Arrivals

About OneBag.com

I have always travelled a great deal, for both business and pleasure, and — like other seasoned travellers — soon found that the lighter my burden, the more pleasant my journey. Consequently (and unsurprisingly, given my background as both an engineer and scientist), I have thought a lot about the subject, read extensively on the issues, even attended seminars on packing techniques. Most important, though, is that I've actually tried all this stuff out, experimenting with a variety of solutions in many cases. This Web site affords me an opportunity to share the resulting opinions ... and, I hope, save you from repeating my mistakes.

You are one of the more than     daily visitors who read OneBag.com.

And yes, I know that there's a lot to read on these pages. Travelling light is a goal that presents many challenges, and it's simply my style to describe things in detail sufficient to illuminate the "why" behind the opinions. The Web already has plenty of travel sites that offer advice with no evidence as to why it should be expected to work (and, consequently, it often doesn't; there is a rather distressing amount of well-meant "travel folklore" that is just plain wrong).

Want to link to OneBag.com?    Please respect my simple Linking Policy.

What This Site Isn't

OneBag.com is not a blog (it's not chronological), but instead a sort of reference guide that is forever being revised. I probably devote more time to it than most bloggers, but the output isn't an ever-increasing stream of stuff to read (and items to buy): rather, it consists of refinements & updates to existing topics, plus a modest addition of new material over time. In other words, it's an information repository rather than a collection of information ephemera. A list of recent significant content changes can always be found here, and updates are available via Facebook, Twitter, and an RSS feed.

The information to be found in these pages is not targeted at campers & back country hikers (who must additionally deal with food, tents, sleeping bags, stoves, etc.), though they may find much of it useful. They certainly shouldn't miss Ray Jardine's book.

Neither is it particularly directed at those planning extended stays at single destinations (e.g., resorts, cruise ships, Grandma's house, Cousin Bob's lakeshore cabin), especially if specialized clothing or equipment is necessary; such activities involve minimal travel, thus the issues addressed here are of less concern. Again, though, these folk will likely find plenty of useful ideas here.

And of course there are those who have made business/lifestyle choices that preclude them from travelling without lots of "stuff". And some with medical needs/restrictions that require specialized equipment. Readers in these categories can definitely discover useful ways to lighten their loads here, but they shouldn't expect to find some sort of magical secret that will enable them to join the ranks of those who truly travel light.

Finally, OneBag.com is not a product comparison site. I do make lots of product recommendations, based on personal experience and my own opinions of what constitutes "best in class", but you'll find very little here in the way of Product A vs. Product B. Frankly, I find most such comparisons to be fundamentally dishonest: they are often tied in some (often surreptitious) way to manufacturers, and they rarely reflect what I would consider rigourous, dispassionate evaluations. To do so (e.g. Consumer Reports) requires an investment in time, equipment, and expertise that is simply insupportable by a non-commercial site such as this one. I am always open to (relevant) product suggestions — from suppliers and users — and am happy to update my recommendations whenever I discover better ones.

OneBag.com in Other Languages

As a convenience to readers, I have provided for Google translation services to render the pages of OneBag.com in different languages: simply select your desired language from the menu on the left.

Machine translation is not nearly as accurate as one might wish. Additionally, some components of the site are inaccessible to the service, and proper spacing (in menus and elsewhere) is often disturbed, depending on the particular language involved. So it's an imperfect solution to be sure, but one that I hope will at least partially extend the usefulness of OneBag.com to its international audience.

Why Isn't There a OneBag.com Forum?

A number of readers have suggested a companion forum for this site, and I've occasionally entertained the notion of adding one, but have thus far decided against it. As I peruse even the better of the existing travel forums (such as Lonely Planet's deservedly thriving Thorn Tree), I find that there is a significant amount of bad information intermingled with the good. This is generally not the fault of the posters, most of whom I am sure are well intentioned; it's just that far too many people are eager to dispense opinions concerning topics with which they clearly have very limited experience, and offer recommendations based solely on folklore, advertising claims, and the like. And I would not like to have people act on poor information found on One Bag, even if I were not the one who put it there!

Some Additional Comments from the Media Concerning OneBag.com

What Happened to “The Compleat Carry-On Traveller”?

This site was originally known as The Compleat Carry-On Traveller. I discovered, however, that the emphasis on the term "carry-on" led many to believe that it was principally (or even exclusively) concerned with airline travel. This has never been true; if there is an abundance of air travel information here, it is only because of the popularity of that mode of transport among Internet users. Learning to "travel light", however, is a skill that transcends the vehicles (if any) being used.

Thus, in 2002, the site became simply One Bag, with its own domains (OneBag.com and OneBag.ca). And since then, I've received considerably fewer queries about the word "compleat"! [It means "highly proficient", though it started out as an archaic form of "complete", a more common adjective with many meanings, only one of which is "proficient"; others include "having all parts", "concluded", "thorough", "absolute", etc.]

Full Disclosure: Why Are There Advertisements On This Site?

This is a non-commercial Web site; I have no products to sell, only information that is offered freely to everyone. The unbiased nature of my suggestions is, in fact, one of the principal reasons for the popularity of One Bag over the years. The upkeep of a site such as this is not an inexpensive proposition, however. Consequently, I have two associations with outside companies that I thought you should know about:

(1) Where appropriate, I provide links to Amazon.com and Magellan's for a handful of books and other items that I recommend; it's a convenient way to provide continuously updated price and availability information, and usually displays pictures as well. I receive a small commission on any sales made via such links.

(2) The main pages of this site display short listings of what I hope you'll find to be fairly unobtrusive text advertisements. These ads are served by Google, from whom I receive a tiny payment each time someone clicks on one. I have no specific affiliation with the companies mentioned, and am generally not in a position to comment on the value of their particular products or services.

These payments are used to help defray operating costs (and they influence neither my opinions nor my recommendations).