In this Lightweight Travel Tip we talk about what is essential and what is not. The amount of essentials is very small - maybe it'll fit in your pockets and you won't need a bag at all. I haven't gone that extreme, but it is a good baseline to start from.
Lightweight Travel Tips is a series of short videos where I showcase the lightweight travel philosophy by discussing specific situations. The individual tips are gateways to the lightweight travel mindset.
I can recall my first trip overseas with overweight suitcases full of things I never used. Even though I have larger baggage allowances than ever, I take less. Less luggage makes it easier to move around, and I'm less likely to lose an item because I have fewer items to track. It's easier to move through crowds and over imperfect ground.
Lightweight travel tips combine my experience in travel and the outdoors to examine what I carry and if I could do without it. I'm not an ultra-light backpacking gram weeny - my outdoors philosophy is more informed by bushcraft, where I learned to make the most out of whatever I carry while keeping necessities and local conditions in mind. So, lightweight travel is a mindset of efficiency - that each item must be helpful or it should be left behind.
At the core of my philosophy is:
Passport, Credit card, Phone - everything else is a solvable problem of a luxury item.
This isn't to say you shouldn't carry anything - decide what balances weight, size, convenience and luxury for yourself and where you're going! Figure out what is available where you're going - both free at your accommodation or what you can easily buy.
How do I start thinking through a pack list? First, learn about the trip: what about the weather when I am there? What activities do I expect to do? What can I obtain at the destination if I need it? What equipment must I take? These questions are the genesis of thinking through what to bring.
And the biggest tip: Start with a small bag. If you can't make your load-out fit, it's easier to get a larger bag rather than the other way around. People tend to think in terms of bag size: it's the airlines that make us weigh everything!
Do you have some lightweight travel tips of your own? Please share in the comments.
Until next time.
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