During our previous trips around the world, we have traveled with a Deuter Traveler 70L Backpack (Nick’s) and a MEC 60L Backpack (Dariece’s). They worked great for us at the time. They were reliable, durable and very comfortable. However, why do we need such big backpacks? Since planning our next adventure through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia and Iran, we’ve come to realize that we can actually pack bigger, bulkier things into a smaller bag!
We recently bought new backpacks! An Osprey Farpoint 55 for Nick and an Osprey Kestrel 32 for me. These bags are awesome and have lots of extra features. We still wanted to have the clam shell style of opening (as opposed to top loaders), which these bags have. They also have lots of clips, which is perfect for storing items on the outside of the bag.
*Update: Check out how this bag stood during such an epic trip – Backpack Review: Osprey Kestrel 32
Nick’s bag has a detachable day bag that clips onto the straps of the backpack, when wearing it as a turtle shell (as opposed to him wearing it on his front, over his shoulders-very uncomfortable).
I’ve downsized 28 litres and Nick has downsized 15 litres. That’s a lot less space than we had before! So, how are we planning to go trekking, camping, hiking and fishing with all of the new gear we need and have smaller bags?
We are packing smarter, compressing everything and buying everything lightweight. We are literally counting and checking how many kilos or grams each item weighs. Our new backpacks weigh significantly less than our previous ones, when empty. We’ve also realized that we used to pack certain “necessities” in our backpacks and we decided to ask ourselves these questions: Do we really need to carry plastic wine glasses around the world? Do we need to carry books around? Do we need so many shirts and pants? Why did we have so many odds and ends just willy-nilly in our backpacks?
We now have everything organized properly into either see-through Zip-Loc bags (these weigh nothing and keep things organized), we’ve purchased a Kindle so we won’t need to carry around heavy books for reading and we’ve really thought about just how much clothing we actually need.
Ultralight travel is the new way of doing things. Gone are the days of heavy backpacks and packing unnecessary items. We are going from hot to cold climates and doing more activities than our previous trips, but somehow we are able to pack much less!
Soon we will be putting together our packing list for our upcoming trip to prove to you that it is possible! (Update: What to Pack For a Trekking and Camping Trip)
We’re really excited to travel with less gear, less weight and not carry around useless junk. When planning your next journey, really think about what you absolutely need to bring. Make sure that everything you buy is lightweight and purchase packing cubes and compression bags. These things are indispensable!
What do you think? Are you an ultralight traveler?
COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL DEPARTURE!
PRESSURES OF THE PLANNING PROCESS
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