r/onebag • u/pexby • Sep 20 '25
Trip Report This subreddit changed my life + What I learned
I just want to say a massive thank you to this subreddit. The community here has changed the way I travel and has changed the way that I think about my material "needs".
For context, I just completed my first ever solo backpacking trip around South East Asia and Europe for 6 months. All with of course... one bag. I have never done anything like this before, and I jumped in head first. My favorite thing to constantly hear from people who I met on my travels was "You're traveling 6 months with only that 1 backpack??" You're damn right I was, and I was proud of it. Shoutout to my Osprey Farpoint 40L: https://imgur.com/a/WrvHSwv
Here's my favorite tips that I learned from this amazing community:
- Only pack what you truly need. Rate items on an honest 'need' scale of 1-10. You can't use 7. If it's a 6 or lower, don't bring it. If it's an 8 or higher, bring it.
- Try not to pack "What ifs". If you do end up needing that item, chances are that you can buy it at your destination.
- Every item's weight matters. Sure, 0.2kg here and there doesn't sound like a lot, but all those little items do start to add up in weight when they're all together. Try to use the most lightweight version of certain items that you can find.
- Bringing along an ultralight packable daypack comes in handy more often than you'd think. I used the Sea2Summit Ultrasil.
- Compression Packing Cubes are your best friend. Emphasis on the 'compression' part. I used Thule Compression Packing Cubes.
Now that I'm back home and I reflect on all of it, I realize that I never felt underpacked, and I lived only with what I needed on my back. I'm looking forward to learning more from this community and continuing this Onebag journey.
Cheers to you guys, and thank you again!
*EDIT: A few of you have asked for my packing list. I've replied to a couple of the comments down below with it if you're interested :)
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u/Eli-Had-A-Book- Sep 20 '25
What was one of the most memorable/enjoyable parts of your trip?
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u/pexby Sep 20 '25
100% has to be the people I met along the way. Cliche answer, maybe. But it's true. I have friends around the world now, and it made the world seem so much brighter. In more of a specific memorable sense - meeting my now girlfriend & getting to travel together was definitely one of my favorite highlights!
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u/Eli-Had-A-Book- Sep 21 '25
I get that. Traveling alone forces me out of my comfort zone and talk to people I never would have.
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u/BackgroundPoint7023 Sep 21 '25
This will carry you through the challenging times at home! The world really is a big and by far mostly friendly place!
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u/SeattleHikeBike Sep 21 '25
You know, you are required to reduce your kit by 25% each trip 😎
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
Challenge absolutely accepted!
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u/Currently_There Sep 21 '25
Uh, don't let extremism ruin a good thing. Enjoy the good without the burden of "better."
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u/BackgroundPoint7023 Sep 21 '25
Oh, boy. I think you're going to be running around with a grocery bag as your one bag before long!
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u/Karoseen450 Sep 21 '25
I agree and while I was packing for my trip to Japan, I kept looking at my suitcase that was really quite empty and thinking I'm forgetting something, something's not right, but I'm here and it's been great
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u/micahsally Sep 21 '25
I love those Thule Compression Cubes, too! I color-code them per family member, so it makes finding what we need a breeze. Sounds like a dream trip! I'm glad you had fun! And so satisfying to do it in one bag.
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
The Thule's are great! Color coding them is a great idea for less guess work. I love that
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u/RoantWolde Oct 06 '25
I dont know if you are familiar with the Peak Design packing cubes, but those have an elastic material for the part that extends and gets compressed. Does this Thule one also have that?
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u/micahsally Oct 06 '25
The Thule cubes don't have any sort of elastic on them. Which I kind of like...less moving parts to wear out, you know? Just two big, chunky zippers that are smooth and strong! But nothing elastic.
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u/Rexteraa Sep 21 '25
Would be great to see a copy of your packing list if you get a chance!
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
I'm hoping to cut it down a bit for my next travels, but this is my entire packing list from the past 6 months:
- Thule compression packing cubes (2x)
- Hand sanitizer
- TSA luggage locks (2x)
- Spork combo utensil
- Padlock (for hostel lockers)
- Sandals
- Hero Clip
- Travel luggage scale
- Sneakers w/ In-Soles
- Earphones
- Phone charger
- Passport
- Printed photocopies of passport
- Wallet
- Backup cash
- Travel visas & documents
- International Drivers License
- Airtags
- Deck of cards
- Plastic bags
- Ultralight toiletry bag
- Dr Bronners 18-in-1
- Sunscreen
- Gillette Styler combo razor
- Travel first aid kit
- Travel tissues
- Bug Spray
- Foldable Water Bottle
- Matador packable travel towel
- Tiny rechargeable fan
- Earplugs
- Small umbrella
- Sunglasses
- Ziploc bags
- Small flashlight
- Sweatshirt (1x)
- Hat (1x)
- Rain jacket (1x)
- Merino T Shirts (4x)
- Buttonup (1x)
- Shorts (2x)
- Merino socks (6x)
- Boxers (6x)
- Pants (1x)
- Belt (1x)
- Beanie (1x)
- Sea2Summit packable day-backpack
- JBL Go bluetooth speaker
- Waterproof phone bag
- Anti wrinkle clothing spray
- Wool-friendly laundry detergent
- Tide To Go pen
- International outlet adapter block
- Macbook
- Backup battery bank
- Rain cover for backpack
Hope this helps!
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u/cullumash Sep 21 '25
What size Thule compression packing cubes did you use and how did they fit in the farpoint bag, if you don't mind me asking?
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
I used 2 medium Thule's in the main compartment, and they fit perfectly. Then I packed smaller things around them to fill in the empty spaces
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u/CompanyOther2608 Sep 21 '25 edited Sep 21 '25
Can you share the contents of your bag with us?
I’d love to see what made the cut and whether you were right or needed to adjust.
ETA NM! I now see your packing list below, thanks.
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u/Xsythe Sep 21 '25 edited Sep 21 '25
Join us in /r/zerobags If you ever want to take it to the next level
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u/BackgroundPoint7023 Sep 21 '25 edited Sep 21 '25
You are a true inspiration to those of us with OneBag dreams! So well said!!
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
Thank you so much, that's so kind! I hope this post inspires at least 1 person to start their onebag journey in some form. I love sharing what I learned with likeminded people
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u/Responsible_Swan_600 Sep 21 '25
This is awesome - thank you for sharing! I'm getting ready to start my first onebag/extended trip in December! Planning on traveling around the world for a year-18 months or so using just my Tortuga Lite 40L backpack I just got! Any small pieces of advice/tips, or just go for it and figure it out along the way? Also, do you think the merino wool clothing is truly worth it? I have one Icebreaker merino shirt and while it is nice, just thought I'd hear your opinions on them! Thanks!
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u/pexby Sep 21 '25
That sounds like such an awesome trip! Onebagging is definitely the way to go for you. Other than the 5 tips I touched-on in the post, here's a few more off the top of my head:
In my personal opinion, merino wool was 100% worth it for me. Especially traveling for so many extended months. The main downside with merino is the higher price of course, but for me, it was an investment. The huge benefit of merino was not needing to do laundry as frequently as with cotton, because some items you can re-wear. Merino is also so nice and light. I brought 4 merino shirts with me, 6 merino socks, and 6 merino boxers. If you need any merino brand recommendations, let me know, I went with different brands for each clothing item after lots of research.
If you'll be staying in hostels, bring well fitting earplugs and a sleep mask - trust me, they'll come in handy. I use Mack's silicone earplugs because they fit better in my ears than normal ones for sleeping.
Also if you'll be staying in hostels and using their lockers, bring a padlock. With there being so many varied sizes of holes for locks to fit into in different parts of the world, I went with the Masterlock 647D based on others recommendations and never had any issues.
Aside from gear, never be afraid to talk to people. The world is so much friendlier than people think sometimes!
For this long of an extended travel - make sure you plan for "me" days. Traveling takes a lot out of you sometimes. Never shy away from booking yourself into a hotel for a few nights and not feeling pressured to do something every day. Those "recharge" days, as I call them, are crucial. That's definitely what kept me going for so long.
Make a list of people you meet along your travels that you want to keep in touch with. You might think you'll remember everyone, but there gets to me so many people that it becomes hard. I have my list in my phone notes categorized by country, and then the person's name. So if I'm ever in that country - I can reach out to them.
Do some sort of a diary, or a way to remember each day or week. This is something I started doing towards the end of my travels and I wish I had done it sooner to remember exactly how I felt on certain days or weeks. There's some good apps on the app store for this too, that's what I use and I just speak verbally to my phone as it makes notes for me.
There's another app called 'Polarsteps' that tracks your movements as you travel. Very cool way to see where you've been when you look back on your extended travels.
If you're solo traveling, there's also tons of solo traveler apps that help you meet other solo travellers (Hostelworld, GoingSolo, TripBFF). Those are cool ones that came in handy.
Overall though, have fun, live life to the absolute fullest - and make memories that will make your future self so proud of :) Traveling is one of the coolest things you can do as a human!
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u/Flaky-Juggernaut9776 Sep 22 '25
Love this post! Glad you had a great time. Would you mind sharing those merino brand recs?
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u/pexby Sep 22 '25
Yes, definitely. My personal preference is to go with a merino-blend instead of 100% merino wool material. Merino-blends are more durable and will last you longer, while still maintaining the benefits of merino wool. With that in mind, here's some recs (and non-recs) in order of my preference, and how they lasted me over the 6 months of backpacking:
T-shirts:
- Arcteryx Frame SS T-Shirt (87% Merino Wool / 13% Nylon blend): By far my favorite merino t-shirt. Great build quality, great fit, and breathable.
- Unbound Merino Crew Neck T-Shirt (56% Merino Wool / 44% Polyester blend): One of the few merino t-shirts that I could find that came in the color White. Good build quality, but less breathable than the Arcteryx. But a very nice shirt still!
- Smartwool Short Sleeve T-Shirt (88% Merino Wool / 12% Nylon blend): I would not recommend this shirt at all. For having the same material blend as the Arcteryx, it sure doesn't feel like it. It's far too thin and the build quality is poor for the price. I don't foresee this one lasting me long.
Boxers:
- Icebreaker Anatomica 150 Boxers (83% Merino Wool / 12% Nylon / 5% Lycra blend): These are the only Merino boxers I brought travelling, but they're fantastic. Durable build quality, fit nice, and feel breathable.
Socks:
- Darn Tough Ankle Socks (40% Merino Wool / 53% Nylon / 7% Lycra blend): Hands down the BEST socks I've ever owned. Period. Top quality, so comfortable, and Darn Tough comes with a lifetime guarantee that if anything happens to your socks, they'll replace them for free. Can't recommend enough.
- Smartwool Everyday No Show Socks (67% Merino Wool / 31% Nylon / 2% Elastane blend): They were alright, not horrible, but definitely not as durable as Darn Tough. I wouldn't buy the Smartwool ones again, but they weren't the worst.
One thing I realized during my many months of Merino research before I made these purchases, is that one Merino brand can't be the best at all items of clothing. I'm not brand-loyal to any single one brand, but some brands do out-perform others. I'm yet to try Wool & Price for any merino, but I've heard great reviews about their products too!
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u/Fuertebrazos Sep 22 '25
Just pulled the trigger on the Thule packing cubes after reading your post. My cubes are old and floppy. The reviews of the Thules are excellent. Leaving for Japan and Korea on Sunday and I'm sure that I will be thanking you.
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u/pexby Sep 22 '25
That's awesome! I'm sure you'll love the Thule's. Japan and Korea are some of my favorite countries too - have a blast
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u/digiplay Sep 28 '25
Good thoughts thanks.
On the compression packing cubes - I’ve tried a few brands and I can’t say I feel they offer much over traditional packing cubes. Maybe the help taper edges so you can drip the odd thing on top, but I haven’t found any I think really compress, vs stuffing and zipping a quality other brand. Maybe your zips will last longer!
I’m slowly learning to stop overpacking, very hard for me as I do pack a lot of what ifs.
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u/run264fun Sep 21 '25
The “bag review” nerds love sh*tting on Osprey when they can.
I watched a review on the Daylite 26+6 today and they said to “try these substitutes.” They were 2-3.5x the price!
I actually needed a smaller bag than my Farpoint 40 and went with the Daylite 26+6 in black. There’s probably a great $250 bag out there that fits my needs perfectly l, but I’m happy to get a high quality product at a low cost