[DoctaWho]

I have a contract ending around March and plan to take an extended trip to North Africa, South/Central America or Asia after that. The last time I took an extended trip the way I dressed left a bit to be desired and this time I plan to do a bit more dating than I have in the past and therefore want to dress better. I would definitely consider myself a bit of a minimalist and would like to avoid carrying 3 suitcases. I'd rather buy some clothes when I arrive and give them away.


I was talking to a buddy who has done a lot of travelling, mostly for 1-2 weeks at a time and he frequently travels with 2 suitcases and 2 pairs of shoes. Can anyone here could come up with a packing list for a 1+ month trip (feel free to specify a specific country or region) that would be both functional for tourism and for looking sharp enough for dating but fit in on carry on bag + at most a shoe bag? I suppose I could sign up for the trunk club or something but I think there's more value in getting opinions from people here than a stylist.

[trader]

I find a carry on + personal bag (slim laptop bag for netbook, kindle) to be sufficient for 2-3 weeks of travel. If you're moving around alot, I find 90% of travel stress to be related to luggage. Less is always better. Also, pay to get your laundry done and leave duplicate items at home.

My carry on for 2-3 weeks is below. Probably suitable for a month with 2-3 laundry sessions.

One pair of nice Northface dry fit/quick dry hiking pants (zip off if you're okay with looking dumb) for active things.
Athletic shorts.
2 super light quick dry v-necks (for hiking, active things, day to day)
1 light long sleeve cotton henley. (optional)
1 light hoodie (optional)
Nice Jeans able to wear day to day + out to bars/clubs
Nice dark grey/navy pants (CK slim fit khakis, super comfortable)
2 light packable woven/knit shirts
3 Fresh vnecks for day to day, going out
Underwear, socks, your other normal accessories (which take up too much space...so don't pack too many)
Quick dry towel, hand sanitizer, baking soda.
Fresh unmarked Benjamins

Shoes always a tough call and depends on personal preferences and what you'll be doing activity wise.

[germanico]

My bag. Usually for short trips of up to 5 days, but once proved enough for a 3 1/2 weeks trip:

1 pair of jeans, worn.
1 Shirt, worn.
1 Undershirt, worn.
1 Swimsuit.
2 Extra shirts.
1 Jacket or blazer.
1 Pair of socks and underwear, worn.
1 Scarf.
1 Dress shoes, worn. (If I been there before and know the dress codes of the places im going, I might substitute them for minimalist running shoes, very light, comfortable, and look "dressy" if needed)

2 Pair of extra underwear.
3 pairs extra socks. If needed, I might buy new ones on the spot rather than washing them.

Gear:

1 Netbook.
1 Cell phone
1 set of earphones.
1 Moleskin notebook.
1 Toiletry bag.
1 Electric razor, battery operated.
Chargers for everything.

Sunglasses
Aspirin, Chewable Pepto Bismol tablets, zinc, etc.

And thats it.

[Tenerife]

For my last trip, I traveled around the world with a very large backpack full of stuff that I didn't use, plus a large guitar in a soft case.

It was a big mistake. You end up taking things you never use because prior to leaving on your trip a sort of "pack rat" mentality pops up. It's a hard instinct to fight, but you'll have a much more pleasurable trip if you trim down your stuff.

I've finally learned. As I type this all I have next to my on my couch is a

-Medium sized duffel bag, containing the following:

+5 casual shirts/t-shirts (different color v-necks, etc)
+3 dress shirts/button ups
+socks/underwear, etc
+1 pair of dress boots
+1 pair of gym shoes
+swim trunks
+small towel
+toiletries bag

This is a checked bag, though it's pretty light and I will probably be able to carry it on. I have a backpack for my travel laptop and a few electronic items.

I'm going to wear my casual day time shoes, my only pair of jeans, and a shirt.

As far as travel laptops, I highly recommend looking into the Lenovo Yoga 11s, or the recently released Yoga 2 pro. They both weigh only 3 pounds, and can be found with higher end processors such as i7 dual core. For 1200 bucks you can get the Yoga 2 pro with 8gigs of ram, an i7, plus 256g or 516g of storage. They are touch screen and flip back into a tablet, so it's like having a full desktop and tablet laptop.

[Vaun]

This is the only bag you will ever need;
http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mlc-...?p=48107-0

I have had mine for about 10 years and have traveled 100K's miles with it.

[Drazen]

http://packlite.tumblr.com

I use a bag similar to the patagonia MLC made by briggs and riley. Works on easyjet etc and by using non rollers you have more room, flexibility and ease of traveling. I was thinking of getting an MLC too its lighter the briggs and riley is ballistic nylon and geared more for dress shirts etc

Use ex officio underwear you only need two pair and can hand wash everyday and dries quick. I like their undershirts for pajamas and casual shirts too when traveling. Also got quick drying socks which were pretty good as well but one pair got a hole for some reason

Get some black shoes that look good with shorts and can go out on the town. A few options out there but just make them more subdued. I use the black prada sport sneakers when traveling.

One pair of dark jeans. One pair of light workout pants and maybe a light khaki type of pant. Vnecks are clutch too.

[trader]

(11-03-2013 01:04 PM)PartyonBro Wrote:  

http://packlite.tumblr.com

I use a bag similar to the patagonia MLC made by briggs and riley. Works on easyjet etc and by using non rollers you have more room, flexibility and ease of traveling. I was thinking of getting an MLC too its lighter the briggs and riley is ballistic nylon and geared more for dress shirts etc

Use ex officio underwear you only need two pair and can hand wash everyday and dries quick. I like their undershirts for pajamas and casual shirts too when traveling. Also got quick drying socks which were pretty good as well but one pair got a hole for some reason

Get some black shoes that look good with shorts and can go out on the town. A few options out there but just make them more subdued. I use the black prada sport sneakers when traveling.

One pair of dark jeans. One pair of light workout pants and maybe a light khaki type of pant. Vnecks are clutch too.

Nice tumblr resource. Black shoes a must as well. Very versatile.

For bags, I have an Osprey porter 46. http://www.amazon.com/Osprey-Porter-Trav...B006P64F0O Not the prettiest, but it's light, comfortable, meets carry-on restrictions, and easily packable since it opens like a suitcase. No stuffing top/down.

Minaal is a new travel bag that just had a kickstarter that looks awesome, if you're okay with the higher pricepoint http://www.minaal.com/

On buying bags:
If you're not in a hurry for a bag, find a bag you want on eBags and watch for miles promo deals, or just normal promos. I get Aadvantage mall emails with promos. Ebags is always having specials. I bought getting 25-30 AA miles/$ through American's Aadvantage award miles store.

[Vaun]

(11-03-2013 01:04 PM)PartyonBro Wrote:  

Use ex officio underwear you only need two pair and can hand wash everyday and dries quick. I like their undershirts for pajamas and casual shirts too when traveling. Also got quick drying socks which were pretty good as well but one pair got a hole for some reason

Exofficio is a great brand, they make great stuff. Have a few pair of their underwear, but I find their undershirts work so well that the sweat actually pools at the bottom of the shirt, then I will get sweat stains around my mid section which looks pretty odd... cotton undershirts work fine though

[Suits]

List of heavy things that can be purchased locally in many parts of the world:

Shampoo
Conditioner
Toiletries bag (Don't need this at all - just throw the stuff that this bag would carry inside your actual travel pack).

List of lighter things that you can still buy locally (for cheap) and throw away before travelling:

T-shirts/undershirts
Sandals.
Small tubes of toothpaste (just start out with a tiny one and replace as necessary).

Things you don't really need:

Underwear (for many guys)

Tips:

If you wanna dress for style and date locally, bring some tailored suits (tropic weight wool, because they are more wrinkle resistant).

Then buy shirts locally, since these are cheap. Save the space in your bag for the suits, because you can't buy a good tailored suit everywhere. But you can buy the dress shirt to go with it.

There are places were you will be able to buy a bespoke suit for cheap, so just start off with two and then mail them home when you buy new ones that you like even more.

Two pairs of shoes. Black and light, stylist brown. Belts to match.

Decent socks can be hard to buy internationally in my experience, so bring a weeks worth of these, since they are light anyway. You can always wear several onto the airplane to keep your carry-on under the limits for entry onto the airplane and then remove them upon arrival.

Don't be afraid to wear extra stuff onto the plane. There are no limitations on how much clothing you can be wearing.

I once wore 6 suits on top of each other onto an airplane to avoid paying extra baggage fees. They let me do it, even though they were pissed. No rules against it.

That being said, don't push the limits like I did. But you can definitely double up two suit jackets.

My advice is to bring two suits that are comfortable to wear while travelling and wear both every time you get on an airplane. Save the bag for stuff that takes less space.

Get a safari vest with lots of pockets to carry camera and other heavy electronics onto the airplane. You can carry an ultrabook laptop in a large pocket if you shop for the right safari vest.

Get a bag that barely fits within the size requirement that has expanding pockets. Once you are on the airplane, expand the pockets on the carry on bag and dump your safari vest and one of the suit jacket/pairs of pants inside the bag.

[malc]

(11-02-2013 03:12 PM)DoctaWho Wrote:  

I have a contract ending around March and plan to take an extended trip to North Africa, South/Central America or Asia after that. The last time I took an extended trip the way I dressed left a bit to be desired and this time I plan to do a bit more dating than I have in the past and therefore want to dress better. I would definitely consider myself a bit of a minimalist and would like to avoid carrying 3 suitcases. I'd rather buy some clothes when I arrive and give them away.


I was talking to a buddy who has done a lot of travelling, mostly for 1-2 weeks at a time and he frequently travels with 2 suitcases and 2 pairs of shoes. Can anyone here could come up with a packing list for a 1+ month trip (feel free to specify a specific country or region) that would be both functional for tourism and for looking sharp enough for dating but fit in on carry on bag + at most a shoe bag? I suppose I could sign up for the trunk club or something but I think there's more value in getting opinions from people here than a stylist.

You want a luggage style bag that you can wear like a backpack and has a laptop sleeve if your bringing that. Some good ones are the GoRuck GR1, eBags Mother Load TLS series, Tom Bihn Aeronaut/TriStar, Patagonia MLC and others by Eagle Creek, etc. This saves you weight & space from not having the integrated roller hardware in your bag.

Then you want to get packing cubes for your clothing. You would roll almost all of your shirts, underwear, swim pants, etc. If your bringing more formal clothing, then something like the eagle folders and such are good for packing those items. If your not, a whole bunch medium sized cubes can compress and hold almost all of your clothing.

I also like packable extra bags, such as a packable laundry bag and maybe a packable tote bag. I would use the tote bag to put my entertainment stuff/sweaters for the airplane in one small bag so I don't have to go up to the overhead compartment during the flight and fish around. I like the safari vest idea in a previous post, that can replace a packable tote bag possibly. There are also many stylish pea coat style jackets that also act like safari vests.

For shoes I would just wear your big pair of shoes and maybe put your thin flip flops or similar in a large zip lock bag. Packs very flat.

For packable bags, packing cubes, packing sacs, etc I tend to like stuff from eagle creek. Their entire packing system has really saved me a lot of space and hassle, I use it extensively. I use cubes for clothing and sacs for toiletries, contact lenses, cables, etc.

For toothbrushes, instead of the disgusting hard-to-clean plastic containers that travel brushes come in, I just use normal toothbrushes and then wrap the heads with new napkins/paper towels after each brushing. It dries the brush and keeps it clean, increasing hygiene and not getting the things in your toiletry bag wet.

Also if your going to hostels and such where they don't provide towels, pack towels are great. Very small, very smooth. One brand name is the MSR packtowl.

If your going to be swimming, get a fucking waterproof camera, one with GPS. Extremely worth it. I regret not taking it on my first long trip.

If your going in hot/humid countries, I would also recommend a waterproof bag for your passport, you don't want it to get water damaged, or wear it down with your sweaty palms. The things have to last 5 or 10 years.

[InternationPlayboy]

I find that I only really use a small suitcase full of stuff and a backpack. Over packing can be a huge burden. I remember my first trip to brazil I brought a big suitcase, a smaller one, and a backpack and ended up leaving the big suitcase at a friends house for most of my trip because it was a pain in the ass to travel with and I didn't need half the shit.

My next trip to South America I decided to tone it down a bit with just one large suitcase and a backpack, but I still only ended up really using half the shit. I remember how much of a pain in the ass it was hauling that thing around, especially in the crowded bus stations.

My next trip I'm sticking to a fairly small suitcase and a backpack. I can fit a good amount of clothes in the suitcase and pretty much everything else I'll need in my backpack. When I think about it, I have too many damn clothes I don't even wear and just keep them around for really no good reason.

[Drazen]

My next goal is to do one bag backpack travelling, probably going to pick up a GoRuck GR1. I have a 32L patagonia backpack but the layout isn't conducive for sticking everything in there efficiently like the GR1.

I hate having to wonder if the bins in the plane are going to be full, it'd be relaxing just to put your bag under the seat in front of you and be done with it. I've done weekend trips using only a smallish Tote bag that would fit within Spirit Airlines "free" personal item restrictions which are pretty small (16x14x12).