I tend to be a sort of traditionalist with my backpacking entertainment, and all I take are a couple books. I wouldn’t want to go digital because one of my favorite things while traveling is switching out books in hostels. You can read stuff you’ve never heard of, find little notes, lots of little things. If I had an eReader I couldn’t do that.

I have to admit I tend to blend backountry backpacking with travel backpacking, so the comments about folks bringing “expedition gear” seems a little narrow-minded to me. Spending nights near freezing up in the paramo of Colombia I was very grateful for my good sleeping bag and waterproof bivy. I suppose I could have bought a stack of horse blankets or something, but that would have made the hike up the mountains a lot less fun. Depends on your goals nad the type of experience you’re going for.

And yes, definitely the modern age has made it easy to travel w/ techie-tainment. Thank goodness for massive hard-drives e-readers.

Thanks for posting.

#1 – Completely agree. Smaller bags = less headaches for airlines (and sometimes cheaper flights where checked baggage is an additional fee), less security hassles (only one bag to watch) and you also look more like a daytripper than a prospect to touts as they swarm around people carrying 70+ litre bags trying to find a place to stay for the night. I would, however, suggest that a toothbrush, toothpaste and toilet paper would be handy additions here – some countries do not have as widespread a culture of toothbrushing as others, same thing with toilet tickets…

#2 – Agreed as well. I have met so many people who have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on the latest and greatest GoreTex, North Face, expedition-grade stuff from home only to have it fail after about the same amount (or less) use than a locally made and sold alternative. Plus, buying stuff locally means you are pumping money into their economy and giving people work – always nice “fuzzy-feeling” side-effects for a retail experience.

#3 – Again, completely agree. I have one bag which carries all my “essentials”: passport, camera, laptop, cash, ID, etc. which always rides with me, whether on a plane, train, bus or horsecart. What is really great, though, is when you can use the one, carry-on-able bag for everything and satisfy #1 & #3 in one go!

#4 – Agree to a point, although, as with all things entertainment-wise, there is more than one way to skin a cat. I tend to buy books as I go, sometimes from 1st-hand shops, more often from book exchanges or 2nd-hand shops. I buy them, read them, then either trade them in a store, with another traveller, leave them in a guesthouse for someone else to pick up, or (if I really like them) mail it home. A paper book is my preferred option for reading (blackout-proof and more tactile than electronic), but I do see your point about people carrying a library around with them. Again, I have seen people with Lonely Planets for every country they are planning to see in the next 6 months in their bag. Whilst I use LP, I buy them one country at a time. Kind of stops you from skipping to the end and finding out the butler did it.

Also, I buy DVDs as I go. Sure they are not always the greatest quality, but, again, some I rip onto my laptop, some I transfer to my iPod if I really like them. And then, again, like the books, I will sometimes leave the original at a guesthouse, mail them home, or pass them onto someone else when I am done with them.

Another thing with electronics is, if possible, try and use similar chargers for all. I currently carry a mains-to-USB adaptor which I can use to charge my iPod or my mobile phone (using a USB charging cable I bought at 7-Eleven in Thailand for US$3 or so). One plug for many items is a massive weight and bulk saving idea.

Using these tricks I have successfully (and relatively comfortably) been able to live out of a Crumpler Seedy Three Messenger Bag for two months, with three changes of clothes, boardies, thongs, toiletries, camera, laptop and iPod. It actually makes me almost feel like mailing my main backpack home and carrying on with just that bag. Kind of like David Carradine’s character in Kung Fu.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by vagabondish: The Way of the Hermit Crab: 4 Rules for Better Backpack Living http://bit.ly/22zUVn #travel #backpacking…