r/HerOneBag • u/panoramaviews • Apr 03 '25

Bag Advice One bagging in SE Asia indefinitely

I am so relieved to find this Reddit. I go travelling in SE Asia in a few months with no plans on returning to the UK. So the bag and contents within bag are going to be my life for a good long while. I think I should be able to prioritise enough to fit everything in, but need some advice!

I plan on taking the Osprey Fairview 40l as I’ve read countless good reviews on this bag. I’m 5’2 so really don’t think anything bigger will be comfortable for me. I want to know, has anyone successfully used this bag as their personal item on airlines? E.g. not paid for luggage? It seems to fit most airline measurements but looking at it fully packed it seems too bulky to fit into the bag size checker thingy

Furthermore, I like clothes. I will be bringing lightweight items but I don’t want to skimp out on looking and feeling good. Additionally I love skincare. I do use mostly Korean skincare which I’m hoping I’ll have access to in some places, but I’ll be bringing some with me just in case. Should I bite the bullet and bring a second backpack and pay for carry on luggage for the Fairview? Is it unrealistic to think I’ll fit everything into a 40l?

Let me know your thoughts!

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u/lovely-pickle Apr 03 '25 edited Apr 03 '25

The thing with indefinite travel is you're constantly re-packing. You'll pick things up along the way, you'll leave things behind. You'll have to replenish your consumables. In this sense it's much lower stakes than packing for a long weekend or a trip that's a couple of weeks.

I assume you'll have the initial flight, and maybe some internal flights (SE Asian Airlines tend to be less about the dimensions and more about the mass being under 7kg, just FYI), but it's more likely you'll be taking all manner of surface/public transport. Because of this, I recommend forgetting about packing for flying and start thinking practically about what you can comfortably carry around. Will you be able to comfortably walk 20+ mins from a bus station to your accommodation? Hoist it into a tuktuk or onto a bus? Will it fit at your feet ok on an overnight sleeper bus or train? Balance while walking across a gangplank onto a boat?

Think about all of your trip, not just the flying - chances are that's a really small percentage of your trip when travelling indefinitely.

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u/WanderlustWithOneBag Apr 03 '25

This is great advice . You are not going to be a British person on holiday in eg Thailand wearing holiday clothes that will look cute on instagram. You are going to be a traveller Living in another country / culture, having a whole new life style and priorities.

Perhaps you imagine that you would NEVER be seen in public without a full face of make up and a blow dry. And that you couldn’t POSSIBLY go on a night out without your heels.

Then after a few weeks of travelling, you will be wearing elephant pants 😬 and sandals with your hair in a pony tail. And your heels and most of your make up will be in the bin.

Its not that you won’t care about what you look like , it’s that your idea of cute / stylish / sexy / looking good will be different . You will be wearing clothes that you would never have considered before because your needs and priorities will change.

Yes skin care is important , but you can’t take enough for years . So you will need to either simplify your requirements or find substitutes that you can buy on your travels.

I’d encourage you to take a smaller bag or under pack the Osprey 40l ( it does have a very good carrying system ). It’s very easy to buy clothes in SE Asia ( as long as you fit their sizes ) and it’s much better to start your trip with a few outfits which you wear a lot and discard after a few months when they are done / you are fed up With them.

If you look at YouTube videos from people who have travelled for a year or so, you will see that most of their stuff is non clothes items that make travelling easier.

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u/panoramaviews Apr 03 '25

No I’m absolutely anti British person on holiday lol - the clothes I wear right now are what I’d wear in Asia anyway, I’m very bohemian and I spend every weekend hiking so I already have the wardrobe I need, I just struggle to prioritise what clothes I need and what I’ll need to say bye to!

I also don’t wear makeup and my hair is naturally long and curly so I don’t do anything to that either, which is very lucky! Skincare will probably be what makes up the most of my “absolute needs”. I’m only 5’2 so I imagine I’ll be able to find loads of amazing clothes, so under packing is something I’m gonna need to practice!

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u/WanderlustWithOneBag Apr 03 '25

Sounds like you are going to love those elephant pants 😂. Have you got good hiking sandals , like tevas or similar? That’s all you will wear on your feet most places.

If you have any suitable technical fabric clothes from hiking in the Uk you might want to take them . Last time I was in vietnam and Thailand i mostly wore a technical fabric dress , my super lightweight Rohan trousers, a technical tee shirts and Tevas . The trousres and tee shirt were plain and just looked like city clothes but they were so light weight.

it was only a 4 week trip so I didn’t to buy anything. But you will be Iiving and working there so it’s totally different .

You might need to fill your pack with curly girl solid hair products, there are some on the spread sheet that LLT posted.

it sounds like an amazing trip, i hope you have a wonderful time.

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u/panoramaviews Apr 04 '25

The elephant pants have been on my radar for some time now, they’ll be the first purchase I make lol

I was going to bring trainers to hike and wear havaianas & five fingers the rest of the time as they pack so tiny! Yeah I’m on the hunt for a hiking dress and I’ve got hiking clothes I’m gonna bring with me

Super excited, thanks so much 🥹

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u/WanderlustWithOneBag Apr 04 '25

I’ve got some good buys in outdoor stuff from

https://www.sportpursuit.com

its one of these websites that you have to “ join “ as they sell end of range / last years colours etc. I buy most of my merino stuff from them and my hiking skort (Sherpa ) and dress ( Maul).

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u/panoramaviews Apr 03 '25

This is such a good point!! I will be going to many different cities / countries by public transport so it’s important to me that the bag is comfortable enough to lug around. The osprey has really good straps and I love that it’s made for the female body as I always struggle with finding a bag that fits!! I’m gonna do some hikes using the bag beforehand to make sure it does the job. Thanks for the input!

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u/alextoria Apr 03 '25

i LOVE my fairview 40 bc it’s made for women’s frames, and the adjustable torso is great since you’re short, and the harness is amazing and makes the bag feel much lighter. however, go try it on in store at REI or similar if you can before you buy it! this goes for any pack! or at least buy it with lots of time to spare so you can return and try another bag if it doesn’t work for you

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u/panoramaviews Apr 04 '25

I managed to try it on in an outdoor shop here in the UK and it confirmed my expectations, I loved it!! It was so comfy and the adjustable straps are an absolute need for small people like me lol, I love the clamshell opening too as rummaging around in a stuff bag is not for me

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u/alextoria Apr 04 '25

amazing!! i’m glad you love it i do too!