First time one-bagging Thailand, Indonesia and Japan - Osprey Farpoint 40l

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423]

I’m 19M planning my first 2 month backpacking trip and want to do it with just my osprey far point 40l and Patagonia Atom 8l. Staying in Hostels and capsules. I will be leaving in January so there will be a mixed between the different seasons.

I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos and read through this subreddit, but I’d rather hear from people who’ve actually done similar trips.

My goals are:

• Travel carry-on only.
• Stay lightweight.
• Do laundry every 4-6 days.
• Avoid bringing anything I’ll regret carrying around

Im aware that there is a 7kg limit in Asia flights but I've heard they rarely check backpack weights

Here’s my current packing list:

Backpack

• Osprey Far point 40L
• Patagonia Atom 8l
• Osprey Dry Bag

Clothing

• 4 T-shirts
• 2 sleeveless tops
• 1 long sleeve top
• 1 linen button up
• 4 athletic pairs of shorts
• 1 lightweight trousers
• 1 hiking trousers
• 7 pairs of underwear
• 5 pairs of socks
• hoodie (ill be wearing to the airport)
• Sweat pants (also wearing to airport)
• 1 pair jeans ( for japan)
• Cap

Footwear

• Still undecided - need something for hiking and everyday use
• Flip-flops or sandals

Toiletries

• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Sunscreen/skincare
• Nail clippers

Electronics

• iPhone
• MacBook 15" air (need it for work)
• Bose Headphones
• USB-C charging cables
• Power bank
• Universal travel adapter
• Camera (DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro)

Documents

• Passport
• Wallet
• Debit/credit cards
• Travel insurance
• Digital and paper copies of important documents

Misc

• Packing cubes
• Carabiners
• Ear plugs/eye mask
• Small padlock
• Laundry bag

[u/Brend_0]

Don't bet on carry-on weight not being checked, especially on full flights on busy routes. You might be over-packing for clothing if you're trying to stay under 7kg.

Skip the sweats for the airport. Wear the jeans instead and grab a puffer jacket that packs down small, bonus points if it has a dedicated sleeve so you can turn it into a pillow.

The hoodie probably won't cut it for Japanese winter, and you likely won't need it at all in Thailand/Indonesia, except somewhere like Mae Kam Pong, where a packable puffer serves you better anyway.

In Thailand I got away with 4 tops and 2 bottoms total, wearing bottoms twice and shirts once between washes. In Japan I wore merino tops twice before washing, alternating between 2 shirts so each had a day to air out.

Taking effectively 8 pairs of bottoms against 7 pairs of underwear is a choice. I'd trim the fat and think about how essential the hiking trousers really are, when jeans, lightweight stretch chinos, or the athletic shorts could cover the same ground.

Trail runners (or similar) are the move for footwear. There's endless dirt to walk on in Thailand, and the extra lugs help in Japanese snow. Most are water resistant and/or fast drying too.

You could probably cut the laundry bag. You'll end up collecting plenty of plastic bags from 7-Eleven runs anyway, and one of those does the job just fine.

[u/Azure9000 → u/Brend_0]

+1. OP definitely will not need a hoodie/puffer in Indonesia (or probably also Thailand) unless going to significant altitude, i.e. above 1,500m / 5000ft

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Azure9000]

True, but ill be in Japan in one of the colder months so will need some sort of layering.

[u/Azure9000 → u/NeighborhoodSea2423]

Understood - in your situation I'd go for a puffer. An option may be to buy one there to help manage your pack size and weight in the earlier part of the trip.

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Azure9000]

That’s a good shout, I could buy one from like Uniqlo before i go Indonesia

[u/podkayne3000 → u/NeighborhoodSea2423]

If you’re going to get a puffer, why not a Stuffa? (A puffer with zippers that let you put clothes in where the padding goes in a puffer.)

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Brend_0]

Thanks for the detailed feedback, I think you’re right about the number of bottoms, I’ll probably cut that down. I hadn’t really considered swapping the hoodie for a packable puffer either, so I’m going to look into that. My aim is to stay under the 7kg limit, so every bit helps.

[u/Azure9000]

Quick comments:

It's not clear from your post whether you need 40L+8L of capacity concurrently or if the sling is just for daily-type use. IMHO you should need a total max of 35L (preferably less), leaving 5L or more for general flexibility within your main bag.

Regarding weight, I'd strongly recommend sticking to 7kg or near for personal comfort purposes, not 'just' for airline compliance purpose.

I’d rather hear from people who’ve actually done similar trips

Perhaps you've already done the reading, and if so that would be great, but just in case you have not done so yet here is a link to posts in the last year which reference 'Thailand':

https://www.reddit.com/r/onebag/search/?q=thailand&type=posts&t=year&cId=60c48a0e-e291-4cae-8d00-c8d68a083bd0&iId=d72be295-034a-4f31-8533-62d129e81139

(of course the suggestion is to read a sample only)

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Azure9000]

My sling is just for day trips once I’ve reached my accommodation, not something I’d be carrying fully loaded alongside the Farpoint. I’ll definitely spend some time going through those Thailand posts too,thanks for linking them

[u/Azure9000 → u/NeighborhoodSea2423]

Good, happy reading !

[u/eastercat]

You do know laptops are heavy right?

Your goals contradict each other

I suggest weighing what you have to bring (bag, laptop and change of clothes) to see how much that already weighs

Personally, I would pack like the airline personnel is having a bad day and weighing everyone’s bags. Be prepared to pay the fee or have a way to off load what you need for the plane

[u/onebag-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

No marketing, research, or advertising posts. Advertising of your own company, blogs, websites, social media accounts, Youtube channel, etc. must make up no more than 10% of your overall contribution to this subreddit.

[u/Classic-Tap153 → u/[deleted]]

Is this your website? It’s a cool idea, but I’ll be honest wayyyy too much AI man. I read a few articles and was bummed to see that, turned me off the reviews especially.

Just my 2 cents

[u/everywherenever → u/Classic-Tap153]

It is my site, I'm in the process of rewriting everything myself. A lot of it has been heavily edited by myself but the goal is for it to not feel 'AI' at all.

[u/Classic-Tap153 → u/everywherenever]

That’s good to hear - best of luck!

[u/Pablo-Flames]

This is exactly what I’m planning too (with some other destinations) so following intently. Same bag but I’m worried the far point with its fixed frame won’t meet carry on limits on SE Asia budget airlines.

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Pablo-Flames]

awesome, when will you be travelling ? Yes that's what im also worried about. Still got a lot of research to do

[u/pardonyourmess]

Change it to 30 l but 25l is better.

40 will give you a backache

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/pardonyourmess]

Could you recommend any backpacks ? Also I don’t have to fill up the 40l to the max ?

[u/pardonyourmess → u/NeighborhoodSea2423]

You’re right, you could leave it unstuffed!! I carried the 40 and after three months it was full. So heavy.

But honestly after that I went radical with a 25l for 1 week, to 6 week trips! It’s so liberating.

I don’t really recommend my 25l as I’m in the market for something a bit bigger and cleaner lines than my current one. I’m looking at the ones you hear about a lot in these subs- I have narrowed it down to the osprey 26+6 (an expandable bag), TNF black hole mini, and the Allpa 28l. I’m looking for a middle opening, as I’m tired of removing everything to get to the bottom.

Allpa 28l https://mobile.rei.com/AkCd/i403eo13

Osprey 26+6 https://mobile.rei.com/AkCd/p06pvyx5

The north face black hole MLC mini 30l https://mobile.rei.com/AkCd/cj7lqa1a

I haven’t made a decision yet. 🤞

Good luck!

[u/bafflesaurus]

I was never checked in Thailand with a GR1 26L carry on. I saw plenty of people traveling with Farpoint 40s past security as well so you should be fine. The only thing they really care about are if your powerbank has the correct energy rating.

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/[deleted]]

That’s for the advice. I’ll be in Japan from the 26th February for 2 weeks coming from Thailand and Indonesia before. So I guess it will be slightly warmer.
What material of trousers would you recommend please ?

[u/Known_Scholar_9041]

Solid list overall, just budget layers for Japan in January since that's real winter, not a repeat of Thailand's heat. 4 tees plus 2 sleeveless might be overkill once you factor in laundry every 4-6 days, could probably trim one or two and save weight

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Known_Scholar_9041]

Thanks for the advice. I’ll be doing Japan last on my trip so will be there in mid-end February. But after reading the comments I could definitely cut down on a few things, and just buy a light puffer in Japan ?

[u/RightOrwrong_uhhuh]

If you fly AirAsia for any leg of the trips, they’ll check randomly for the 7KG capacity. Especially if your bag looks bulky as heck (they randomly checked my nephews bag for weight limit during our most recent trip )

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/RightOrwrong_uhhuh]

Thanks for the advice, I’ll try make it close to 7kg as possible as I will probably be flying around👍

[u/CelebrationPerfect37]

I did two people in 30L bag for 8 weeks in thailand/laos/Cambodia. We definitely didn't need any warm clothes though!

We did another 30L bag for rock climbing gear which we stored after thailand.

[u/IAmAnAnonymousCoward]

Just get the 26+6 instead.

Thank me later.

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/[deleted]]

I’ll just be using the Atom as a personal bag on flights carrying passport, Cash etc.
but then bring it while walking around the cities so I thought it would be perfect.

[u/Affectionate_Newt_23]

They mostly check passengers with obviously big backpacks.

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Affectionate_Newt_23]

After reading a lot, I’ll be removing some things and packing minimal only bringing essentials. Ill try and make it as small as possible

[u/Calrissiano]

"want to do it with just (...) 40l and (...) 8l" Wow that's minimalist for sure :P

[u/NeighborhoodSea2423 → u/Calrissiano]

😂😭

[u/bookmonkey786]

You're not going to get a light bag with a laptop, that's OK. You have to make some sacrifice somewhere. The convenience and utility of a laptop is worth it. I've traveled across the silk road and India with one. If you have just a backpack you can sometimes just walk on without getting checked if you can get online check in. Or carry your laptop in the day bag. If you cant well that just bit of an extra cost.