Travel Around The World With Just a Fanny Pack For Luggage?
You know that scene in The Bourne Identity when he opens the safety deposit box to look at the contents of his burn bag and grabs what he thinks he needs? I think that idea of having exactly what you need, no more, no less, appeals to just about every dude, it does me anyway. Today I saw this article viaTwitter about a woman who traveled from Australia to the US for a big trip with a bag that was just a bit bigger than a fanny pack.
I love the idea of traveling light. We just went to Maui. I took one small duffel and one pretty good sized back pack. I could have made it work with just the back pack but wouldn't have had room if we ended up buying anything. This list then is about packing light and how I could have made it work with just the back pack.
1. Overview
I got this at Costco quite a few years ago. Sorry for the lousy photo. From back to front, the first compartment is the biggest. In addition to the most storage, there's also a padded sleeve to hold a laptop or tablet. Most of my clothes would go in here.
2. Packing cubes
I think most people know that rolling up clothes is the most efficient way to pack even if I have no idea why it works. Layer on top of that, sorting clothes into packing cubes. My wife has a set but I've never used them.
3. 2nd largest compartment
Again moving back to front the second compartment is just a little smaller. The way I use that is to make sure something like a sweatshirt is on top so I can easily get to it if I get cold. The rest of my clothes would go under the sweatshirt along with toiletries.
4. The smallest compartment
I use it for my iPod (yes, iPod, I said it) and I keep the charger in there. There's also room for kleenex, your phone and passport.
5. Outer compartment
You can see there's several types of small pockets in there for pens, kleenex (repeat), clip in the keys to your house so you don't have to think about them, your passport could go in here too if that was better. I also keep food I might want during the flight in here and a book. I had a couple of Quest Bars and Chomps (like a Slim Jim but fewer chemicals).
6. Outer pocket
Finally from back to front there's a small pocket that would be big enough for a passport and phone but that's about it.
7. Outside the pack
On the left side of the picture is a mesh pocket big enough for a pretty big Yeti-style water bottle. On the right side of the picture, on the strap is a small pocket big enough for a bandana and a small grocery bag (having one is very handy).
8. Tips
When we travel, I plan on doing laundry so I can take less clothes. We were in Maui for 9 days. I took enough clothes so that we could just do laundry once in the middle of the trip. One bit of inefficiency is that I take regular t-shirts and hiking shirts. Days that we hike, I end up wearing two shirts. I don't usually wear socks in Hawaii other than to hike but having a fresh pair handy if I want is a nice luxury. I had one bathing suit, two long sleeve hiking shirts which I needed for hiking in Haleakala National Park which was at 10,000 feet. I took three pair of conversion pants (the legs zip off), I wore one and packed two.
I usually wear hiking shoes. For Hawaii you need some sort of flip-flop to wear. I'm a size 13 so they take up a lot of real estate but don't need flip-flops for other places, just the hiking shoes will do.
9. Other items to bring
Pen and small pad of paper.
Bandana (already mentioned)
One or two plastic grocery bags (already mentioned)
Extra battery for your phone (of course whatever cords you need)
Bottle of baby aspirin, this could be a difference maker if someone has a heart attack on your flight, I provided EMT care once on a flight, it was very unserious thankfully
Flashlight, yeah your phone has one but still
Bleach wipes or small bottle of Purell
Face mask because these days, having one with you just avoids potential hassle in case there's some rule you don't know about
A couple of carabiners to clip to the outside of your pack
Multitool this goes in the category of you never know. According to the internet, the Style PS from Leatherman is compliant because there's no blade. I've never taken one but one would have come in handy a couple of times.
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