July 4, 2009 An Aussie finds the ultralight Holy Grail
A journo from Down Under finds light travel bliss and pens one of the best articles on the subject I’ve ever seen:
Is it possible to travel for six weeks with 7 kilograms of luggage in one small bag? I’m a person who takes a bootload of gear for a weekend away but on a recent 40-day trip to nine European countries I achieved the light traveller’s Holy Grail.
It took lots of planning but it was worth it. I was smugly self-congratulatory as my bag measuring 45cm x 30cm x 18cm and I fitted unobtrusively into crowded trains and buses; as I effortlessly tossed it onto luggage racks; as I bypassed taxi queues to stride easily through city streets; as I unpacked and repacked in five minutes flat. Not once did I wish I had brought more stuff…
Travelling light makes you feel independent, liberated and, well, superior. But it takes a stern approach and a willingness to accept strict limitations in your attire. Here are 10 steps to success. - read more, includes packing list
Reader Comments (3)
A good read, indeed. I basically follow all those rules. When you read my shoulder bag shoot out and look at the weights I posted and the packed weight of the bags, you will see that the packing list is quite comparable in weight and the final weight quite similar.
I came to 8kg with a bag that was 1.15kg heavier than what he used and shoes that were most likely at least 200g heavier than what he used (super heavy cordovan Aldens).
Here is what I packed. Mind you, this is the packed stuff only. He lists everything, so in the end I actually have more packed stuff. This is my two week packing list which could just as well be called the infinity packing list. Also keep in mind the power of a travel anorak. Electronics can go there quite comfortably. It will safe you and umbrella and the day pack which the author recommends.
1 suit using this method http://www.makingitclear.com/pages/foldingsuit.html , the trick is to wrap the suit around the folder with your shirts and then put the bundle into the center compartment. With two suits and an expanded compartment that would work just as well.
5 long sleeve shirts and three ties in an Eagle Creek packing folder. The folder will also go into one of the outside compartments but it really needs to be crammed in there. Once it is in there it fits. Its a matter of stuffing it through the opening. And using the folder as a core to bundle wrap the suit around is smarter anyway.
Outside compartment:
1 pair of dress shoes size 9 filled with socks. Shoes are in plastic grocery bags to save weight.
1 baggy with stuff like foldable on ear headphones, eye mask, inflatable pillow, reading light, ear plugs
1 baggy with liquids
1 baggy with hair brush etc
Putting those hard things in the outside compartment is good because they won't hit you in the side when you carry the bag.
Inside compartment:
5 pair of underwear
1 pair of jeans
1 Polo shirt
1 light sweater
Link to shootout:
http://onebagger.squarespace.com/blog/2009/2/21/reader-review-shoulder-bag-shootout.html#comments
Both the original post and the comments from Till contain lots of great information!
(I'm one of those people who loves to be inspired to pack light by reading others detailed packing lists.)
One minor note: In his comments, Till refers to the author of the original post as "he." I think it's actually a she. The headline from the original publication reads: "Six weeks, nine countries, one bag: Alice Russell reveals her packing regime."
Well, for a "she" that is a remarkable packing list! :D Thanks for making me notice.
Seriously, though, this means that the weight of her clothes will be about one third less than that of a man. So if a man's clothes would weigh 7.5 kg a woman's clothes would be around 5 kg. I have often said that women should use that to their advantage, and that it is actually fair because it is in line with less body weight and lesser carrying capacity.
If I wanted to make my packing list even lighter I would first skip the shirt folder that weighs almost a pound. I would also take less dress shirts and more polo shirts. That should save about 100-200 grams.
1 pair less underwear would be ok, too. If I take four and wear one I can go without washing for four days. It makes sense to adjust the socks and shirt numbers accordingly so you can do all your washing in one day. If the colors are similar you can also do it in one machine (this is not so important for sink or tub washing).
Of course, the killer weight in my bag are the shoes and the toiletries. Those big fat cordovan shoes probably weigh almost 1kg each. I should wear them rather than putting them in the bag. But I have an awful tendency to scratch my shoes under an airplane seat and they are not slip-ons. They also have a metal shank. In the US that doesn't matter but one doesn't need to take of shoes in every country, so then it matters.
The toiletry bag is already minimized. Note that I do not take any heavy toiletry bag but just use a ziploc. I even weighed my razor and refilled my liquids in humangear go-toobs of less than 2 ounces for most (very practical and highly recommended). I also weighed my hairbrushes and take the lighter one although it takes up more room. I am not ready to use a plastic foldable hair brush. But since I am balding this soon will become another weight saving feature (gotta reframe things in a positive way).
Till