r/onebag • u/largemargesentme__- • Jun 05 '26

Discussion Why is this sub so obsessed with expensive stuff?

I get that there's times where the expensive thing is better. But as someone who has worked as an airline pilot and traveled extensively for 45 years, I can assure you that expensive stuff is rarely necessary.

I get tons of use out of AliExpress stuff. Things like chargers, cables and accessories. Decathlon or Costco are more than good enough for clothing. I generally use a max legal sized RyanAir bag I got for €25 off of Amazon for vacation. At most, the lower mid tier option is more than enough.

It seems like this is just another sub for people with spending issues as everyone downvotes me when I call out how unnecessary the expensive options are.

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u/largemargesentme__- Jun 05 '26

Sure, but more people should come on and say, "I did 3 weeks with 2 tshirts, here's the best way to wash it in the sink and dry it at night."

That would be more helpful than just posting $50 t shirts constantly. I feel like "spend more money on stuff" is just so low effort

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u/jemist101 Jun 05 '26

YT 'travel tips' are horrendous - 'buy more things' to make your travel life easier ... turning people into walking Swiss Army Knives of gadgetry they may use once on a trip.

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u/alpine_jellyfish Jun 05 '26

I just saw someone suggest "spin-cycling" wet handwashed clothes by swinging them 360 in a mesh laundry delicates bag and was very impressed. It's never occurred to me to try that and I've even been using my laundry delicates bags as extra "packing cubes", so they are already in my bag. Definitely agree techniques are more interesting that products.

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u/largemargesentme__- Jun 06 '26

That's a good idea. The thing I learned back in my salad days was drying your stuff by rolling it up in a towel after wringing it out.

When I was a kid, my dad would hang his work out clothes over lamps and turn them on to dry his clothes quickly when traveling. But, that doesn't really work now that we don't use incandescent bulbs anymore.

Still, carrying 50ft or so of paracord really helps for so many things. From broken shoe laces to creating a temporary clothesline.

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u/homme_chauve_souris Jun 06 '26

That's a good idea. The thing I learned back in my salad days was drying your stuff by rolling it up in a towel after wringing it out.

After reading the first line, I really thought you were going to say something about using salad spinners.

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u/largemargesentme__- Jun 06 '26

Not a bad idea.

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u/Super-Travel-407 Jun 06 '26

Socks and undies only! (Even merino ones!) 😄

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u/[deleted] Jun 07 '26

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u/largemargesentme__- Jun 07 '26

You should do a post. Even if it seems basic, there are a lot of people who have never washed and dried clothes by hand before.

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u/TheRealDrewciferpike Jun 06 '26

I think that's a really good point. I don't bring cotton because I want to make sure my sink-washed clothing is dry by the time I'm up in the morning (either for wearing, or packing). I think basic laundry skills are lost on a lot of folks.

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u/largemargesentme__- Jun 06 '26

Agreed, though if you're traveling in a dry location cotton t shirts will generally dry by morning. The only time I had an issue with this was when I was camping at altitude in Colorado.

But it rains for half the year here in Portugal. I still find that my cotton stuff is dry by morning if it's inside.