May 2, 2009 Latest on ultralight experiment
My wife’s leading a 13-day group trip to Europe in about four weeks. Back in February it occurred to me that this was the perfect opportunity to push the light travel envelope and establish a minimal benchmark. And my Samsung netbook means I can live blog the whole escapade. Here’s where I am:
- Everything will fit in one very small carry-on bag for the flight, including day bag. This should remove any possibility of gate-checking, even on regional flights.
- The main bag will weigh under three pounds. It may be a Tom Bihn TriStar, Western Flyer, Compass prototype, or maybe even something like the ultra-light Minivan from Tough Traveler. I don’t carry my bags in backpack mode unless I have to; it’s a little “young” for my taste and I like instant access. Backpacks also look a little silly with the sportcoats I always travel in.
- The day bag, netbook sleeve, computer, and charger will weigh about five pounds.
- My packed clothing and toiletries will weigh three to four pounds.
Do the math and you’ll see I’m at 11-12 pounds. One of the requirements is that I still look “respectable” with this minimal kit — can’t look like a hobo, vagabond, through hker, or (heaven forbid) a college kid. The pictures won’t lie. More to come.
Frank@OBOW
Here’s an account of a similar excercise. To be honest, on one of our previous trips we had a college kid travel with only his book pack which held only a few scraps of clothing, raincoat, and some personal items- well under 10 pounds (no computer) but he didn’t pass the smell test.
Reader Comments (5)
My wife likes to joke about my minimalist travel habits -- I did 2 weeks in Viet Nam in '97 taking only an EMS backpack with a whole lot of North Face nylon technical clothes and Tilley undies; she likes to call that pack my "book pack". I think I was carrying about 8 pounds on that trip. Nowadays that's a little light for my more grown-up comfort-loving tastes -- on our 2 weeks to Glacier National Park and Portland, OR last summer I think I carried about 20 pounds in my MLC.
Good luck with your trip! Don't be so concerned with telling us about it that you forget to have a good time yourself.
I'll also be posting to a blog for the families of tour participants - mostly pictures. I work with pictures all day so I can knock them out quick.
Once upon a time, I traveled somewhere for a week-end with just a small bag for me and my then baby daughter. As I have gotten older, I find there are things I can't do without; thus, my checked bag weighs in at 50 pounds. I carry on a cosmetic case and a large tote bag that serves as my purse. Some of the items in the bag will be used by hubby, so I am not 100% guilty of the 50 lbs. I will be going with the group Brad's wife (my sis!) is leading to Europe, and I expect I will roll in the airport early that Thursday with my monster bag!
On another note, I am excited about Brad blogging about the trip. It will be a great record of the trip! Terry & I plan to keep a journal--something we wish we had done on the last trip.
Thanks for the duct tape tip--another item that will go in my 50 lb bag.
I'm curious to know what clothes you are bringing.
For my trip to Rome 4 weeks ago, my bag (patagonia MLC) with clothes/toiletries/electronic stuff weighed 20lbs. This is a 7llb reduction from my 8 day trip to Paris last year. i'd really like to get it down to 15lbs, but i struggle with what to leave out.
See the main page for a first-draft of the packing list.