5.22.2009

go big or stay home?

no...no we are NOT staying home (and actually i think we are going pretty big by traveling around the world) but the advice we are getting from the people that sell backpacks is overwhelmingly to go big. like 70+10 litres big. this distresses me. it seems that once salespeople hear the length of time we are traveling they assume we must want to bring a lot of stuff with us. i mean, what would we ever do without a hair straightener...yes, that is a dig at myself. in fact, jay has stated that he will carry none of my things if i have a straightener in my pack. if i have room for a hair appliance then i have room for whatever i need him to carry. i'm not convinced. 
my philosophy (and from what i can see on the interweeb, the philosophy of many travelers) is that i want to pack as light as possible. think about it. this backpack is going to be with me for A YEAR! depending on what accommodations we find in any particular location...we could potentially carry this massive thing with us up the pyramids (can we go up the pyramids?)...

in any case, you get my point. i don't want to stay home and i don't want to carry the convenience of home on my back. do i worry that i'll forget something? do i worry that i will need more underwear than i thought? sure i do. but we have 4 months in europe and i'm pretty sure that if i've forgotten something or i need another pair of gitch, i can buy it there. and if there's no room in my pack, i'm sure jay will loosen up his pack straps and make room for it in his...even if he discovers the straightener i've hidden in mine ;p
Posted by corina at 4:56 p.m.
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3 comments:

Gadster said...

Hey Corina and Jay,
We bought a 60L and 70L backpacks. They are big enough and we also have day packs that we load with stuff when needed. I am sure that you won't need to carry your things for extended periods of time. The only times you have to carry your big backpacks is when you are on the move from city to city.

Like you said, if you forget something like a clothes items you just buy it. We have already bought new underwear, new t-shirts (you will get tired of wearing the same t-shirts everyday) and a few extra items.

8:34 a.m.
corina said...

thanks gadi, we just practice packed my brothers mec sojourn 54L and that size should suffice...not sure i want to go much bigger...we'll probably end up with 2 60L, 1 day pack and 1 messenger style bag. need to go shopping again.

10:42 a.m.
Alison said...

Go as small and light as you can! Ron and I have 42L packs + messenger bags and are so glad we did. Even with this small amount we are scrutinizing whether something is truly essential.

As for the hair situation. I opted to cut all my hair off in a boy cut so I can use a handful of water to style it. May be a bit drastic, but boy I feel free! and slightly like a boy :0

9:45 a.m.

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