A lot of people ask us what we pack for full-time travel. The answer is a lot of shit. BUT more important in our opinion than WHAT we pack is what we put it in. A lot of people don’t invest in luggage. They buy the cheapest thing they can find on Amazon or at Target or shove all their stuff into a duffle bag from high school. But when you’re literally living out of your bag, carrying all of your worldly possessions with you all of a sudden you care a lot more about how long that bag lasts, how comfortable it is to carry around, how much stuff fits inside of it and how easy it is to get in and out of.
We looked at ALOT of bags but ultimately landed on this little beauty.
The Ospray Farpoint.
We chose this bag for a number of reasons.
Reason 1: Packability.
The bag unzips all the way around like a roller suitcase, it makes it super simple to pack and get into. We had one of these and one top opening bag, we ended up picking up a second Farpoint in England because we liked it so much more than our top pack bag. They have a woman’s version of this pack called the Fairview but it only comes in small/ medium in stores and has to be special ordered.
Reason 2: Utility.
The pack is actually two backpacks in one. The front pouch is actually a day pack. It’s great for afternoon trips, or can be used as a personal item on budget airline flights! One tip to note is; many budget Airlines such as Ryanair, and Easyjet only allow 1 personal bag, thankfully the outer day pack on the Farpoint qualifies and we’ve never had an issue taking it onboard.
Reason 3: Weight
When you’re carrying a backpack all over the world the weight of the actual pack is something you should consider The largest size of this pack, which is what we both have, is 1.8 KG, or just shy of 4 lbs. Most budget airlines charge around 20 euros for a 10 KG bag and around 40 euros for a 20 kg bag. If you’re incredibly resourceful and can live with 3 changes of clothes (We can’t but if you can more power to you) you can carry it on the plane for no charge. That said, you don’t want the weight of your bag to exceed 10KG if possible. SO what we like to do is pack all our heavy items in the day packs and put all the bulky clothes in the big packs. It keeps costs down when in transit. If your bag is heavy that’s valuable weight you’re giving up for souvenirs and personal items.
In addition to our bags, we ALSO carry Packing cubes. We find a combo of these and rolling our clothes helps conserve space and it REALLY helps with organization. Living out of a suitcase is way easier when you know where everything is. We like to our my bulky items like trousers and heavy knitwear in the cubes to compress them, then fit smaller items such as athletic tops and socks in the cracks and crevices. It makes life a little easier. Below are a couple different packing cubes we’ve used/ are currently using.
Finally, and I (Sorcha) personally found these to be a game-changer, I recommend get silicone shampoo/ toiletry bottles. They sell the plastic ones at most big box stores but the silicone ones are better because it is easier to get all the products out and they don’t tend to explode with pressure changes like the plastic ones because they have more give. That way you can fill them up again and again. Matt and I love ours. Go-tube makes them and sells them at REI, but they cost a pretty penny. Amazon sells similar tubes for half the price.
We hope these links and tips are helpful! We’re also open to suggestions! Do you have any go-to travel gear you love that you think we should try? Let us know in the comments!!!