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