One bag travel comes down to three things: materials, methods, and mindset.
Mindset
Mindset is the biggest hurdle, and it plays into everything else, so let’s explore that first.
There are five major mental hurdles when it comes to minimalist packing: style (options), cleanliness, handwashing, flexibility, and fear.
Style is the first thing to suffer when you start packing light, specifically style options; you can look stylish traveling, but you’re going to have limited clothes and more specifically, limited shoes; you'll have to be flexible with how you dress, or be willing to look like a hiker wherever you go; remember, no one cares what you look like when you travel, and the less you care about looking good, the easier it is to pack.
Cleanliness: Socks, underwear, and some shirts may indeed need to be washed after every use, but most of the items you pack can be worn multiple days in a row without issue or smell; this is true for regular clothes, and even more true for merino wool, bamboo fabric, or anything treated with antibacterial coating. The idea that you need to wash every item after one wear is a marketing ploy to sell more laundry detergent; it's simply not true. If you can get over this mental hurdle, three tops and two bottoms can be stretched to a week, anywhere you go.
Side Note: Sweat isn't the source of body odor, bacteria on your skin mixing with sweat is what creates unpleasant smells, so if you're showering regularly and your clothes are dry, you don't have to worry about smelling awful.
Handwashing may not be required for all trips, but if you can get into the habit of handwashing socks, shirts, and underwear regularly, you can easily extend a week's worth of clothes into two, three, or even four weeks without needing to do laundry; it's not for everyone, but it's well worth the time investment.
Flexibility: Specific to long-term travelers, but applicable to any travel, flexibility means being open to making changes to your pack on the road. It's easy to get overwhelmed thinking "I need to pack everything I could need for the next six weeks in X location," but the truth is, you don't need to plan or pack for all seasons and all scenarios. It's common practice among long-term and seasoned travelers to pick up whatever is necessary while traveling; this is easily true for small items like toiletries, but equally true for bigger items that are seasonally useful; a jacket for winter, a poncho if it rains, long socks if temps drop below expectations, etc. If you're traveling long-term, your pack doesn't need to be perfect, you just need to be flexible.
"Your pack doesn't need to be perfect, you just need to be flexible."
Consider packing only the basics, things you know you'll need, and pick up whatever becomes necessary while traveling, then donate those items if your situation changes again.
Fear: People pack their fears; a hoodie for fear of getting cold, a flashlight for fear of the power going out, an umbrella for fear of rain, dress clothes for fear of looking underdressed, etc. Fear is the number one cause of overpacking, and the biggest mental hurdle to overcome when it comes to packing light.
Side Note: Fear is also the number one way companies sell you things you don't need; "cover your insecurities with X product", "get X so Y doesn't happen to you", etc.
You do not need to pack for every possible situation; if you're going to a place where people live, you can easily find whatever you need to live, if you need it.
On the opposite side of fear-packing is a less acknowledged and equally insidious fear; fear of loss. No one talks about fear of loss, because it occurs after you've invested hundreds of dollars on travel gear. Imagine investing $500 on brand-new travel gear and then having your backpack stolen, that's fear of loss.
I mention it because it's a very real thing when you start diving into the one-bag travel, it's important to remember that every dollar you spend on travel gear comes with both physical weight and emotional weight; if you're seeking simplicity and peace of mind, you may be more interested minimalist travel.
Methods
Three methods are important to define for any trip: packing method, laundry method, and daily-carry method.
Laundry Method - Determine how and how often you're willing to do laundry, some people opt for washing small items daily, others pack for a week and get laundry service weekly, and still others opt for a combination, hand-washing small items every few days and getting laundry service every couple weeks. It doesn't matter which method you choose, but you'll want to choose a method and stick with it, as that will determine how much you pack.
Packing Method - There are multiple tools and options for packing, the most popular methods are: packing cubes, vacuum-sealed bags, wash bags, dry bags, zip-lock bags, or no bags. Packing cubes offer high organization but aren't as space efficient, vacuum-sealed bags offer maximum space savings but require extra effort while packing, wash bags and dry bags offer great space savings and can pull double or triple duty, zip-lock bags are free and easy, and no bags is the easiest, with the least space savings. Again, it doesn't matter which method you choose, but choosing a packing method will play into how much space you have in your pack.
Daily Carry Method - Assuming you won't want to carry your primary backpack everywhere, it's good to have a smaller pack for daily use; this could be a small hiking pack, a chest sling, a purse, a waist pack, a packable tote bag, or a simple drawstring bag; this completely depends on what you consider daily essentials, but the use cases range from hikes to beach trips to grocery store runs to city tours to bike tours to commuting; so consider planning ahead.
Materials
The right travel clothes can have a big impact on your pack size; one pair of high-quality convertible pants may be the only pants you need to pack, one high-quality Merino wool shirt can do the work of three shirts, antibacterial base layers can be worn twice as long as "regular" clothes. If you have the time and resources to find the right travel clothes, they're well worth the investment.
Materials for clothes can be broken down into three categories, things that regularly touch your skin (shirts, socks, underwear), things that partially touch your skin (shorts, pants, hoodies, hats, etc.), and things that rarely touch your skin (outerwear, jackets, rain protection, etc.).
Clothes that regularly touch your skin (i.e. base layers) should be antibacterial, quick-drying, and above all, comfortable. Some of the most popular brands in this category:
Underwear: Exofficio, Lululemon, Smartwool, Outdoor Research
Socks: Darn Tough, SmartWool, Icebreaker, REI Coolmax
Shirts: Outlier, Icebreaker, Arc'teryx, Patagonia, Western Rise
Clothes that partially touch your skin (i.e. mid-layers) should be comfortable, durable, lightweight, and ideally, multifunctional. Some popular mid-layer brands include:
Shorts: Western Rise Evolution, Outlier New Way, Patagonia Baggies
Pants: Arc'teryx, Western Rise, Patagonia, Lululemon, REI
Lightweight Hoodies: Patagonia R1 Air, Unbound Merino, Arc'teryx Ionia, Kuhl
Clothes that rarely touch your skin (i.e. outer layers) should be durable, mid-to-lightweight, and water/rain/cold-repellent. Some popular outerwear brands include:
Patagonia, Unbound Merino, Arc'teryx, Western Rise, Icebreaker, Kuhl, Marmot
If you're in the 75% of travelers who travel to moderate temperatures, you may not need outer layers at all; only pack outer layers if you know you'll be traveling to climates or regions that require rain/snow/cold protection.
All the above being said, it's important to note that travel-specific clothing isn't necessary for one-bag travel, yes, they can save space and drastically simplify your packing/laundry routine, but you can easily travel light with the clothes you already have.
If you're brand new to one-bag travel, an easy-to-follow rule is to upgrade one item per trip, starting with the smallest items; socks, underwear, and shirts, then adding on mid-layers and out-layers, and eventually, day packs, backpacks, and accessories.
Conclusion
One bagging doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive (though it can be!), and it’s far more of a mental shift than it is about finding the perfect packing list.
One-bagging is an every-moving target, that will evolve as your clothes, tools, methods, and mindset change
Comments