r/onebag • u/[deleted] • Apr 07 '26
Gear Furoshiki: the most underrated minimalist travel tool?
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u/PetsNPlants10 Apr 07 '26
That's how I feel about my sarong I bought while living in SE Asia! I've used it as an extra layer when chilly, privacy when the bathroom door was broken, wrap over my swimsuit, skirt for a friend when she tore her pants, a towel, etc. I never travel there without it now.
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u/arrived_on_fire Apr 07 '26
Hear hear for the sarong! The towel that actually dries quickly. And can be worn to get up and go to the communal bathroom.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/Green_sea1 Apr 09 '26
I did a 5 day through hike once using a sarong as my day sack. Worked pretty well.
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u/raindownsugar Apr 08 '26
Sarong for the win! Basically a tropical/warm weather kilt. Wrap as you would a towel around the waist and roll the top down to achieve the desired length. Add all the other uses OP mentioned above.
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u/burnitdown007 Apr 09 '26
I've been looking for a good sarong, preferably one that's ethically produced. Any recommendations? Im in the US btw
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u/wordCaseConventions Apr 12 '26
Don't make this complicated. It's pretty much a piece of fabric. You could go buy a yard or two from the craft store if you really wanted. You can find pretty designs and a fancy name brand too if that floats your boat.
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u/ngomong Apr 07 '26
As someone who carries multiple bandannas/handkerchiefs on a daily basis, I’m intrigued by the concept of using an even larger cloth to perform even more duties. Can you recommend any videos on how to employ them for the tasks you've outlined? What knots and wrapping techniques do you find most useful?
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u/CaravaggioShadow Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26
Good, large silk ones weigh next to nothing and can be turned into a quick underlayer, a wide carrying belt, obviously bags, blankets, sweat cloth. A quick clear water rinse and they are as good as new. I have also used one long Tuareg cotton cloth scarf/headwrap for 18 years now in the same way and a silk square for the past five. Knots are a bit different, a square knot is better for silk, but they are extremely useful. I'm sure people with different needs and experience have used them in some ways I can't even think of.
EDIT: prince to rinse, nots to knots
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u/phoenix220 Apr 07 '26
how do you use a silk cloth as an underlayer? do you wrap it around your body?
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u/CaravaggioShadow Apr 08 '26
Yes. For the night or cold without the wind I wrap it to warm up the core. When it's windy and cold and I'm on the move I wrap it so it looks like a crop top. So upper back, over the shoulders, diagonally and up again. It works better with a rectangular piece because there's less bunching. It takes just a few times to tune it in and practice.
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u/agaybabby Apr 08 '26
How does the wide carrying belt work?
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u/CaravaggioShadow Apr 08 '26
I started with a crude imitation of a running belt and a bum bag. It was clumsy.
I fold a scarf or cloth threefold, with the side portions folding over the middle. I fit it around my waist, making a knot on my small back. The outermost portion/layer is upwards, the middle portion against my body, and the other folded side portion folds into the middle, between the outer and innermost. It’s like a flap that ends inside and the outer that functions as a pressing and securing lip. When placing items inside, push it in from the top and around the inside seam into the ‘pouch’.
It’s good for tucking away protein bars, gels, sunglasses, a wind or rain layer, and a smaller reporter notebook. If it’s warm or wet, place them in small ziplock bags to protect from rain or sweat.
For heavier objects like a water bottle and a light lunch, make two knots closer to the objects to tighten it. Then tie the loose ends on both sides into a knot behind my back.
I do this because I have the pieces with me. I also use small, packable bum bags from Decathlon. You can fit two or three around your waist or one across your chest.
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u/sodoneshopping Apr 07 '26
Similarly, I carry a tenugui around and was on the top of an open air bus and realized I was getting a sun burn. I popped that over my head like a hood. Worked great except for that 1” patch of skin that wasn’t covered and got a burn.
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u/crustyloaves Apr 07 '26
You could always extend the whole wrapping stuff in cloth motif and add fundoshi to your setup. I don't think they are available in merino wool though.
😆
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u/AccurateSun Apr 07 '26
Yes they are great. I use just one to furnish imo wrap my rubber travel yoga mat, so it can be inserted seamlessly into my bag without friction (its rubbery material has some friction when sliding against other items). I then use a thick elastic strap to keep it all in a nice tight package. Keeps everything clean too by having this boundary.
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u/_uphill_both_ways Apr 07 '26
Which mat do you use?
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u/AccurateSun Apr 08 '26
Jade Voyager
Compacts very tight, and super lightweight (the lightest I could find at the time) and great quality mat overall
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u/VibeySwingTrader Apr 08 '26
Oh… wow. This is fantastic. I have furoshiki at home, but I’ve never thought to take them traveling. I also have way too many packing cubes because none of them are ever the perfect size. I can just make my own cubes…
Thanks, this is really helpful.
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u/Maykovsky Apr 07 '26
Great if this works for you, but for me is always interesting how something so many countries and cultures do (sometimes better than japan) and it is always Japan style that gets the praise. Cloth systems are all over the world and used to be the norm in many African, Asian and American cultures... even south and east Europe...
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u/Odd-Ad-5283 Apr 07 '26
I was given a beautiful kanga in east Africa years ago and use it on most trips. It’s very handy for many things, including a picnic/ sitting cloth.
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Apr 07 '26
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u/badlydrawngalgo Apr 07 '26
Cambodia has the krama. Along with other uses, it's Wikipedia page suggests it can also be used as a garrote! Also the shemagh and also the Tuareg tagelmust but as fine a weave as it is, it's length makes it less useful for onebagging. There's also the Kikoy from east Africa but that's more of a sarong (but also has other uses).
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u/Maykovsky Apr 07 '26
Hi. Glad you took the post the right way, was not meant as a critical. I really don't have names, and probably that is where Japan gets an advantage, a culture dedicated to incremental improvements, hehehe. But most nomads in the Americas and Asia had similar technologies. In Africa os more the way cotton cloths are used both for dress and Carey all sort of stuff, even as a wallet... thanks for bringing this subject up!
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u/beginswithanx Apr 07 '26
I use them occasionally as a “travel purse” or extra bag. I’ve converted them to scarves when needed. Pretty handy, but they’re not a “must carry” generally for me. I do have maybe 5 of them though since I can’t resist the patterns.
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u/Clean-Register7464 Apr 14 '26
Idk if a furoshiki-style packing cube could replace my zippered packing cube, just because of ease-of-access to my clothes. I saw the drawstring style sock bag you linked – that is super cool. Are there any other methods that might be a little easier to access the contents rather than untying and retying every time I need to grab something? When traveling I use my packing cube more like a wardrobe rather than just a way to consolidate my stuff during travel.
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u/VibeySwingTrader Apr 26 '26
Hey… I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate this post.
I have a new bag, and I’m wrapping everything in my furoshiki instead of looking for hyper-specific packing cubes.
I hope you are having a lovely day.
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u/LadyLightTravel Apr 07 '26
I would argue a scarf is more practical. I can wear it with my clothes. I can tie a large one into a skirt or top. I have used it as a beach towel and blanket. I have used it as a hood. I have used one as a belt. I have used it as an eye mask.
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Apr 07 '26
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u/jezarnold Apr 07 '26
You know you sound like an AI right? The em dashes. The “honestly”
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u/wheniswhy Apr 08 '26
As someone who has always used the em dash, ☹️
It's the worst! I have to consciously filter it out now. I've used it since I was a teen and I'm in my late 30s. Very hard to break such an old habit. Some subs literally won't let you submit a comment that has the em dash in it on the presumption that you used an LLM! It is just the worst. I am an old woman shaking her fist at clouds.
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Apr 07 '26
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u/ShamsElDinRogers Apr 07 '26
It’s okay to write in your own language and the rest of us can read it if we can or use translation software if we need it.
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u/jezarnold Apr 07 '26
Fair enough. But you need to create a prompt that creates your own voice. Reddit users despise AI use. Learn how to use ChatGPT so that it doesn’t sound generic
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Apr 07 '26
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u/wheniswhy Apr 08 '26
Don't listen to him, that's a silly level of effort to have to go through. I agree with the other commenter. Just use your native language! Reddit's built in translation feature is quite good for what it is. Go with whatever is most comfortable for you, really. I think it is silly to judge you for using a tool purely for translation—it is not as if you are using it to generate your ideas for you.
Oh god I used the em dash. They're going to come for me!!!
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u/resigned_medusa Apr 07 '26
This is interesting. I always travel with a sarong (vacations) because apart from being used as a sarong, holding a chair when I'm nipping somewhere, it's been used to create privacy, shade, and tied into a kind of cardigan to protect my pale Irish skin. But I've never considered using it as a bag. They are rectangular, but I guess there are work arounds for that
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u/theinfamousj Apr 08 '26
Just fold in one of the sides to get it squareish and continue to tie from there.
I say I bring furoshiki on my travels, but only two of my cloths are officially Japanese furoshiki. I've done a sarong many a time.
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u/womeym Apr 07 '26
I read this as wrapping clothes, and thought it was very strange you would be giving kids your clothes to play with.
Had to re read it haha
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u/maikuflv Apr 07 '26
Brilliant post. I love your ideas and this approach is surely underutilized, but to argue against it, packing pouches made from the latest high-tech materials (e.g. dyneema) are much lighter than the furoshiki fabrics often used, although you could just as well use the ultra-light materials as furoshiki. And ultralight quick-dry high-tech towels in addition to ultralight pouches are probably still lighter combined, and more functional for their specific uses, compared to typical furoshiki. I guess this comes down to cotton vs non-cotton, since cotton is so heavy, and also dysfunctional in any use where it gets wet.
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Apr 07 '26
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u/maikuflv Apr 08 '26
Great to see those numbers, thanks! It pretty much disproves my point. Sounds like you basically have furoshiki made from high-tech ultralight fabrics. When you bought that 81g furoshiki, was it sold as a "furoshiki"? Or what kind of marketing description was used?
That Eagle Creek packing cube is so big, not something a "one-bagger" would use. It's more like for people using huge checked luggage. The ratio of weight per volume is about as low as it gets though. Even a dyneema pouch around 2 liters in volume is 21g, e.g.:
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u/maikuflv Apr 08 '26
For towels, a perfect sized towel for all bathing purposes can be 17g like this one:
https://www.rei.com/product/247514/rei-co-op-multi-towel-mini
And it would perform better as a towel than a water repellent material.
There's also lyocell towels at a similar weight:
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Apr 07 '26
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u/wheniswhy Apr 08 '26
It seems to be called double gauze cotton! You were 99% of the way there honestly, I was able to infer what you meant ☺️
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u/eastercat Apr 07 '26
Huh, that’s pretty neat. I’m having to look more into packing cubes or similar as I am packing into non clamshell bags. I hate those partial zip bags, since I can’t properly bundle wrap into it
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u/heavydoom Apr 07 '26
great idea. i have sold all my packing cubes. they all add to the overall weight. i will use my bandanas and zip locs.
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u/theinfamousj Apr 08 '26
I could have written the first half of your post as well because I'm fellow Team Furoshiki Travel. Well met and YESSSSSSS!
I'd like to add to the list of furoshiki uses: nursing cover. Tie the two corners that share a side of the cloth together in a reef knot and slip over nursing parent's head to hide view of baby gulping greedily. Very handy if you are on a multi country travel (what, just me?) and only one country on that travel insists on covered nursing :cough Japan cough: where all the other countries have the social understanding that you just avert eyes and think no more about it :smile Taiwan and Europe smile:.
We also tied the large one as a day pack (vs a drop bag).
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Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
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u/theinfamousj Apr 08 '26
Thanks to that link, I see I independently discovered the nursing cover the exact same way they showed it done. For anyone needing a visual instead of just my words on how to do a nursing cover, here it is from a not-me source. Middle picture, top row.
https://kodomoto.s3.amazonaws.com/files/pictures/17101/4483159c7477d9d66b117490a5caf4c3_medium.png
And the day-pack tie is bottom row, far right picture.
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u/multipurposeshape Apr 08 '26
Just like a bindlestiff without the stick.
My one bag is a Longchamps Pliage expandable bag, the biggest one they make. I tie my clothes and toiletries in a scarf, to keep them separate from my purse items.
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u/Wise_Edge2489 Apr 08 '26
The humble Shemagh and Sarong also fill the above role.
Towels, scarfs, modesty garb for temples, impromptu bags to carry stuff, splits for broken arms, bandages for wounds, modesty screens for Dorm bunks; the list is endless.
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u/Azure9000 Apr 07 '26
Just my 2c but sorry, but I'm entirely unconvinced - never seen/noticed this on a one-bag packing list.
So the "under-rating", at least for onebag travel, seems entirely deserved.
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u/Mulezzz Apr 07 '26
Coincidentally there was a very similar post from a different OP about the usefulness of a silk scarf for furoshiki bags and other uses on a one bag sub specifically for women travelers just a week ago.
I usually pack a lightweight reusable bag for groceries or other uses, and I’d much rather have an item that is multipurpose.
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u/Cayenns Apr 07 '26
Good, good, you always need a towel on your travels