r/onebag

Hi folks!

I’ve been an avid onebagger for travel for many years (Aer TP3 gang), but I’m starting to get curious about what the equivalency is for a general lifestyle.

Does anybody here really live out of a single bag for their day-to-day? I can’t imagine being that extreme, but I’m trying to see what the gear list would be for someone who subscribes to this mentality but also has the standard American life (married, 2.5 kids, house).

Is it a rent-everything, own very little model? Or is it that you are just very intentional with each purchase? Do you limit your general clothing?

Very curious how to expand this to my everyday life beyond just travel.

Before my first ever backpacking trip I had read so many articles advertising these 65l osprey bags, with open out flap thing, this, that, n the other. 55l-75l tended to be the consensus of woo bloggers.

So I spent hours my first day in a MEC store trying on bags, then back again another day, same story, and one day in the store I read a Reddit comment berating this trend of people, mostly younger women, carrying huge bags that were nearly bigger than them and also a day pack.

So I was inspired to go lighter then, and with my new inspiration I decided to go with a 44l bag, I was leaving in a couple of days and had no options. I also picked up like an 18l ‘day pack’. Off I went, obvious to the world.

I hated my day pack so I picked up a 30l DAY PACK??? Why did I do this, I don’t know, I was 2 months into my trip and I hated my current 18l day pack so much. Compared to most of. My friends I was still travelling light, 74l total (44+30). That was until I arrived to the Amazon jungle… I spent hours upon hours walking around that blasted jungle in un bearable heat with one bag on my back and one on my front, cursing my set up with every step. I vowed to change once I left the jungle. And so I did, when I was in Lima I donated my bag to a local and got everything into the 30l $60 backpack I had picked up along the way, grabbed a tote and a pack able 10l and away I went, with shoes strapped to the outside.

Fast forward 7 months and this is thankfully down to ONEBAG, no ‘day pack’ in my hand, I have a 10l inside my pack for this when I want to wander with one or two things. But everything fits in the 30l. It’s a blessing. All I want to do now is make it lighter, reduce my clothes a bit, see if anything is unnecessary. My only essential non essentials are my diary and a kindle. I sent my laptop home, although I do miss it, but I was part of the challenge. So now I am sitting in a hot humid environment writing long stories on Reddit because I’m too sweaty to concentrate on a book and have no laptop to watch shows that I miss.

Anyway, point being, a $60 backpacker was better than my fancy $250 one that I spent days picking out the ‘perfect pack back’ great community!

For folks who are near Portland. Glen Van Peski, founder of Gossamer Gear will be talking about his book "Take Less, Do More" at Crux Crux Fermentation Project. June 18 6:00pm. More info 

Glen is best known for ultralight backcountry, but he has also been an advocate from .

Does anyone here live out of a single bag, carrying everything they own with them? I’m interested in hearing about your experiences with this lifestyle. Have you successfully digitized all your essential documents like diplomas, birth certificates etc?

Hey everyone, i'm travelling for 2 months around Finland with a backpack and I'm planning to buy some hand-wash detergent to wash my clothes regularly. However some places i'll be staying in have a washing machine, and if i can avoid washing my clothes by hand, i will. Hence my question, does it work?

Edit: Thank you all for your answers ! I ended up buying detergent sheets as it's easy to fit

Inspired by another comment on this sub. Let’s hear your Onebag origin stories, tales from the road, best gear epiphanies and hilarious mishaps!

Here’s mine:

Early on in my onebagging, I was traveling for work and had to bring some marketing materials (a box of pens and buttons) with me to a trade show. Nothing exciting, but also this was before I had Pre Check. I get the airport and go through TSA. My bag got flagged for search.

The TSA agent opens everything, looking in all the pouches and cubes, opening the little boxes the marketing materials come in. She hastily puts it back together and calls over someone else to look. They call another person over. Next thing I know there are five TSA agents leering at my bag.

I’m getting concerned and thinking there is a problem, but then finally the agent smiles and says, “No sir, this is just one of the most organized bags we’ve ever seen” and sends me on my way.

I considered that day an absolute win.

Greetings my fellow friends!

We all know the majority of posts here are people looking for advice, certain items, packing list showoffs and finding that special bag. Well, I think we should mix it up a bit and share our personal opinions and experiences we have had while living the life.

Let's see what happens when we share:

1. The Good - The best personal experience which could only happen while one bagging.

2. The Bad - The unfortunate personal experiences which could only happen while one bagging .

3. The Ugly - The absolute worst experience that still haunts you today which could only happen while one bagging.

Now let's sit back and enjoy a good conversation about YOUR life!

Nothing too serious here, but here are two good tips for one-baggers.

1. Don't boast about having carry-on only until the plane is in the air. It's hubris like this which can mean a late, surprise, putting it in the hold.

2. Don't tell anyone else that your clothing is odor resistant, and therefore, you smell ok - I think, like calling yourself attractive, it's for other people to judge such a thing.

That's it. Bags are like Highlanders, there can only be one.

Crushed to see that Olivers is no longer. Their Passage pant is about the only pant I wear. I’ve tried Western Rise’s offerings (though not recently) and didn’t care for their Evolution or Diversion. I also dislike the back pocket zipper. Myles is another option, but again, back pocket hidden zipper. Lulu has very comparable stuff but hate the seam along the backside of the knee. Has anyone else found a good alternative?

Has one bagging changed how you stress out?

I had a stress dream that my dad discovered ants had found their way into my bag, so he cut a bunch of holes in it to let them out. Upcoming travel + anxiety + recently finding ants in my house irl = some weird stress dreams.

I used to just have stress dreams about forgetting my passport or missing my flight. Then I bought a Tom Bihn bag as one of my first big investments into one bagging and started having stress dreams about it getting lost or damaged.

Edit: I'm grateful to have received so many promising suggestions! I won't be checking more comments on this thread, because I'm happy with the list you've all given me material for. Thank you, everyone!

For those who wear a lot of merino: have you found an effective deodorant that doesn't stain your merino clothes and is unscented, low-cost, and simple to use while traveling?

I am in Bali so there is not really a great opportunity to do your own laundry. Just many "convenient" laundry services where you drop off and pick up later. I had a bad feeling about it because why do I need to rely on someone for something so simple. Well, my laundry was returned to me and ALL of my merino wool socks are missing :( So I am out $150.. more importantly it is impossible to replace them here.

I’m going to be in Japan in Feb/March — I’ll be working in Tokyo for a week (in an office that’s a little more formal than my onebag capsule clothes), then I’ll have a week to travel around. What I’m hoping to do is bring two bags, and after the first week, use a Japanese luggage delivery service to deliver my work bag to Haneda airport and hold it there for me while I onebag around Japan, so I don’t have to haul around work clothes and stuff. Then I’ll pick it up when getting on my return flight.

Anybody have experiences with services like these? Thanks for any advice!

You know the one right? The persistent underarm smell that eventually gets stuck in fleeces, polyester t shirts, acrylic jumpers, etc.

You wash it and it goes away only to come back within a few hours of wear.

No preventative seems to help; antiperspirant, washing myself and the garments constantly, shaving my underarms, nothing.

1. how can I get the smell out of my clothes

2. how can I prevent it?

---Rant

2023 was a busy year for me. I took two onebag trips, and three multi bag trips. The multi bag trips have been all of the reminder of how great onebagging is.

Carrying a large roller, duffel, and backpack through an airport, multiple train stations, then across an older Dutch town was very annoying. This was a bit inevitable as I was moving there so I took quite a bit that I don't frequently travel with.

A duffel and backpack to Prague wasn't as bad, but still wasn't great. I tend to pack more when traveling with my wife.

I'm currently on a duffel and backpack trip in London. It would have been a onebag trip, but I'm not sure if I am going to the states or back to the Netherlands. I packed stuff to take back to the states that I haven't used/wanted/needed in the Netherlands in anticipation of going back to the states. I'm hoping I'll be heading back to the Netherlands, and can ship the extra stuff.

I miss traveling light with my 3+1 clothing, and basics.

Hey everyone,

Got back from a trip to Montreal a few weeks ago as my first 'official' one bag. (1.5, technically). It was a nice, easy domestic vacation from BC so low stress if something didn't work out as I was still in my own Country and I new where to get stuff if needed.

The packs I took:

• Lovevook 30-40L bag.

• Alpaka Bravo Sling Pro v2

My Packing List:

• 7 pairs underwear + 1 worn

• 2 pairs of merino wool socks + 1 worn

• 1 Merino t-shirt + 1 worn

• 1 Merino Henley

• 1 Packable button down

• 1 pair of chinos + 1 worn

• Vessi Altas (worn)

• 1 Merino hoody (worn)

• Patagonia Torrentshell

• sleep shorts + shirt

• swimsuit

• Toque

• Merino Buff

• Packable Puffer

• Gloves

• Tablet

• Tech Pouch

• Dopp Kit

• Kindle

• Various small items for the Alpaka (including a rollable water bottle)

So the backpack worked out ok. I wanted to buy a cheap one to try out onebagging before committing and the Lovevook was one I got on amazon. It was fine though maybe not the most comfortable fully loaded. It's also a bit more on the heavy side, but travelling domestically in Canada I've never had someone weigh my bag so it was only extra weight for me to carry. The alpaka sling was fantastic - having it as a daypack was great, I plan to take it on every trip from now on. Also being able to put the backpack in the overhead and keep the sling meant more leg room which was fantastic.

Everything it though I had to expand the bag to the full 40L - the winter stuff took up most of the space. Both the puffer and the Torrentshell packed down small but they were still pretty hefty - I think if I were going somewhere warmer, I would have far more space as I could probably at least leave the puffer.

I feel like the amount I brought was good for me - the swimsuit was the only thing I didn't use (I don't generally like swimming, but it takes up almost no space so I break the onebag rule and bring it with me in case I decide to. Everything else was utilized fully.

This was also my first time with merino shirts and the hoodie and I love them. I've been using merino socks for a few years because with cotton socks my feet get overheated/smelly. The hoodie was so lightweight yet did a great job keeping me warm. (My partner was jealous so I actually got her one for Christmas, she's been wearing it almost every day lol)

As someone who started out with a giant checked + Carry on, then went to a carry on + giant backpack and now to a backpack, I think I'm a convert. Going to start looking for a better quality bag, now I have a better idea about what I want from it. For example, without the packable puffer + rain jacket, I could pack into a 30L, so I may look for a 35L (for some extra breathing room). I'll keep the Lovevook for cold weather trips.