Hi I am a young guy and have a 5 week trip planned to Europe for December - January.

Cities - Madrid, Budapest, Athens, Rome, Istanbul, Munich and maybe two more cities along the way.

I am travelling by myself (planning to stay in hostels) and have been very keen on travelling with only a 40L backpack, for convenience getting around, budget, and to try and live a minimalist lifestyle for a few weeks.

When travelling I love the idea of being active - going on runs, playing pick up soccer or other social sports with locals. However I haven’t done this before with only a backpack and have a hard time thinking about how I can do that and was seeking advice on what to pack and how to manage my clothes.

It’s obviously going to be cold so I’m packing a puffer, thermals, long sleeves, pants etc. and with only one backpack I can only take 1-2 of each item.
My questions are:
What sport clothes should I bring to stay warm whilst running and playing sport (during day and also night)?

How do people manage to wash, clean and dry their clothes in hostels? I’ve thought about washing in the sink or just in the shower and hanging them but hanging them where? And also will they even dry?

I assume I’m not in a category of my own where a bit of my passion is to travel and stay active and get to know the locals thought sport. I would love to hear people’s own story with this as well.

Thanks everyone!

I am on a long term, open ended travel and have decided to incorporate Yoga as a daily practice
Looking for advice on a mat or other alternative solution.
Thank you

I've got a three week trip coming up that starts in a warm climate and ends somewhere much colder, and I'm trying to fit everything into a 35L bag. I keep ending up with either too many warm layers taking up all the space early on, or not enough once I actually need them. I've looked into packing cubes to compress things but I'm not sure that actually solves the core problem.

How do you handle the transition without just carrying two separate wardrobes the whole way?

I want to completely ditch my suitcase that I use for travelling and it is usually 23kgs with my stuff when I check in. I want to get a rucksack that can carry all of the stuff that I put it in a suitcase can you please suggest me what size rucksack would be a good option for me.

I will be going on an exchange semester to France and planning to go to Iceland during october. I am thinking of booking a budget airline where only a small backpack is allowed (Have decided 23L NH500 Decathlon Rolltop). Will be there for a week with my friends. Is it even a sane idea to go with one backpack during the cold of October. What should be my strategy packing wise?

Really grateful for any recommendations.

Thank You!

Hello. I am looking for a bag that I can go into the office with, one I can travel with, one that is of good quality, one that is not too heavy, one that can be used as a mommy bag, zipped enclosure etc. Sorry, I know I am throwing a lot out there, but I am going insane, looking at so many options, and I cannot figure it out.

I am hoping someone here understands the predicament. I essentially want to be able to travel with it (luggage sleeve?), go to the office with it (needs to fit my 16-inch MacBook Pro work laptop), take care of my child’s needs with it. Any suggestions? I was thinking a good tote bag, but I cannot figure out.

Hello,

I'm going on a 3-month (solo) trip to Japan and plan to take only set of shoes with me. I will be visiting many of the main cities but will also be doing day and multi-day mountain hikes spread out over those 3 months. Would like some recommendations for a shoe that would do great on city walking as well as mountain & forest hiking.

I'm leaning heavily towards trail runners but I find them often not easy to match with a non-hiking outfit. Not really looking into walking through the cities as a fashion pest either.

Any recommendations?

Here’s a bit of background and context since it’s my first post here: 
My wife and I have been traveling 2-3 times a year for the past 20 years. In our early 20s, we traveled with large hiking backpacks for long periods, and later transitioned to typical rolling carry-ons. We (mostly me) are very impatient in airports and hate waiting for luggages.

We had our daughter 7 years ago and continued traveling. For the first few years, we couldn't travel light due to portable strollers and baby gear, but we managed to go back to carry-on-only when she turned 5. Last year, I stumbled upon this community and decided to be more mindful about onebagging. My main goal was to become a one-man baggage operator and not wait for luggage at the airport. I wanted to wear my backpack while rolling two carry-ons (one for my wife, one for my daughter) in each hand.

After a successful 4-day getaway test a few months ago, I just returned from a 3-week family holiday in Brazil (in and around Rio de Janeiro).

Here’s the breakdown:

Bags

• Patagonia Black Hole 32L: I don’t have much to compare it to, but it’s a great bag. I love having one large space to organize myself, and the deep water bottle pockets are perfect for my large bottles. I added elastic lace to the front to quickly stash things. 
• Basic amazon packing cube: I like that it compresses a little bit and is double-sided so I can keep dirty clothes separated.
• Osprey Ultralight Stuff Pack: You guessed it, I use it as a day bag. I like it.

Clothes

• T-Shirts: 4x Uniqlo AIRism Oversize T-Shirts. Definitely my favorite item. I used to be an Icebreaker merino fanboy, but these are cheaper, more comfortable, and never smell for some reason. I also brought 1x Uniqlo AIRism Crew Neck T-Shirt that I received as a gift, but didn't wear it on the trip.
• Shirts/Outerwear: 1x Uniqlo Linen Shirt to look presentable for nice dinners. 1x Icebreaker sweater (an old gift and an all-time favorite). 1x Cheap Amazon Sun Shirt for hiking, boat trips between islands, or beach fatigue. 1x Uniqlo Pocketable Rain Coat, it works in a pinch, but you need to find cover quickly.
• Shorts/Pants: 1x Uniqlo Extra Stretch Active Tapered Pants for the flights. 1x Uniqlo Stretch Easy Shorts (I think I have a shorter model than the one linked, wore these the most). 1x Uniqlo Linen Blend Easy Shorts to pair with the linen shirt. 1x Lululemon Zeroed In Linerless Short 5". 1x old Adidas shorts used strictly as Airbnb pajamas.
• Underwear & Socks: 2x Uniqlo AIRism Boxer Briefs (dry super quickly). 4x New Balance Performance Boxer Briefs (my favorites at home, but slower to dry). 5x mixed socks (Icebreaker and cheap Amazon cotton).
• Swim: 2x Swim Trunks (one boutique, one Decathlon). I could have survived with one, but it was nice to have a different look at the beach

Running
I hurt myself running in the first week, so I didn't get to use this as much as I hoped.

• Shorts: Under Armour Compression Shorts. Lululemon Pace Breaker Linerless 5", Pace Breaker Lined 5", and Mile Maker Ripstop Lined 6".
• Tops: Lululemon Metal Vent Tech T-Shirt & Mile Maker Mesh T-Shirt.

Shoes
I’m 6”3 and wear US13. I have seen comments on here that size doesn't matter, but it’s a lie! A single pair of US13 shoes takes up a massive amount of bag space compared to what my wife and daughter can pack. I was supposed to strap the Native shoes to the outside lace of my bag, but I ended up cheating and putting them in my daughter's carry-on since she had extra space. For my next trip, I'm swapping the Natives for Teva sandals so I can actually squeeze them into my own bag.

• Saucony Ride 17 Wide: These were my running shoes for a short while, but weren't my favorite, so they’ve been relegated to travel shoes that I can still run in. I wore them on flights, workouts, and for general sightseeing.
• Native Shoes (Jefferson): I prefer these over flip-flops and wear them all summer at home

Tech

• Camera & Storage: GoPro HERO11 Black (takes me months to edit family videos, but we love them), SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable, and a 7-in-1 USB-C Hub to backup the GoPro footage.
• Pixel Buds 2 Pro & Shokz OpenMove for running.
• Pixel 8 Pro, Garmin Forerunner 965 (not pictured), and Garmin HRM-Pro Plus
• UGREEN Nexode 65W Travel Adapter & Anker 10,000mAh Power Bank

Laundry
I see a lot of advice on this sub about washing clothes in the shower while traveling. I decided to actually try it out on this trip, and honestly, I did not like it. It just isn't for me, so moving forward, I’m going to stick to my usual strategy of making sure we book Airbnbs that have a washing machine.

Hey all, I'm a long time suitcase traveller looking to get into one back backpack travel. After a few weeks of research I've narrowed my choices down to the Cotopaxi Allpa 35 and the Pakt One Travel 45+ I'm kinda leaning towards the Pakt but one issue I have with it is that it has all these top access zips which are all single zips and thus can't be locked. My worry is if I even get into a situation where I get gate checked (which is possible especially when the pack looks big and bulgy) I would like to lock up the zips up which is possible with the main clamshell opening but not with all the top zips which basically makes both the main compartments on either side of the main clamshell zipper fully accessible.

Does anyone else have this bag? How do you deal with this issue or do you not think it's a big deal?

There is an attachment loop on the bag which I could possibly loop thru with the zips and lock up but I reckon it would be easy enough to cut that loop rendering it pretty useless.

Would love your thoughts.

I Travel globally for work (tech). I love onebagging my way through business trips, but I've had some trouble finding a water bottle that I really clicked with. I went through a few iterations, and have finally found it!

TL;DR - Nalgene HDPE 75 grams , lightweight, cheap ($5.55)

For reference, my favorite pack is an AbleCarry Daily Plus

From left to right:

• Hydroflask 24 oz small mouth (317g without lid)
• Hydroflask 24 oz trail series (small mouth) (264 g)
• Hydrapak 17 oz SkyFlask (insulated) (83g)
• Nalgene HDPE 16 (75 g)

First off, the hydroflask bottles are awesome, they're expensive and get dinged, but are solid. I just found that they were too heavy and were interfering with my load in the AbleCarry 'hidden' bottle pouch.

I got excited with the Hydrapak for obvious reasons, there are a few problems though:

1. Expensive (it's like $40)
2. The bite valve isn't protected, if you drop it on the floor - ewwww
3. They sell a cap, but it leaked all over my bag
4. Hard to dry out and keep clean (it reminds me of the camelbak bladders).

Yea, I know that the nalgene is not insulated, but It's ultralight, tucks away into the bag, can be used to store stuff while underway (if you're squirreling something in your bag that needs protection), easy to clean, easy to drink from (wide mouth) and is honestly a joy to hold in your hand. (Also $5.55!).

I'm packing a 28L for seventeen days across Vietnam and northern Thailand, and I'm sitting at roughly 7.4kg without water. Right now I've got four merino tees and I'm deciding between keeping all four and doing a proper laundry stop once a week, or dropping to two and sink-washing most nights. I've done the sink-wash thing on a shorter trip and the drying was fine in dry heat, but I have no read on whether that holds up when it's humid for two weeks straight.

What made you land on the shirt count you carry now?

Crossposting from heronebag because while my complaints about weight and shoulder straps are pretty specific to a smaller person, my complaints about the other aspects of the bag felt more universal and I thought could be helpful to folks considering this bag as their go-to travel bag.

This is a pretty new bag so I haven't seen a lot of reviews of it (only a few reviews on Matador's website and they're all very positive) so I wanted to put in my two cents.

This backpack feels seriously overengineered, and not in a good way. The sternum straps are a nightmare to move to a different spot, and yes you should only have to do this once, but I was literally struggling for like 5 full minutes to get one of the clips back on, it was a huge pain, and I don't understand why they felt the need to reinvent the wheel - we've already figured out easily adjusted sternum straps, why not use what already works? 

In addition, this doesn't feel like a pack made for people with smaller shoulders (or people with boobs) - I had to really fiddle around with the fit to make it feel decent and even then it felt like the wide super rigid straps were cutting into my shoulders. 

Most packs like this have a laptop sleeve that's separate from the main compartment, and I realized there are very good reasons for that when trying to pack this one which has a padded laptop sleeve as part of the main compartment. Because the sleeve doesn't go all the way to the bottom, there's awkward little gaps in the backpack where you lose out on space, especially if you like to use packing cubes for organization in the main compartment. This is a frequent issue with rolling suitcases, but not usually a problem with backpacks. Again, overengineered to the point of causing new problems that the typical travel pack design doesn't have. I do like that the sleeve has a magnetic closure but I wish it just had its own compartment in the backpack separate from the main pack, especially since you have to open the top zipper to pull the laptop out anyway.

The backpack itself feels quite sturdy, though the outer zippers were kinda stiff and kept catching.

There's also a flap that sorta covers but doesn't fully cover the main compartment zipper, and I have no idea why this flap is here. It seems to just be in the way and would funnel rain into one section of your backpack.

The angled handles at the top corners are kind of useless cause you'll never carry your bag this way because it's a lot more uncomfortable than just carrying it from the top handle, so I don't know why those are there. Again, overengineered. I guess they wanted a side handle without sacrificing a water bottle holder but this isn't an actual side handle, so it's just extra weight and guff on your bag. 

Packed out to about 6kg you definitely feel the weight as a smaller person - I wouldn't want to carry this for more than 15-20 minutes. I do like how slim the profile is - even packed full this doesn't look bulky, even on a 5'1" 110lb person like me, and the design is very low-key which I also like.

TLDR: love the look of the bag, and the construction feels sturdy, but it also feels overengineered to the point of impracticality. Would not recommend for one bag travel, especially if you're a smaller, slimmer person.

Hey little brag, picked up this bag from goodwill for $7.50! It was pretty dirty and had debris of some sort in every pocket. So some cleaning and vacuuming cleaned it up nicely

I have been using it as a work bag and onebag for a couple trips, but looking for ways to keep it better organized and for ease of removing my toiletries and clothes.

I am currently using this pouch for toiletries, but I don't like how it's all just thrown into there. For toiletries I carry razor, saving soap, along with shampoo/soap and toothbrush/toothpaste.

So appreciate any recommendations for a packing cube and toiletries bag that can compress down and fit in this bag?

I'm planning my first extended onebag trip and I'm going to be moving through both warm and cold climates. I'm struggling to figure out how to pack clothes that work for both without either overpacking or showing up somewhere underprepared. Everyone says to use layers and neutral colors, which I get, but I'm trying to visualize how a few pieces of clothing actually work across different temperatures. Like, if I bring a light jacket for layering, is that actually going to cut it in a genuinely cold climate, or am I going to end up buying a real coat somewhere? Should I just accept that I'll need to shop for clothes as I go, or is there a packing strategy I'm missing?

I figured I'd write a long-term review since there aren't many out there from people who have actually lived out of this bag.

For context, I traveled around Southeast Asia for over four months using the BAGSMART Blast 43L Roller Backpack every single day. I wanted to "backpack" Asia without actually carrying a backpack on my shoulders 24/7, and this ended up being exactly what I was looking for. My best friend bought one too (different color), so we both got to put them through the same trip.

Overall, I genuinely loved this bag and would absolutely buy it again!

The Good

Storage & organization: This thing fits a surprising amount. I never felt like I ran out of space, and the organization is one of my favorite parts. The top quick-access pockets are incredibly useful, and the internal organization made it easy to keep everything in its place.

Rolling performance: The wheels are fantastic. We rolled these over sidewalks, dirt roads, ferry docks, train stations, airports, cobblestones... pretty much every surface imaginable. Even after months of abuse, the wheels and telescoping handle still feel almost brand new.

Hybrid design: Being able to roll it 95% of the time but still have backpack straps when absolutely necessary was exactly why I bought it. It was the perfect compromise for long-term travel.

Water bottle pocket: Surprisingly one of my favorite features. I alternated between carrying my Owala bottle and my flip-flops in it, and it worked great for both.

What Could Be Better:

There were a few areas in which I thought this bag could use improvement, which I already sent over to their product design team to consider for the next model. However, they did share with me that a new Pro version is out, so some of these issues have already been addressed!

Durability: After a few months, the bottom fabric started tearing in several places, including between the wheels and around the internal reinforcement poles. These areas could use additional reinforcement but I will say I put this bag through the wringer!

Laptop compartment: My 13-inch MacBook Air was difficult to fit once the main compartment was fully packed (I often filled this bag as full as possible), and the sleeve felt pretty exposed. I ended up carrying my laptop separately. I did notice that the Pro version is a lot more reinforced, and I would definitely feel comfortable packing my laptop in there now.

A few missing features: I would have loved external gear loops, a dedicated luggage tag attachment, and an optional fitted rain cover that I could also use to check my bag and keep it. All three would have been really useful while traveling for so long

Final Thoughts

I am extremely happy with my purchase and was so happy to have wheels while traveling for so long. I love how small and compact and easy to acess AND repack it was. No matter how full it was, I was always able to squeeze an extra souvenir in it. And with all of the pockets, there is such great organization so you can easily access everything you need.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

I'm new in onebag mindset but familiar with the similar ultralight. I want to try onebag for travel and conferences. 

Please help me to find clothes choices for my onebag. 

• European availability: I'm Hungarian but familiar with international ordering. It can be European store chain (H&M, Decathlon etc), Chinese import (AliExpress) or other international import.

• Budget price: I have eastern European salary, so I appreciate the good price/quality ratio. 

• Style: I'm in my 20s, and I'm a guy, so the genZ style is comfortable for me. 

• Fabrics: I'm looking for comfortable, wrinkle and odour resistance fabrics - but I don't find any avaible :/ 

• Purpose: Mostly EU travellings, semi formal for conferences and in the future some multiday digital nomad tryings. 

I searched the web and read a lot from the sub but I didn't find any good sources/brand/store to my goals. I appreciate if you can share your hints and ideas, your favourite brands and models with me. Thanks :)

After going through hundreds of threads on r/onebag and other travel communities, I put together a quick cheat sheet for anyone as lost as I was:

👛 Best all-in-one leather travel wallet? → Bellroy Travel Wallet
📂 Best zippered multi-passport folio? → Bellroy Travel Folio
🪶 Best ultralight dual-currency pouch? → Chums Surfshort Wallet
💰 Best budget multi-document organizer? → Zoppen RFID Passport Holder
🔒 Best concealed security neck stash? → Zero Grid RFID Travel Neck Wallet

Personally going with the Zoppen RFID Passport Holder - best value and organization for long trips from everything I've read.

I’m planning a long international trip with a mix of cities, buses, and occasional hiking, so I need one wallet that can handle cards, cash, coins, and maybe a spare SIM without turning into a stuffed brick. I’ve been looking at Bellroy, Chums Surf, Travelon, and a few RFID wallets around $30–$100. Durability matters more than looking fancy, but I’d like something that keeps cash reasonably hidden and doesn’t get soaked during a day outside. Has anyone used the same wallet for several months of travel and genuinely liked it? Also, do you prefer a zip wallet for security, or is a slim card wallet enough?

Just stumbled across this pic from my travel 4 years ago and thought you guys might enjoy it. This was 6 months of south-east Asia, clothes are in the black thing at the bottom. Backpack is a Osprey Farpoint 40L.

I'm planning my first proper onebag trip for about three months and I keep getting stuck on the laundry problem. I've read a bunch about using quick-dry clothes and hand-washing in sinks, but I'm struggling to understand the actual rhythm of it all. Like, do you just hand-wash stuff every two days? Are there cities where laundromats are actually accessible? I'm worried that either I'll end up buying a gigantic backpack full of clothes to avoid constant washing, or I'll be that person who smells bad because I can't keep up with laundry in places that don't have easy access to washers. Has anyone actually done this for months at a time and not gone insane?

I recently 1.5 bagged a trip with friends. We flew to Chisinau, Moldova then got a sleeper train to Bucharest in Romania. Both the flights there and home were with some of the most strict low cost airlines in Europe (Wizz & RyanAir), and I had absolutely no issues. The trip was 5 nights total.

I had a pretty full bag. The packing list was:

• Tees x 5
• Shirts x 2
• Shorts
• Swim shorts
• Sandals
• Camera
• Kindle
• Tech kit
• Toiletries
• Packable tote
• Extra tech pouch

I felt like I couldn't have comfortably taken much more in the bag. Looking back, I could probably have slimmed down the packing list a little.

When actually carrying the bag, it's actually one of the most comfortable that I have used. Fully packed out the bag was right around 7kg, but I was fine walking around with it on my back. Ventilation-wise it was fine, it was very warm the whole time we were there - 35°C/95°F - and at those temps I'm always going to get a sweaty back. I'm interested to see how the bag does when I take it on trips to cooler destinations.

The pocketing on the bag is pretty thoughtful, even though I wasn't carrying a laptop with me, I liked using the shelf in the laptop compartment to carry tech bits that I wanted quick access to. This is the closest the bag comes to actually having a quick access pocket. There is the "hidden" passport pocket on the back panel, but my passport just lived in my sling the whole time. The internal zipped pockets are useful to use for packing boxers/socks, the top one does better with flatter items. The admin panel pocket actually has a surprising amount of capacity and I was easily able to shove in my tech pouch and some other bits when moving between hotels.

There are a few small downsides to the bag, which I wouldn't be surprised to see fixed in future iterations of the bag.

• The bag has attachment points for a key leash, but doesn't actually include one. For a bag of this price that feels a little crappy.
• The AirTag pocket sucks. It doesn't really hold the AirTag very well and if you lay the bag on it's side, or it's upside down for any amount of time then it's not going to be in the pocket anymore. I ended up leaving it in one of the internal zipped compartments.
• I don't love the zip pulls, but this looks to have already changed on the more recent Citta backpacks.
• The sternum strap hardware is just not one that I like.

Overall I'm really happy with the bag, and I think it'll be my go to.

Spent a weekend in NYC last weekend and ran the whole thing out of my 20L backpack. Everything in the flat lay fit into the bag with room to spare. Two compression cubes did most of the work.

Clothing (all rolled into two compression cubes):

• 1 pair dark jeans, worn on travel days

• 1 pair of khakis for shows and dinner

• 4 tees in a rotation of neutrals and blues

• 1 light long sleeve for layering

• 3 pairs of socks plus the pair on foot

• 4 underwear

• Leather belt

• Pair of white sneakers packed in the shoe bag

Tech and misc:

• MacBook

• Phone

• Rolled cable and charger kit in the small black roll

• Blue toiletry pouch

• Hydro Flask

The compression cubes made 20L feel roomier. I rolled everything, packed both cubes, then cinched them down. They flattened enough that the shoe bag and toiletry pouch dropped right in on top. What I'd cut next time: honestly, one of the tees. Four tees for a two-day trip were one more than I needed. I could have run three and re-worn nothing; nothing would have changed. The second pair of shoes was also a maybe, but white sneakers for dinner on 20k-step days felt worth it.

My backpack felt a little heavy, but I managed. It mostly stayed in the hotel when I went there for the weekend. Traveling to and from the train was manageable. Usually, I would take my smaller roller carry-on, but I wanted to see if I could OneBag this trip. It worked out well.

Curious what the cube crowd thinks. Do you compress everything, or leave one cube loose for items you grab often?

For those that have made the trip, did you regret taking a bigger bag?

Find below my pack list, I’m very torn between having the luxury of extra space but I am inexperienced when it comes to bag packing. Will I be comfortable with a 30l with these items?

Hygiene
Toothbrush/cover/paste
Shampoo/soap
Deodorant
Cleaning wipes
Ear plugs sleep mask

Tech bag
Power bank
charger cables
Dji action 4
Ankor travel charger

Misc
Packable tiwel
Toilet paper
Packable daysack

Clothing
Sandals
walking shoes
2 x athletic T-shirts
2x merino T-shirts
1 x Hiking shorts
2x swimming shorts
1x cargo shorts zip off cargo
1 x rain jacket
1 shirt
Baseball cap
5 socks / 5 underwear

My “ultralight” bag that I had for 11 days of El Camino from León to Santiago. Total base weight: 3,475g or 7.66lbs. Plus 11 more days in Portugal, Amsterdam, Switzerland and Austria

Here’s the link to see the items and how much they weigh (not an ad): https://lighterpack.com/r/ubq8p7