Traveling Light
Travel is one of the most valuable privileges a person can enjoy. Traveling light is an acquired skill made possible through endless practice and I find myself bragging about the latest iteration of my gear to anyone who will listen. Allow me to do so here.
As the CEO of an analytics company, I travel internationally about 5–6 times a year, mostly to Tokyo. I also travel to New York a couple of times throughout the year and use the same gear.
Requirements & Assumptions
When I travel, I have some requirements for my gear and I am able to adhere to these requirements based on certain assumptions about the region to which I’m traveling. My basic requirements for traveling light are:
- No checked luggage
- One suitcase / bag, with a separate computer bag if necessary (more on this later)
- Take as little as possible
- Try not to buy extra stuff along the way
The major assumptions I make in order to hit these requirements:
- Most of the infrastructure I need will be all around me
- Worst case, as long as I have my passport and a credit card, I can buy whatever else I need along the way
- Packing for 3–4 days will allow me to travel indefinitely, as I can do laundry during the trip
You’ll notice at once that the assumptions I make are both extremely privileged and also slightly contradictory to my requirements, specifically the one about not buying stuff along the way. The idea is to not need to buy anything by packing enough but giving myself the room to do so if absolutely necesary.
Packing List
Over the years, the one tool that most helps me travel light is my packing list. I keep it stored in an iCloud note and update it frequently. I always check it during the packing phase and I aggressively review it part-way through my trip to see if I brought anything along that I didn’t end up using. If I find something I didn’t use, I delete it from my packing list so that I don’t repeat mistakes.
(Note on pictures: I noticed they are a little blurry. My room is darker than I realized but I’m not going to unpack and retake the pictures. ;)
Here is my current packing list:
- 3–4 black t-shirts (Zara or H&M due to their light weight and styling)
- 1–2 black long sleeve t-shirts (same brands)
- 4 pair underoos
- 4 pair socks
- 1 pair gym socks
- One jacket (brand info below)
- Electric clippers (I cut my own “hair” every week)
- One sweater / pullover (brand info below)
- Umbrella (see below)
- One black dress shirt (brand info below)
- Pocket wifi (country specific)
- Passport
- Jambox speaker
- Bank card / credit cards
- Business cards
- Incase Sling Sleeve for my 11" MacBook Air
- Toiletries
That’s it. A few things that I used to pack that I don’t anymore:
- extra jeans
- gym shorts
- extra shoes
- lots of dress shirts
- suit
The extra stuff used to matter a lot more to me in Tokyo, where people still dress relatively formally in a business setting. I’ve decided to basically ignore this convention recently because a) Japanese internet companies are much more casual than they were a couple of years ago and b) I figured I could play the Silicon Valley dude card. So far, no negative impact on business.
Gym shorts I no longer bring because I work out in my hotel room, using my jump rope and variations on the 7 minute workout. Same deal with extra shoes.
I used to bring 2–3 pair of jeans but I found that just by washing the pair that I wore every 2–3 days at night, I could save a lot of room and weight. I usually try to stay in hotels with built-in washing machines but if those aren’t available, I just use the hotel laundry service.
Luggage
My favorite topic when it comes to travel: gear. I learned the most about packing light when I traveled around the world for 12 months a few years ago. I was able to carry everything I needed in a single backpack, through multiple seasons, changing out clothes as the weather changed.
Surprisingly, however, when it came to business travel, I was still quite an amateur until I really started thinking about what I actually needed on my trips.
Just a few years ago, I was still checking in a big, ugly, black suitcase at the airport and lugging it around with me as I traveled to the various hotels on my itinerary. Once I realized how silly this was, during a trip to Europe, I decided to switch entirely over to a carry-on suitcase and eliminate anything I didn’t need. I picked up a Lufthansa-branded (it was all they had) Rimowa carry-on suitcase at the Frankfurt airport and, until today, used it over the last 2 and 1/2 years on all my trips. I love it.
I had no plans to change my gear until a friend of mine posted on Facebook that he had just ordered a backpack from a new company called Minaal. After watching the video, I was immediately intrigued and ordered one for myself right away.
The thing that attracted me to the Minaal bag was the promise of being able to put everything into my pack without straining the locks on my carry-on (a constant challenge) and the ability to put my laptop inside with a smaller laptop case (see below) that I could use once I had gotten into territory. Those features, combined with the overall styling and light weight, made it worth a try.
After packing everything today, I can say that I am truly impressed. All of the above gear fit into the Minaal beautifully and it is quite light and easy to carry.
All this means there is only one thing I need to take with me to the airport: no extra computer bags, there is nothing to wheel around.
Things I’ve Learned
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way that have really help me pack quickly, without forgetting anything (knock on wood).
- A packing list is essential.
- Double up on toiletries. This means duplicating all of your normal toiletries (toothbrush, razor, etc.) so that you don’t need to worry about brushing your teeth and shaving in the morning and then remembering to put your stuff in the suitcase before rushing to the airport.
- Invest in high-quality gear — it’s well worth it, both in terms of long-term durability and also in terms of how enjoyable it is to use.
- Stick with one color / style for most of your clothes. Those who know me know that I tend to wear black almost all the time. This is partly because it’s what I prefer to travel with. I don’t want to think about what I have to wear and coordinate outfits when traveling. Even casual clothes such as t-shirts and jeans look pretty stylish when they are black solids, so it’s hard to go wrong, even in more formal settings.
Special Notes
Over the years, several products and brands have made my life better through their higher quality, durability, appearance and ease of care:
Dr. Bronner’s liquid castille soap
I learned about this amazing soap when I first went backpacking for an extended period of time. It’s completely natural and organic, smells great and, due to its concentration, lasts forever.
You can use it as body soap, facial soap, shampoo, shaving gel and laundry detergent. It does dry your skin out a little so make sure you have some sort of hyrdating lotion to use after you’re done showering. This one bottle alone allows me to leave behind 4–5 other bottles I would normally need to take, unless I wanted to use the poisonous chemicals they provide you at hotels.
Amazing Japanese umbrellas
Despite my being an American, I’ve come to appreciate having an umbrella during a storm. I hate carrying around bulky umbrellas though. The best, micro-umbrellas I’ve found are sold in (wait for it)…Japan.
The umbrella in the picture above weighs probably 200 grams and is resting on top of my 11" MacBook Air, for size comparison. I hardly know it’s there, even when I put it in my rear pocket.
Triple Aught Design gear
Earlier in this post, I mentioned two clothing brands: Zara and H&M. Their clothers aren’t particularly durable but they look good, are generally lightweight and are inexpensive. They are also global companies with retail stores in most major cities, so it’s easy to restock with clothes that I know and like, whenever necessary.
On the other end of the spectrum, Triple Aught Design is a San Francisco-based brand that I buy from whenever I have a need for super-durable, high-quality items. They aren’t cheap but aren’t designer-expensive either. They are favored by Special Forces and SWAT teams for their tactical ruggedness and also manage to look really good.
So far, I own the following items from TAD:
The Ranger Hoodie is a great casual hoodie that works well in both urban and rural territories. It keeps me warm in temperatures down to freezing temperatures, and gets a little warm at temperatures about 18 degrees celsius. I usually wear this on the plane because it’s one item that is too bulky to fit into my bag.
This is another bulky item and it is VERY warm, so I usually only wear it during winter months. When I travel internationally in the winter, I bring this instead of the Ranger Hoodie.
It weighs like 5lbs of heavy Merino wool. You won’t get cold and it looks good.
I’ve never worn this on an international trip because it’s more like a hardshell and a little harder to move around in. I’ve worn it over a short-sleeved t-shirt while skiing and it was perfect. It’s good for prolonged exposure to the elements in cold environments.
As you can see, it’s styled in the same way as their Ranger Hoodie.
This is my new “dress shirt.” When I’m speaking publicly, I usually like to at least wear a button-down shirt to lend a bit of respectability. I bought this recently and will be wearing it for the first time when I speak later this month.
It is styled well and has some special features built into the design, such as being a shirt that doesn’t print while CCW. If that sort of thing doesn’t matter to you, another nice feature is that it doesn’t seem to wrinkle much at all. It’s lightweight and packs well.
Compression packers
Compression packers are my secret weapon. I can fit all of my clothes into a single compression pack, squeeze all the air out of it, and stuff it into my bag or suitcase. There is usually a 3/1 or 4/1 compression ratio, which is pretty amazing.
Light jacket
Depending on the season, I’ll additionally bring a light jacket. It’s September now, so I can often be found wearing a simple t-shirt with a light jacket that I can throw on when it gets cold in the evening (a habit I picked up after living in San Francisco).
I’ve tried lots of different styles and have arrived at a design that like the best, and which has the following features:
- black (of course)
- lightweight
- kinda shiny (looks better when you need it to)
- easy to fold / pack
- trim fit (gotta look good)
My current jacket is a Zara jacket that bought this spring. I’ve been quite happy with it so far and it’s coming with me on my next trip.
Exercise in your skivvies
I usually just work out in my hotel room in my underwear. Try not to picture it.
I used to bring gym shoes, shorts, etc. and go to a gym but it took too much time and weighed me down. Now, the only gear I bring is a simple jump rope and do a bunch of calisthenics in my room. The 7 minute workout, with multiple repetitions does the job pretty well.
Once I’m done, I just throw everything in the washing machine and shower.
Does this work on longer trips?
I tend to ask this of myself every time I travel: would this work if I was going to be traveling for a long time (e.g., more than 3–4 months)?
You never know for sure, but based on my extended travel experience in the past, for 12 months, I have a pretty good idea of what I really need / don’t need while traveling. I’m pretty confident that this setup would work for me and, as I mentioned above, I can always buy what I need along the way.
Your mileage may vary.