One bagging is the practice of using a single bag, typically 25-40L, while traveling. It is all about packing just enough for your trip, the ultimate minimalist traveler.
A typical packing list for a one bag trip is:
- 1 pair of technical pants made from nylon
- 1 pair of shorts for either sleeping or touring in hot weather
- 2-3 t-shirts made from merino wool or a cotton poly blend (Uniqlo t-shirts have become very popular)
- 2 pairs of underwear, also merino or exOfficio
- a single pair of shoes for all uses
- 1 or 2 pairs of Darn Tough merino wool socks
- a button down shirt
- toiletries, chargers, laptop or tablet, book, pen/notebook, clothesline (optional), headphones, whatever personal effects you may have
- foldable/portable daypack
- ultralight towel
- jacket (ultralight or windbreaker depending on time of year)
As you can see it is minimalism at the extreme. You have to be comfortable wearing the same clothes over and over again or doing laundry every night. On the other hand you can carry-on your entire suitcase and don't have to worry about bag fees (usually) or an aching back after lugging your bag across the city.
I've seen people do one bag trips for anywhere from 3 days to 30+ days. It is very much up to the individual, destination, and itinerary.
I don't often one bag for a variety of reasons. Primarily because I don't want to do laundry everyday or multiple times in a trip. I've written a few times about washing my clothes on the road (like in London last year hungover on New Year's Day, or while on safari in South Africa, or in Japan) and in general I find it to be more of a pain then it's worth.
The times where I have traveled with only one bag are always for shorter trips or occasionally for longer ones. My trip to the Balkins I brought one bag but it was a Gregory Baltoro 75L backpack which does not qualify as a "one bag" due to its size and weight. I've also done most trips in the US as one bag, typically using my LL Bean Day Trekker 25L backpack. That's probably the smallest bag I'll ever travel with and it's gotten to be a tight fit quite a few times but somehow I've always managed to make it work.
Even when using a smaller bag I've always packed more clothing then a typical one bag traveler. As someone who is overweight it just isn't practical to use the same pair of pants everyday. To be honest I don't think the whole "they don't smell" thing is actually true. No one wants to be that smelly person on the train or bus and even with the most smell resistant fabrics you're probably still going to be that smelly guy. Even if the pants never pick up an odor from you or the restaurants you visit, after a while you're going to start looking grungy. It's often called the "one bagger look" and it makes sense that if you're going to wear the same thing for a week it's going to get a bit haggard looking.
Despite all of these things I still greatly admire the people that are able to not only make one bag work but go to the trouble to find the best materials and tools for travel. From looking on and following their trials and tribulations I've walked away with a few key improvements in my own two bag travel.
1. Merino wool socks. I wear a merino blend sock by People's Socks which I love (and because I'm too cheap to get Darn Tough socks and too lazy to wash them everyday). These socks totally changed my life. I went from getting blisters every trip on the first day of travel to never getting another blister again.
2. Folding/portable daypack. This is on my must have for travel list and should be on yours too. Unpacking your entire backpack just so you have something to carry around your stuff while touring is so boorish compared to just unfolding a spare.
3. A single pair of shoes that works for everything. Oh man is this point tough. When I first started traveling I would pack two pairs of shoes but I found that I almost never wore the other pair. So I started to travel with only one pair of shoes. For a couple years now that pair of shoes was the Timberland hiking boots in the winter or a pair of low Air Force Ones in the summer. The Tims are great because they're warm but not overly bulky and don't get a second glance in the club. With my trip to Australia coming up though I've found myself at a loss for what to bring - AF1's being too sporty for night and Tims too heavy for wearing with shorts. I've been leaning towards using a pair of Merrell Vapor Glove barefoot shoes - I use them now for the gym and long walks without socks but I've never brought them hiking before.
4. Do It All Soap. One soap to rule them all! I've gone through phases of using different solutions for this. Time and time again I go back to the Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash. I've washed everything with it on the road and it does a great job. Dr. Bronners is the more typical soap, and I've even read about people using it as toothpaste (which is one of the many uses listed on the bottle). You can really use any soap though and I've even used a bar of Dove in the past.
Even if you find the one bag, your whole life on your back, life isn't for you it's definitely worth a visit to r/onebag or the One Bag Wiki to get some amazing tips on how to lighten your load. After all there's something extremely satisfying about reaching the end of your trip and finding that you've used every item you packed!
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