Packing Considerations: Part I

I'd been holding back on posting about what I'll be taking with me, because I wanted to wait until I had a better idea of what my finalized packing list would look like before I did.  This, however, is completely backwards.  The benefits of this blog include brainstorming with my readers, tracking my thoughts, and having an easy reference to return to later.  So, while we most certainly won't get through the entirety of packing in one blog post, let's make some headway, shall we?


We will begin by considering what my luggage needs to accomplish.  From a packing perspective, my trip really has more in common with a wilderness trek than a traditional vacation.  Let's compare the requirements for this "urban camping" trip to a traditional camping trip:

Similarities:

• Ability to carry everything at once.  I'll be moving around regularly, and won't have any sort of home base in which to store supplies needed later or infrequently.
• Weather-proofing.  I most likely will not have the funds to rent a vehicle of my own.  Because of this, I will be relying on public transportation and walking as my predominant means of transportation (public bicycles if I'm lucky!).  My pack needs to stand up to inclement weather conditions and keep my supplies in good shape. 
• Versatility. The lack of a home base means that I will be operating out of my backpack at all times.  To accommodate this, it should be easy to find anything I need quickly, without having to dig for an item.

 Differences:

• Minimal food.  While I can save funds by purchasing my own grocery items, there are some limitations. Most food I end up carrying around with me needs to be ready-to-eat.  Additionally, I don't need to be carrying around a plethora of items.  Food should probably be limited to two or three staple, semi-perishable foods that I keep on hand for times when I don't have time or funds to dine out.
• Minimal survival gear.  Thankfully, I'm not leaving behind civilization.  While some pieces of survival gear are still essential (knife, compass, maps, etc...), many large, bulky items such as tents, ground pads, and sleeping bags are completely unnecessary.  This will open up a lot of space and weight for supplies that will be of more use in an urban environment.
• More clothing.  On a lengthy camping trip, more than a few spare articles of clothing is often a luxury one simply doesn't have space for.  The items above that I'm not taking free up space to allow for a slightly larger wardrobe.  My tentative estimate is a week's worth - but we'll do further evaluation in another post.

From the comparison above, it's rather clear that while my luggage won't consist of typical camping gear, packing it as if it were camping gear will be beneficial.  Next, we'll look at limitations.

High Sierra Appalachian 75

Two obvious limitations are size and weight.  I don't want to be pack-muling my way around Scandinavia - remember, I won't have a home base to leave half of this stuff at - at least not for significant periods of time.  Additionally, I'll need to not be a nuisance on public transportation.  I could use these two ambiguous limitations to try to guess an upper limit for my luggage, but instead I'll pop over to Delta and KLM Airlines for their size/weight restrictions.  If they require that my luggage be smaller/lighter than the maximum I can carry, then I've saved a fair bit of hassle in figuring out just where my upper limit should be.

Jackpot - both airlines require checked baggage to be within combined dimensions of 62", and under ~50lbs.  Thankfully, I have just the thing for that - my Appalachian 75 hiking backpack.  I bought it about a year back for a week-long trip to the Smokey Mountains, but it will work perfectly for this trip as well.  Its maximum dimensions fall just within the size limit, but it can compact down fairly well if I don't need that much space.  It weighs in at 6 lbs itself, leaving me with 44 lbs available for luggage.

One final note regarding this sort of backpack - putting it through an airline baggage claim as-is is a bad idea.  Straps can get caught in conveyors, things get torn off - it's just a disaster waiting to happen.  The simple solution I will be implementing to avoid this pitfall is to tighten all the straps on the pack, then placing it inside a lightweight, nylon, drawstring laundry bag.  The bag will keep all the loose ends together, and upon my arrival I can use the bag to store my dirty laundry!  Win all around.

In my next post, I'll be discussing specifics of what I will be bringing, and why.  In the mean time, feel free to ask me any questions or suggest other topics for me to cover!