I went on my travels twice around the world in 2009 and 2014. In this article, I will give you some packing tips that I used during my world tour or for your trip of a few months.
📋 The essentials to remember: Traveling light boils down to 4 habits: using packing cubes to organize the bag, choosing versatile synthetic fabric clothes that dry quickly, limiting shoes to 2 pairs max (one versatile + one lightweight), and applying the 30% empty rule at the end of packing. Goal: max 8 kg in a cabin backpack for a trip from 1 month to 1 year.
These items that I recommend for your trip can also be useful at home, for organizing your kitchen or wardrobe, garage, garden, furniture, and your office in France.
Packing tips for your backpack trip
When traveling on a world tour or during a trip, space in your suitcase or backpack is limited. Buying new items can be a burden or too much for the rest of your journey because your bag will weigh more or you will have no more space to store things.
Here are some packing tips to help you, which I find essential:
The guide and list of travel essentials not to miss! They will never be too many in your suitcase- Vacuum storage bags:
This becomes more practical for people traveling with a suitcase; having vacuum storage bags can allow you to have more space in your suitcase, and the same goes for your backpack. You can also use them at home in your house for your wardrobe.
The principle of the bag is simple: you insert clothes or compressible items inside the bag and using a pump you suck the air out of the bag which compresses the items you put inside.
You will gain twice as much space in your bag and thanks to this, you will be able to put more things in your new bag.
🌍 Did you know?
Packing cubes were invented in the 2000s by Eagle Creek in the United States. They allow you to save up to 30% space in a bag by compressing rolled clothes. They also serve to compartmentalize (T-shirts, underwear, electronics) so you don’t have to take everything out at each opening.
If you want to buy and see reviews of vacuum storage bags, it’s right here.
- Synthetic material clothing:
Clothes made of synthetic materials are breathable garments, meaning they do not retain sweat and dry very quickly. So, if you wash your clothing, there is a good chance it will be dry the next day.
As a result, you can take fewer clothes in your bag and wash them more often.
The advantage of synthetic materials is that they are lighter, take up less space, and are generally elastic.
Synthetic materials include: polyester, acrylic, elastane, polyamide (or nylon).
An item I recommend that is always in my bag made of synthetic material is a microfiber towel. You can use this new towel for sports, travel, camping, or at the beach, etc. I often hang it on my bed and it dries very quickly.
One of the drawbacks is that these materials retain odors, so they need to be washed well.
🗣️ My experience: On my first long trip, I left with 15 kg. On return, I had only used 60% of my belongings. On the second trip, I reduced to 8 kg in the cabin, without depriving myself of anything. Benefits: no checked luggage (saving 15 minutes per flight), freedom of movement in the city, and no more back pain. Traveling with cabin luggage is my best travel upgrade.
- Storage accessories to organize your clothes and hygiene items by bag.
Having a well-organized bag saves you time. That is why it is important, for example, to have a toiletry bag for hygiene, I also recommend using it at home in your bathroom.
| Category | Optimal quantity | Recommended material | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-shirts | 4-5 | Thin cotton or synthetic (Merino for long trips) | Wash every 3-4 days |
| Pants / shorts | 2-3 | Lightweight fabric, quick drying | 1 long + 1 short + 1 comfortable |
| Underwear | 5-7 | Quick-dry (ExOfficio, Decathlon) | Washable in sink |
| Shoes | 2 pairs max | Trail + flip-flops OR sneakers + sandals | One versatile, one light |
| Jacket / sweater | 1 | Thin fleece or packable down jacket | Worst case, buy locally |
This allows you to take it out quickly and not always search in your bag, saving time because you often have to change places to sleep.
The same goes for clothes; I generally organize all my clothes, underwear, socks, t-shirts, etc.
I recommend using Ziploc bags which are transparent to help you find things more easily, also useful for cooking. They are simple and practical to use.
During my trip, I always placed each of my bags in the same spot in my backpack, and I spent little time searching. Sometimes you arrive late at a hostel and need to avoid turning on the light.
🍀 Cabin baggage only
- No risk of loss or delay on arrival
- Time saving at the airport
- Mobility in the city and transport
- Savings on low-cost airlines (paid hold luggage)
🔻 Limits of cabin-only
- Liquids limited to 100 ml (cosmetics)
- No knives or tools
- Max volume 30-40 L depending on airline
- Variable weight (7-12 kg depending on carrier)
Having items in the same place can save your life and you will already know where it is in your luggage.
- Multi-use accessories for multiple purposes.
I mentioned the microfiber towel earlier, which serves as a multi-use towel.
For example, you can use the alum stone which can act as deodorant, aftershave cream, etc. The stone is small, a few centimeters, and easy to use. You need to get a natural stone and not a reconstituted one.
⚠️ Classic trap
Taking 3 pairs of shoes “just in case”. One pair of shoes weighs 500 g to 1 kg and takes up the equivalent volume of 5 t-shirts. Limit yourself to 2 pairs: a versatile pair (that you wear on the plane) + a light pair (sandals or flip-flops). For specific sports on site: rent or buy at the destination.
For hygiene, there is also the small Dr. Bronner’s multi-use soap, which is biodegradable. Several uses are possible; it allows you to wash your clothes, shampoo your hair. It can also be used as toothpaste. You can take care of yourself with just a few accessories.
The goal of having multi-use items is to save space in the bag, to travel lighter and practical like a travel Swiss army knife which is handy for camping or when you need a tool (knife, corkscrew, etc). You can also share it with people if someone needs a screwdriver for example.
Another example: Having a good convertible pants into shorts can be very useful both for winter and summer.
If you are wondering what to pack in your bag, travel gift ideas and accessories lists useful accessories to give or buy for yourself. To go further on the essentials, the indispensable travel accessories details my kit. And for long stays, preparing a long trip gives the right upstream reflexes.
If you are cold, keep it as long pants and if you are hot, unzip the bottom to make shorts. It’s a two-in-one pair of pants :D.
There are many other packing tips, I have offered you in this article the essential tips to have a lighter bag and simplify your life. These travel accessories allow you to have a bag with a reasonable weight, and when you have your home on your back, it’s better that it be light.
