The only purchase I spent as much time agonizing over as a camera, was a backpack. The backpack decision impacts your daily travels. The size of your bag and the necessities that need to fit in that bag ultimately determines how much you are carrying with you and how much you can purchase along the way before mailing items home.
Light is your best option. It is difficult to convince someone that all they need for a yearlong around the world trip is a 40L bag and a day pack that fits your electronics. I couldn’t even convince myself that a 40L bag was sufficient, so I’m not sure how I can convince someone else.
The reason I know a 40L backpack is sufficient is that I left my 75L bag in hostels for upwards of three months at a time. I purchased a 40L backpack in Thailand. That 40L bag was all I needed as I went through Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, and Japan during the final seven months of my trip. The 75L bag allowed me to store items that I otherwise would have mailed home—that was the final advantage.
I analyzed and reanalyzed different backpacks…I weighed the pros and cons of all bag types and ultimately settled on an REI branded 75L wheeled duffle bag. Primarily because it was $80 and the backpacks I was interested in started at $250 and didn’t reach anything I liked until a price point of $350. The wheeled duffle bag worked out great. The only time I had issues with my duffle bag was in Dubrovnik because my hostel was located at the top of several flights of stairs.
The typical backpacking advice states that you do not want to be in a position where you are constantly packing and repacking your bags. One of the supposed benefits of the duffle bag was that it was easy to keep organized. That was mostly true, however, I still found myself packing and repacking every couple of days. Unpacking and repacking is part and parcel with traveling around the world. Either you are unorganized and can’t find anything, so you unpack and repack. Or you are organized, so you unpack and repack as soon as your bag looks messy.
To a certain extent your destinations and route will influence what backpack you select and what you pack. The more trekking and backpacking to remote areas, the more likely you’ll need a bigger bag. In that scenario hiking boots are a necessity. Boots take up a ton of space and don’t serve a secondary purpose, unless you want to go for a literal urban hike. If Patagonia trekking is on your itinerary you are better off packing specifically for this destination, then switch bags when you pass back through the U.S. on your way to either Asia, Australia, Europe, or Africa.
When I returned home the duffel bag was useful in that it could store items and made a better suitcase than a backpack. Although it’s still not as cool as a backpack.
Light is your best option. It is difficult to convince someone that all they need for a yearlong around the world trip is a 40L bag and a day pack that fits your electronics. I couldn’t even convince myself that a 40L bag was sufficient, so I’m not sure how I can convince someone else.
The reason I know a 40L backpack is sufficient is that I left my 75L bag in hostels for upwards of three months at a time. I purchased a 40L backpack in Thailand. That 40L bag was all I needed as I went through Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, and Japan during the final seven months of my trip. The 75L bag allowed me to store items that I otherwise would have mailed home—that was the final advantage.
I analyzed and reanalyzed different backpacks…I weighed the pros and cons of all bag types and ultimately settled on an REI branded 75L wheeled duffle bag. Primarily because it was $80 and the backpacks I was interested in started at $250 and didn’t reach anything I liked until a price point of $350. The wheeled duffle bag worked out great. The only time I had issues with my duffle bag was in Dubrovnik because my hostel was located at the top of several flights of stairs.
The typical backpacking advice states that you do not want to be in a position where you are constantly packing and repacking your bags. One of the supposed benefits of the duffle bag was that it was easy to keep organized. That was mostly true, however, I still found myself packing and repacking every couple of days. Unpacking and repacking is part and parcel with traveling around the world. Either you are unorganized and can’t find anything, so you unpack and repack. Or you are organized, so you unpack and repack as soon as your bag looks messy.
To a certain extent your destinations and route will influence what backpack you select and what you pack. The more trekking and backpacking to remote areas, the more likely you’ll need a bigger bag. In that scenario hiking boots are a necessity. Boots take up a ton of space and don’t serve a secondary purpose, unless you want to go for a literal urban hike. If Patagonia trekking is on your itinerary you are better off packing specifically for this destination, then switch bags when you pass back through the U.S. on your way to either Asia, Australia, Europe, or Africa.
When I returned home the duffel bag was useful in that it could store items and made a better suitcase than a backpack. Although it’s still not as cool as a backpack.