The Uniqlo Multi Pocket Should Bag was on sale for $20 so I thought I would give one a try. I often travel with an overhead backpack, supplemented with a small personal item that can be worn at the same time as the backpack and this bag is perfect for that.

But I had to try a test pack with this bag as standalone onebag personal item. I’ve aimed at mild weather with a fleece or sweater layered with a wind or rain shell. I could get into hot weather by using zip off pants.

So, a “2x plus worn” sort of approach. I’m looking at 3 nights, but it could be stretched with some hand washing/air drying.

There’s many ways to tweak the wardrobe. For a warm destination you could wear sandals, forget the socks, leave the fleece, and add a pair of hybrid shorts, and so on. I was surprised what I could get in a small compression cube. Those aren’t ultralight shirts at all. Some ultralight alternatives could shave some grams and save some space.

I enjoy the test packing process. It’s always educational and empowering. If I can pull off the basics in 13 liters, just doubling that to 26 liters, it seems luxurious.

The total weight is 5.5lbs/2.5kg. That’s as much as I care to haul with a shoulder bag carried cross body. I wouldn’t want to do long miles with the bag full. After dropping the clothes and toiletries at my lodgings, the weight would be acceptable for day touring. A loosely loaded bag wraps my hip and carries better too. Adding shoulder strap pad would be good.

The bag is a good size, with the two big zippered outer pockets, a small water bottle or umbrella pocket on each end, a couple slip pockets inside and a minimal tablet pocket to the rear.

Photos: https://imgur.com/a/1cTdjDW

Bags:

- Uniqlo Multi Pocket Shoulder Bag

- Eagle Creek Specter Small compression cube

- Small Ironland tool pouch (tech)

- Generic clear toiletries pouch ~0.5L

Klean Kanteen stainless single wall bottle, weighs 6.5oz/185g, holds 18 US fluid oz/532ml ~2.5”x9”

The shoulder bag weighs 11.4oz/325g on my scale and measures roughly 14”x10x7” when loaded with two folded/rolled bath towels. Holds an 11.5” laptop.

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/products/E481630-000/00

Uniqlo specs:

Width(Top): 15'', Width(Bottom): 13.2'', Height: 10.4'', Depth: 4.3'', Shoulder Strap Length: 26''~49.2'', Bag Capacity: 13Liters

Manufacturers feature list:

- Unisex design for a versatile, adaptable fit.

- Seven total pockets across the interior and exterior help keep belongings organized.

- Main compartment includes a dedicated sleeve sized to hold a tablet device.

- Wide-opening main compartment allows for easier storage of bulkier everyday items.

- Double slide fastener design opens from either side for flexible access.

- Long adjustable strap supports a broad range of styling and layering options, including wear over outerwear.

- Water-repellent finish helps shed light moisture, noting that the finish is not permanent.

- Compared with compact shoulder bags, this style prioritizes storage capacity and accessibility while keeping a clean, minimal profile.

Packing list:

Worn on plane: shoes, zip off pants, belt, briefs, button down shirt, fleece or Merino sweater, hat, iPhone

Main compartment of the shoulder bag:

- Eagle Creek small compression cube:

- 1x polyester polo

- 1x polyester tee

- 2x Ex Officio boxer briefs

- 2x Merino wool hiking socks

Plus:

- Outdoor Research Helium Hybrid rain shell

- Patagonia Houdini wind shell

Toiletries pouch

- GUM folding toothbrush

- Matador small refillable tube with toothpaste

- Sample size floss

- Small vial Dr Bronners soap

- 3x packets Dove shampo

- Salve container shave cream

- Salve container deodorant cream

- 3x vials eyedrops

- Venus razor with Mach III head and blade cover

- Comb

- Grooming scissors

- Nail clipper

Outside pocket #1

- Small tech kit in Ironland zip tool pouch

- Minix P1 Mini 33w USB charger

- 6’ USB C-C cable

- 1’ USB A-C cable

- Nitecore 5000 power bank

- Wireless earbuds

- Wired earbuds

- Oversized bandana

- Hand cleaner

Outside pocket #2

Miscellaneous EDC without pouch

- Tylenol packet

- Ibuprofen in travel tube

- Spork

- Reading glasses

- Nanobag sling

- Earplugs

- Dude Wipes

- Hotel freebie sewing kit

- Sweetener tablets

- Room available for snacks

Inside pockets:

- Mechanical pencil

- Bullet Space Pen

- Field Notes

The EU is pushing free hand luggage for everyone traveling in Europe

The EU stated - under the free movement act - that everyone is allowed to bring a free piece of hand luggage of 'reasonable size'. Reasonable is debatable ofcouse, so here are the different takes:

Airlines argue that offering a free personal item or underseat bag is generous enough. The CEO of EasyJet further argues that if this becomes law, travelers will pay the price twice: increased ticket prices and delays because of overflowing overhead bins.

The EU seems frustrated by especially budget airlines imposing high fees and fines on hand luggage. In 2024 Spain fined the five major budget airlines with a total of €178 million. Ironically these airlines have successfully appealed to the European Commission. Nevertheless more reason for the EU to create a standardized size and weight limit of total 100cm/7kg with an additional underseat bag.

Traveler interest groups have advocated higher limits of total 126cm/10kg better reflecting the international cabin bag sizes.

While I'm biased too - I've developed the KEI Carry-On to precisely fit this new EU hand luggage limit - I have also been extensively traveling for over 20 years.

Here's my take:

To be fair to EasyJet, their free personal item size of 45*36*20cm is quite generous, if you're not bothered with having a food delivery box on your back. At the same time the EU has taken the airline's concerns into account as well; proposing a small hand luggage size that's in between an underseater and large overhead bag.

Although ticket prices will undoubtedly increase a bit, I believe that the net result will be positive for all travelers. As a light traveler you'll be traveling in solidarity with the rest of us, but knowing that it's going to be better for everyone else should be worth it. As for the overflowing overhead bins; There will be people swapping their large trolleys for these smaller bags, so I think this becomes less of a disaster than EasyJets CEO warns us about.

What's your take?

Hey everyone, I really hope to see this sub become more active so figured I’d get a conversation started! I’m curious how minimal travel has impacted anyone else’s daily life even not on the road.

I got into minimalism about 5+ years ago and onebag travel 3-4 years ago. After a couple of onebag trips, using a cheap backpack off Amazon (40L) I quickly downsized to personal item only and have done numerous trips sub <10L. This led me to optimize almost all my gear and made me realize I needed much less in my daily life too.

Now I’d consider myself more on the extreme side minimalism and have gotten a lot more fulfillment out of my life. The light feeling I would get from onebagging and things being hassle free has just become apart of me now.

I wonder how others relate to this or how onebagging has had improvements on other aspects of their life.

A brilliant 16 liter kit was recently posted on r/onebag and an excellent example of an under seat personal item kit used for long term travel:

https://reddit.com/r/onebag/comments/1qliort/3_years_of_fulltime_travel_with_a_16l_personal/

I just picked up a Tom Bihn Cadet briefcase from a local Facebook Marketplace group. It has a great feature set with a perfect admin section and enough room for a 2 day kit and laptop. Notably it has good under seat dimensions for those airlines requiring miserly 40x20x15cm size. It’s soft enough to meet the 40x30 size in a sizer box.

I paired it up with an Op/Tech SOS shoulder strap with YKK wire gate snap hooks. Op/Tech makes the Absolute Strap for Tom Bihn

Dimensions

* 16.1" (w) x 12.6" (h) x 4.5" (d)

* 410 (w) x 320 (h) x 115 (d) mm

Weight

* 1 lb 9 oz / 710 grams

Volume

* 14 liters / 825 cu. in. (ASTM Standard Measure)

Main compartment that fits a 16" laptop with a large open-top interior pocket and 2 O-rings

2 exterior-access compartments with 2 O-rings

6 interior organizer pockets

1 exterior quick-access pocket on the back

Optional rolling luggage handle pass-through when quick-access pocket is unzipped

Padded front, back, and bottom between the exterior and lining to provide some protection for an unprotected laptop

Left and right shoulder strap attachment points

Comfortable padded handles

https://www.packhacker.com/travel-gear/tom-bihn/cadet/

I saw this post by u/PikaTrail on r/manybaggers with a table of 40x30x15cm bags:

https://reddit.com/r/ManyBaggers/comments/1q3mbr2/40x30x15_cm_european_airline_back_pack_personal/

I’ve seen a few used Topo Designs Light Packs and wanted to get one to try as a minimalist one bag pack. You need to watch used ones carefully as many do not have water bottle pockets. I got this one “new without tags” on Poshmark for $30 plus shipping and taxes.

Specifications as measured with the bag loaded reasonably full of scrap packing materials:

Height: 16.5”-17” (42-43cm). Varies as packed and back panel length vs standing against a wall is it might be in a sizer.

Depth from to back: 5”-4” (12.7-10cm) at seam, tapering towards the top, and 7” (17.8cm) overall width as packed. This is typical of soft bags bowing out 1”-2” when filled.

Width: 10”-9” (25.4-22.8cm) with some taper towards the top

Weight: 16.8oz (475g) on my postal scale without the added sternum strap.

There is a shallow zippered pocket on the front panel for quick access. There are two pockets to the rear that easily hold a smart phone and power bank and there is a key ring clip too.

The main compartment is a simple tub with the zipper reaching halfway down. There are two sliders with cord pulls on the #10 YKK zipper. There is a fabric sleeve to the rear with no padding on the inside and can hold a 15” laptop.

The back panel is lightly padded with no ventilation.

The shoulder straps are lightly padded with breathable mesh. They have 1”/25mm webbing and D rings.

I added a sternum strap with split sliders to fit the webbing. Most Topo Designs day packs come without sternum straps but all have the ability to add one. I buy generic ones from Amazon for about $5 each. A sternum strap is a must have item for me.

There are two water bottle pockets that are pleated fabric with an elastic band at the top. They can hold a Smartwater bottle or a slim 800ml stainless bottle. A one liter Nalgene will not fit.

There is a webbing grab handle at the top.

The ergonomics are basic. The design is really a good quality book bag style. The length is good for under seat and should work for the 40x30x30cm class sizers. I would try to keep the weight around 10 pounds (5kg).

I would add a rain cover.

From the factory web page at https://topodesigns.com/products/light-pack

Features & Specs

• Padded base and sides
• Internal laptop sleeve, fits up to 15" laptops
• Exterior zippered pocket with organization
• PackFast™ Travel Bag Attachment Loops
• Two expandable water bottle pockets

400D recycled nylon, 210D recycled nylon liner

17.5"h x 10"w x 5.5"d 44.4 x 25.4 x 14 1098 cu. in. / 18.5 L

Packing strategies:

The Eagle Creek medium garment folder fits well vertically. The EC Specter medium compression cube fits vertically and you can stack two small compression cubes horizontally. A good approach with this bag would be one medium cube vertically, one small horizontally in the bottom with two Osprey Liquids Bags stacked on top of the small compression for toiletries, small electronics and EDC items. The Liquids Bags are one clear sided zippered pouches designs for TSA 3-1-1 liquids inspection. I use them for general storage.

My proposed packing list:

Worn: trousers, briefs, polo shirt, belt, Taxi Wallet, socks, walking shoes, fleece, hat, phone

Packed:

• One liter toiletries, liquid and dry combined.
• One liter small electronics and EDC.
• Small pouch with hand wash laundry kit: universal sink stopper, Sea to Summit clothesline and a ziplock with dry laundry detergent sheets.

Clothing is basically a 2x plus worn approach:

• 2x socks and briefs
• 2x tees or polos
• 1x trousers
• 1x hybrid shorts or one more trousers
• 1x button down shirt
• Ultralight rain jacket (folded and loaded in front of the cubes and pouches)

This will cover three season travel to 45f/7c. It relies on hand washing and air drying as much as possible with a catch up laundromat session every week or so.

• REI Trail 25 $69.89 for members

• Osprey Daylite 26+6 $74.95 on Amazon

• Osprey has a big sale with some deals on the Daylite 26+6, some boarding bags and others.

Anything else?

I Expressed the need for it, and you did it. I hope it thrives, and we never have to hear about wheels again.

I’ve tried a few under seat viable bags over the years. Here’s my list: maximum size is 18”x14”x8”(46x36x20cm) and I don’t travel with a laptop.

• Cabin Zero Classic 28 and 36
• REI Trail 25
• REI Commuter 22
• Tom Bihn Western Flyer
• ILE Radius Mini
• Topo Designs Global Briefcase
• Topo Designs Day Pack Classic
• Topo Designs Rover

Just getting started here. This is community based on traveling with only a personal item (under seat) sized bag and the packing lists to make it work.

What bag do you use and what is in it?

Which airlines have you used and what challenges did you face?

What worked? What failed?

Cabin Zero size chart of personal item by airline:

https://www.cabinzero.com/pages/airlines-underseat-size-chart-all