There are many reasons to ‘Travel Lightly’ but I’ll lay a couple of my thoughts at your feet, and you pick up what you find useful. For me it all boils down to peace of mind. When you only have a small amount of stuff it’s easy to keep track of, easy and quick to pack giving you more time and less stress, you can jump on any mode of transport easily instead of having to find a porter or cab to haul it for you, and you’ll never have to check your bag again and worry about if you’ll see it on the other end. “But what do you sacrifice?” you may ask. I don’t think you have to sacrifice anything at all if you choose your gear and clothing wisely.

I’ve gathered quite a collection of small, light, compact but sturdy and quality goods in my quest for that peace of mind, so I thought I’d share with everyone who might be feeling the same frustrations I was.

Clothing

Your clothing is going to be extremely important in traveling light as you will need to select durable, high quality, and attractive clothing that you can wash easily, pack easily, and get as much use as possible each day… no wear once and throw it in the hamper until next week here!

Also check out Travel Lightly (Part 2 – Gear)

---

Shirts are arguably the most important part of your wardrobe, as they keep you warm or cool as needed with the weather and are probably the thing most people notice about your outfit. So you want to choose a stylish cut but with the best possible material around.

I’ve found through trial that Merino wool is the best material for extended use of such close fitting clothing. I’ve tried cotton, polyester, bamboo, silk, and nylon… and none of them come close to matching the characteristics of Merino wool. It has great moisture wicking properties, outstanding temperature regulation qualities (keeps you cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cool), is naturally anti-microbial which keeps it from accumulating smells throughout the day. Bamboo is a close second as it is actually the softest shirt I have and great for temperature regulation, but it doesn’t fend off those bad smells the way Merino wool does.

I found that Smartwool produces an outstanding line of shirts created with Merino wool in varying thicknesses for use as undershirts or as your main garment. The items pictured are the Men’s Smartwool Ultralight Fitted Tee and the Men’s Smartwool Midweight LongSleeve Crew. Both have been worn in humid tropical climates and cool climates and are outstanding shirts. And although they are nowhere near formal, they do look attractive enough to wear as more than casual when combined with the convertible pants. At one point in Thailand when I was unable to get a washing done for a few days, I wore the same shirt for three different days and in between it was stuffed into my backpack… when I pulled it out and did the smell check, it smelled remarkably fresh while my cotton shirts were nicely rank after just one wearing. You see, you sweat a LOT in Thailand…

---

Pants are obviously necessary (unless you like to swing that way), but they also need to be versatile. You can’t very well be expected to take a couple of pairs of Levi’s, some shorts, and swimming gear and still expect to just travel with a single backpack… why the Levi’s themselves would take up nearly my whole pack!

After trying on about 6 different styles of convertible pants, I settled on the Ex Officio Amphi Convertible Pants and the Columbia Silver Ridge Convertible Pants. Both have the main feature of being able to zip on and off the legs just above the knee, but also boast travel features such as zippered pockets, durable and quick drying nylon material, and built in nylon belts (no setting off the metal detector in the airport here!). A great feature of the Ex Officio Amphi Pants is that they can serve triple duty as swimming shorts too. I tested them out in the waters of Costa Rica while learning to surf and they worked fantastically.

---

Underwear and Socks are fairly light and compact already, but you can do even better. Again I looked for items made out of either wool for it’s moisture wicking, temperature control, and odor control abilities, or out of synthetic material for it’s ease of care and quick drying.

When you’re out walking around for 8 or more hours per day in varying weather conditions, you must take care of your feet. That’s where a good pair of running socks comes into play. They are specially made to be comfortable and dry for long trail runs, so when walking around town or on hikes they will feel like a dream. Again I went for an ultralight product in the SmartWool PhD Running Ultra Light Micro Sock. At first it was hard to evaluate how well they worked as my feet felt just great… until I wore a pair of regular cotton socks one day of hiking and my feet began to get blisters and were painful, but by switching back to the ultralight running socks the next day all my foot woes went away.

For my underwear selection I went with the Ex Officio Give-N-Go Brief based on recommendations from other sites. The slogan of these shorts are “17 countries, six weeks, one pair of underwear.” While I couldn’t imagine going six weeks in one pair, I have no complaints but also nothing to rave about here. They’re functional, held up well, and did well fighting any odor build up… but I can’t help but wonder if there is something better out there. My normal routine while traveling is to wash one in the shower each day and wear the next, thus always having a fresh pair.

---

Shoes are going to be your most bulky items. They don’t compress, so are hard to pack away. You’ll need to select a pair of shoes that you can wear for the many scenarios you’ll encounter while traveling. You may want to hike up a mountain, or through a swamp, or a desert, or go out to a nice restaurant… Is there a single pair of shoes that will fit every circumstance? Probably not, but you can choose something that will work for most.

I wanted to go with a waterproof shoe as one of the worst things you can do to your feet is let them stay wet for long periods of time. Based on some recommendations I went with the Salomon XA Pro 3D XCR Trail-Running Shoes. The have superb traction for hiking as they were made for trail running, are completely waterproof unless water gets over the ankle lip… or if you’re in Thailand during the Songkran festival (water festival) and have gallons of water thrown on you all day long.The quick release and tighten system is fantastic. I highly recommend these shoes. They’ve taken me up a jungle mountain, rock climbing, and walking for miles in large cities.

For a sandal, I went with another recommendation for the Rainbow Hemp Sandals for their durability and looks. However, having never worn toe splitter sandals before, I developed a nasty rub in-between my toes in no time and had to let them recover. I’ll continue to give these a try as they seem like great sandals.

---

A Warming Layer is crucial when it gets cold out. But to really give you much warmth it’s almost always going to be fairly bulky, and bulky doesn’t fit well with traveling small and light. So it’s a trade off. How little can you get by with?

I run fairly warm most of the time, so I opted not to bring anything but a fleece jacket to keep my temperature up when it gets cold. I found the Arc’Teryx Delta Jacket to be a perfect fit, and kept me nicely warm even at just above freezing on a couple of mornings in Yosemite. It’s also fashionable enough to wear around town, and compresses down fairly well when stuffing it in your tiny backpack.

---

Rain Gear is a protection item that you grumble about having to pack and cart around, but when you really need it, it’s indispensable. Again I went for light weight, which is good as I’ve carried them all over the world and back again without using them once…

For a rain shell I found the Marmot Mica Jacket. It’s only 7 ounces, has waterproof seams, and is wind proof up to 60mph winds. It also boasts a two way mechanical stretch for ease of movement when wearing over your warming layer. A pretty sweet jacket if I ever get to really try it out.

I found the Marmot Precip Pants on sale which have a full length zipper up each leg for easy in and out over your boots. They are also only 10 ounces so don’t take up a lot of weight or room when they’re not needed.

Last but not least, for a light waterproof but warming glove I got the Sierus Hyperlite All-Weather Gloves. They’re waterproof and windproof. I tested these out in my sink and they work like a charm.

---

Now you know exactly what’s in my pack when I am traveling through the countryside or the world. It’s taken me to three countries, two camping trips, and soon completely around the United States with very little to complain about.

In the next article I’ll outline the gear that I bring which in the end takes up more room and weighs more than all of my clothes…

Go to –> Travel Lightly (Part 2 – Gear)

Popularity: 5%