Here's my bag, stuffed with all the things I pulled out last night - it didn't include any toiletries, electronics, or paperwork, etc. but there felt like there was plenty of room to still stuff things in the corners. It weighed 18.6 pounds, so I still have about 3.5 pounds of flex to still be able to carry on those budget airplanes...
This picture is sideways, but it is a general look at some of the clothes I was trying to fit in. I used packing cubes, and I'll post some more pics later, because we might need to borrow some smaller ones from my parents, but I fit a surprising amount of clothes in my pack by rolling and stuffing them in the packing cubes. More than I thought, but it will definitely still be tight. I think I've narrowed down my shoes, too, to Toms, Chaco flips or sandals, Born Boots, and my low Keen hikers. Will wear all the heaviest/bulky stuff on travel days, but I'm really glad I got this pack - I put my Keens and my toms in the lower "sleeping bag" compartment, and the outside front pocket is perfect for stowing my flip flops, a rain jacket, beanie, etc.
Jeff's pack weighed in at 16.7 pounds - same deal. Not all the exact items were in there, and no toiletries or electronics, but I think we're both in pretty good shape!! We both eliminated at least 2-4 items of bigger clothing, 2-3 pairs of underwear/socks each, since we are planning on washing clothes every couple days in the sink.
I will need to pick up a more versatile pair of jeans, that I could wear by themselves and tucked into my boots. Also, need one or two more quick-dry, mix & match-able tops. Other than that, I think I'm pretty good. Looked at the weather last night, and it's going to be between 50's and 60's the whole time in almost all the places we'll be. A little warmer in France. This is why layering is important! We still could run into snow in Switzerland while hiking, and pouring rain in Scotland while hiking, and be hot in France! Who knows - we'll keep our eye on the weather.
24 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And 23 days until James & Amy come up to Seattle, and we will probably second guess everything we all decided we wanted to pack once we look at each other's gear! HA! :)
You are doing great Michelle. I remember also spending a lot of time figuring out what to pack. One thing that scott and I did was to pack a very flimsy collapsable duffle and at the end of the trip we put the clothes, shoes etc that we didn't care about and paid to just check that one piece of luggage. That gave us room to have some souveniers in our carry on. You can buy extra toiletries over in Europe. Definitely take your Chacos since they are your most comfy. I wore my jeans, a heavier pair of shoes on the plane plus another trick is to wear your heavier coat/sweater onto the plane
ReplyDeleteor put it over your arm as you are boarding and then of course you can
take it off. That way you don't have to pack it in your backpack. It was a challenge but 100 percent worth the effort to pack light. Another tip, Rick Steves is our hero all the way. He never let us down with his tips whether it was in Paris or London or Italy. Great restaurant recomendations and he saved us SO much time getting into popular sights. He is the one that recommended Rue Cler in Paris. We also downloaded some of his audio tours for popular sights which was cool. He was our virtual tour guide.