Backpack or Suitcase

Fashion is not my forte. I generally tend to wear the same things most days, and while I think I look clean and tidy (most of the time), it is very rare that anyone comments on my outfit, hair, accessories or style.

The trend of the season does not influence my wardrobe. Until our recent trip to Fiji, I didn’t have a ‘summer dress’ to slip into on a cool day. I do now, out of necessity. The temperature and humidity made it particularly uncomfortable to wear the tee shirts and shorts I had taken with me.

However, I do have clothes that I designate for certain activities.?

• going for a run, to the gym or practising yoga
• hiking/bushwalking and camping
• swimming, at the beach or kayaking
• playing golf
• sleeping
• going out for a semi-special occasion or dinner
• everyday activities, like working, catching up with friends & family, going to the shops
• dirty days, like gardening, working bees and major cleanups
• staying warm on really cold days

For each of these, I have a couple of options to choose from, along with the necessary extras like appropriate underwear, footwear and a suitable hat.

My intention while travelling as a digital nomad, is to continue to live my life doing the things I enjoy, from wherever I am. That means, doing all of those things above.

When it comes to packing to go though, that ends up being a lot of stuff, even if there are only one or two outfits for each activity.

From my experience of pulling a large suitcase along cobblestone streets, lifting it on and off buses and boats, I have to say, it doesn’t really feel like the way to go for this trip.

We will be in a single location for at least a few days, though more often at least a few weeks to a month, but there are still a lot of times when I will need to move all of my gear from one location to the next.?

I have read many blogs about what to pack as a digital nomad. I am pretty sure many of them are written by men, who seem to be able to get away with taking 3 shirts and 3 pants, one jacket and a couple of pairs of jocks and socks.

Well…I don’t think that is going to work for me. I want to feel as comfortable doing the activity, with the amount of sun protection, freedom of movement, temperature balance and dirt tolerance as I prefer.

I have a great backpack that I use for hiking (overnights and multi-day). It is comfortable to carry and on its own, is not really very heavy. It has one main compartment, with two smaller compartments and a few little pockets. I am thinking that it will be a better solution.

Reality still applies. I have to be able to pick it up and carry it on my back. The most I have carried with it to date is about 16kg. It was fine once it was on, and I was able to get it on…easily when there was a table or stump to put it up on first.

Yesterday, I decided to put my thoughts to the test.?

I reviewed my packing list which has evolved from many years to travelling on shorter trips. The longest I have done currently stands at about six weeks, noting that that trip was with children, so my needs have changed a lot since then.

Being a Sunday, everything was washed and dried and folded, so it was quick and easy to grab out the items that I think I want to take. I put them in neat little piles on my bed, in groups based on the activity.

Then, I walked away for a while.

When I came back later, I inspected the piles and found that there were a couple of things that wouldn’t make the cut. I also realised that there were a few things that needed to be added…at least, I think they are needed.

Once I felt that I had everything there that was worth taking, and nothing that was not, I packed them into packing cells (“yes”, is the correct answer to the question “do I really need to pack stuff into a bag, just to put it into another bag?”).?

Then, it was time to find out whether ‘all that stuff’ would fit in my backpack.

I will add a caveat here. I am intending to be a digital nomad. That means I will be working while I am travelling. That means I MUST have my laptop and its accessories available everywhere I go. I will not be putting my laptop in my checked bag. Ergo, my laptop and bits (which I will cover later) do not need to fit in this backpack.

Shoes (sneakers, sandals & thongs…I will wear my hiking boots) go in the very bottom compartment, with non-basic toiletries (the basics, like toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush and deodorant come with me in my handbag, more on that later).

The central compartment holds my clothes, rain jacket, my daypack (yes, I am still taking a smaller backpack for hikes, day trips and carting my gear to coworking spaces) with an empty water bladder, and accessories pack (like hats, booty band, flip belt, necklace and prescription sports sunglasses).

The top compartment holds my diary, notebook, pencil case, watercolour paints, sketchbook and spare glasses.

The pocket on one side has my hiking poles, and the other side straps will hold my yoga mat (which I would prefer to take as a carry-on, so I can use it while hanging out in the airport waiting for my flight…but that won’t be possible on all flights, so it needs to have a home here too).

It fits!!!

Next question, how much does it all weigh. For most flights, we have around 23kg of checked baggage allowance, there are a couple that is less though, so I have to work to the lowest, which is 20kg.?

Fortunately, David picked up a great set of butcher’s scales at a garage sale years ago. They are ideal for weighing big things as they have numbers on both sides.

The result… 14.2kg!

I was easily able to pick it up from the ground and swing it on my back without needing to use the bench (although, that makes it easier and where there is one, I will anyway).

As this pack was not designed as a travel backpack, it does not have a zippered compartment to tuck all the straps and buckles into. This means, that if I checked it like it is, I am likely to be very sad at the end, as something will have broken or it could get caught in a conveyor belt (and I don't want to be "that person").

Lucky for me, I can sew…but, even better, so can my Mum! She is better at it than I am and has the equipment and experience to make a suitable bag for the backpack to go in during transit. One that will be strong, yet light, and pack down really small when I don’t need to be using it.

Now, back to that laptop. I may not be overly particular about the brand of a tee shirt I wear, whether my top matches my pants or if there is a wrinkle in my dress…but, I do care a whole lot about the quality and state of my tech.

I have a great laptop, but even still, I find it challenging to work from a laptop alone, so I also have a portable monitor. Of course, the laptop along with several other devices, like my phone, watch, camera, headphones, etc all need power cables (and none of them is the same…), and as Aussies, we are unique when it comes to power plug style, so I travel with a universal adapter, a power board and an extension cord.?

Plus, a keyboard. I know, it isn’t necessary and it weighs quite a bit…but, it makes my life so much easier. My fingers know where all the keys are without conscious thought and it is the perfect width and angle that I don’t get cramps or hand strain, even if I am typing for several hours a day, which I do.

For all of that, I am taking a small, cabin-bag sized suitcase. My favourite one is a Samsonite super lightweight (just over a kilo) soft case. It is deep (not a clamshell) and has a couple of pockets to hold the little things that might otherwise slip around.

All of those bits and pieces, including the case, come in around 8kg. For some flights, this will be okay as the limit is 10kg. However, there are a couple that only allow 7kg.

Now, in all my years of travelling, only twice have I ever had my carry on bags weighed. Fortunately, on both occasions, they announced it over the PA so I knew it would happen, and I was able to shuffle bits around.

Expecting the best but planning for the worst is generally a good way to approach such things. Therefore, I am taking a large (but not oversized) handbag. I don’t usually carry a handbag. I am a backpack girl.?

I actually bought myself a really lovely, cork backpack last year from a young female founder who started her own business, Kobi, making bags from renewable cork. I have a ‘cork tree’ somewhere, I think maybe Portugal, that has been planted because I bought the bag.?

Unfortunately, it isn’t big enough to stash things in if I need to drop the weight of my carry on suitcase though, so it probably will not make the cut this trip.

My handbag will hold my noise-cancelling headphones, our bag of games (cards, dice, backgammon, crib board, notepad & pens), a magazine/puzzle book, small pencil case, travel documents, water bottle, jumper (sweater, pull-over depending on where you are from), snacks jar (usually nuts, a bit of jerky and some craisins), basic toiletries (toothbrush etc), a pair of knickers, power bank, action camera and masks (sleep and spare face masks).

Regardless of what I choose to take and what I leave behind, there will always be something I want that I don’t have and something I take and never use. Lucky for me, David is a whiz at finding things in op shops or online right when he needs to.

As we are staying in apartments or family homes most of the time, we don’t have to worry about linen and general household type items. Whether either of us likes it or not, Bella cannot come in my suitcase (or backpack). I am still considering making room for a travel spice kit though…