• Wear a sling bag for quick access to your stuff without having to go into your big bag on the airplane.
  • You probably don’t need the fancy laundry soap packets to wash your clothes in the sink. You can use a little bit of laundry soap bar in a plastic bag, or in a pinch, some hand soap.
  • Nice sandals (like Bedrock) and zero-drop shoes (like Lems) can pack real flat into your bag and reclaim some space.
  • Bring a Heroclip, a carabiner which can double as a hook to keep your nice backpack off the bathroom floor.
  • Little A6 notebooks fit almost anywhere and are a great way to jot down notes during your trip.
  • @SuperApplesEnglish
    4•1 year ago

    Heh, what a niche community to stumble across! My wife and I have been nomads with one bag each since 2016, with a 2-year break whilst lockdowns were a thing. Started with 10kg bags, but post-pandemic all the airlines are 7kg max for free carry-on, so we’ve downsized. This has meant some further weight-saving changes:

    • A very light canvas bag! Less pockets, less zips, etc… more weight for what goes in the bag. We got the Decathlon 25L forclaz. Only one zip, but has a sleeve for laptop, and three extra slip pockets (one takes my umbrella, another my water bottle, and the front one paperwork).
    • Zip-off quick-dry cargo pants with zip-up pockets. I have two pairs (again from Decathlon). Don’t need separate shorts or swimming trunks. Zip-up pockets keep everything safe in crowded areas, no need for a day bag/bum bag/sling bag. When combined with thermals gives great protection from the cold, and can’t be pierced by mosquitos when in the tropics.
    • Clothing is 2 zip-off trousers, 8 underpants, 5 pair matching socks, 4 t-shirts, 1 shirt, 1 pair thermals, 1 pair wool gloves, beanie, and my kick-ass waterproof, lined-coat with hood (from Workman, Japan - great sturdy, but light-weight stuff). Do proper laundry once a week wearing trousers on rotation, each shirt/socks twice… unless in the tropics, then I can (and have to) wash things every day… just in the sink and hang up to dry, then still do a proper wash once a week to get them nice and clean. My wife has three less shirts, replaced with dresses.
    • USB-C everything. No need for bulky power bricks and extra cables. Phones, laptops, even my shaver… except I got rid of my electric shaver since downsizing to on weight (using disposable instead - wish I could take safety razor on planes!)
    • I got rid of my packing cubes and my wife went down to just one packing cube. We now just properly unpack our clothes at each accommodation. We try to spend at least a week at each stop (for the discounts!), so not a pain.
    • A zip-up flannel. This is what we keep our toiletries in… and also works as a flannel if we need one (like to make an ice bag for an injury, or clean up a mess (thanks random bird in Amsterdam!)
    • @[email protected]OPMEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      what a niche community to stumble across!

      Glad you’re here – I’m trying to build a second home for travelers outside of Reddit. Thanks for your contribution!