Traveling light

I'm an overpacker who tries to be an ultralight packer. Whether I'm packing my bags for a business trip, family vacation, or camping excursion, I'm always tempted to stuff in one more item. But I'm much happier with fewer bags to manage and less weight on my back, plus I want the caché of being one of those world-travelers who fit everything they need in their tiny backpacks.

My role models

Because I haven't highilghted them im in a while, I'm calling this part of the "Philosophy" series because it's about ultralight thought. Some other philisophical posts:

1. One-on-one meetings
2. Outrage - uses and defuses
3. Scar tissue
4. Leader standard work
5. Communications channels
6. Remote work
7. e-Commerce
8. Management by Trust book review
9. Building for iteration
10. Temporary team leadership
11. Spans of control
12. Force-multipliers
13. Everyone needs a team
14. Musings on procrastination

Origins

I've long enjoyed gear (camping gear, travel gear, etc.) and thinking about the various dire situations that I might need to use it. Like many young and inexperienced gearheads, I prioritized silly things and kept thinking I'd found techniques never discovered by the various experts...while grossly underestimating the need for food and water. On actual trips, I packed heavy and dealt with the difficulty of moving my bags from place to place.

Awakenings

I studied for several months in China in 2007 and that began my awakening. I had previously dabbled in the idea of ultralight camping (using some very unreliable sources on the early internet that led to a few uncomfortable and loudly crinkly nights), but traveling internationally meant that I had to slim down my list dramatically, and the experience of carrying all of my gear across the city of Shanghai (via bus, but with lots of cross-loading) made me think more. In addition, one of my fellow students had recently experienced an involuntary evacuation from Lebanon after the Israeli incursion in 2006. When packing for China, she had bought a large hiking backpack after seeing her friend navigate the evacuation much more easily with a similar backpack.

Around this time, I discovered a gem from what is now the "good, old" internet in onebag.com. As you may guess from the site name, author Doug Dyment advocates traveling with only one carry-on sized bag. His focus is on traveling by airline, but the advice applies to other forms of transit as well. I cycled through several bags (or ideas for bags) based on the onebag criteria, and at various times applied tips like doing my own laundry during the trip or bundle-wrapping my clothes.

Current experience

As someone who is either on business travel (i.e. time-limited and has to present a professional image) or family travel with two young children (i.e. lightweight isn't a thing regardless of how I pack), I have often ended up above the "ideal" that I've set for myself in ultralight. That said, I routinely travel with only one carry-on-sized bag, or personal-item sized when traveling on certain airlines.

Ultralight Backpackin' Tips

I first encountered this book by Mike Clelland in 2018 and it's a great quick read. Because of Mike, a lot of my camping gear is labeled by its weight and I've slimmed down my camping list dramatically. Although I don't use his "tarp + bivy" configuration (I prefer "tarp + hammock" when camping solo and a bombproof (and sadly discontinued) Eureka Timberline 2 tent when camping with my oldest child.

Go Lightly

In 2022 I saw Go Lightly by Nina Karnikowski in the window of my local bookshop and thought it looked like my kind of book. I borrowed it from the library and then later bought it to share with others in my life. Nina drove my packed weight up in the service of reducing my overall impact: she targets the various disposable items that we travelers go through. So I now travel with a set of reusable utensils (I'd like to link the set I have, but apparently $19 is now $79!?) and often a reusable food container to store leftovers. I already carried a reusable water bottle, and have tried to take more advantage of public transit and carpooing rather than a rental car.

Conclusions

Over time, I've come to the conclusion that we tend to underestimate how much support we all rely on when we pack. Even through-hiking backpackers on the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail expect resupply every few days and often change out their non-consumable gear depending on what they expect (e.g. picking up an ice axe to hike through the high mountains and then shipping it home once done with it). We picture cowhands with only the contents of their saddlebags, but they had bedrolls and other gear in the common wagons that also provided chow for the cattle drive. We see soldiers in Game of Thrones carrying their swords, armor, and maybe small packs, when in reality they should have mule-loads of additional items. People never (willingly and survivably) traveled as ultralight as we think, or were able to rely on extensive purchases on the way and at their destinations.