No Baggage Challenge - The Professional Hobo

No Baggage Challenge Wrap-Up: Lessons Learned

Nora — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:00:19 +0000

Having wrapped up my summer in North America, so too ends the No Baggage Challenge wrap-up. After preparing for the monumental challenge of traveling with no baggage, I then took to the skies to fly with no baggage and enjoy (endure?) a week in hot sunny Florida (with varying degrees of success). My second no-baggage adventure was to take the train to Quebec City.

Many of my learning curves with this style of travel would be specific to women, from pocket layout to toiletries to the ever-present “what to wear” conundrum. But I also learned a few things about my current entourage of luggage that I expect will be very enlightening (in every sense of the word) in the future.

Here’s what I learned:

This post was originally published in 2011. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.

Clothing

Some no baggage travelers might suggest that you only need one outfit. Wash it at night, and it’s dry the next morning. I see two problems with this scenario: first of all, what do you wear to sleep? Although I’m not a total prude, I’m pretty sure my house hosts wouldn’t have appreciated a naked Nora traipsing through the house at night while my clothes were drying. (Heaven forbid I should have stayed in a guesthouse with shared bathroom facilities).

So with a requirement to have two outfits, I did my best to layer what I could while traveling. By the time I left for Quebec, I also discovered extra room in the back of the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket for some clothing to sneak into, saving me the uncomfortable bulk of wearing it all.

Toiletries

I don’t consider myself to be a princess (by any stretch), but I do have certain needs in terms of toiletries. And my poor little pockets struggled to fit everything.

In Florida, I thought I was smart by substituting shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and even toothpaste for Dr Bronner’s multi-purpose soap. But after a couple of days my face was dry, my hair was unmanageable, my mouth was reeling from the soapy taste, and my mood was miserable. The stuff is great as soap – but only as soap.

Even as a Professional Hobo (or perhaps especially as a Professional Hobo) there are a few comforts that I generally require to feel human – and one of those comforts is a proper allocation of toiletries. (Thank goodness I was staying with a friend and not in a hostel, as I was able to borrow a towel along with my sorely missed toiletries).

In Quebec, I had a slightly easier time of it because I didn’t have to contend with carry-on guidelines for liquids. So I took the bare minimum of toiletries in the smallest containers I could find. On a long-term basis, constantly replenishing tiny containers (especially if you’re picky about using high-quality natural products, as I am) is impractical. But for short trips, it works out fine.

Note: Since writing this article, most of my toiletries are now solid. Click here to see my updated Packing List for long-term travel!

Getting Used to Jacket Pockets

Most women’s clothing has no inside jacket pockets. So we just aren’t used to keeping things in there, especially things we really need. For items like wallets, phones, and knick-knacks, we carry purses; it’s almost instinctual. So getting used to everything being in a jacket was a learning curve that many men don’t go through, but which I found challenging.

Given my comfort with carrying a purse, having things in the pockets felt like a security compromise. What if I’m frisked by a gaggle of pickpockets? What if I want to take the jacket off? How do I open the jacket to fish out my wallet without revealing everything else to onlookers? Although it would technically be easier for a robber to make away with a purse, I’ve become accustomed to having one, and not traveling with any sort of bag left me feeling a tad naked.

Women’s Clothing and Pockets

As a reader pointed out in my Florida post:

“I think, like a lot of things, the design/idea works for what it was originally intended to –men. Women have more dips and bumps, and fitting stuff around them without looking lumpy or odd is tougher.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I love the look and feel of the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket when it’s empty, but once I loaded it with stuff, I felt bulky and, well, fat!

I think this is why we don’t see more women’s jackets with inside pockets; they just don’t play well with our curves.

Two caveats here: One is that I probably overloaded my pockets (my not-too-big-but-not-so-small camera was a sticking point); the other is that Scottevest Women’s Trench could likely have solved many of these issues with lots of pockets lower down, and a belt to accentuate the waist.

Wearing Other Clothing with Pockets

By the time I left for Quebec, I knew better than to rely solely on the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket as the sole mule of belongings for the trip. So I wore a few items of clothing with pockets to complement the jacket.

But even then, the additional pockets weren’t particularly functional. I guess women’s clothing designers are keen to our curves and know pockets aren’t complimentary, or they know most of us carry purses so they don’t bother with the extra material. We women seem to be unwitting victims of fashion over function whether we like it or not!

Eliminating What I Don’t Need

I learned pretty early on in my full-time travels that the weight of your pack is directly correlated to misery on the road.

And although I generally travel pretty light to begin with, the exercise of emptying my purse did bring to light that I still carry more stuff than I need to. And seeing that I’m soon to embark on a crazy train trip involving lots of movement, the lighter I pack, the happier I’ll be.

So as a No Baggage Challenge wrap-up, these trips have been instrumental in my taking another critical look at my bags and seeing how I can further reduce what I travel with. If I haven’t used it in a year (and don’t expect to in the foreseeable future), it’s staying behind. And although I really like the clothing I have, duplicates (ie: two of any kind of clothing like pants, t-shirts, etc) have been eliminated. It’s easy enough (and fun!) to replace and refresh my wardrobe as I go.

Would You Do It?

Female or male, pocket-savvy or not, would you do it? Would you take a No Baggage trip? I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments.

This post No Baggage Challenge Wrap-Up: Lessons Learned appeared first on The Professional Hobo. Please click through to read it in full!

Florida with No Baggage

Nora — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:00:13 +0000

As I window shop in the beach town of Hollywood Florida, I’m being eyeballed left right and centre. What? What is it? Is it the sweat dripping from my brow in this 100+ degree weather? Is it my gait? Or is it the over-filled black vest donned over my beach dress, making me look like a suicide bomber in search of a tan?

Regardless of what my hostile onlookers are actually thinking, this is me in the process of spectacularly failing the No Baggage Challenge in Florida.

This post was originally published in 2011. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.

How it all Started

Preparing for the No Baggage Challenge is a breeze. It is actually fun to go through my purse and finally eliminate the dead weight that I’d been too lazy to sift through. Even packing the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket is fun as I discover the 18 pockets and figure out where everything should go, packing for my week-long trip in as minimalist a way as possible.

Getting There

But as soon as I leave the house, I feel bulky. I can barely zip up the jacket for all the things crammed into the pockets, and I resemble a beer-belly-laden-pregnant-woman once I do (no really! Watch the video below for a laugh). Somewhat unrealistically – I had taken on the No Baggage Challenge, thinking that one little jacket could actually harbour an entire week’s worth of stuff.

So as I weave my way through the airport and to my final Floridian destination donning a vest (thank goodness the sleeves zip off the jacket for hot weather travel) packed to the gills, my mind is flooded with images of anything from an old-school photographer on safari loaded with filters and rolls of film, to a terrorist with a bomb strapped to my chest, to an overzealous fisherman with lures hanging from every crevice. Although I’m convinced that I’m the laughing stock of onlookers, I realize my mind is probably in paranoid overdrive.

No Baggage in Florida

Despite initial concerns about airport security, the act of Flying with No Baggage is a relative breeze. And once I arrive at my friend’s place, I eagerly unload all the things from my jacket that I don’t require on a daily basis: toiletries, USB charger, passport, tickets, bathing suit, change of underwear, etc. I also strip off the extra layer of clothing I wore on the plane (ingeniously coordinated so I would have an outfit to wear while I washed the other). Whew – my load is considerably lightened.

But my camera is a real stumbling block. Although it’s not big, it’s also not small, and it’s a staunch requirement for a traveling writer. Despite the thoughtful design of the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket to minimize bulky appearances, the camera doesn’t gracefully fit into any pocket without being obvious and weighty.
Florida with no baggage is starting to get complicated.

The Heat

If I weren’t going to hot-sunny-Florida, I would also have use of the pocket in my long-sleeved Q-zip. Already at this early stage of my participation in the NoBaggageChallenge, I’ve realized that I have no (functional) pockets in any of my clothing. Then again, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen summery women’s clothing with practical pockets.

Fashion vs Function

My biggest battle with no baggage in Florida is that of fashion versus function. Not only am I relegated to wearing the jacket everywhere (converted to a vest of course) for lack of having any other pockets or bags, but I realize that this vest doesn’t actually go with anything I’ve worn. I’m just not a vest person to begin with, and my poor choice of wardrobe for this trip accentuates this fashion faux pas.

And in fashion-consciousSouth Florida, I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I still can’t tell if the suspicious looks I get from onlookers are real or imagined.

Ultimate Failure

Eventually I crack. Between the oppressive Florida summer heat and my insecurity about being stared at, I just can’t bear to put on the bulky hot vest on my way to the beach for the afternoon and a nice dinner in the evening.

So, with my head hanging in shame, I borrow my friend’s purse.

Want to see what I mean? Check out this video, which is worth the 800 or so words in this post!

Email subscribers, click here to watch the video.

My Fault, Not Scottevest’s

Although nobody paid (or even lightly coerced) me into saying this, I feel the need to take on the majority of the blame for my No Baggage Challenge failure. Despite 18 pockets in the travel jacket I have, it’s not magic! No jacket can easily carry a week’s worth of stuff, and without any other pockets to work with, some people (heck, let’s get serious – everybody!) would argue that I was doomed before I began.

I’ve taken this failure to heart though, and this isn’t my only attempt at No Baggage travel! My next trip is toQuebec Cityfor a week, and I’ll be applying some of the lessons I’ve learned on this trip. (And hopefully, it won’t be tropically hot either). Stay tuned!

(Editor’s Note: I received a free Scottevest Women’s Essential Travel Jacket as the impetus and inspiration for doing the No Baggage Challenge).

This post Florida with No Baggage appeared first on The Professional Hobo. Please click through to read it in full!

Preparing for the No Baggage Challenge

Nora — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:00:55 +0000

Preparing for the No Baggage Challenge…(originally published in 2011. Recently adapted and edited)

Almost a year ago, I was traveling from Nepal to Australia. The airport in Katmandu had a series of security checkpoints, but this time my routine of chucking everything on to the x-ray conveyor belt at one end and absentmindedly collecting it at the other end was stymied.

“There is something in your purse. I need to look at it,” said the security official.

I blinked and handed over my purse for inspection. It has been through x-rays with no complications many times before; nonetheless this extra step didn’t phase me. I had lots of time, and there were no crowds to contend with.

Slowly and methodically, the security official laid the contents of my purse out in front of us. This wasn’t nearly as simple a task as you might imagine, since my purse has several pockets and compartments. We were both increasingly amazed at the variety – and quantity – of things I keep in my purse.

He held a pack of cigarettes (I casually smoked at the time) and an asthma inhaler in each hand and looked at me critically. I blushed and said the inhaler was for allergies (which is true).

He took out a piece of cord and asked me what it’s for. “It’s string, for hanging up laundry, fixing shoelaces, many things,” I replied to his increasingly stunned expression. I mentally observed that I’d not once used this item in four years on the road and maybe it didn’t need to be in my purse.

He continued to dig through pockets and empty their contents onto the table in front of us. Lipstick, hand sanitizer, passport copies, receipts, notebooks, cell phone, camera, headlamp, shopping bag, sunglasses, you name it – it was there. Every time he thought he had found the item that was causing the scanner problems, he put the purse through the x-ray again only to discover he’d missed yet more pockets, with yet more things in them.

“You have too much in your purse,” he said, shaking his head every time he found a new pocket with something in it. I couldn’t help but laugh. And agree.

Next up: a padlock. (Actually, it’s one of three in my possession). His expression lit up, and he sighed with relief when he determined the padlock had been our x-ray machine culprit.

After this somewhat embarrassing display of the contents of my purse, I sheepishly stuffed everything back into their pockets before moving on, promising myself that I’d go through my purse and see what I could eliminate.

But over time, complacency set in, and I never did. It all continued to fit into my purse quite easily, and I figured as soon as I took something out I’d probably need it.

I’m in a tricky position since as a full-time traveler I travel with everything I own, which means everything is fairly tightly allocated and packed. Moving things around involves tetris-like dexterity, and if I get rid of something, it’s gone (I don’t have a drawer to store it in for later use). So it’s usually easier to just keep everything.

But my day of reckoning has now arrived.

I am doing a No Baggage Challenge.

I’m leaving my full-time travel gear in Toronto and using it as a base for a few smaller trips this summer. And I’m stepping way out of my comfort zone – I’m even leaving my purse behind.

I’m doing this with the help of Scottevest, who designs clothing purpose-based for travel. The trick: it’s all about the pockets. With up to 37 pockets in one jacket alone, this clothing is designed to allow you to leave your bags (or at least some, if not all of them) at home.

Which is exactly what I’m doing!

My first trip is a flight to Florida to visit a friend for a week. As my no-baggage travel companion, I’ve got the Women’s Essential Travel Jacket, which has 18 pockets (I think I’ve found them all). I expect the zip-off sleeves will come in handy with the summer heat.

The timing of a No-Baggage trip is impeccable; I’m flying with Air Canada, who was recently on strike. Although they have promised passengers close-to-normal service, they’ve issued strong suggestions to check-in online, and not to check any bags.

Sweet! Not only am I not checking bags, but I’m not even carrying any bags.

Wanna see what’s in my purse? Wanna see the Essential Travel Jacket? And do you wanna see me “pack” for my trip? Then watch this video!

(Email subscribers click here to watch).

This post Preparing for the No Baggage Challenge appeared first on The Professional Hobo. Please click through to read it in full!