One-bag, carry-on, light travel tips, techniques, and gear

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.

Update on May 2, 2009 by

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.