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    • Minimalist Packing (a.k.a. One-Bagging, Ultralight Travel…)

    What’s the point of this? To put it as a dichotomy…

    Pack Heavy

    • You go with the false sense of security that you have everything you made need for total comfort, just like at home.
    • You blow more of your travel budget on a taxi on arrival to deal with getting all your stuff to your lodging—and you have to stay in a hotel rather than in a quaint Barcelona walkup because you can’t do stairs with all that stuff.
    • You have fewer new experiences, because your stuff and carried comfort separates you from how locals do things.
    • Your back gets messed up from carrying weight; you can’t walk to new trails or hit new dance floors.
    • You have constant worries about keeping all that stuff secure.

    Pack Lightly

    What are the strategies for going lighter and what few things are really worth carrying? Well, see our minimalist packing list.

    And, while we urge you to not buy new anything that you already have, it is wise to have the few things you carry work really well. We can help with our reviews of specific gear.

    Our Articles About Minimalist Packing and Gear Reviews

    The Differences in the Fjällräven Kånken Backpacks: Choosing the Right Foxy Swedish Pack for Daily Use and Travel

    Your Guide Mose Hayward Foxy Backpacker We’ve reviewed hundreds of small backpacks and interviewed others about what’s on their backs as we travel. The Fjällräven Kånken is a crowd favorite everywhere—one might spot it with a baguette popping out on a romantic picnic in Paris, storing a dancer’s shoes for a night out in São…

    Read more… The Differences in the Fjällräven Kånken Backpacks: Choosing the Right Foxy Swedish Pack for Daily Use and Travel

    Contrasting Osprey Slings: How We Choose Between the Daylite, Aeode, Archeon, Nebula, and Transporter

    Trying out the Osprey Nebula Sling in Mexico City, while attempting not to gentrify it too much Your Guide Mose Hayward Well-Slung Osprey offers a handful of sling models that look pretty similar at first glance. They’re not. In volume capacity, they range all the way from 5 liters (the Daylite) to 13 liters (the…

    Read more… Contrasting Osprey Slings: How We Choose Between the Daylite, Aeode, Archeon, Nebula, and Transporter

    What’s Best for Travel Typing? A Light, Ultra-Packable Keyboard with a Protective Cover

    Logitech Keys-to-GO 2 with its flip-up protective cover (which goes around and underneath the keyboard, raising it slightly) Your Guide Mose Hayward Travel Typist I’ve been all over the world, typing as I go. I have busted a fair number of keyboards as I roamed, usually in spite of carrying them in Osprey carry-on daypacks…

    Read more… What’s Best for Travel Typing? A Light, Ultra-Packable Keyboard with a Protective Cover

    Essentials to Pack for Brazil: The Minimalist’s Checklist for Smoother Travel

    We’ve been taking long trips around Brazil for years, and boy, the dumb things we’ve seen our fellow gringos carrying. I suppose it’s hard to know what to pack for Brazil, but heavy clothes, wheeled oversize plastic suitcases, fancy watches — these are all asking for trouble in various ways. The ideal packing checklist for…

    Read more… Essentials to Pack for Brazil: The Minimalist’s Checklist for Smoother Travel

    Our Reviewers’ Picks of Underrated, Useful Travel Gear

    Can You Plug All Your Devices into a Single Foreign Socket?
    Can You Plug All Your Devices into a Single Foreign Socket?
    Want enough juice for a USB-C laptop without its charging brick? Want to charge a phone and tablet too? Plus plug in any other electrical device? And use all the weirdly shaped electro-holes in any wall in the world or under a train seat? A universal charger is the answer; we've tried tons and this is our favorite. It can fast-charge phones and laptops with 3 USB-C and 2 USB-A charging ports and it comes with a spare fuse.
    Our Review Check on Amazon
    Do You Shake, Bump, and Jiggle Everywhere You Roam?
    Do You Shake, Bump, and Jiggle Everywhere You Roam?
    We use our favorite road speaker to animate small parties, indoors or outdoors, anywhere in the world. At just the size of a tall beer can, the Ultimate Ears Boom 4 sounds impressive and has solid bass, especially when placed on a hard surface in the center of the room. We have smaller, even more portable picks (though not as loud) in our review.
    Our Review Check on Amazon
    Shouldn't You Be Able to Squish Your Water Bottle into a Pocket-Sized Disc?
    Shouldn't You Be Able to Squish Your Water Bottle into a Pocket-Sized Disc?
    Having a water bottle that I can fold up flat makes me more motivated to actually use it everywhere I go and to stay hydrated. Hydaway makes the only durable, food-grade silicone (non-BPA, non-plastic) ones we've found.
    Our Review Check on Amazon
    Can You Roll Your Backpack?
    Can You Roll Your Backpack?
    Rolling luggage is great except when you hit trails, metro stairs, or cobblestone streets. Backpacks are fine but who wants to carry them for long? We currently recommend this Osprey model that's a bit pricey but extremely sturdy, full-featured, and has been at my side for years on the road.
    Our Review Check on Amazon
    Don't Take Up Table Space! Don't Dump Your Stuff on the Floor!
    Don't Take Up Table Space! Don't Dump Your Stuff on the Floor!
    Hang a bag at any café table. Don't take up your hosts' shelf space in the bathroom. Keep your pack off of the floor in a busy hostel. If you have a Heroclip on the strap of a pack, suitcase, carry-on, or purse, you'll use it all the freaking time for all sorts of things.
    Our Review Check on Amazon
    A Discrete, Portable, Not-at-All-Messy Way to Have Good Lube on Hand?
    A Discrete, Portable, Not-at-All-Messy Way to Have Good Lube on Hand?
    Good lube can be essential for safer sex, but unfortunately most lube packaging is not road-worthy. One of our sexpert's favorite silicone-based and ultra-body-safe lubes comes in an excellent travel version. In our guide we also detail a few other travel and daily-carry water-based options, as well as how to discuss lube across cultures.
    Our Guide Check on Amazon

  • Ready to Ride the Rails?

  • Trains often have outlets but can your device plug in? Check out our recommendations for universal travel adapters.

    Epicka 75W Universal Travel Adapter Epicka 75W Universal Travel Adapter

    Hang any bag anywhere with a carabiner/travel hook.

    Heroclip Small Heroclip Small

    Using e-tickets? Carry a backup phone battery in a wallet to ensure you can access them.

    Anker Power Bank Compact Travel-Ready Anker Power Bank Compact Travel-Ready

    Using train WiFi? We strongly recommend a good, travel-ready VPN.

    Our Top Pick: Nord VPN

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