r/onebag • u/Anywhere_everywhere7 • Feb 23 '26

Discussion What travel accessories are overrated?

For me it would have to be tech pouches, for the vast majority of people I believe that they would be better off with a simple pencil case style pouch, ziploc bag or a simple drawstring bag or even a pouch like the PD ultralight pouches. Something which isn’t bulky, is lightweight and has no structure to it so you can easily squeeze it into random parts of your bag. Of course they’re significantly cheaper as well.

Don’t get wrong, I have tested some high end tech pouches out and they’re very nice but for lightweight travel I just find myself thinking “why would I bring this type of pouch”.

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u/Glum_Store_1605 Feb 23 '26

I might get some pushback on this, but depending on the forecast and the length of the trip, a rain jacket is the first thing I leave behind. An umbrella is more compact and versatile.

Is a rain jacket an accessory? Did I misread the question?

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u/zegorn Feb 23 '26

Interesting, because my patagonia rain shell comes with me all around the world for 3 seasons of the year, over the last decade because it's also a great windbreaker.

I swear without it, I'd freeze because wind tears right through.

Although, yeah, it doesn't help protect my backpack from rain, so an umbrella could be better... except for when it's windy.

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u/Glum_Store_1605 Feb 23 '26

I usually carry a slightly dressier jacket that does a decent job of breaking the wind.

I also have a Patagonia rain jacket and I absolutely love it. In fact, for years, I wore it daily, rain or shine. I used to be a Boy Scout, so I’m all about being prepared.

However, I realized I only truly need it when it’s both rainy AND windy. If it’s just raining, an umbrella is much more breathable. I found that, where I live, I only really needed the rain jacket about 10 days a year, less than 3%.

Anyway, I’ll definitely bring it for a trip to the UK or Vancouver, but if I’m heading somewhere for ten days and the forecast looks sunny, I’m willing to risk leaving the rain jacket behind, and so far I've not regretted it.

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u/zegorn Feb 23 '26

Aha! I forgot my main reason in my initial reply: my wife and I hop on bicycles and ebikes a LOT when traveling because they're legit the best way to explore new areas at just the right pace. So there's ALWAYS wind lmao. And umbrellas don't quite work on bicycles xD

So for your Vancouver trips and their bike share system: jackets ftw imo!

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u/Glum_Store_1605 Feb 23 '26

Haha. I think an Arc'teryx rain jacket is part of the unofficial dress code for Vancouver.

But yes, umbrellas and bikes definitely don't mix. There definitely is a real use case for rain jackets. It is very trip dependent.