Traveling Light

I’ve been using my Langly Alpha-Pro bag to travel light. They say that the top compartment is good for a day hike. This is true, but I found a way to make it a great 3 day weekend bag, or for an extended week trip where you’re okay with limited clothing options.

Part of traveling light has involved using clothes that dry in 4 to 8 hours.

My clothing packed into my top compartment consists of:

• 2 pairs of exofficio boxer briefs. These are the best pairs of underwear ever invented.
• 2 pairs of SmartWool socks.
• 2 Patagonia Capilene shirts
• 1 pair of shorts

Not packed into my bag but what I’m already wearing is

• shoes,
• jeans,
• socks,
• undies,
• shirt and
• jacket.

This is ideal for traveling in places that are 50 degrees Fahrenheit and up.

For winter, I just layer on a winter jacket with inner and outer shell, gloves, long underwear, and substitute boots for shoes, but this is a pain to travel with.

I bring two 35mm film canisters worth of laundry detergent for a week and pack them in two ziplock bags.

I wash one pair of underwear each night, and the shirt and smart wool socks after 3 uses.

To dry them, I ring them out, wrap them in a hotel towel and stomp out the moisture. I then hang them wherever it is convenient.

The briefs can dry in 4 hours when it is dry and warm. The socks and shirt take 8 hours but you might have to attach them to the outside of a backpack if it is humid or not that warm out.

For the jacket and jeans, I’ve just relied on Febreeze to deodorize them. I’ve been looking into quick dry jackets and pants, but haven’t researched that yet.

With the clothing setup above you will be able to do a week of travel. You might be able to stretch it out to two weeks if you can find a laundrymat to take of the jeans and jacket.

I hope this helps.

How do you travel light?