Packing for a Weekend Trip in One Backpack

Bag

I’ll start with my most important item – the bag. I took my everyday carry, a GORUCK GR1 Slick (26L). Compared to what most people were taking, this was an impossibly small bag. But I knew it would do the trick.

If packed strategically, 26L can get you a long way. I like the GORUCK specifically for a few reasons:

1. It will last a lifetime. I will probably never purchase another everyday carry for the rest of my life, and I’m only 32 years old. That is pretty nifty.

2. It is a nice size and has solid, essential functionality. I don’t need more than 26L for most of what I’d do. The GORUCK also folds open like a suitcase making it easy to pack and access the key things I need – a laptop pocket, a spot for my iPad (or a weight plate for rucking) and a quick access pocket on the inside/top of the bag for deodorant (I smell bad after a long day of travel), my sunglasses and other essentials.

3. I feel like a cool dude carrying around this bag.

GORUCK’s bags don’t come cheap but if you want a life-long, everyday bag, it might be worth the investment. It makes packing easy for me.

Let’s talk clothes and shoes, then we’ll get to accessories and other items.

When I travel, I pack a capsule wardrobe. This means that nearly every shirt or top I take can go with nearly every pant or short. In general, this means having black bottoms and a gray top.

Shirts

My staple is the Vuori Strato Tech Tee. I have three of these in gray that I bring everywhere because they are soft, odor-resistant, and dry fast. This is my airplane shirt, my exploring shirt, and my relaxing shirt while on the road. I have one of the Long-Sleeve Strato Tech Tees as well that I’ll bring along if I know it’s going to get chilly – that stayed home for my July trip to Austin.

Next, I have a true performance shirt for runs, hiking and other high-sweat activities – my Rhone Reign Tech Short Sleeve shirt. I wore this for my run and to the float trip. It washes easily in the sink and dries fast. I also use this for running at home because it’s just a good athletic shirt.

For my nightlife and semi-nice apparel, I go back to Vuori for their Ace Polo (for short-sleeve) and Long-Sleeve Ace Button-Down. Which one I wear is part weather-dependent, part how dressed up I have to be.  Great shirts all around.

Pants

I’m a guy that likes to wear pants, not shorts, on a plane almost regardless of what the weather looks like. The reason? Rubbing bare legs with the person next to me on a cramped plane just isn’t my thing.

My go-to travel pants are Aviator USA’s “The Best Travel Jeans in the World.” And I wholeheartedly agree with the name they’ve chosen. These things are soft, comfortable and have some hidden zipper pockets for things like your passport or wallet. Very slick. For travel I wear a denim-looking pair.

I also took along a pair of Aviator’s “Nonstop Travel Short” in black as my “nice” shorts. They have a belt loop and can be dressed up a bit easier than a pair of gym shorts. I wore these out on the town the first night when it was blistering, and they did the trick.

If I’m wearing jeans or anything with a belt loop, I’m also wearing a belt. I take a reversible (black and brown) belt with me for trips to cover my bases regardless of what I have on.

My primary shorts for walking around if there is no need to be formal are my L.L. Bean Multisport Shorts. For all the hoopla about new brands making fancy pants, these things are by far my favorite. And I have tried many pairs, believe me. I wore these around the house and on a couple of errands. In general, these probably get 75% of my wear on a warm weather trip.

Every time I travel, my Myles Apparel Everyday Shorts (in black, of course) come with me. I don’t wear these as often as I used to, but they are the perfect utility short. I can work out in them, hike in them, swim in them, (kind of) dress them up if necessary and generally make good use of them. They are my safety net if I have any wardrobe malfunctions.

On this trip, I took another GORUCK item – the American Training Shorts. At home, these function exclusively as my swim trucks. They have a soft inner lining, are a great length and have a cool American flag patch on the bottom left leg. For the latter reason, I wouldn’t take them on trips abroad simply to avoid calling attention to my nationality. But for Austin, they were perfect for both the float trip and my morning run.

To pack my pants and shirt, I use the Eagle Creek PACK-IT™ Isolate Compression Cube. As the name suggests, it compresses nicely and saves room, and is great for just keeping my bag organized.

For a short trip like this, I can fit all my shirts and pants into one medium-sized packing cube. Very convenient.

Undergarments

For travel, my undergarments are simple. I wear Ex Officio’s Give-N-Go 2.0 Boxer Briefs. For a short weekend, I wear a pair and take three with me, just in case. They are light and and make for easy packing. Washing them in the sink is a breeze and they dry faster than you can say Ex Officio Give-N-Go 2.0 Boxer Brief.

For socks, I took two pairs of SmartWool’s Run Targeted Cushion Low Ankle Socks, in addition to the pair I was wearing. These are merino wool and dry fast. Perfect for sweaty feet in Texas.

 Shoes

My main shoe for travel is my Allbird Wool Runners. I wore these on the plane, on my run and out at night. They are great and truly versatile.

For the float trip and some trips to the store, my black Reef sandals did the trick. Nothing fancy but comfortable and easy to pack into the back of my backpack.

Other Stuff

Sunglasses

I always travel with my sunglasses, and Austin was no exception. I am loving my relatively new Sungod Renegades. They are scratch-resistant and look pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Be sure to get the optional hard case to protect them while in your bag.

iPad

I didn’t take my laptop on this trip because I didn’t figure a bachelor party was the place for ultimate productivity. Instead, I opted for my iPad – better than a phone to take care of unforeseen work, lighter and more portable than my 16” laptop.

AirPods

I didn’t use these anywhere but the plane, but Apple’s AirPods are compact and do a great job blocking out noise.

Charger

For charging my devices on the road, I use the Anker PowerCore Fusion 5000. This thing is a perfect two-in-one: a wall charger and a portable charger. I bought the Anker Powerline II 3-in-1 Cable that interchanges among Lightning, USB C and Micro USB. In other words, it can charge most of your Apple, Samsung, or other mobile devices. I even took this on our float trip in case someone’s phone died on the water.

Shemagh

Probably the single oddest item I took with me was my shemagh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress worn by men for protection from the sun and sand. I didn’t (and don’t, generally) use it for those purposes, though I could. Instead, I’ve found it to come in handy as a utility garment on trips – as a towel, to clean messes, for burping babies, as a pillow on the plane, etc. It was useful on this particular weekend on the plane and after the float trip, where towels were not provided. Also from GORUCK… love this brand.

Wallet

When I travel, I actually switch wallets. I still have my first wallet that I bought when I was 15 and am not interested in losing it on the road. Instead, I bought a Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet with RFID protection in black, of course, to match my black and gray attire.

Water Bottle

Austin turned out to be the perfect place to have my Yeti Rambler 18 Oz Bottle with a chug cap. Not only did it save me a fortune on bottled water at over-priced airport kiosks, but it was also great for multiple servings of electrolyte supplements that I took for hydration throughout the weekend.

Journal

Each night, I record my memories from the day. I took this to Austin, same as every other trip. My best guess is that I’m one of the only guys with memories from the trip…

Dry Bag

Since I knew a float trip was on the agenda, I ran out to Academy Sports and picked up the geckobrands Durable View 5L Dry Bag. I was the only person with a dry bag, and it was nice being able to take an extra shirt, my phone and a couple of other small items along the way. Not recommended for most trips, but it folded up easily into my backpack for this one.

Hat

My wife bought me the Melin Hydro A-Game hat. It is water and sweat resistant and even floats. I took it on the float trip for sun protection and wore it out at night, too. I highly recommend packing this one for travel in general.

Toiletries

I packed my toiletries (and my socks and boxer briefs) in my Eagle Creek PACK-IT™ Reveal Quick Trip. It is a great organizer.

As far as the toiletries themselves, I just pack the essentials… with one exception. I believe that hydrocortisone cream is the duct tape of toiletries. It can help with bug bites, sunburn (check with your doctor before using in this manner) and a host of other “why is my skin the wrong color” situations. Get some and take it with you everywhere, I implore you.

And there you have it. I was able to make it through the weekend with ease, only washing two shirts in the sink while in Austin. One was my running shirt, too, which just would have been too gross to put back in my bag after four miles in 90 degrees and high humidity.

The art of packing light is one that I’m only just beginning to explore in my quest to go “roller bag free” on all trips. I can, and probably will, improve on this packing regimen but this was a great start. It made the trip hassle free, which is just the way I like to travel.