
Pack half of what you think you need - terpua
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1268-pack-half-of-what-you-think-you-need
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wim
Couldn't agree more.

You really need less than you might think. The whole point of traveling is
that you see something new. You're never going to know exactly what you'll run
into or do. Trying to prepare for everything is impossible :). Living with
limited resources is interesting in itself, and can even get you into cool
experiences meeting new people you have to ask for help.

And as for the software, this is actually an interesting analogy. I don't
think I pack my backpack much differently from how I try to decide what goes
into a program. Whether it's bloated software or a heavy bag, I use 20% of its
contents 80% of the time anyway. I could probably do without the rest and find
some interesting alternatives along the way.

I guess it takes traveling frequently to find out you should cut on features
:)

~~~
thorax
_> The whole point of traveling is that you see something new._

This is all probably great advice when you're talking about being a tourist.

As someone who does business traveling a lot, though, it's really hard to
argue some of these points.

I, personally, would rather carry a little extra junk through an airport
because I decided to include a backup shirt and slacks in case I spill some
soup.

When we're talking about business travel, you're talking about things that
affect your career or your own company. I take what I need to be 99% sure I'll
be successful at the destination-- and I don't worry so much about the burden.
Of course often you can go out and get what you need, but you don't want to
have to do that (especially at the last minute) if you don't have to. That
extra bit of confidence of feeling _prepared_ can make all the difference to
let your mind focus on getting business done to the best of your ability.

All this aside, I think the analogy about software is a great suggestion. You
really don't know what you _should_ be taking with you (i.e. features) until
you get there (i.e. release it to users).

I liken that to a civil engineer building a bridge remotely and then
delivering all the pieces without having ever visited the site himself. He or
she would have a much worse idea of the dimensions, concerns, or obstacles--
and might have to re-engineer a lot of what they built.

Of course software is more flexible than that, but it's still a great idea to
take a few, and not _all_ , of your "best guess" features to the customer
until you get their usage/feedback to build on.

~~~
niels_olson
agreed. I have had to pack for trips for overnight, two weeks. a month, six
weeks, six months, and same day. Get some durable, cheap luggage. I had great
success at Tuesday Morning with a friend on the phone who was cross checking
brands and prices on ebay. Got 4 matching pieces of very good luggagefor $400,
less than the price of the rolling garmet bag of the set at a luggage store I
had visited earlier in the day. Tuesday morning seems to be better than TJ
Maxx. I'm sure there's some ecofriendly-no-child-labor-yet-low-cost boutique
in San Fran, but I don't live in SF. Also, never buy a standard case bigger
than 27". Anything bigger, when full, will be to heavy and the overweight fees
outstrip the cost of buying a new bag.

I can travel indefinitely, as a military doc, with a week worth of casual
civvies, a suit, a 'service dress' uniform, working uniforms, study materials,
and 'doctor stuff' like whit coat, stethoscope, etc, with a folding garmet
bag, a 25" rolling suitcase, and a standard messanger bag for carry on. Volume
is about the same as a navy 'seabag' duffle. Tested over four- and six-week
trips, doing laundry once a week.

My dad recently did 2 weeks in Japan with a folding garmet bag. A rolling
folding garmet is definitely my go-to piece of luggage for city-to-city
travel, flying or driving. For travel on ships, I recommend the seabag, as it
takes very little room and can double as a backpack in a pinch. Obviously, if
you're walking inland, your backpack can double as airport luggage. I tend to
use an XL timbuk2 for overnighters.

~~~
niels_olson
I second the suggestions to make a list of necessities, so you don't forget
them . . . next time.

------
bootload
_"... Pack light. Lay out everything you think you need. Then put away half
..."_

Pack one away, bin the other. The thing is you have to carefully think what
you really need. Is this item required. Done right this is a work of art - it
matters though. There are things you cannot do with out. Others are a waste of
space. Take for example a mate of mine, Alessandro ~
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentilini/907130017/>

~~~
lemonysnicket
_bootload, the gear in the photo wasn't enough and I needed more stuff for a
four day "hut-hopping" hike: it's a long way to the enlightenment._

so, under the 37 signals great advice, this is what this guy needed for
National Outdoor Leadership School, and he should have taken half?

when in reality, he needed more gear than presented here.

as usual, the signal is too weak, even if they try to filter out the noise.

~~~
nocivus
True but, like everything in life, nothing is written in stone. I think the
general purpose of the post (and also of most things I read in the 37signals
"real" book) is to serve as a guideline. And it serves it's purpose even if it
just makes you take a second look at the gear (product features) you want to
take with you :)

------
lemonysnicket
great analogy for software

but how many people really need this advice for traveling?

instead of this over-generalized "half of what you need" and then "lose
another half" make a short list of the bare necessities -- and why you need
it.

but I guess this is advice for tourists? not sure who has three bags going
down cobble stone roads.

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rgrieselhuber
The maxim of packing the same amount for a 2 week trip as for a 2 month trip
is certainly true.

I backpacked around the world for a year and my bag was relatively light (avg.
20 pounds) but even that was quite heavy on long hikes. I've since practiced
and am now down to about 15 lbs., and I could go lighter, depending on the
weather.

~~~
lemonysnicket
what was your avg dist. on the longer hikes? am curious that 15-20 lbs. was
heavy on the long hikes. and where'd you store the extra gear (i imagine a lot
of it was weather-related)

~~~
jwilliams
20lbs (9kg) seems pretty light for a long hike - unless this is just baseline
travel gear and you're not counting food, water, tent.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Right, it's not counting food, water, tent. When we were hiking / camping in
NZ, we carried that additional gear and it was much heavier. I personally have
a pretty light build so 20 lbs felt very heavy after awhile, even when I was
in good shape.

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antidaily
Is it me or is Matt typically the least interesting 37signals writer?

~~~
river_styx
I'm all for speaking your mind, but what exactly is the point of an idle
personal attack like this?

