Travling light

Yes, I do it all the time on business trips — about 30 times per year. Sometimes if I am doing a one day meeting I just use my backpack as carryon luggage and carry my laptop in its separate case.

Other times when I will be working a few days and need to wear suits and ties I can get the backpack and my business clothes into a single suitcase which I check. You just can’t bring fuel in either (carryon or checked luggage). Even the Esbit residue on my cook system doesn’t trigger the alarms in either.

Here are a couple trips I did when I checked my luggage.

Trip 1

Trip 2

I don't travel as many times a year as Nick, only about 20 trips (although about 90,000 miles each year), but typically to Hawaii about once a year. Absolutely, you could do a Hawaii trip out of a daypack using UL tricks. I personally aspire to doing an overnight business trip some day with NO carry-on, not even a man-purse. Sometimes I can deal with my email, reservations, etc, using just my phone. That, my wallet, a mini-toothbrush and a clean pair of UW in my pockets and I'd be the only passenger thru TSA that month with NO luggage. Pro-tip: It's a BUSINESS trip, not a date, so I'd wear UW I planned to throw away that night (I keep a draw-full of borderline UW, sox, and shirts). For field work, I bring old shirts and when they need to be cleaned, I throw them away, lightening my load as I go.

Unless you're going to Kokee State Park on Kauai or to Haleakalā National Park on Maui, you're at sea level and it's not going to get cold. I'd lean towards just a puffy, light long pants over maybe some PP thermals. Unless you're in Kona on the Big Island or maybe the SW shore of Kauai, you do have to expect rain, so a minimalist tarp and some kind of ground cover would allow camping. Be warned, although the state parks located at the beach offer cold-water showers and really cheap camping, the locals don't observe the 10 pm quiet time rules and party till 1 am. And there is no rule against alcohol. I'd stealth camp myself.

Bring quick-dry stuff, bring a little detergent (not eco-groovy Dr Bonners, etc, but real Tide laundry detergent) and you can wash any laundry very thoroughly in an sink. If you're in a hotel room or B&B, hair dryers become clothes dryers.

One of the cleverest things I did on a business trip to Oahu (yes, they have toxic waste sites, too), was to look up the Hawaiian Hiking Club's schedule before I went. ( http://htmclub.org ) I couldn't have found the trailhead, let alone follow the trail on my own (they get over-grown pretty quickly). I enjoyed the hike, got to learn from locals and went farther into remote area than I would have on my own.

During some seasons, it will rain like hell in Hawaii, so be prepared for a wet trip.

On the other hand, in some volcanic areas there are empty lava tubes. I always found them to be excellent shelters.

–B.G.–

Yeah, I go every so often for family trips and squeeze a BP in (mostly kona). Never had to wear much more than shorts in town, even higher elevations. On the Z-trail, I wish I had carried even less gear, … but wind-driven rain does hit (more water carrying capacity too – can be warm and muggy). You may not even use your entire 45 degree quilt at night if you sleep by the beach on kona.

Best place in the world for UL travel!

Sandals, shorts, tee shirt, wind shirt, umbrella, water bottle, sun hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, toiletries, beach towel, sunglasses. It is one place I could go happily with a 20 liter pack and have room to spare. If you need more clothes, you can buy tourist tees or an aloha shirt cheap. You could buy the towel there too– the point being, you are in civilization, not the back country. The umbrella will take care of rain and sun.

Read some of Rick Steves stuff on travel packing. Good advice there.

Camping needs prep for rain and bugs. If you are at altitude (Like Haleakala) it gets cold and windy. I would read up on the specific areas. You do want to camp in authorized sites: the locals frown on stealth camping or sleeping on the beach.

Check out the websites below. We used the information there and elsewhere for a trip to Italy a few years back. We only brought a small briefcase style carry-on for each of us. No checked luggage.

http://1bag1world.com/
http://onebagger.squarespace.com/

A great tip is disposing of dirty clothes as you go. An alternative is bring your fast drying clothes and small packets of Woolite. Do your laundry at night. The small Woolite pouch takes up less room than a second pair of shirts/pants/etc.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking: I'm not going to the moon. I'm going to Kauai. I'm not even going backpacking, just day hiking, maybe camping. I figured I'd bring barely anything and if I needed something, just buy it. I'd love to walk on the plan with just a small day pack.

I guess I'd need to bring a jacket because the plane would probably be freezing. Plus what if we crash in the Andes and I have to hike over the mountains to avoid being cannibalized.

For a jacket in places like Hawaii or Florida, I've used a zip-up sun protective swim jacket – multipurpose.

Piper:

My longest continuous travel was a seven-month round the world trip. My pack was basically a book bag — with about 11lbs total pack weight. I had everything I needed and I wore clean clothes every day.

In about a week, I will be leaving for a two-month trip to Asia, Australia and NZ — and these are my main pack and day pack.

So yes, you can definitely travel anywhere in the world for indefinite duration on a day pack — severe Siberian winters excepting.

Been to Hawaii a few times and never needed more than a pair of flip flops and maybe some keens. One light jacket or hoody. 2-3 Shorts/ shirts.

If you are packing more of those then you are packing too much.

What kind of clothing? I'm not used to humidity. What will dry fast if I wash it in the sink or does it matter to wear damp clothing?

Also, what do you think about preventing sunburn while snorkling? Would my hiking shirt (desert shirt, whatever you want to call it) be okay? My boyfriend is thinking we should get rashguard shirts but I think I'd just rather not have too much gear.

White shirts don't work well when wet for sun block. The problem with using just whatever shirt is that you don't if it will work until it's too late. I used cotton tee shirts in Hawaii for snorkeling successfully, but YMMV. If I were doing it now I would go with the rash guards.

Sunburnt shoulders can ruin the rest of the trip, so I'd bring some kind of synthetic top. It could be a lightweight polypro top, it could be Duluth Trading's wicking version of their "anti-plumbers butt" t-shirt, it could be a synthetic running top, it could be an official rash guard from a surf shop. For lots of swimming, you want it to fit tightly. For occasional swimming, I don't mind something a little looser. Something snug fitting also adds a few degrees of warmth – not like a 2 mm or 3 mm wetsuit, but maybe 0.5 mm worth, which is something. I'd go with the running top, synthetic t-shirt or Duluth-Trading t-shirt because those all multipurpose as a hiking shirt / base layer. Whereas an official rash guard is little too snug and confining to hike in all day, for me.

Any synthetic shirt would absolutely work (although light colors and thin fabrics do block less sun), but while loose-fitting shirts are nice in the desert, they really billow out and slow you down in the water.

I've got a ton and a half of that sort of thing (Alaskans going to Hawaii REALLY need sun protection) so if you want to borrow something instead of buying it, PM your and your BF's sizes and I tell what I've got that would work. I could mail it to you and you just mail it back. We're not going south again till New Zealand in December.

I used to snorkel on an almost weekly basis in Panama. Even with the best of sunblock, I'd still end up with some color. I'd recommend wearing at least a T shirt. I just read something that said a T shirt has an SPF of 7. Sounds like malarky to me as I've never been burned wearing one. There are SPF rated shirts you can buy. Plenty of tourist trap stores to find them once you land.

Buy a cheapie pair of flip flops in country for the beach.

I only bring a single carry-on backpack when I travel. I try to stick with quick drying nylon clothes. I start a wash one wear one cycle when I get in country. Not the end of the world if I have to wear my pants two days without washing as long as my G-Str…. er… I mean undies and T shirt are washed every day. I just wash them in the tub and hang dry them.

I have 100% nylon button down/collared shirts that are fine for any restaurant short of one that has a jacket and tie requirement. I typically avoid those anyways. I did eat cockroaches, both small and giant, purchased from a vendor in an alley in Cambodia. He was fine with how I was dressed.

Convertible pants are supper convenient when traveling this way and also leave no doubt in anyone's mind that I'm a tourist.

I just bring one pair of trail runners or trekking shoes.

Switching from a DSLR to a mirrorless camera has been a godsend.

Don't forget to bring a couple water bottles so you don't have to pay 10x the cost of gasoline oz for oz to drink store bought bottled water.

Bring two sets of clothes — one on you and one in your pack. Choose simple styles and neutral colors for easy mix and match — meaning four different outfits. So…

1 windbreaker
1 hat (optional)
2 poly or poly-cotton blend tees
2 poly pants
2 undies
2 socks
1 pair of comfy, black or dark brown walking shoes/sneakers that will also look good in nicer restaurants
1 pair flip flops (for beach and hotel wear) — Old Navy has really light but fairly robust ones for cheap.
1 umbrella

1 small toiletry kit
1 small misc kit (some first aid stuff, a small flashlight, etc.)

You can fit all the above in a 28L or 30L bookbag with room to spare.

Bring one set of clothes and wash it at night. Whoever you meet doesn't know you wore the same thing yesterday. Whoever you are traveling with is stuck with you (and you with them) for the duration of the trip.

I'm half serious and half tongue-in-cheek.

Piper: are you going to try to cook anything while there? Last year on Kauai, I found I could get 1-pound propane cylinders and Sterno in a hardware store or Walmart and sometimes butane for table-top burners (NOT for backpacking stoves). If you want anything more specialized, (1) be on a bigger island and (2) call ahead to a outdoors store to confirm they carry what you need.

Edited to add: I'd suggest going stoveless. The fresh fruit is fabulous, sushi and bento-box lunches can be had in many service stations (although it helps if you like Spam), and there are good, cheap noodle houses in many towns.

"Bring one set of clothes and wash it at night."

In my case, I travel solo about twice a year — each trip lasting about 2-3 months. What I find is that frequently, I would wear and wash the same outfit several times straight — and thus not even bothering to unpack. But I always pack a second set of clothes anyway.

Thanks for your offer on the shirts, David. I think that my boyfriend has already ordered one. Maybe I'll check out a local surf shop.

As for the clothing thing, I actually wear the same clothes all week at work. I wear a different t-shirt every day but I alternate between two pairs of pants and don't wash the pants for about 2 weeks. Nobody notices.

Now it looks like we might do an overnighter on the Napali coast. So it looks like I'll bring some of my backpacking stuff. I was hoping to not have to bring a sleeping pad. I can do no-cook backpacking food no problem.

As for when we aren't backpacking, we plan to use air-bnb so who knows what kind of cooking facilities we'll have. I'm hoping we go out to eat a lot. I like to eat. I like spam more than noodles.

NM

Ben,

Good to see you on BPL….you used to be around a bit more.

I think of you as the guy who brought us the tip on using a cut down playtpus bottle as a water scoop for filling up from shallow pools of water.

Any other tips for packing light while around the world???

The main backpack that you use….it is very comfortable as a backpack?

Guessing you picked it as it can carry a laptop easily?

Do you use/carry a Steripen for water treatment when you travel?

Love the discussion on how to keep things simple and light while traveling overseas….even non backpacking trips.

Tony

I found a website that makes custom board shorts. http://boardshortsworld.com It took about 3 weeks but I got two pairs of shorts with matching bikini tops. The best thing is that the shorts match my dirty girl gaiters. Exact same pattern. I'm going to rock the tourist look for sure, but I can wear the shorts to swim or just to wear (dual purpose) and they fit my giant squat-girl thighs.