June 15, 2009 The Ultralight Alternative, part 1
My grueling 13-day Euro trip on which we (technically) touched six countries convinces me that ultralight travel is a feasible alternative to traditional approaches, such as stuffing a maximum-size carryon and a personal item to the gills or packing half your earthly possessions in a rolling case. Nothing I experienced on this trip negated any of the positions I put forth in the Ultralight Manifesto (which I’ll break down point by point).
Ultralight travel is not for everyone (#1). This is still true. Cosmetics and personal care items may be a bigger barrier to most travelers who try to go ultralight than the problem of minimizing clothing bulk. My wife puts less time into her hair and makeup than most but she still had a large quantity of stuff in her checked suitcase that would have never fit in a 3-1-1 bag. She’s done a 5-day UK trip before with no checked bag, but it was tough for her. There are many excellent suggestions on this site for minimizing personal items. I’ll try to group them together in a category soon so they can me more easily located.
Ultralight travel is not just traveling with one suitcase (#2) and Ultralight travel means carrying 15 pounds or less (#3). This is the key if the true benefits of comfort and mobility are to be realized. Sans netbook my load could have been as light at nine pounds for this trip. Switching to a pack cloth bag might have gotten me near seven pounds. Without the netbook I could have taken one more change of clothes. This extra pound or two would have made the laundry issue less pressing and would have still left me with a 12-pound load or less. A bag this light means you can hop a train, roll into a town without reservations, and if you have to carry your bag all day until you check into a hotel, who cares? This is simply impossible with the other approaches. It is reason number one to go really light.
Traveling anywhere outside the US amplifies the need to go light. Our wide sidewalks, smooth pavement, widely-available laundry facilities, and large elevators make traditional travel styles much easier.
More to come…
Frank@OBOW
Possibilities for very light (under three-pound) bags include the Tough Traveler Minivan or some of the light nylon backpacks. I have it on good authority that a US bag manufacturer will introduce later this year a very light shoulder bag made of hi-tech ripstop fabric.
Reader Comments (15)
Tough Traveller's Super Padre ergonomic backpacks are all under 3 lbs, with internal frames and comfy wide waist belts. I use the Medium (2200 cubic inch) myself as it complies with Euro baggage size rules.
I do like the Padres - very comfy - but their configuration is better suited to a roller or stuffer than a folder.
http://www.toughtraveler.com/padre.asp
A. Saks has bags that are very light, entirely soft and seem quite well made. But the bag is really not the problem. The problem is personal care and, most of all, tech items, as we can see by Brad's additional pounds for tech items even though he already scaled down using a netbook.
The fact that women tend to go overboard with personal items is compensated for by the fact that their clothes weigh less and are less bulky then men's. But IF a woman could do with less personal items (mostly the creams and stuff she TRUSTS), she would have a real packing advantage.
Yet even this advantage is compensated by the fact that men can usually carry heavier loads. So in the end it's all fair and the famous 10% of body weight rule seems to apply just the better.
I will hit that mark for a really short trip, more leisure than business taking my Easygoing bag. All other trips with heavier bags and a laptop will be above that mark. But I keep trying.
I find that when traveling for anything business related, keeping the weight down for ultralight travel becomes a real challenge. If I'm giving a presentation, or expected to really participate in some event, you need the laptop, accessories, etc. I've switched down to a MacBook Air and it's great, but with its adapter and extras, I'm still at 5 lbs. Then, add in nice shoes, that extra shirt, sport jacket, and then it adds up. Also, I frequently try to mix in some pleasure/vacation, so I'll pack my dSLR and a few other things too for urban adventuring... and next thing I know, my carry on and shoulder bag are pretty much maxed out. And then if you're traveling in winter...
Ah... maybe I worry too much and should just ditch the whole thing.
I'm heading out on a week long trip with the Army National Guard next week. 2 uniforms, boots, PT gear, and 2 changes of civilian clothes (shorts and polo), a towel (barracks living) plus a netbook to keep track of email are going to be a challenge for one bag. We are flying commercial, so have to go in civies, and carry the two uniforms. I just got my RedOxx Air Boss and I'm going to attempt to pack it all into there. If I can accomplish this, then my normal trips will be easy.
I'm in complete sympathy with anyone traveling for business - it is a totally different animal. The perfect carry-on garment bag has not been built but I've always thought that might be the best solution for "suit" travelers. International business travelers probably must check a bag, though maybe light travel skills would help one pack the proper "survival" load in the carryon so a lost or delayed checked bag wouldn't spell total disaster. I know from my photojournalist days that preparedness driven by paranoia can be the only way to ensure success when a lot is on the line. In fact, having to carry so much gear is one of the reasons I began carrying so few clothes.
And Luke, do let us know how it works out for you - good luck.
Brad, what do you mean by this sentence? "The perfect carry-on garment bag has not been built but I've always thought that might be the best solution for "suit" travelers. " Which bag would be the perfect solution? What are you referring to? I am missing something here.
The suit is not so much a problem for size but for weight and wrinkles, in my eyes. Even though, any of my three fave shoulder bags from the review will stow a suit just fine, especially if you bundle wrap it around the shirt folder. This will work with the Airboss or similar Bihn bags, too.
I can easily imagine the international travel with one of these shoulder bags. Or I can imagine something like the Plat5 22" roller or one size down from that in an international suit travel context. This could still be carried on.
It is really the tech gear that weighs us down. When a device like the Iphone can connect wirelessly (hell, even with a wire) to a real monitor device and text editing and office software become not only readable but usable on a phone, with a foldable BT keyboard. Then we will have a two piece 330 gram solution (I even count the charging cable here) that makes ultra light travel an achievable reality for most people.
Luke, can you at least wear the boots on the plane? Why can you not wear one of the uniforms? I see people in uniforms all the time. Try to wear the heaviest and bulkiest gear. I'd go as far as layering two t-shirts under a shirt. You won't have to wash the second t-shirt. If you must pack the boots (this will be probably difficult in an Airboss because the compartments are shallow), use them for storage. If you don't want your stuff to come in contact with the inside of your boots for hygiene reasons, wrap your stuff in thin grocery bags. Then play Santa Claus and stuff those boots.
For the uniform jackets. Put one jacket into the other, as if wearing one over the other. Then bundle wrap them or even just fold them and give them their extra compartment.
You certainly wear some kind of anorak, no? Put the netbook in a jacket pocket. Plus, do you really need your own netbook? If there is an internet connection, somebody will have a computer where you can check email. Really, for just checking email and social tasks I don't even take the computer anymore. For business and work it's a different deal.
I was referring to the mythical, non-existent , perfect carry-on garment bag. Since I fold clothes about as well as I wrap presents (wretchedly) the garment bag has always appealed to me. Back when carry-restrictions were looser and when I traveled by car or non-commercial planes I used a garment bag most of the time. No more.
Even though we are on official travel, uniforms (ACUs) are only authorized for servisemen going to and from theater (Iraq or Agghanistan). Any other travel on commercial airlines, civies. By traveling in civilian clothes, it helps to conceal the fact that we are military as well. There are only a couple of uniform items that we can wear with civilian clothes, and the current boots aren't one of them. I could wear my rain coat, as long as I remove the rank insignia, but I'm going to try to pack it. If all else fails, it will ride on top of the bag, underneath the handles. I'm planning on putting the boots in the center compartment, stuffed with socks, my uniform belt, and the power cord for my netbook. There is still enough room for my toiletries, tevas (shower and alernate civilian wear) and tech stuff. The netbook doesn't take up any more room than a book, and where we are going doesn't have a computer center for unofficial use. I'll probably be the only one in our party with a computer. I plan to hand carry the netbook in its sleeve, just like I would a book. I will probably be making two bundles. The first will have both uniforms (pants and shirts) wrapped around a core of underwear, PT clothes and t-shirts. The second will be a second pair of civilian pants, and my rain jacket wrapped around a core of 2 pairs of civilian shorts, 2 polos, and swim trunks. There will be one magazine, a notebook for taking notes on site, headphones, and one paperback book in the outside pocket. I am planning to take pictures of everything that I am taking both before and after packing. Travel clothes will be a polo, pants and shoes that I can wear for PT. I'll have my Iphone in one pocket, and a money clip in the other. We leave Saturday morning, and except for my toothbrush and hairbrush, I can pack everything now. I'll do a test pack either tonight or tomorrow, and then pare down if necessary.
I agree that as soon as a work related laptop enters the picture, lightweight travel is a pipe dream for most of us.
But I've happily managed trips to Japan (1 week) and New Zealand (3 weeks) with a 7Kg limited carry-on. Admittedly I stayed with family in NZ and did have to check a bag in on the return journey (lots Christmas presents for the rest of the family) but this kind of lightweight travel is certainly possible. It takes some searching to find the right wardrobe items that will work for you but it can be done.
IFor me, the main barriers to lightweight packing as PC hardware (IMO, this is not essential for typical non-business travel) and shoes (thiis is a trickier issue).
If I wasn't allergic to most soaps, shampoos and other personal products (and not vegan), I'd use whatever was available. However, breaking out into an itchy rash is not a fun way to spend one's vacation. So, I bring personal products.
However, I am going to try for some modifications. Instead of bringing a liquid, SPF 15 moisturizer, I'm going to bring a SPF 50 sunstick. Test runs have shown it doesn't make me break out into a red, itchy rash. However, I'll see if I'm cursing the stick at the end of my European trip.
My weight will be coming from my notebook, a 17" MacBook Pro. Close to seven pounds, it's going to be the heaviest item in my TriStar. Since it's my only computer, I don't have the option of bringing a netbook. I did consider purchasing one, but I'm not ready to do a hackintosh. Also, I have hopes that Apple will release a lightweight tablet next year.
When I have my bag packed, I'll be sure to post weight and what went in.
@ Brad. Thanks I get it now. There is the Sandbar BH-533 bag, that you could check into. Samsonite also has a quite similar and even better looking bag in their line-up; at 3x the price, though.
@Luke. Thanks for the clarification. Going over your packing list, it seems as if you are taking 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, sports clothes AND 2 uniforms. This is for one week, right? I suppose you will be mostly in uniform. In any case, you are most likely packing too much. Drop one pair of pants (not while you are wearing them :)) and one pair of shorts. That will be enough, I am sure. If there is a shower, there is a sink, usually, if not a big plastic bag can do the job of sink washing. But with what can be expected in terms of wear, one pair each of pants and shorts should do.
@Esther. Too bad for the allergies. I know about the risks of sun exposure but if you are not a light-skinned redhead skipping the SPF for some time is not gonna kill you. I also know not one woman who does not use moisturizer for face and body. I love them for being beautiful but, again, not using moisturizer for two weeks is not gonna wreck your skin, especially if you have good cleaning products that are skin friendly. My 6lb PC laptop is already a drag to drag. A 17" Macbook would be completely out of the question for me unless I was a professional photog or graphic designer on a professional mission. I do join you in waiting for an apple netbook or tablet or an Iphone with the specs I gave above.
I did leave out one pair of civilian pants. Except for the civilian clothes, the rest of the packing list is pretty much dictated. I have to have both uniforms, without laundry facilities, the uniforms simply won't dry overnight, and we do have a day of PT scheduled. I packed the bag last night, and I was able to pack everything except for my rain jacket, which I rolled tightly and put undernaeth the handles. standing on my bathroom scales yields a weight of 25 pounds for the packed bag. I will also be forced to hand carry the netbook the entire time, and I a contemplating using my Timbuk2 Mini Metro bag that I use for its daily transportation, this will also allow me to keep the computer in a bag if i am forced to gate check the Air Boss. This packing list is far more than I would ever pack of a normal trip, and I am confident that The Air Boss will meet my needs for any other conciecevable trip. Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will give a report of my success (or lack there of) after the trip.
Cool. So the boots did fit in the Airboss. That is quite amazing and good to know.