I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and the topic of one-bag travel came up. I realized that I have put some thought into it, so I decided to share my setup here.

Note: nothing in this post is sponsored in any way, it’s just my personal experience.

The bag

By one-bag, I mean one-backpack, which I think is superior to a suitcase for travelling.
The backpack I use is from a defunct brand, and I can’t find the model, but I can explain its strengths and weaknesses.

In the top picture, my bag is the right one. The left one is a Forclaz from Decathlon.

• Capacity: I estimate it’s around 35L. It’s shy of 40L, which I think is the maximum volume that’s manageable to carry around.
• Its dimensions fit airlines’ carry-on limits. I think this is quite important for one-bag travel, since you don’t want to risk your one bag getting lost because you had to check it in.
• If it’s not completely full, it even fits under an airplane seat in economy class. This comes handy if the overhead compartments are full.
• It has padded shoulder straps, a chest belt for additional support, and many zippers and pockets.

If I were to buy a backpack today, I would consider one with a clam-shell opening, which makes it really easy to work with. Also, mine doesn’t have a big water bottle holder nor a waist belt. These two points, incidentally, are tackled by the Forclaz in the picture.

Clothing

I feel clothing is a whole thing by itself, so I’m going to focus on how I pack my clothes instead.

I swear by packing cubes. I use them to organize my clothes and underwear. Some of them even feature a compression zipper, so they allow me to squeeze stuff in less volume. I normally use a small one for my underwear + pyjamas + swimsuit, another one for t-shirts, and a third one for pants.

Something I think is overlooked when travelling is having enough bags. I pack an empty fabric bag for dirty clothing, another one for shoes, and a big plastic zip-bag for wet stuff (which is useful if you need to pack your swimsuit in a hurry).
In addition, I also have a small cord bag or a foldable sport bag that I use when I’m exploring a city. It only fits a water bottle, sunglasses, and a couple more small items, but it avoids having to carry the big backpack around.

Update: I took so long to write this post that now I have a sling bag from Tomtoc, the Explorer-T21 S. It packs 4L, I’ve been using it for the last few weeks, and I like it quite a bit. I can fit a small water bottle (about half a liter), sunglasses, some tissues, and a folded bag. It also has a protected back pocket where you can store your passport / phone.

On the topic of shoes, I normally only pack one extra pair besides what I’m wearing, and I wear the bulkiest ones on the train / plane.

Seasonal stuff

Depending on the destination, I pack some additional clothing or items.

Cold climates

I have a scarf, a beanie, and gloves. If it’s really cold, I’ll pack thermal undershirts or underpants, along with thick socks.

Rainy climates

I pack rain gear if needed, plus a foldable rain cover for the bag itself, which I use on walks or on scooters. I pay attention to the overall weather when deciding how to prepare for the rain. For instance, if I’m travelling to Amsterdam, I would pack a raincoat since it’s not uncommon to encounter strong winds along with rain; on the other hand, if I’m travelling to Singapore, I would pack an umbrella instead, because wearing a raincoat would make me drenched in sweat anyway, plus it’s relatively easy to find rain cover in the city.

Sunny climates

For the sun, I bring a UV protection cap from Uniqlo, sunglasses, and sunscreen. If I might go for a swim, I’d bring a small and thin microfiber towel (mine is from Decathlon). For the sunscreen, normally I pack a small travel-size tube, and I buy a bigger bottle at the destination if needed. The same idea applies to other elements in the next section:

Toiletries

I don’t have a special toiletry bag. I use one that someone gave me as a gift, from an AirEuropa amenity kit. I like it because it fits in the biggest side pocket of my backpack.
I don’t really mind using the shampoo or gel provided by the accommodation where I’m staying, so I don’t pack these with me.

My toiletry list includes:

• A (regular, not electric) toothbrush and toothpaste
• A couple of flexible plastic toothpicks, from GUM. They have one model designed for travel, but even the thinnest one felt uncomfortable to me. Therefore, I use the Soft-Picks Pro of Small size.
• Mouth gel with hyaluronic acid for canker sores or mouth ulcers. This sounds pretty niche, but it has helped me many times, and it shortens the recovery time. I don’t want to be travelling and being really uncomfortable when eating. I use one from ISDIN called Bexident Aftas, but there’s other brands as well with a similar formulation.
• An FFP2 / N95 face mask
• A small jar of NEUSC P-ROSA. Also niche: in principle it’s a hand repairer tablet for cracked hands. However, I use it for the cracked skin around my nostrils if I have a cold and have been using tissues too much. It’s really good. I put it in a small plastic travel jar instead of carrying the whole tablet.
• Long, pointy tweezers. Useful in general, and in particular for plucking splinters from below your nails. Ask me how I know.
• At least one package of tissues, in addition to an extra one stored in the backpack itself.
• A nail clipper
• For perfume, I use tiny free samples instead of bringing a bigger bottle.

The sleep gear

I am quite happy with my current sleep gear, so I want to talk about it separately. My current setup enabled me to fall asleep when flying overnight in economy class, which I wasn’t able to do before.

First, let’s talk earplugs. I have become an earplug maximalist over the last few years, going from being unable to sleep with them to embracing them when I need them.
When I travel, I bring two types of earplugs, both from a brand called Alpine, and they serve two different purposes.

The first pair is their SleepDeep model. Their seal is not as tight as others, but being a side sleeper, their shape feel really comfortable.
I use these at hotels or apartments when needed. Ironically, I think that just having them at hand makes me less annoyed about background noise, making me more relaxed and hence making it easier to fall asleep.
I actually have a second pair of these at home, and they always sit by my bedside table: if the neighbours are having a party, it takes ten seconds for me to put them on and get back to sleep.

The second pair is their SleepSoft model, which is also good for side sleeping, but I find them slightly less comfortable than the SleepDeep.
Since their seal is tighter, I use these to sleep on airplanes.

I would like to mention that they have a FlyFit model that supposedly reduces discomfort by regulating eardrum pressure. I have tried them and they didn’t make a difference for me, but I don’t suffer from ear discomfort when flying. If you do, you may find them useful. Nonetheless, they are not designed for sleep I think.

In addition to the earplugs, my setup consists of an eye mask (nothing special really, although I may consider upgrading it in the future), a travel pillow from Ostrich, a hoodie and an extra pair of socks.

The way it works is like follows: when it’s time to sleep, I take my shoes off, put on an extra pair of socks and recline my seat. Then, I put my earplugs on, the hoodie hood over my head, and the eye mask over the hoodie. I don’t like feeling the straps of the eye mask on my ears when I’m trying to sleep.
The setup is completed with the Ostrich pillow, which I like so much that I carry for the whole duration of the trip just because it actually allows me to sleep on the plane, which really makes a difference to kickstart the journey with energy. Since it has a travel bag with a cord, I tie it to my backpack and I leave it hanging from its side (you can see it in the picture at the top of the post).
In addition to being compact when folded, what I like is its asymmetry: first, depending on the space between my neck and the seat, I can choose the thinner or thicker part of the pillow; and second, it allows me to sleep with my head slightly tilted to the side, leaning against the pillow itself for support. This, combined with the typical side-folding headrest in economy class seats, provides enough support for me to fall asleep.

Medkit

I like to bring some medicines with me. Even if I can find them easily at my destination, normally when I need them I’m not in the mood to go out to a pharmacy.

I pack Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Strepsils (to treat sore throat) and Loperamide (for diarrhoea). I don’t self-medicate with antibiotics.
Sometimes, and depending on the destination, I buy a pack of electrolytes at the start of the trip. I get quite seasick, and it has occurred to me in the past that after a full day on a boat, barely eating because I don’t want to throw up, I get to the hotel feeling like absolute crap. In these cases, a glass of water with sugar and electrolytes truly works wonders.

I’m terrified of mosquito-borne diseases, so depending on the destination I also pack a bottle of extra-strong mosquito repellent and use it liberally. I’ll die from exposure to DEET before dying from a mosquito bite, but I don’t care.

Water bottle

People go crazy with water bottles these days. I have a cheap one from Decathlon.
It’s nice that it can be locked to prevent spilling, and it has a handle so I can hang it.

Update: I took so long to write this post that I joined the people that go crazy with water bottles. A friend recommended me to buy a flask from Memobottle.
They are flat flasks, perfect for everyday carry. He has a plastic A6 one and I just bought a plastic Slim one. According to the dimensions, it should fit neatly in the sling bag. I’ll update this with my experience later.

Electronics and work

I normally borrow my partner’s universal travel adapter from Skross. I pack the original iPhone Lightning cable, and a universal cable from Rolling Square, the InCharge 6.

The one I have is an older version that supports 15W; the new one they sell now, called InCharge XL, supports up to 100W, so you could safely use it to charge your laptop as well.

I normally bring one single brick for charging. If I can avoid it, I don’t bring my laptop with me when I’m on vacation; otherwise, I’d bring the laptop charging brick as well. I have a relatively cheap 30W charger from Ugreen.

Update: I took so long to write this post (you might start to notice a trend) that I got a 100W Gallium Nitrate (GaN) charger from Anker. It’s really compact, it has 2 USB-C + 1 USB-A ports, and the plug itself is foldable.

If I need to bring my laptop for a long train ride, I do have a big, bulky, laptop-grade battery of 27800mAh from Mojogear. Technically speaking it’s barely under the capacity limit of some airlines, so I could pack it for air travel as well; however, it’s heavy and annoying to carry.

I always bring my earbuds with me, the Freebuds Pro from Huawei.

Finally, I like to bring a notebook (the one I have is the softcover B5, dotted grid, from Leuchtturm) and a pen. The one I’m carrying at the moment is the OHTO GS02, although I swapped the refill with a cheap ballpoint blue one because mine was skipping quite a bit.

Other stuff

I always bring a small padlock with me. It’s really useful for public lockers, for instance at train stations.
An eSIM is very convenient to have. I use Nomad and I’m happy with them, but there’s many other providers that offer different deals. I like to purchase a fixed data plan because I don’t usually need unlimited data when travelling. An issue I’ve had in the past is that, even if I download the map of my destination in Google Maps, if you have an internet connection, the app will prioritize fetching the data from the internet. This can quickly eat up your quota when searching for restaurants or other places, which tends to download many pictures.

Before leaving, I store in my password manager a scan of my passport, ID, international driving license, and vaccination status. I also note down the phone numbers of embassies / consulates, and the emergency number of my travel health insurance. I always get travel health insurance when I’m travelling far away or to expensive places.