Buddhism requires that there be non-Buddists?
- mikestew 1y agoIt requires that there be people who aren’t monks, as monks are the ones out begging. Lay people can own lots of stuff, such as houses, hence the term “householders” to mean lay people in Buddhist literature.
- CrimsonCape 1y agoIronic that the OP's carefully packed bag is lacking a spoon or bowl. I guess it's easier to dispose of eating utensils at every meal. Or have the money to eat restaurant meals for every serving.
- mtalantikite 1y ago> In some schools of Buddhism, the tradition was to live with only one bowl and one spoon. The practice was to beg daily It still exists today. A friend of mine was a monk for many years and would make daily alms rounds. It also happens in other lineages of Hinduism too. A Baul teacher of mine was supposed to do a short teaching tour here in the US a few months ago and actually got turned away at SFO by immigration because the immigration officer just couldn't understand that she doesn't make money and eats all her meals from alms. He told her no one exists like that anymore, detained her, and sent her back to Bengal.
- mbesto 1y agoFew modifications. I would highly recommend: - Icebreaker Merino T-Shirts https://na.icebreaker.com/en-us/collections/mens-tshirts?country=US https://na.icebreaker.com/en-us/collections/mens-tshirts?cou... - Paka Alpaca Wool Hoodie: https://www.pakaapparel.com/products/alpaca-hoodie?variant=39922166005844 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 washed it a total of 4 times in 3 years.
- turrican 1y agoI 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.
- tristor 1y agoThat'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.
- mikestew 1y agoI 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.)
- turrican 1y ago
- mcdonje 1y agoMixed feelings. I like how there is a lot of intention about purchases and lifestyle. But then the purchases are from Amazon, and the lifestyle is airplanes. But OTOH, he doesn't own a car.
- colecut 1y agoIt's hard to be perfect.
- nicbou 1y agoThis is incredibly close to what I pack for long distance motorcycle, bicycle and hiking trips. This kit rocks, and all my notes are mostly personal preference. I have an iPad Mini for reading and sketching, although I like paper more and more. I also sometimes sacrifice lightness for fashion, because I feel self-conscious travelling solo dressed like a bin bag. I also have a lot of cheaper gear that so far never needed to be replaced. Most of it is from Decathlon. I only buy The Good Stuff once the test version falls apart. It's rarely necessary. I could never bring myself to replace my electric shaver. The biggest weight saver is USB-C. Retractable USB C cables are also great. Everything becomes a power bank for everything else.
- neom 1y agoIf you like this kinda thing, highly recommend checking out Dominic Tarr's youtube. He used to be a prolific nodejs guy back in the day, now he...sails. His videos are great and he's a lovely guy: https://www.youtube.com/@dominictarrsailing/videos https://www.youtube.com/@dominictarrsailing/videos
- flobosg 1y agoBrings Hundred Rabbits to mind: https://100r.ca/site/sailing.html https://100r.ca/site/sailing.html
- b_e_n_t_o_n 1y agoHe's building js apps with https://sailsjs.com https://sailsjs.com ?
- plastic3169 1y agoI 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.
- dijit 1y agoI'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)
- blackguardx 1y agoIt is not cool or sexy, but a surface tablet makes a great travel device because it is a full computer that is also a tablet. You can also use it during takeoff and landing when laptops are not allowed.
- dijit 1y agoSurface battery life is something like 1/2 of a Macbook or iPad in real world scenarios. Certainly not a bad amount (5hrs) but enough that it becomes a conscious "I will have to charge this thing if I use it all day" thought. I'm not trying to nitpick, this is genuinely what makes my brain hesitate.
- rjh29 1y agoIt's not that awkward at all. Heck, if you're in bed the laptop even comes with its own stand! Really the right answer here is a folding phone.
- jryio 1y agoI thru hiked the PCT. The one thing I learned as an engineer / technical person: bring one of everything. No redundancy. The gains from being ultra light, single-item-multi-purpose, are immeasurable
- seplox 1y agoI think that minimum redundancy is a wiser ethos. There are a couple of places where the weight penalty versus cost of failure makes the decision a no-brainer. In my case, that means bringing aquatabs to back up my primary water treatment system and a second way to strike my stove. An extra 2 grams for aquatabs versus 4 weeks of greasy diarrhea? Check. Ten grams for a second mini bic or small fire steel versus cold soaking meals that I designed for cooking? Check. But I do agree with you that bringing less in general frees you to move faster, go farther, and enjoy the journey even more.
- jryio 1y agoSure yes! Good shout. At the end of the day my trail family had 4 levels of redundancy between us.
- agd 1y agoI did this for a few years and would recommend 1 (smallish) suitcase + 1 backpack. As mentioned in the article, it’s better (financially and socially) to stay in locations for a medium length of time. If you do this, then the overhead of a single suitcase is very minimal, and you get far more flexibility with clothing - particularly if you’re staying in colder areas. E.g. NYC in winter.
- driverdan 1y agoI usually prefer two carry-ons, a backpack and a laptop bag. I find it easier to minimize what I have under the seat in front of me and be able to carry a few extra things that wouldn't fit otherwise.
- lisbbb 1y agoI like that this guy's ethos is something along the lines of "better dressed homeless person." It won't last, though. Anyone of any means falls into the materialism trap. If you ever want to build anything, create art, open a business, all of that requires "stuff." If you're just some yob blogger dude then I guess you can make it work. I doubt very many women find it appealing. I see people living out of their cars when I go to the library. It looks messy. My son gave up on Boy Scouts partially because camping and "urban outdoorsman" have become synonymous. The kids don't think camping is cool--at all.
- beedeebeedee 1y ago> The kids don't think camping is cool--at all. That's a sad indictment of the state of our culture. Canping is cool. Being an outdoorsman (or outdoorswoman, etc) is one of the greatest things a human can do.
- bluebarbet 1y agoThis is all clearly true. Human society is rooted. Communities are static, more or less by definition. So a nomadic lifestyle will never appeal to most people: it's just not compatible with a normal life. But most of us relish the bite-sized version of it (vacations) so I think there's value in pushing the envelope if ever we get the chance.
- harrall 1y agoI 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 little clutter. So worth it to try it a few times even if you never actually do it.
- dijit 1y agoEver 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?
- lukan 1y agoUnless 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.
- harrall 1y agoI 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.
- neuroelectron 1y agoor Bumming it with expensive stuff to lose.
- EB-Barrington 1y ago[dead]
- danielmarkbruce 1y agoIn real life one needs at least 5 pairs of shoes.
- b_e_n_t_o_n 1y agoYou'd be surprised how far white sneakers and some $5 flip flops can take you. Unless you're in a situation where you need a suit, but then you aren't one bagging it anyways...
- themadturk 1y agoHmm... <counts> One pair of dress (business causual) shoes, one pair of sneakers, one pair of slippers. A pair of hiking boots I haven't worn for five years. Even at the extremes I'm getting by with fewer than five pairs.
- unethical_ban 1y agoOver the course of the year, perhaps. Stylish running shoes can get you just about anywhere. Flipflops if you're going through hostels or beaches. Ankle-high boots can be stylish and functional for short hikes.
- hatthew 1y agoI wear flip flops every single day, and only switch to hiking boots for better arch support when I go on long hikes that matters. Sometimes I forget to bring my boots and end up climbing a mountain or wading a muddy stream with flip flops. The boots are marginally better, but not enough for me to notice; I only started them on hikes after my aunt pointed out that I didn't have great walking posture.
- driverdan 1y agoNo you don't. I went years wearing a single pair of shoes just fine. Including hiking, hot summers, and snowy winters.
- pavel_lishin 1y agoThe last time I needed dress shoes was my own wedding.
- 1y ago
- DiscourseFan 1y agoI do like a mix of this and just being more flexible about where I can live. Like, I'm leaving where I am in a few days, but that's after staying here for most of 6 months, also flying to various locations for conferences, to meet up with old friends. I use a suitcase these days with fashionable clothes and I will stay in airbnb rentals instead of hostels, especially if I'm already meeting up with friends or if I need to make sure I have a quiet place to work. I also, perhaps, am fortunate that my family still owns their own home, so I have a place for long term storage in case I need it, since I have accrued a pretty large collection of physical books, for instance, some of them more rare than others. I think if I were ever to get married I would probably buy a house or something, but ideally my partner would also be as mobile and flexible as me.
- monster_truck 1y agoI've done the nomad thing from months to years. Not always intentionally! Had moved cross country anticipating a company move weeks later, then the pandemic happened and it became years. Trying to do it inexpensively will be painful, compromising on ability or quality will lead to frustraiting failures and limitations. My loadout was very similar, though I had more clothes and music gear because I was strictly living inside. "Golfing" backpacks that are insulated are very underrated, think the capacity was closer to 15.5L. They don't really make them to accomodate 17" laptops anymore, and you shouldn't have one that big, but the extra space in the sleeve is great. Strong endorsement for American Giant! Especially the heavy zip up hoodies, running pants, and shirts, some of which I've had for almost 20 years at this point, and Oddball socks (if you have big feet). They aren't for everyone, but the rather thin/rough gym-style towels are great as you can get 3 into the space of a normal one once you've mastered rolling your shit up and they dry quick. When your boxer briefs inevitably wear out, cutting the band off and using them to constrain other things while the leftover cloth makes for great snot/cleaning rags. Save your plastic grocery bags, they're useful for so much and compact well. Cannot understate how much better this makes air travel. Can still be shoved under the seat in front of you. No checked bags or secondary carryons removes so much potential for bullshit. As the bag is still soft, you have to be deliberate with where you pack things or you will crush them. You'll want to consider the placement of electronics TSA is going to make you pull out, and expect secondary screening. The density of shit in the bag tends to cause this if they're still using old xray machines instead of that new 360 degree shit. I ended up also lugging around a workstation and monitor. It was worth the logistical pain and my new limit became "fits into the trunk of a rental sports coupe", avoiding planes was worth while everything was still ongoing. I would not attempt doing this with modern Apple Silicon. Can't stand what mac os has become and there are too many caveats. Any high end ryzen laptop with an nvidia gpu is preferable. If you do anything in/with multimedia or streaming, you'll be thankful the first time you can lean on it as an encoder (and the USB 3.2 port will actually be able to handle the throughput of a Magewell USB capture card). Hard to undersell the 'freeing' aspect. If wherever you are sucks, for whatever reason, it doesn't take much time to be packed and gone. It's not for everyone. Have met some fantastic lifelong friends from couch surfing and renting rooms listed on craigslist, which is vastly superior to AirBNB, where I encountered scams so frequently that I swore them off entirely. It changes you, too. Once you settle again you'll realize what you really care about.
- pmlnr 1y agoThere's 0% chance the stuff fits in 9L when the winter things are included. Where do they go during summer?
- jjice 1y agoLots of the time they're counted as being worn, from what I've seen. When I pack, I don't preplan how everything fits with a jacket as well. It works most of the time, but the times I take off a jacket become awkward holding or tying around my bag.
- DustinBrett 1y agoI did this in 2011 for 4 years and went all over the world. It was life changing to say the least. Only needed a 20L backpack. Now I am settled down with a family and I no longer have the travel bug, but I enjoy it still if the opportunity comes up.
- urbandw311er 1y agoI find myself wondering how this person pays for their nomadic lifestyle. Presumably they have some sort of remote job; it would be interesting to know how much they have to earn to offset their expenses.
- tristor 1y agoI am not the OP, but traveling in a nomadic way is often significantly cheaper than you would expect. When I was doing this, I had roughly $4000/mo in expenses, and more than half of that is because I kept a house in the US while I was on the move, so I had to still pay mortgage, insurance, utilities, property taxes, etc. All-in, it's fairly easy to get by on less than $2k/mo as a single person in /most/ of the world, that's only about $37k/yr before taxes. Myself and most of the other digital nomads I met in my travel mostly worked location-independent remote tech jobs, often as one-person consultancies or as subcontractors to a prime contract agency, most of us made more than $100k/yr. My observation when I'm talked to people about my experiences is that they imagine travel is a lot more expensive than it actually is. The most expensive thing I ever had to pay for was my plane ticket to get out of the US. Once I was abroad, even flights were significantly cheaper.
- ratmeadow 1y agoLegit question, how do you work stably enough to have a good income to support this? Personally I find living a "regular" life and maintaining a 9-5 job is hard enough in terms of time management and logistics. And that's with the ease of not having to think about where my next accommodation, next meal, next shower will be. Do you find yourself more time pressured? More stressed? Spending more on conveniences to make life easier?
- tristor 1y agoHonestly, when I was doing it, I didn't really find any of that difficult. The biggest pressure was from other people who I met while traveling to go out and party or do fun activities while I preferred working. I used time zones to my advantage when I was in Europe and Africa, so I'd have a nice relaxing morning, have a good breakfast, and then work in the mid-day through the evening, go to bed and do it again, and my weekends were still my weekends to do whatever I chose. When I was in South America I just worked normal east coast hours because most of the continent is on EST time zone or similar. It really wasn't as big a deal as you might imagine. It's not like I was homeless, I would know I wanted to spend a month or thereabouts in a city and I'd get an AirBnB or otherwise arrange accommodations, I'd pay for a coworking space to have a good place to work with stable internet connectivity (this actually was one of the most difficult things in some parts of the world, back then), and I'd eat like the locals either cooking at the AirBnB or going to local restaurants/cafes. I don't think being nomadic has to mean living like a hobo, those are not necessarily the same things. I never stayed anywhere that didn't have basic indoor plumbing at least, although a few times I'd have to hand wash clothes in a sink and hang them to dry outside the window, which was kind of a bummer but not a world-ender. Overall, my productivity didn't suffer at all, and I didn't find it stressful from the things you mentioned with even a modicum of planning ahead. In fact, being able to explore different parts of the world and head out when I felt satisfied or got bored, meant that I always had some sort of moment for inspiration that helped to fuel both my curiosity and my work.
- sib 1y agoThis was great to read with some very good gear tips (the Montbell jacket, for example, looks amazing). OTOH - I mostly travel with a 30L backpack just for my camera gear ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- golemiprague 1y ago[dead]
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- Liftyee 1y agoThis is really impressive to me as a natural hoarder of stuff (I call it "resourcefulness" when I can use some scrap to fix things, but it can get excessive). I feel like if I dropped my desire to wear a variety of clothes (collared shirts, jackets ...) I could almost imagine this one bag life, especially when each item is designed to be modular and multipurpose (S-biners!) I would have a few issues with this particular list though, mainly all the polyester clothes (my only poly clothes are "technical"/sports oriented, otherwise cotton/wool/linen etc...) Not sure exactly where I gained this dislike, I guess I just prefer natural fibers for comfort reasons. Also, as a hardware-oriented engineer, I would have a hard time packing all the lab equipment/projects up. Perhaps could be solved by finding a good hackerspace, but fundamentally being interested in real-world physical technology means more "stuff" to carry around. It would definitely be interesting to see a yearly stats breakdown of how many times I used each object. There are definitely many zeroes in that list. E: Also, I'm too used to Linux and too attached to freedom (in principle) to switch to a Mac, even though the M-series power efficiency is unmatched.
- bapak 1y agoYou can change. I was the save everything, archive everything guy. I had a box of receipts for daily purchases at one point. I downloaded and burned all the movies I could. Then I started nomading and now my life fits entirely in one 50lbs bag, which I still find way too much and I wish I could backpack like this guy. I can do monthly trips on a tiny backpack, but at some point some stuff is missing (for example I'd have to throw away nail clippers every time I take a plane during this time)
- driverdan 1y agoI did this for a bit. The approach is very useful to learn. Traveling light is so, so much better. I never check bags unless there's a very good reason. It does have some downsides. You're constantly making and throwing away relationships. I found this the hardest part. Your lifestyle is subsidized by society. You depend on other people and services to make it work. You either have to eat out all the time or make many small trips to grocery stores and rent places with furnished kitchens. There is no self reliance, no preparation for things to go wrong besides saving money and hoping you can buy your way out. There are opportunity costs. If OP had bought real estate in 2015 they would be better off financially. It's one of the reasons I stopped living in a bus and bought a house. Had I bought the last two times I "moved" in 2011 or 2016 I'd have almost enough money to retire and live OP's lifestyle permanently.
- porphyra 1y ago> You're constantly making and throwing away relationships. Yeah, this lifestyle basically only works as a single young adult. Once you have a significant other, it's very, very hard. Once you have a kid, it's impossible.
- jhbadger 1y agoPaul Erdős basically lived most of the second half of his (extremely productive) adult life like this (although he lived out of a suitcase rather than a backpack so he had slightly more room). Although granted he never married and had no children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s
- sandspar 1y agoErdos is awesome but he's so singular that I think his exception makes the rule.
- jojobas 1y agoRelatively few people's economic output can compare with them producing new people. If your last name is not Feynman or Curie your most valuable contribution to the society is a couple of kids.
- mncharity 1y agoDoes anyone have experience with ad hoc baggery - bags as ongoing DIY? Years ago, going for carry-on only, with a heavy tech load (VR) and thus light everything else, commercial bags embodied non-viable design-space tradeoffs. Flying two bags, with varying size and mass constraints, plus wearing layers with pockets, needed to transform on arrival into something like one comfortable heavy backpack with an excellent waist belt. "The pack frame can be my 'portable workstation'" is... not a well-served commercial niche. Maybe someday we'll upload bag designs for rapid prototyping, but not just yet. And just a good COTS waist belt could blow the volume budget. So, build-a-bag. Sort of the "backpack = dry-bag + straps" concept, but dialed up. As in "dry-bag = nylon-sack + plastic-bag + shaping-strappage + backups", and "straps = vecro strips + strapping + TSA-compatible adhesive + ...". Etc. Core of weight belt became a form-fit layup of velcro. Which hooked into the laptop, with velcro pads on it's back to support a frame shelf. And so on. Life deflected me from travel before it was used much, but for a heavy pack, it trialed comfortable. And became two nylon packable shoulder bags for carry-on. I was pondering combining TSA-acceptable selfie sticks with wheels. Again, not used. And bouncing around with luggage would have been bad. And very not "It Just Works" - travel/life as DIY engineering exercise. And it could look odd. But even with now relaxed tech constraints, I'm tempted to try something similar someday. So, has anyone attempted/survived/considered/seen something similar?
- gcanyon 1y agoWhen I moved to Thailand, I went in a backpack. Granted it was a 40L, but I was moving there indefinitely. I ended up staying two years, and when I returned, I came back in the same backpack.
- danpalmer 1y agoI'm all for light travel, but this being everything you own is unrealistic and not something that most people should aspire to. OP treats clothing as disposable, buying swim shorts for swimming and ditching them before moving on, buying more t-shirts when in one place and ditching them before leaving. I hope they are donating them for re-use. Between medication, toiletries, and general hygiene products I could fill nearly half a bag, and that's just for me to stay healthy, I don't have any cosmetics. Travel sized toiletries are fine temporarily, but significant plastic waste if used long term. And beyond OP's lack of human connections, they are also lacking sentimentality. My house is filled with pictures, art, sculptures, drawings, cards, books, plants, all given by friends and family, and which remind me on a daily basis about those human connections. Like top level athletes who sacrifice their bodies in ways that we should not generally aspire to (we admire and respect), OP is doing things that for most people would sacrifice health and wellbeing.
- bapak 1y ago> My house is filled with pictures My friends know I take no material things and all I need is a picture on my phone. The occasional tiny gift is only saved until I visit my parents' home and dump it there.
- danpalmer 1y agoAgain, that's not something for others to aspire to, even if it works for you personally. The fact that you're "dumping" gifts at your parents' home suggests a few things. It hints at a callousness regarding relationships, particularly with that choice of words, although that may be reading too far into it. It also suggests that you do intend to return to the gifts eventually. That you see the nomadism as temporary, that you'll always have your parents' home to return to, or that you eventually intend to settle down. That's fine, maybe that's a natural change at some time in your life, but it would also suggest that this nomadism is not sustainable. It also demonstrates the privilege you have, in being able to return to somewhere, being able to have the best of both worlds. That's also not a bad thing, but it's worth recognising the privileged position you're in.
- gcanyon 1y agoOne thing I definitely pack every time is lightweight nylon shopping bags. They are super-light and useful in many ways. Off the top of my head: keeping dirty clothes separate from clean clothes; overflow if you get carried away on the trip; a makeshift daypack if you need it; just shopping in general.
- ImPleadThe5th 1y agoI don't think this is the author's intent, but to whomever it may help. There will always be someone more "out there" than you. Traveling longer, with less, doing more, going farther. It's tempting to follow these people or to compare yourself to them. I've also met people who are equally adventurous, equally worldly who travel in smaller chunks (2 weeks to 1 month then back home to recharge). Go out there and see the world. Try to slow down as much as you can and don't focus on seeing "everything" but instead on doing things that are meaningful to you. Most importantantly don't feel like you need "more time" to make it worthwhile. Just go!
- jeevships 1y agoamen !
- wewewedxfgdf 1y agoI like having stuff. I have too much stuff, but I do like having stuff. I have projects and things that make me happy to contemplate or have on the shelf.
- keiferski 1y agoI did this for awhile, and my conclusion was that everything doesn’t need to be either-or: now I have an apartment with all the typical apartment things + I travel extremely lightly, when I do. If anything, having a “home base” allows you to travel more lightly, because you can tailor your bag to the trip.
- komali2 1y agoI've been doing one bag for 8 years and I still am not understanding pack lists. They seem to get more absurd every year. 10L bag with 6 shirts, 6 underwear, 6 socks, extra pants and shorts, a jacket, and all the electronic and chargers? It beggars belief. I can do with like 2 shirts, gym clothes, 2 pairs of underwear, 2 undershirts, and I wear my jacket, in a tom binh synapse, about 25L. With electronics it starts getting tricky to get stuff in and out.
- rtuulik 1y agoHe is a small guy. He did say that same list would take up to 20L of space if you are larger.
- Atlas667 1y ago[flagged]
- tomhow 1y agoCan you please stop commenting like this on HN? Snarky swipes like this are clearly against the guidelines, as is using HN for ideological battle. Looking at your comment history, almost half your comments contain the word "capitalism" or variants of it. HN exists for having curious conversations about interesting topics. It's not the place for repetitively and predictably venting about the economic system or ideology we abhor, whichever one that is for each of us. Interesting new ideas about economics and the social order are always welcome here. Same-old ones are not. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
- chrismorgan 1y agoA few years ago, at age 30, I expected by age 40 to either be married, or of no fixed abode. (There is, of course, a lot more to the story.) I had been planning the construction of a velomobile and trailer, with solar panels, batteries, digital piano, small fridge, more than 20L of water capacity, integrated sleeping quarters… essentially a miniature, human-powered RV (in fact very close to New Zealand’s freedom camping vehicle rules; with a few realistic changes it could be certified). Suitable for roaming Australia, only needing restocking/dumping every three or four days. Obviously much heavier than backpack travel (laden, 120–140kg, excluding rider; but at least this wasn’t my grand-piano-cycle design¹), but significantly more independent in other ways. I planned to build it, then cycle around Australia for a year (average 50km/day), then unless my situation changed, sell my house and continue indefinitely. Well, I moved to India and got married last year instead. So my velomobile will never happen. :-) —⁂— ¹ It calls for some pretty crazy gear ratios if you want to be able to climb any sort of slope, but I worked things out enough to be confident the concept is sound, with careful component choice (e.g. the tyres I’d otherwise prefer to use are only rated to 150kg, so either different ones will be needed, or doubling the wheels in some way). Less thoroughly imagined is the pipe-organ-cycle. Horizontal mounting honestly makes it surprisingly practical… though you might want to stop at 16′ pipes, five metres long is already getting unwieldy. Sadly I don’t think wind harvesting would be viable to drive an organ of any real size; you’d need a separate blower.
- cmos 1y agoI biked around the US for 1.5 years, and loved every minute of it. Initially I had a hammock (Hennessey) and then a 1 person tent. Lived at a whitewater rafting company, was invited into a music festival, and was invited into people's homes and fed 2-3 days a week. I stopped to do the family thing, but gearing up to take them on bike trips soon.
- greggman65 1y agoI did something along these lines 12 years ago. For me it was a backpack and a suitcase but still. I traveled hotels and airbnb's for several years. I'm not unhappy I did it but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. Things you can't do traveling long term. ● for many it means no hangout friends. Because you're not there. You move on in 1 to 8 weeks ● no shopping. Yea, I know, some people are doing it precisely because they want to avoid consumerism. But, most people are used to traveling for a few days to 1-2 weeks max, then coming home. For most of those people, shopping for trickets, clothing, in this far away place is a joy. But, that joy is much harder to come by when you can't go back and stash your loot. All you can do is replace something you have. Buy new shoes and throw away the old ones, etc.. ● no crafting / diy / maker stuff - If you're into making things you need tools and storage for materials. Not going to have those living out of a backpack/suitcase. Even little things. In my apartment I have a shelf full of stationary stuff, paper clips, push pins, rubber bands, cellophane tape, masking tap, markers, glues of various kidns. All that is not something you can travel with so if that's your hobby or if inspiration strikes while living that way you're kind of out of luck. If all you make is digital and so all you need is a notebook/tablet/phone then this is less of a problem. ● no stability - it was strange knowing I'd be homeless if I didn't start planning something before the current rentle period was up. I'd arrive somewhere and immediately have to start looking for new hotels/airbnbs for the next stop or two. It also got somewhat tiring to arrive, look up the sights, and find that to some degree they start to get too similar. Going to an art museum 2-3 times a year is fun. Going to one every week and, at least for me, it started to get repetative. Same with visiting yet another old building. They are all great. But, they're great twice a year, not twice a week. It's definitely gotten easier though. 12 years ago I had to buy a sim in each location. They sucked and didn't have much data. That's much better today. Free-ish wifi is more ubiquitous than it was then too. Personally I'd just recommend traveling more often but keeping a home base. I also found that throwing away all my stuff I think was a mistake. Those things I got rid of because they were on my shelves but I never picked them up, I only realized after I got rid of them was that their point was not to be used, their point was to remind me of times, places, and people at the point in my life when I acquired each one. With them gone there is nothing to trigger those memories.
- ImPleadThe5th 1y ago
- SwtCyber 1y agoThe "zero-bag" trips are next-level. That level of trust in your systems and setup only comes with serious experience
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Player6225 1y agoThis has been my bag, more or less, for the past 3 years, moving around to different cities a few months at a time: https://bpev.me/notes/how-i-travel-packing https://bpev.me/notes/how-i-travel-packing It changes your relationship to objects for sure. I see something cool in a store and my first thought is "ooof but that looks heavy".
- fedeb95 1y agoThis page contains some interesting advice I didn't know, useful for traveling in general. Traveling without a luggage is a staple of mine, but I am not at this pro level yet. For other commenters, overcoming materialism means not being attached to objects. Not necessarily living on a backpack. The idea is to have objects if you can, but don't suffer for their loss, or their gain. Seneca, the stoic thinker, might be a great read to start.
- echelon_musk 1y ago> “What the development of true renunciation implies is that we no longer rely on sensory pleasures for our ultimate happiness; we see the futility of expecting deep satisfaction from such limited, transitory phenomena. It is important to understand this point clearly. Renunciation is not the same as giving up pleasure or denying ourselves happiness. It means giving up our unreal expectations about ordinary pleasures. These expectations themselves are what turn pleasure into pain. It cannot be said too often that there is nothing wrong with pleasure. It is our grasping, exaggerating, distorting, and polluting attitude toward pleasure that must be abandoned.” - Lama Thubten Yeshe
- noduerme 1y agoNot to sound like an asshole, but I bet losing that backpack would be as bad as someone else losing their car.
- ahoka 1y agoOvercoming materialism by carrying as much Apple hardware as possible in a backpack. I hate these kind of "minimalism" stories.
- noduerme 1y ago“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19. He was talking about backing up to the cloud ;)
- fuqukyle 1y ago[dead]
- mikedd 1y agoThat's cool and all but I want kids and a family and a house with a garden XD
- cranx 1y agoThis is cool, but do you throw away stuff when done with it or do you keep things at another permanent location? Like the tent that isn’t brought on every trip?
- arthurofbabylon 1y agoI'm reminded of the tiny-home movement from the 00's, and how it evolved in our cultural zeitgeist. Early on, practitioners tried to cram as much as possible into the smallest amount of space; you'd see kitchen/dining/living/TV/office combo rooms. Over time it grew obvious that minimalism is less about the amount of space consumed and more about the human interface. For instance, a space that is easy to clean with limited visual noise would score higher on minimalism than those early little multi-use rooms even if 5-10x the size. Now, a minimalist home is all about how the person inhabits it, even if the structure itself is rather large and feature-rich. The author seems to partially grasp this notion with a clear intent (focus, spontaneity). However, the emphasis on stuff seems notably anti-minimalist. I suspect the objects in the author's life could have an even smaller role than they do. Some 3/4 of that post was dedicated to the objects; what about walking, or attention, or connecting with locals... aren't these the real challenges/opportunities? Take for example a mentor of mine who would travel to a new continent and craft a new material life: buying a van (old and used) in the tourism off-season, finding a cheap stove, gathering some padding and bedding, etc etc, continuously replacing and evolving his kit, never attached to any object, willing to forget about the whole thing, spending maximum time in nature and connecting with friends. You almost forgot about this guy's material life because his non-material life was so rich: gregarious, generous, present in nature, skilled in his pursuits. The kit was just a tool so that he could be in the places he wanted to be in, and not the other way around. If he were to blog about his lifestyle, he would probably highlight less the object he found and more the fact that he found it because he had his eyes wide open. That's a lot of words to say that I believe this author could focus on the spirit of minimalism and drop some of its decorations. Minimalism is not black clothing and small backpacks, but rather a clarity of mind and simplicity in approach. I don't mean to be a total drag – I support and encourage this author.
- sequoia 1y agoHow does he fit all his camping stuff in his one bag? This was not explained. He "tosses it in his bag" for outdoor trips but tossed from where? I thought everything he owned was already in his bag. How does he "not buy stuff frequently" if he discards & buys new swim suits (and presumably other stuff) as needed? Sounds like this guy has a pretty cool & minimal lifestyle but I suspect there's some exaggeration and elision going on in this post.
- 93po 1y agomy guess is he has a separate bag at wherever his "home base" along with his camping stuff
- csomar 1y ago> DJI Mini 4 Pro. I love flying DJI drones. Never traveled with one due to size. This solves that. And here is that. As someone on an indefinite backpack + small luggage travel for 4 years, I am suspicious of anyone claiming to only own the small backpack of the OP. It's not impossible but either 1. you go for a large backpack. the ones backpackers carry. or 2. the OP has somewhere where they can store stuff. The reality I've come to as I kept downsizing is: 1. either
- jamesgeck0 1y agoI'm a little surprised the author is able to fit all this stuff in a 9L pack. My 30L pack is just about full with my typical carry-on loadout of a laptop, Nintendo Switch, lightweight windbreaker, pajamas, shorts, and two shirt/socks/underwear rolls (plus small misc essentials filling out pockets).