We are all very aware that we live in a consumer society where we all buy, consume and update way more often than we probably need to. But why do we all need this stuff and more importantly, what should I take with me on a global roaming adventure that has no end date that I am about to embark on?
I would rather own little and see the world , than own the world and see little of it (Alexander Sattler)
As I go through all my belongs, evaluating each individual piece with the same question “will I need this?” I started to realise that the wording on the question I was asking myself changed. The first word, ‘will’ was quickly switched out for ‘do’. Do I need this pair of shoes? Do I need this jacket? I was surprised by how much stuff I had even though I had previously done a big cull of everything I owned when I moved to the USA from Australia.
I had to come up with a plan for what I wanted to do with all this stuff because as I sure as hell wasn’t taking all this stuff with me or spending a fortune on self storage. If I was going to box this stuff up and leave it for a year or more, I obviously could live without it. I asked myself, “What was the value in keeping it if I do not need it while traveling?”
No Bag Travel (NBT) – The art of traveling so light you can basically pack all your travel gear inside the pockets of your pants. May also be called ‘No Baggage Travel’, ‘No Luggage Travel’ or even ‘Pocket Traveling’.
I was recommended to read about Colin Wright and his minimalist approach to his traveling life. The post “All 51 Things I Own” was a good stating point as he had reduced what he owned from the previous year “All 72 Things I Own”. From reading this and many other blogs and articles online, they all shared a common thread. Don’t let your possessions own you and the things you do own can serve multiple uses and are of high quality. I didn’t want to put a number onto the total things I can have but it was great to have a starting point and a way to consider what I did keep.
It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer. (William of Occam)
As the main purpose of this trip was to travel to some of the most beautiful kite surfing locations in the world, it helped me rule in and rule out a lot of things. I would need my kite gear obviously. The climates I would be traveling to would be tropical so clothing choices were light and summery for the most part. And I will be working while traveling so I would need my computer/tech. Ummmm what else??? Not much more than wallet, passport, toiletries ohh and also my phone. Ok, this seemed like too little I started thinking to myself but was it? Everything that I had packed had a purpose and would get used.
Below is a breakdown of everything that I had decided to take with me.
Kite Gear
Kite Bag — Liquid Force Golf Bag
Kite Board — Best Spin 139cm
Harness — Ride Engine Hex Core
Bar — Liquid Force Response Control Bar
8m kite — Liquid Force Envy
10m kite — Liquid Force Envy
12m kite — Liquid Force Solo
Pump — Liquid Force 2L Tall Kite Pump
Rash Shirt
Kite Repair Kit
Clothing
2x Button shirts (short sleeve)
8x T-Shirts
2x Workout shirts
2x Polo shirts
6x pairs of Shorts (updated — I forgot these in my original post. Thanks Cullen)
2x Jeans
1x Hoodie
1x Jacket
5x pairs of white socks (ankle)
1x pair of black socks
7x pairs of boxers/briefs
1x pair of flip flops
1x pair of runners
1x pair of shoes
2x pairs of sunglasses
1x Leather belt
Technology
Ultrabook — HP Spectre x360 v2
Portable speaker — JBL Charge 3
Trace — GPS action sports tracker
Ipod Nano and waterproof headphones
GoPro Hero Session and floating hand grip pole
USB-C adapter (HDMI, USB-3, USB-C)
16gb USB thumb drive
Phone — LG Nexus 5x
Headphones — Skullcandy Method
Thoughts
I look at this list and what I have set out in front of me and I think to myself, “Surely I need more than this to travel the world for a year?” And then I remember that I can always just buy the thing/s if I really need it.
With all the other things that I had put to the side in the “not needed pile” the vast majority of it has been donated to charity, sold or I have given to friends. At this point in time I think I have an Amazon Echo and a couple of old kites going cheap if anyone is interested lol.
This is going to be a seriously fun adventure and I look forward to seeing how many edits I add to this post over the trip.
