The Johnslingtons

I used to be a backpacker – in both the American (carrying camping gear on your back and hiking for days) and the global (dude with a big backpack who is out of his home country and trying to find the cheapest possible place to sleep) senses. I kept that identity for years – anything other than a backpack was for business travelers, and who wants to be that?

Things have changed. Backpacks are awesome, yes – unless you’re carrying more than one thing at a time. Then you’re forced into backpack-and-frontpack (dorky, and hard to manage) or backpack-and-shoulder-bag (hurts one shoulder, bag swings around and hits things). So I’ve (well, we’ve) moved slowly over the years to rolling bags. Super-easy on smooth surfaces, less good on dirt or cobblestone, but…

I’ve had a rolling suitcase for years, but I’ve been less than happy with how heavy it is. Julie’s got a great one – a carryon from High Sierra that I would have bought in a hot second, but isn’t available any more. So I researched a bit, based on these guidelines:

• Light as can be
• Two wheels (four wheeled luggage breaks way too easily)
• Carry-on size
• Used if possible – I’d rather not add more stuff to the world if I can help it.

A bit of clicking later, I came upon It Luggage, who claim to have the World’s Lightest Carry-On. 3.8 pounds! I was intrigued, and did a quick search on Craigslist. And…what? Available, in San Francisco? For $45? I emailed the guy, and we agreed to meet the next day.

I went down to Dogpatch to take a look at it, and was impressed. If you were a comic collector, you’d call it M/NM condition, and HOLY CRAP it was light. I could lift it with my little finger; it’s almost comically light.

It’s going to work really well with my old REI Tour Vagabond Travel Pack.

What?

Well, there are three of us on this trip, and there’s every chance that we’re going to need to quickly expand what we can carry. The Tour is well-designed, can hold a ton of stuff (say, clothes and toiletries for three if you’re doing a hut-to-hut hike) and can be made small-ish enough to be an under-seat bag if you need it to be.

Add this inexpensive stuffable daypack (there are other colors, just not for sale right now) and we’ll be good to go!