My 40-liter backpack travel guide
vitalik.ca
vitalik.ca
The two things that I mostly agree with - eSIM is a massive improvement (I also use Airalo), and I've also tried to standardize on USB-C (except for my headphones, where I haven't found a good replacement). /r/onebag does have some good product recommendations but is somewhat skewed to young backpackers.
I would encourage everyone to ignore anyone telling them they're "doing it wrong" when traveling. You know yourself, make your own decisions. Personally, making an effort to meet digital nomads all around the world sounds like hell on earth to me. Also, it's wasted effort. Trust me, they'll find you and tell you all about themselves.
/r/onebag is skewed towards solving all your problems by buying something, and seems astroturfed to within an inch of its life.
My setup is really simple but works for me for months at a time. I have a tri fold clothing bag (an old Patagonia burrito, which they sadly don't make anymore) that's for clothes, grooming/hygine, etc, and then a messenger bag that's for laptop, kindle, headphones, emergency rain gear, medications, other similar things.
It may not work for everyone, but I found paring down to essentials was very worth it. I never have to worry about checked bags going wrong. I can wear both bags comfortably while walking for a couple hours, so if I'm moving locations or can't check into my accommodations yet it's no big deal.
One thing I like about this setup is I don't look like I'm hostel hiking. I just look like someone in business casual with an extra overnight bag. It's not fair or just, but sometimes this makes the difference about getting hassled hanging out somewhere with wifi for a couple hours.
The tri fold is roomy enough to pack a suit and plenty of casual clothing. I just hang it up when I get to my room. Unless I'm wearing or using it, items go back to their place in the bag. I never have to unpack, pack, or worry about leaving something behind.
A few simple tricks can make a big difference, but they're probably pretty personal. I pack a lot of extra socks, undershirts, and underwear, all made of thin wool. This helps me stay fresh if I'm a bit long between laundry services. In my electronics bag I carry a short extension cord, some USB plugs and charging cables, etc. That'll make you the hero in every cafe you go to.
In any case, my big takeaway was that I just don't actually need much stuff to be content for months at a time.
A small power strip might have been my best travel investment. Good way to meet people if nothing else.
It takes up almost no space, is light, and saves the day at airports.
What issue have you found here? On a weekly basis I use IEMs (Sennheiser IE80) which don't need external power, and Jabra elite active series earbuds which are usb-c. Most options I'm aware of are one of these two categories.
My first impression is that this is a LOT of clothes and the electric stuff is a bit weird.
A few differences between dirtbag and nomad (the latter AFAICT is mostly hotel/airbnb hopping?):
First, you think a lot about food and water. Especially water, and especially sans car. It's VERY heavy and very necessary.
Second, my emergency pack is almost completely different. No vitamin shoppe merch. An ACE bandage, 8 aspirin per day from civ, 1 dose of imodium per day from civ, gauze, anti-bacterial cream, tape, suture kit, and one dose of a more powerful pain killer for serious emergencies if you can get it. No rapid tests (travel usually required a PCR anyways), but a couple KN95s. Cash in both USD (clean, unfolded, new bills) and the local currency. Maps.
Third, weight really matters.
Fourth, cleanliness really matters. You're essentially homeless. Diners and cafes kick out homeless people if you try to stay 9-5. In addition to organizing my life around being clean, I also had a whole separate emergency "Not A Dirtbag For A Day" kit.
I guess the other big difference is that all of my day-to-day stuff fit in roughly 15L so that I could carry 5L water and my gear could consume the other 20L.
Wife and I use an Osprey Farpoint 40 [1] pack each when we travel. Max size for most overhead bins, comfortable for walking a few miles, and enough pockets to do some basic organizing. Longer trips might end up supplemented with a smaller carry-on bag (usually for my camera kit, or bike helmets and shoes if we’re cycling). It’s great for travel in Europe, where you often get off a train and the hotel/airbnb is a few blocks away (and hardly worth a cab/Uber).
1 - https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/farpoint-travel-pack-ca...
Overall, I don't carry as much day to day base layer clothing and just rinse in the sink, don't really have laptop stands, may have a mirrorless camera, have a small kit with repair and other small just in case items. (When I was traveling a lot it was handy to have fairly standard kit bags I could just toss in my luggage.)
Like the OP here, I have another small bag that fits inside the Farpoint when not in use. It's a REI 18(I think?) liter bag - really lightweight, big enough to carry the laptop and day use items while leaving the big bag in the hotel room, or optionally keeping handy on the plane with food or something.
Ultimately, the clothing really dwarfs everything else. This is much easier to pull off if you have a casual style (like the OP) and don't mind having, essentially, a "uniform" where you can just throw on any old bottom and top and go.
The key is a willingness to wash items while traveling. I usually only bring 3-4 pairs underwear/socks, and wash mid-week in the sink. Light wool air dries reasonably fast and doesn't hold odor as much as synthetics.
The only times I struggle to pack everything is trips where we're planning sports. Backpacking, cycling, etc mean more gear - tents, sleeping bags; shoes, helmets, spandex, pedals (usually rent the bikes).
You think it's dirty to pack things for a trip?
It leads to a different aesthetic and priorities than the (coming later) techno-nomad movement. Notably, it doesn't kinda-imply that you also have a good-playing remote job, which changes a lot of the calculations... and the aesthetic leans closer to the kind that gets you kicked out of coffee shops if you linger. It also, of course, is focused on spending a lot of time outdoors and engaging in a fairly dangerous activity.
https://www.desktodirtbag.com/dirtbag-meaning/ or https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dirtbag
Dirtbagging doesn't necessarily entail living outside. Could bum a room for a while. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirtbag_climbing for context.
To clarify: I tend to think of living out of a 40L pack as a dirtbag thing rather than a nomad thing... most of the nomads I know just use hard shell luggage, including me when I hotel hop (I've had nice expensive backpacks destroyed by bag handlers, so hard rollers are better). OP mentions that thy don't have to check their 40L bag; I've always ended up with mine checked but I guess splitting the load into a second personal item could make that less likely.
The focus on "packing" there is on weight/volume minimization - for example backpackers have been known to shave down the handle of their toothbrush to save a few grams. That sort of thing.
Since that stuff sack contains other things of approximately that length or shorter (in my case, stuff like: nail clippers, travel sized toothpaste, floss, extra lighter, a pair of corded earplugs, headlamp, possibly a spoon [0]) it gets awkward to have one pokey-outy thing when you're shoving it in amongst the other gear in your pack.
[0] Yeah, yeah, I know: there's earwax on my spoon and toothbrush. That's never felt that important five days removed from a shower :-)
After washing clothes, layer them in a large wringable synthetic pack towel, roll, and twist. Then they can be hung without dripping, and will dry in a fraction of the time. Wring out the towel and repeat. Or, if one has just arrived at a hotel with towels for four, get busy before they clear three of them in the morning.
One needs an ample supply of travel-scaled clothesline and clothespin equivalents. I last traveled with tiny Nite Ize Gear Ties, and a few larger ties with loops for securing the clothesline ends. Be thoughtful about attachment points; foreign construction quality can often be surprising.
I can't praise highly enough merino wool T-shirts, even in the hottest weather. I found mine on closeout; they can be expensive.
The Aranet4 CO2 meter is an interesting pandemic choice. I own one for monitoring my classroom assignments; they're very well made.
I really like having a fancy side-loading washing machine because I can run long cycles and use strong detergents that definitely ensure the shirt doesn't smell the next time I wear it. Ideally Persil but sometimes that isn't available. Top loaders have destroyed clothes many times.
(The following is meant to be humorous, JIC). So I bought a herd of sheep that grow polyester wool and it has worked out brilliantly. I don't break out in a rash, I don't smell and my sweat gets wicked to a galaxy far, far away.
Yeah, I bought one and it didn't really hold up very well. Having to dry clean sort of defeats the purpose of having a travel shirt.
In general, I really like merino wool but it's expensive and fairly fragile even if I avoid putting it in a dryer.
I don't know if I would agree dry leaning defeats the purpose. Most cities have a dry cleaner and dropping it a dry cleaner is going to be faster than washing, drying, and ironing it yourself. At least it is for me. Plus, you would need to find the right kind of detergent without enzymes or whatever while traveling.
Are you saying it fell apart?
You're right that it wouldn't need to be dry cleaned after each use under minimally sweaty conditions. That said, while I have occasionally had laundry done in the middle of an extended trip, by and large I don't want to be dealing with laundry and dry cleaning if I don't need to.
I discovered merino wool T-shirts about a decade ago and don't wear much else - except for a few nerdy print shirts on occasion.
Merino wool is cool even when wet and dries really quickly. It's also pretty much self-cleaning due to the lanolin (a type of fat) in the fibers, and smells don't stick to it for the same reason. Even after the sweatiest hike, I can just hang it out to dry and it's good to go.
I can go on a week's trip with just two shirts, alternating them on different days.
If you do wash a merino shirt (which you shouldn't do too often) always use a wool detergent that has lanolin in it.
And all of the above goes for all other merino garments. I've got a hoodie from a merino wool mix that I wear all around the year. It's warm during the winter and not too hot during summer nights, if I get caught in the rain it'll be dry in no time.
> Unbound Merino clothing can be washed in a regular washing machine at a normal or cool temperature setting. You can use regular detergent, and avoid fabric softener or products with bleach.
According to you this is wrong which is surprising because they should know what they're talking about. Could you clarify? Do you have other sources?
[1] https://unboundmerino.com/blogs/help-center/when-i-do-wash-m...
> Wool is naturally hygroscopic and thus has the ability to absorb moisture and transport it away from the body leaving your skin dry and comfortable. Unlike synthetic fabrics where sweat build up becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, wool’s breathability reduces the risk of your clothes taking on unpleasant body odour.
> Because of the above, wool clothing outperforms other fibres when it comes to odour resistance, and it doesn’t need to be washed anywhere near as frequently as synthetics. Simply airing your wool garment will help cleanse the fibre. This is an added benefit if you are hiking or biking and need to keep the clothing you carry to a minimum. Reducing the number of times you washing your clothes is also beneficial for the environment [0]
I'd like to follow this up with the store too if you convince me that the detergent matters.
I appreciate your response.
My opinion is that it's great, but expensive and not durable as outerwear. It snags easily and if you're wearing the thinner stuff, you will end up with runs and even tears after a while. If you can afford $60 t-shirts, that might be fine for you, but I haven't had a wool t-shirt that it didn't wear through the armpits on after a couple of years of regular wear. The thicker stuff holds up a bit better, but is obviously not as nice in hot climates. If you're wearing it as a base layer in a cooler climate, I love it.
Other types of wool tend to feel scratchy. Merino feels different than cotton, but is not uncomfortable to wear like other wools.
As mentioned in the other comment, I just started out with an endless scarf and am looking at other products, too. I had a Giesswein merino sneaker recently for a test fit and it was really nice on the bare foot and left a good overall impression. I'm looking into getting a pair of those for the office, any experience with these, too?
One of the best features, IMO, os that I can forge straight through rivers without worrying about them getting wet because I know that they will be dry in a couple of hours, assuming it's moderately warm.
However, I’m surprised at how casually he mentionned how much he has travelled, by flight almost exclusively. I’m assuming from the lack of other plug than Type A, he stayed in America where trains are not a great option — but still. I’d expect that to come with some comment about carbon footprint.
Am I out of sync with the times?
(Yes, yes, proof-of-stake, claimed to finally be launching later this year. That's been "coming soon" for so many years that I'll believe it when it actually happens.)
He's brilliant and still manages to be very approachable and down to earth. rare combo nowadays, especially in crypto.
Except his Anker brick. I love Anker.
So I wouldn't worry much about the climate impact of flying.
It is probably wiser to judge based on emissions per user.
Quite a bubble. But I also think it's very performative which is why it doesn't show up in day to day convo. For example, even the HNer wanted to see a feel-good aside about saving the environment or at least some sort of atonement for their sins.
It's one of those things where we don't have any central entity to blame, so we look for small payoffs by holding random individuals to the flame.
Many people in my social circle do the same. The environment became part of their decision-making process.
In practice, it's a bit like dieting or budgeting: we cheat. We have lives to live. We care about the environment, but not enough to become ascetics.
Buying toiletries locally can mean paying 2-3x the price in your home country. You actually save money by bringing more. For example, in the US the last time I checked I could buy a pack of floss for $0.99. In LATAM it's at least $3. The solution is to bring ~20 packs of floss.
Industry makes stuff that consumers demand, either directly or indirectly. It’s a bit of a meme to suggest that global warming is all down to companies emitting co2 just for lols. Of course, industry is sometime dirty because it’s cheaper, but it’s putting one’s head in the sand to pretend that consumers have no bearing on what companies do.
This is not to say that the blame lays solely with consumers. People are acting rationally — they want to go on holiday and can afford it; what’s stopping them? The issue is one of regulation. If emitting actually had a cost (well, a cost now, to the emitter, rather than to the whole planet at some later date) people would make better decisions.
His air travel is the least of our worries.
As for carbon footprint, I'm not going to comment on the moral quality of his choices, but the dude founded a cryptocurrency. Once you've done that, I don't think much else you can do short of also founding an oil company is going to make your carbon footprint worse than it already is.
Your math does not quite check out.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe
> Area 10,180,000 km2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada
> Total land area 9,093,507 km2
https://www.amtrakvacations.com/trips
I’d love to hear from someone who’s tried an Amtrak tour. I’d love to see the National Parks.
Amtrak is a federal monopoly, created to take the failing passenger railroads off the hands of the freight carriers. It has succeeded in doing little more than that.
I say this as a person who loves trains, especially French ones. But, as a pragmatist, I admit that our interstate road system and omnipresent airlines (crossing states which are themselves larger than European countries) make a lot of train travel less desirable in America than it is overseas.
What would you expect him to say? Apologise in some way? Spin a tale of "carbon compensation", the indulgence [1] of this non-theistic religion?
I find it refreshing to hear people speak without constantly genuflecting towards The Current Issue. That does not mean I always (or even usually) agree but I prefer for people to be honest instead of hypocrites when it comes to their 'sins'.
I live in Madrid and I can travel to any major city in the country by train in less than 3 hours. I don't have to show up early. I depart from the city centre. I arrive at the city centre. 500% more convenient and (mostly) cheaper.
> if…… you're doing it wrong
You might want to stop reading or listening at that point in most cases. Besides there’s no one way to backpacking, it takes a long time and hit and trials to know what works for you and also important what options you have in your region.
e.g this bag OP mentioned - Hynes Eagle Travel Backpack 40L - gave me shoulder and back pain by just looking at it, but I’m pretty sure it works for OP.
Obviously the logistics for travelling are one thing, but on your side the work you can absolutely start doing now is compartmentalising the personal parts of your house. Have a lockable area (garage, spare room, etc) that you can store personal possessions. Make it so that as many of your things are easy to box up and stash. It will help if the lockable area is somewhere you can naturally use in daily life; e.g., if it's a study, you can have all your papers in there already, electronics, whatever. Have a clear idea of what things you'll leave available for tenants (crockery, staples, in our case kids' toys).
In our case, the pack-up process was non-trivial - hundreds of items of clothing, shoes and so on getting boxed up. I think that's deterred my wife from rushing to consider it again.
Edit: Looked you up - yep, you're in a great spot. What a dream! House swap?! ;)
I've been on a similar lifestyle for about 9 years now, and I don't plan on stopping.
This may sound counter intuitive, but one thing that worked so well for me is to book a place for a shorter period (like a week), and then look for a place to stay longer. I like to feel the place for myself before making a commitment. It's also easier to negotiate a better deal when you meet the owner face to face.
Shipping travel trunks can be annoying most of the time though. Within the same country, it will be cheap and convenient. Across countries, not at all. Even within the Schengen zone, moving a large trunk can get expensive, and unless the place you stay has an elevator, it will be inconvenient as well.
Assuming you lived at your current place for a long time, you might get snail mails often. I'd arrange a way to get them scanned and emailed to me if I were you, or get one of those services and gradually change the mailing address there.
Once I'm there, I usually get to know a few locals there either in a bar/meetup, couch surfing, or more effectively, with Facebook groups or local classified sites. Locals often have very strong opinions in neighborhoods, likely give tips on where to look for a long term stay, etc. Plus you already have a few friends to invite for a dinner, a game night, etc.
If there is a very nice place that suits well listed on booking/Airbnb, I'd just make a reservation for a couple days and negotiate a better deal with the owners later.
1. Vitalik is a billionaire and chooses this way to live
2. Vitalik isnt “traveling” but a true nomad without a home.
3. Vitalik is working HARD while being a nomad. This aint no “backpacking in Europe for a year”
A manual toothbrush is not a replacement. A half-assed job with an electric toothbrush will get your teeth cleaner than an extremely thorough effort with a manual toothbrush. I wish I'd tried one sooner. First time I used one it felt like I'd been in for a full dental cleaning.
Bonus: their failure mode is that they become a manual toothbrush. Which, if you're used to electric, does suck a lot, but it's no worse of than you'd have been if you started with a manual to begin with.
Agree about the shaver, though, but I gather some folks have a lot harder time with facial hair than I do (some ordinary soap in the shower and very cheap disposable razors do better for me than the electric razor I had years ago) so maybe it's important for them.
Another toothbrush tip: toothpaste is mildly abrasive and can be used as an emergency polish if e.g. you’re in a hotel getting dressed for a wedding and realise your silver cufflinks / novelty Texas-shaped belt buckle / whatever have become tarnished since you last looked at them. An electric toothbrush can help a lot here.
In this context, a electric razor is your best bet for the environment
I've had 2 electrics, one Philips SoniCare and one Oral-B with the rotating head. Once broke within a year and the other lasted longer but got flimsy really quick.
It used to take me at least twice as long to get my teeth clean with either of them than it does with a manual brush. I usually ran 3 cycles of the electric before I was more or less satisfied with the job.
> Bonus: their failure mode is that they become a manual toothbrush.
Yes but a horrible one. Small and oddly shaped brush heads are not ideal for manually brushing.
I'm not dismissing your experience, just saying that it's not universally true.
While I agree, carrying a manual toothbrush when traveling has been one of my compromises. That said, my newish one comes with a travel case so I may give that a try. Not sure how long it will go without recharging but may be worth experimenting.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3652371/
> The subject group using the powered toothbrush demonstrated clinical and statistical improvement in overall plaque scores.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpe.13126
> In the long-term, powered toothbrush seems to be effective in reducing mean PD and mean CAL progressions, besides increasing the number of teeth retained.
One negative:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002065392...
> The results of this study shows no evidence of statistically significant difference in respect to plaque control, between Jordan Power electric toothbrush and either of Oral-B Advantage or Panbehriz Classic manual brushes in a group of dental students after 2 weeks.
I'm sure you can find many more of both
(1) Those require some kind of lubricant like shaving cream (= extra space cost) or shaving in a shower/with water (= significantly reduced convenience). The modern electric ones do not require anything and can be used dry.
(2) Modern disposable razors also dull quite quickly meaning you need to carry many extra blades (= more space) or only travel to places where you can easily buy more blades/razors (= less convenience). The electric ones can last years on a single set of blades and still be effective.
(3) The older kind of "knife-like" or "safety" razors can largely get around (2) with sharpening, but as they are not allowed on flights, it largely excludes them as an option.
In terms of dullness, I shave my head and face with a cheap Amazon razor every day or two, and one blade lasts for weeks. A 4-blade package easily lasts me over a month, and if you remove them from the carrying case it's about the size of, I dunno, a couple AA batteries.
One downside of an electric razor is power. I suppose a USB-C based razor exists, but you probably wouldn't have very many options in that format, and probably not many nice ones to choose from. Perhaps that will change. In the meantime, I love the Braun electric razor I use for the back of my neck but it does need a little power brick and cord which, together with the razor itself, are probably more than the volume of several years worth of razor blade cartridges.
Just providing a little counterpoint to your comment, I do like my electric razor and think it's probably a better option for many travelers.
A lot of these also provide disposable razors, shaving cream etc (either by default or if you ask the front desk), so definitely a good option when it is available.
> one blade lasts for weeks
I shave every day and have used random (not name brand) disposable ones during travel. In my experience it usually stays usable for 3-4 days and could stretch to about a week. Still, being able to just set-and-forget an electric one without worrying about getting more blades has been quite nice.
> One downside of an electric razor is power
Definitely agree, though, USB-C ones aside, there are also compact ones made specifically for travel that have integrated universal plugs & support all voltages (if you have access to that).
I usually keep one of these in my travel bag rather than bringing along my regular one which is very nice but also needs an external power brick and cord to charge.
I use a super cheap T100 two years old now, which is almost the same size as a regular toothbrush, and needs no charging puck.
I don't know what you mean by "fashion length" - as opposed to the fashion length of 0mm? or am I missing a term of art?
Good CHRIST what a carbon footprint.
Other situations seem similar (ie, "why should I go vote? my vote doesn't really matter?") they really aren't: yes, I shouldn't throw trash in the park, because if we all did we'd be screwed--but we can't all fly every 2 weeks.
As an approximately 1% contributor to each flight, you do actually make a difference. Flights get cancelled and route schedules do change based on usage. And also there is a marginal addition to fuel consumption for each additional added cargo/passenger.
If I was in a position to take that many flights I think I'd do something to try to offset it a little (idk, donate a solar installation to a school or buy an acre of land and plant a bunch of trees or something along those lines).
So me running my car matters. I'm directly putting CO2 in the air, even if my contribution is small.
By "are a subset of a broader collective action" I mean as follows: if all members of a given class/collective stopped doing an act, would there be an impact? If all voters stopped voting, or if all families stopped flying, or if all grocery shoppers stopped buying meat, then yes, elections would break, and flights would decline, and meat would stop being sold. Even though my vote doesn't matter, and my family's ticket doesn't matter, and no, Purdue isn't going to stop factory farming chicked because I went vegan.
In Vitalik's case--and I don't mean him specifically, but using him as a stand-in for a broader class of questions--, two things are true:
1. There's no direct result between him getting on a plane and the flight existing. His impact on flight demand isn't small, it's zero, because flights existing are non-linear. Those flights were going to be there anyway.
2. He is sui-generis. He's not a vacationing family or a a travelling salesman. There's no collective problem of "man, excentric genius crypto billionaires fly commercial too much." That just isn't a problem. If Vitalik, or all Vitaliks stopped flying, nothing would actually change. Whereas if all families stopped flying, or all business travellers—or whatever other class the vast, vast majority of flyers belong to—stopped travelling, then yes, there would be an impact.
I guess you could say "ha! 'excentric genius crypto billionaires' isn't a collective! the right collective VB belongs to is 'people', and if all people stopped flying then there would certainly be an impact!". And that's certainly an argument, but I think both sides are arguable.
And lastly, I'm not actually arguing that he should fly: I'm asking 'what do you call this logical problem, where we want to condemn someone for doing a thing that doesn't actually matter at all except symbolically?
(Sorry for the ninja edits)
If you book a flight, it may push the number of passengers past a critical threshold, and the airline decides not to cancel the flight.
Or, if you don't book the flight, someone else who would have otherwise flown on another flight will be able to book that seat, and the other flight could get canceled.
Or, if some flights are often almost full, your booking may push the demand past a critical threshold, and the airline may choose to schedule another flight. And because there are now more flights, flying that route will be cheaper and more convenient, which may attract new passengers.
If you only fly a few times in your lifetime, you can plausibly say that those planes would have flown anyway. If the number of flights is much greater than the average number of passengers in a plane, your actions have almost certainly increased the number of flights flown.
But in general: if no one is booked on the plane, they will stop selling that flight pretty quick. Of course in the short term they might fly an empty flight if all passengers no-showed and if they need the plane at the other airport, but their fleet allocation optimizer probably works at most a couple days ahead, so empty flights will soon be culled. Similarly routes with few passengers will get allocated smaller planes in the future, etc, etc.
This is ridiculous. Taken to its logical conclusion, all flights would’ve happened without each individual passenger being on them. I guess that means nobody is responsible then?
I ran some numbers and the air travel looks seriously trivial compared to the average USA car driver.
2x40x9=720
Compared to them Vitalik is a light flier.
Is there an external keyboard everywhere he travels that's not mentioned? Or is he standing? Doesn't look like it based on picture.
But most of the time I agree with you, an external keyboard is a must to make this ergonomic for me personally.
The biggest problem is that the wall warts frequently don’t make a strong enough connection to the wall so gravity pulls them out (weight/strain added by the cable etc). Plugging that into a huge adaptor like the massive one recommended by the author simply compounds the problem.
The second problem is that power points are often inconveniently located behind things and/or high on the wall, and not always where you want to be.
So instead I use small standard IEC 60320-C1 (AKA “figure 8”) power cable. I carry a US/JP kind and European kind, plus a couple of tiny adaptors. The good thing is if I don’t have the right adaptor it’s easy to find one of these cables anywhere.
I will recommend 1 specific thing that is rarely mentioned which is soap slices, sometimes known as camping soap. They're super portable, light and small. They are perfect for situations while traveling where you just need a little hand wash. It happens more often than you'd think.
Glad he recommended the affordable option
Bought a minaal 3.0 Cary On after going through the r/onebag community. Also bought some more equipment like an anker power core. Have to do a wash cycle weekly. A down jacket hangs off the bag. A laptop, kindle and my phone are the only electronics I have.
Works very well but in Europe you have to pay for carry on on a lot of airlines and otherwise you can only have something that fits under the seat in front of you.
The minimalism makes life easier. Only one pair of shoes & a pair of flip flops. Depend on the hostel / airbnb to provide a towel. Like Vitalik I have a weeks worth of clothes in the bag and one me.
I'm a bit older than the usual HN person, I imagine, and I remember flying before airlines decided that checked luggage was a profit center. Most people only carried on a briefcase or a camera bag, or a small day bag usually with supplies for their children. Everything else went into the hold.
Of course, even in the 80s we had the Samsonite ad with the gorilla acting as baggage handler.
How can an understanding of fundamental values be so wrong?
We need to start educating our children not to be proud of destroying the planet.
Otherwise it's hard to take your comments very seriously.
Those packing cubes are indeed great, as is folding clothes. Packing light comes with the acceptance of doing laundry, otherwise for me at least it was quite easy to do and I much preferred the mobility it gave me.
I had started traveling originally with a Osprey Kestrel 38L but slowly whittled down my necessities to 20L's.
My travel gear from mostly a decade ago when I went to 50 countries: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dustinbrett/albums/72157626006...
I’ve not found merino shorts though. It seems like wool, as a technical fabric at least, is less durable for shorts / pants? Or just less popular? Any recommendations gladly received.
I also only stay in places with washer/dryer and do laundry every day because of running. I'm not going to hang disgusting sweaty clothes. I still have a lot of shirts, shorts, and extra socks because I like to change during the day as well.
Depends on what a person values out of their travel. I totally get why people bring lots of things with them during travel.
I personally like being nimble and not having to pay extra for a checked back for air travel. Lugging around heavy bags really annoys me. If I'm playing my travel by ear, sticking to one light bag keeps things stress free. Minimalism is certainly not a waste of time in my case. It can be a waste of time if someone gets comfort, pleasure, or utility out of bringing things like kitchen hardware.
> I also only stay in places with washer/dryer and do laundry every day because of running.
Often times I don't know where exactly I'll end up, in which case I can't count on a washer and dryer. That's just my preference, and presumably that of others. It sounds like you're making the smart choice by traveling in a way that fits your lifestyle.
> I'm not going to hang disgusting sweaty clothes.
Yeah I agree. I don't rewear anything that's unwashed except for a pair of jeans.
Besides, one suitcase for a 1-3 month trip is still minimalist by average standards!
Also, I have yet to visit a civilized location in the world where you cannot buy a decent disposable razor that's better than the electric shaver he carries around the world. I understand they recycle pretty well too, if you're worried about waste.
IDK about nomading, but when dirtbagging you have an excess of time. If the sun is down then your day is done. In the winter especially, having chores to do is welcome reprieve from the cold and boredom. And bathrooms or laundromats are so awesome. Warm and dry and bright.
In my experience campsite bathrooms tend to be cold and wet. Bright, sure, but not a place I'd like to spend any time more than needed in. :D
Gotta find a walmart or especially target. They're saunas :)
Paper, cardboard, metal, #1 plastic bottles and #2 plastic bottles all recycle well.
This says that the vast majority of plastic globally is not recycled: https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution
Recycling rate for paper is much, much better, granted, in many countries: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/recycling-rates-paper-and...
The recycling of metals depends on which metal, of course.
In general, IMO there is far too much depressing reading like this - 'An estimated 70–80% of the MSW generated in Africa is recyclable, yet only 4% of MSW is currently recycled': https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30975/...
I can't find any figures that say recycling is a success story across the world, or even economically viable and sustainable across most popular types of waste.
There exist non-dudes, and getting caught without a tampon/pad is a thing that can happen for any number of reasons.
A hand wash with unlimited water will probably get the job done, but unlimited water is often a luxury.
And yeah, that electric shaver he is packing is next to useless, I'd understand packing decent mini shaver, but that thing can't shave anything.
Backpack: Greenroom136 Rainmaker. Especially in VX42 it's just unbeatable. Light, durable, rectilinear, excellent organization, customization above and beyond -- they will even do things not on the website.
Charger: Excitrus 65W. If 65W is not enough, Aukey PA-B5 100W. Forget multiport chargers, they suck. Charge the laptop, charge everything else off the laptop.
Seriously though, 40 liter backpack is palatial for front-country travel once I'm in the mindset of taking only the minimum necessary items and taking advantage of multiple use items.
You mention multiple use - that’s huge too. Shaving grams everywhere can add up to half a pound if you’re newer. Choosing the lightest of multiple options (lightest base layers, lighter cup, lighter pot) adds up to savings.
It's also carryon-legal for even international flights, which is handy.
I got mine on deep discount for about half the going price now, but if something happened to mine I wouldn't hesitate to buy a replacement at full price.
https://www.cotopaxi.com/products/allpa-35l-travel-pack?vari...
Laundries are everywhere. Toiletries are everywhere.
And in a pinch you can do a wash almost anywhere.
There is an amazing feeling walking past the people at the baggage carousel waiting for the bags to even come off the plane — while you’re heading outside to grab a taxi.
The feeling is palpable when you’re checking in and the attendant asks “where is your luggage” and smiles knowingly when you point your thumb at your shoulders.
For travel, minimalism is underrated and most of the stuff we take we usually never use.
Modern electric toothbrushes actually clean your teeth better. More of a hassle, but with a payoff.
My 45 liter is max carry on. There's nothing like being able to just exit the plane and not worry about standing by a conveyor belt for 20 minutes waiting for luggage.
Why is he taking Ashwagandha, does it have any verified health benefits?
One of their examples was homeopaths telling patients not to get vaccinated.
https://purple.com/seat-cushions
It's pretty heavy but super comfortable.
There are also inflatable ones you can get that are way more portable but also way less comfortable
the guy has too many clothes and unnecessary things (electric shaver/toothbrush, though I'd still have space for these even in my smaller backpack)
the thing is to wear the big/thick clothes during transfers if you are limited with size of backpack plus anyway it seems he doesn't really travel in cold climate
The most underappreciated advice from my PoV is to use warm tights, but I do not see any pros of using men tights with open feet over using women ones.
I say others because Im 100% guilty. I’ve figured out how to fit my life in a small closet.
I have spent a lot less on Airbnb's in the past. If I like the place enough then I pay directly with a wire transfer and go month to month. And I attempt to negotiate.
a whole lot of condoms
I guess he really doesn't give a shit about the environment
If someone said they take ICE public buses to commute daily, my guess is the sentiment would be that is environmentally-conscious commuting.
Is this meaningfully different from boarding a plane? I can see a luxury vs necessity angle, but is that it? Over long distances planes are more efficient. And like buses, the idea that a single person's behavior will impact departure schedules feels wrong.
That would be 63% of his 9 nomad years.
The consumer simply saw cheap flights and did what they do best. The root of the issue is elsewhere.