On this Web site, I mostly write about techniques, products, and ideas that I like. On this page, though, a few things that I (perhaps surprisingly to some) don't...

Casual/tourism travel typically involves more (and longer-distance) carrying of one's bag over more varied terrain, including stairs, public transportation, cobblestone streets (and in case you hadn't noticed, many urban streets are becoming more cobblestone-like), and good old terra firma (and not so firma).

For business travel in urban locations, the best solution is a bag specifically designed for optimal packing. Ideally, this includes three main (full-length and full-width) compartments, with the zippers on at least two of them designed to completely free up three sides of the bag (permitting them to be opened flat for packing, and also allowing access to the bag when it is sandwiched in a luggage rack or aircraft overhead bin); the compartments should have internal tie-down straps, so their contents can be prevented from shifting (and thus wrinkling).

To begin, recognize that getting a better bag won't make you a "one bag" traveller: there's little that the bag can do to reduce the amount of stuff you bring with you. Once you have acquired more efficient travel skills, though (and abandoned the notion that you need to pull a small trailer behind you), you will find that an optimally-designed bag can make a huge difference in your travel comfort and convenience.

(Personal) Safety & Security.

How should one address personal safety concerns while travelling? The issue is a somewhat complex one, but primarily a function of three variables: individual circumstances, areas of travel, and personal perceptions:

Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Alan Keightley

For many, clothing presents the greatest challenge to packing light; it's certainly the area where the "What if ... ?" syndrome runs most rampant ("What if I'm invited to dinner with the Queen?"). This page addresses the two major issues related to this concern: choosing clothes, and keeping them clean.

Do I Really Need a Packing List?

A goal without a plan is just a wish. Antoine de Saint Exupéry

It's not possible to overstate the importance of actually creating a personal packing list, and using it regularly. Such a list serves two principal purposes. First, it's a gentle reminder that if it's not on your list, it shouldn't be in your bag (because all the necessary items are on your list); this defends against last-minute attacks of "I might need this".

Learn how to Lighten your Load!

To know what to leave out and what to put in; just where and just how, ah, that is to have been educated in the knowledge of simplicity.

There's no question: overpacking tops the list of biggest travel mistakes.

Somewhere between the packing/organizational efficiency of a top-drawer business bag and the carrying comfort of a suspension-system-equipped leisure bag lie the dual-purpose offerings. Such bags offer features from both categories: multiple compartments designed for optimal packing, coupled with a carrying system that distributes the weight across both shoulders.

Things that must be plugged in are conspicuously absent from the One Bag packing list; they add bulk and weight rarely compensated for by usefulness. Try hard to eliminate them. If, however, you just can't live without your electric shaver (a small bottle of shaving oil and a razor are much more appropriate), or your hair dryer (think about towel/air drying, or even a more travel-friendly hair style), don't forget that electrical power varies throughout the world.

Arguably the most important aspect of intelligent travelling is the issue of what to pack. This, more than anything else, will determine the size of your luggage, the weight of your load, and the state of your happiness. Your top priority, then, should be the acquisition, personalization, and use of a good packing list.

How Do I Get Started?

Simple ... learn as much as possible about three key travel topics.
The successful one-bag traveller knows (in order of importance):

Travel Light by Alternative Hostels

There are many reasons to "travel light", the principal ones being...

Security.

With a greatly reduced need to check baggage (or otherwise entrust it to the care of others), you are much less likely to lose your belongings to theft, damage, or misrouting. You likewise foil those who would enlist your unsuspecting aid as a conveyor of contraband goods. Would that peace of mind were always so easilyrsrc.html acquired!