And when I write luggage I mean of the physical, carryable type, not the figurative baggage (but that’s not any less interesting). As I have travelled my relationship to the luggage I bring with me and the stuff I put in it have changed over the years. I have gone through a few levels (or stages), and I’m beginning to feel ready for the next level.
Level 1 – beginner
Back in 2010 I became a member of EGEA, and that gave me a reason to travel all over Europe. As a newbie I thought a suitcase, and a backpack as hand luggage was a perfectly fine way to carry stuff while travelling. But not just any suitcase, the one I used back then was a big plastic monster that weighed a few kilos by itself. And next to it, I used to bring my Boblbee hardshell backpack as hand luggage. This suitcase was big, bulky and seriously annoying to carry for any distance due to the small wheels and the low handle.
Which brings me to:
Level 2 – more experienced traveller
The last time I used that suitcase was in September 2012, when it was so full that I had to pay for overweight and I had to walk home from Trondheim train station with it. After that I told myself to stop using that plastic beast and go over to use a big backpack for my travels. By that time I already had a Bergans Rondane 85, which is a very useful backpack for travel as it has panel loading. That means that the full front of it can open up like a suitcase so I don’t have to get to everything from the top.
I have travelled with that backpack many times now and also hiked with it, and when travelling I have used a Mono Producer shoulder bag (that I have written about here) as hand luggage (as I’m not a big fan of carrying two backpacks). It’s on the big side for a hand luggage, but it means I can bring everything I have wanted to bring for working away from home (which is why I call that bag my mobile office). And that have worked well and been easier than hauling a suitcase as I then can actually walk with the luggage on me, and a backpack is also easier to fit in trains, buses and cars.
But I have began to think that I want more, in that I want to bring LESS. I want to travel lighter, more flexible and without the hassle of checking in luggage. Which finally takes me to:
Level 3 – onebagging?
Onebagging is, as the name says, about travelling with just one bag which is a hand luggage bag. Some resources about it can be found here and here. What got me interested in this in the first place is first of all that I want to carry less, simple as that. I very recently went on a four day trip with only hand luggage and that was really nice. I could arrive to the airport one hour before my flight, get through security and not have to wait at arrival for my luggage. But I have also been a long time reader of this excellent blog that reviews carry on bags and writes about minimalist travelling.
So now I’m in the process of finding out if one bag travelling can be something for me. I know I can make do with only a few sets of clothes in a week, I do that every week. And then theoretically if I have a few spares and wash the other clothes on the way if needed I should be able to travel forever like the minimalist travellers rave about. I have read many posts on the blog mentioned above, seen a few video reviews and read a longer review by the excellent review site Wirecutter. As I walked into a sports equipment store today to see if they have one of the winners of this review I found out that they not only have one, but two of the review winners there in the store for me to look at. Is it a sign? Should I take the big step of carrying less? All I can say now is that it’s very tempting.
