Resources > TraveLetters (letters from readers)

I just wanted to thank you for your One Bag website. At first I was doubtful that I could bring everything I'd need in a carryon, but my wife and I gave it a shot on our honeymoon in Italy, and it was great. Compared with previous trips, we realized almost all of the benefits you mention on the One Bag front page: we didn't have to take taxis, it was much faster to pack, we never had to check our bags, and we never stayed somewhere because it was too much trouble to take our bags somewhere else.

I always used to enjoy traveling when I went, but I would never look forward to it at home. Now I love traveling and think about it all the time. What a difference One Bag made!

Thanks so much for your onebag.com web site. I have always been a heavy suitcase traveler — bringing everything "just in case." (And sometimes with luggage weighing over the limit!) I am on my way to Mozambique for 2 weeks and wanted to pack light. I can't believe it — but I actually am able to pack everything in a carry-on! If you knew me, you would know this is a miracle! I feel much more comfortable knowing that I won't lose my luggage.

Just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much I love onebag.com. I found it through Google, I think, and it has made a convert out of me! I used to be the worst packer — your stereotypical woman traveler with three suitcases packed with every bit of clothing imaginable for a weeklong trip. But now I've realized just how great living out of a carry-on can be — I spent a week in Italy with just one light roll-aboard (unfortunately necessary due to my back problems) and I even had clothing to spare!

I am a single woman and belong to an Ivy League dating group; among the many things I put there in my description of myself is that I go to France and Italy very often and that I make a point of taking only one carryon, no matter how long I'll be gone for. You can't imagine how many responses this one trait has attracted!!! Never mind that I play the piano, am fluent in several languages, graduated from Harvard, am good-looking, athletic, etc, etc, etc. ... the one thing that really attracts the men is the ONEBAG notion! So many men have told me things such as their marriage broke up because the wife had too many bags ... not under her eyes but at the carrousel! One man said that he left his wife at the bottom of the path to Santorini because she had so much stuff the donkey couldn't take it up the hill and he decided there and then to leave her. Just thought this would amuse you.

Thanks so much! My husband has been to Russia to teach in a Bible School seven times and the bundle wrapping method of packing has been so helpful to him. He has shared it with many others who were going on mission trips.

I am so glad I stumbled upon your site. I just got back this weekend from a trip with my church to the Dominican Republic. I took a lot of your advice and packed very lightly into one backpack. Everyone else (172 people to be exact) had big bags to take.

Even though we chartered a 737, bags were a huge hassle for everyone. Everyone except me — the only one in the whole group to have only a single carry-on! I could not believe how much time everyone spent loading and unloading their bags.

The best was when we were leaving the country. I got off the bus and was able to be the first in line, got an exit row seat, and off to the air-conditioned terminal (the ticket counter is out in the heat). While I was sitting back eating an ice cream cone, my friend stood in the line for 1.5 hours in the heat! Man was I glad to have my one bag.

I ended up using almost everything I took and never once needed something I didn't have. It was awesome. No one in my group could believe that I got everything I needed in one 1500 cu. in. bag. It was too cool.

Thanks again. I owe you one!

... someone mentioned how well everything I wore went together so well. Choosing the one color scheme, in my case black and gray, eliminated the need for lots of shoes, jackets, etc.

I've mentioned you/your site to lots of folks. They may laugh at me for reading how to pack but I came off looking good!!

A "One Bag" travel mission in the books... and I'd call it a complete success!

From the moment I began reading your website in preparation for my two-month solo journey around Europe, I knew that to continue reading would be in my ultimate best interest. So I kept reading, and for the most followed your advice to the tee. I even managed to eliminate items from the packing list making my load much lighter.

Some of the best amusement I got was from people who felt the need to make fun of my MEI "Voyageur." People just could not fathom how I could be in Europe for two months on a strict budget with that tiny bag. They would speculate on all the things (read: necessities) that I must be without. In eight weeks and ten countries I rarely, if ever, desperately needed anything that was not in my trusty Voyageur. I did not see a single other person who was carrying the same bag as me. Even on the longest walk the weight on my back usually was not over-bearing, but I cannot imagine if I had had to bear the extra 40–50 pounds that some of the "Voyageur" critics I met were jamming into their enormous backpacks. The best things in life really are free!

I just wanted to write and thank you for the many excellent product selections. I will continue to consult the website and will surely continue to recommend onebag.com to any of my friends and family who may travel.

I bumped into your site after last year's terrible vacation with two (they weren't both mine, however) ultra-heavy Samsonite suitcases (of which the heaviest one broke — the pulling-handle, of course!) on flights and trains and the London subway (aargh!!). This year, I'm setting out for a similar trip, though much more enlightened.

As a woman with the need to wear different kinds of purses at different occasions, look glamourous some evenings (we're not backpackers, my husband and I like to live fairly comfortably) and comfy for museum excursions, it has taken some extra creative thinking, but I think I have nailed most of it. I have also discovered the fun of it, the joy of finding new solutions.

I've had some shorter "trial" trips during the winter, long weekends and such, and I'm down to a small, stylish carry-on-bag that weighs no more than six kilos. In it, I fit one pair of shoes, two pairs of pants, four tops (two long-armed, they work double instead of taking a big sweater), an overcoat, umbrella, raincoat, a backpack, a clutch and a middle-sized handbag. I also carry lots of medication, being allergic and astmatic. I'm confident I could live out of that bag for months.

Thank you for your lovely site and all the inspiration and good humour!

I took a seven-night cruise last year and packed a ton of stuff. Nearly killed me lifting and hauling, and it was hard to find room for my enormous suitcase in the cabin. Well, I just got back from another seven-day cruise and all I brought was an Air Boss bag (rented the tux on the ship).

Thought you might get a laugh out of my "before and after" picture. I think I'm getting the hang of traveling light.

I'm going on tour with the musical "The Full Monty" for the next five months. I head out tomorrow, and tonight set out to finish the chore that is packing everything I need for the trip... I have to express my gratitude for your introduction to bundle folding. I just finished packing the first suitcase, and I can already see how much more neatly the clothes are packed than any suitcase I've packed before. And not only are they much smoother, but I'm pretty sure I was able to comfortably fit more than I'm used to in one suitcase!

In this quick break before I go back to attack suitcase number two, I wanted to take a minute to thank you profusely for the website. If I hadn't stumbled on it, I'd probably be spending the next five months constantly mumbling about folding clothes and making extensive use of my travel clothing steamer. Thanks to you, I can leave the steamer at home and pack an extra couple books to keep me sane on the road.

I serve on the board of a small development agency and recently took a short trip from my home in Canada to The Gambia, where we had a team of nurses and pharmacists working in the main teaching hospital. I found your site a couple of weeks before I left and I must have spent hours reading every detail. I adopted as much of your philosophy as I could (given the short lead time), and even with a sub-optimal bag was easily able to take everything I needed for a week without checking a bag.

As it turned out, a few of us missed the last leg of our inbound flight and were stuck for five days in Madrid waiting for the next available flight. Through the whole experience, I couldn't stop noticing: 1. all the wasted space in the ubiquitous rolling luggage that was everywhere; 2. how much less stress I experienced by never having to check a bag (thereby avoiding several customs and security checks); and 3. how ineffective rolling luggage is when removed from an airport (seeing a 50kg woman trying to lug an enormous rolling suitcase up several flights of stairs in the Madrid metro was probably the clearest example).

I did end up checking the djembe (drum) I bought for my wife on the way back, but having no other baggage to check, I didn't have to pay any excess baggage or shipping charges.

I just got back from two weeks in eastern Europe with only a small carryon bag. I survived hot weather and very hot rain. I mailed some stuff back. When I came back I was routed Brussells to Washington DC to LA to SF, and because I only had carryon luggage, I managed to get a standby seat from Dulles to SF instead of going through LA. This got me home four hours earlier at the end of a very long day. Very nice. I'll do it again.

I am currently emailing you from Sweden, with my ONE carry on bag. One recommended on your site, actually. The [now discontinued] bag from Rick Steves. This is the best way to travel. I have bought a few things, a pair of sneakers and two shirts, and a book. But bringing one bag has prevented me from buying crap.

I have to tell you that I felt very egotistical when the woman at the ticket counter in Atlanta asked me how many bags I was checking. I said none, and she said, "No, ma'am, I didn't ask how many you're bringing on. I asked how many you're checking."

[one year later] Well, I'm emailing you just one more time to let you know that I continue to use your website. I am getting better and better (and, well, smugger and smugger) about traveling lightly. I always smile to myself when I pass people staring at that conveyor belt, waiting for their luggage...

Last winter, I put Doug's advice to the test. After figuring out what luggage restrictions were in effect for carry-on luggage on international flights (particularly for liquids & electronic items), I happily spent 2 weeks in jolly old England carrying only ONE SMALL DAYPACK.

It’s true: my 100ml bottle of shampoo ran out, but I bought some more at a Boots outlet at Victoria Station. I had to do laundry a few times, but that was also a pleasant domestic adventure. I sailed through customs and was on the train from Gatwick in under forty minutes, while my fellow travellers were snarled at the luggage carosel for at least another hour. Instead of struggling with taxis, I wandered through London snapping out-of-focus pics and eating eclairs before finding my hotel.

Thanks to Doug's advice, I was able to drastically reduce the amount of crap on my back, with no reduction in the enjoyment of my trip AT ALL. In fact, the reverse is true — I had a better time because I was carrying less! Unreal. Revolutionary. ... I have seen the light.

I stumbled [into OneBag.com] last year when planning a round-the-world trip for myself and my husband. Suitably intrigued, I decided it sounded like a good idea, and certainly worth a try — was it ever! We have just returned from four months of travel (Dec – March) in NZ, US, Canada, Western Europe, UK, and Thailand. We stayed in campervans, hostels, hotels, experienced temperatures from -20C (thank you, Calgary) to 40C, skied, swam, hiked, went to clubs, pubs, casinos, and concerts, and walked around numerous cities, thanking various deities that we only had to carry our single [bags]! ... we managed to stick to the 7kg limit for all flights.

So thanks very much for showing how it is possible to travel light. I hope our experience encourages other travellers to do the same! It's sooooo worth it.

PS: The single most useful item we took was our travel washing line ... Everyone should have one!

I have a one-page list from your website that is tattered, torn, and highlighted. I used the list on a recent trip to Nigeria — where we were often without water, electricity, and other amenities — and I never was without what I needed.

I'm writing to thank you for your wonderful onebag.com site and the advice you give therein!

I happened to find the site when searching for advice on what to pack for a trip to Dublin and London in February — places I'd never been before. Since I'm a Texan, everyone told me I'd freeze to death without loads of heavy sweaters, tweed pants, overcoats, etc. A previous trip through Italy and France by train was spoiled a few years back for me by lugging a smallish check-in bag and a carry-on throughout the journey, so I loved what you had to say about the pleasures of traveling light.

Well — I'm here to report back! I bought a new carry-on bag (8x16x11) and a largish zippered shoulder purse for the trip and listened to what you had to say on your site. I'm a 48-year-old female academic dean at UT Austin (traveling on business), and a clothes-horse, so I thought I'd be facing a huge challenge. I listened to your advice about layering and didn't take heavy clothes. I managed to make it through eleven days in Dublin and London on the contents of that one bag, and never for one moment felt deprived or cold — and didn't have to wash anything except undies. I went to the theatre four times during the trip, swanky restaurants, and hoofed it through dozens of museums, art galleries and pubs — all the while being complimented by other Americans in the group about looking like a movie star. I'm here to tell everyone you are absolutely right — it can be done, and makes everything so much easier and the trip so much more pleasureable. I saved loads of money on cabs because I could walk with my bag, was able to easily take the tube from Heathrow to my hotel while others paid exorbitant taxi fares or waited forever for shuttles, etc. A colleague lost a bag between Dublin and London — which didn't resurface before we departed — so I was again reminded what a headache one is spared by not checking anything.

I did succumb to a slight shopping attack in London (two tailor-made shirts and cuff-links), but gave a pair of non-designer American jeans to a grateful hotel staff member, and, poof! The bag was back to its original size.

I'm off in May to Paris, Milan, Venice, and Vienna for fourteen days, and, emboldened by your site and my previous successful trip, I'm again taking just the one bag and the zippered purse. I'm excited, because I should be able to pack even lighter this time, since the weather will be warmer now. I'll be using a train sometimes on this trip, and I figure that's even more reason not to succumb to a wheeled bag — after reading your take on that matter.

Great, great site! I hope you are able to convert everyone to your fabulous travel light, less-is-more philosophy. I'm convinced doing so is the key to happy travel and marvelous memories and adventures.

Thanks again for the website! It has changed how I travel for the better.

Last year I travelled to Asia with a "rolling boxcar". This year I bought the MEI Voyageur bag, followed your thoughtful advice and philosophy, and took a 7-day one-carry-on-bag trip to Asia. I was amazed how easy this made travel and it will encourage me to travel more!

First, let me thank you for your website. I converted to the "travel light religion" a couple of years ago, and your site was a great help.

One of my first trips was the acid test: Armed with my pre-bloat Patagonia MLC, a surgical-tubing clothesline, and a wardrobe consisting almost entirely of CoolMax, I managed to trudge all around the Pacific Northwest and Alaska for two weeks, taking planes, trains, rental cars, and just plain walking. From the beaches of southern Oregon, to the top of a snow-covered mountain outside of Fairbanks, from Shakespearean theatre to a dog-mushing convention, I had an something to wear for every occasion and temperature. I haven't gone back to my old, multi-bag ways since.

Anyway, one of the tips that I really latched on to was your recommendation of shave oil instead of shaving cream. I tried it, and now use it exclusively, even when I'm at home. I've also used your book trick — trade or discard as you go. I hate packing something that I'll have to just haul around after I've used it. So, before (or during) a trip I'll stop at a used book store and get one or two cheap paperbacks. When I'm done with one, I'll scribble "Free book! Take me! Read me! Pass me along!" or something like that on a Post-it or scrap of paper and stick it on/in the book. Then I'll leave it somewhere. On a bus I'm taking, in an airport waiting area, on a train platform, etc. Maybe it just gets tossed by a janitor, or maybe it makes some random traveller's day when they happen upon it. Who knows? It certainly makes my day not to have to carry the deadweight around.

Thanks again, and keep up the great work.

... the Bundle [Wrapping] method is fantastic. I tried it for the first time on my trip to and from Japan... amost zero wrinkles. Much better than the touted "roll each t-shirt individually" method. I used the latter method on all my trips to Europe and my clothes always had tons of wrinkles! But I always thought that this is as good as it gets... until I tried the Bundle method.

Found your site around 1998, when my church choir was planning a tour of Eastern Europe. I needed more stuff (performance outfit, etc.) than would fit in a carry-on, but your site really helped me figure out what I needed, and what could be left behind. It was my first trip to Europe, and I had no idea what to expect. Your tips helped me keep my bag down to a manageable size & weight that I was able to carry & load on the bus myself. There wasn't anything I wished I had brought, and I ended up deciding there were a couple of items I could have left behind.

I can't even begin express my gratitude for the wealth of information you provide on your onebag.com website. Several years ago I took a 10-day trip with an enormous 28-inch rolling bag plus a carry-on. That was truly an "interesting" experience. I just completed a 7-day trip to Amsterdam using just the Red Oxx Air Boss and it was a marvelous experience.

First, the shoulder bag phenomenon definitely allowed me to skirt the British Airways 6kg limit although on the return flight they announced they would be strictly enforcing it. Second, the customs agent as I was leaving the baggage claim on my return asked whether I had forgotten my checked luggage after he saw only one bag dangling from my shoulder. I had gleefully walked past everyone who had gotten off the plane before me (I was in the fourth to last row) and were still staking out the baggage claim for their checked luggage.

I travel a lot, and it has seemed to me that "every trip is the first trip." Which is totally insane. So I asked myself how do I make every trip not be the first trip. How do I standardize? How do I make this simpler, take up less time and energy, less stress? So I said to myself, there has to be a way to just have one bag. Period. And there is! As your great site so well instructs.

Thanks to the helpful information provided by your Web site, I was able to truly "travel light" for the first time in my life and enjoyed the benefits. Your site helped me to pack the most essential things and leave the rest at home, and (much to my surprise) I went through a nine-day tour quite comfortably with things I brought in a single carry-on bag! The driver of my tour group was so amazed by the small size of my luggage that he called me "his hero!" The only challenge was finding any leftover room to put the souvenirs I bought on my trip, but it also forced me to keep my shopping impulse in check, which worked to my advantage at the end.

I'm sure you get a lot of e-mail from grateful travelers, but I wanted send my own note of appreciation. In the future I'm planning to travel a lot more, partly because I've got the travel bug, and also because it's wonderful knowing that I won't have to worry about lugging around heavy bags when I go on the road.

I really appreciate the excellent material on your site ... it has helped me considerably in my travels both domestic and international. I refuse to check baggage containing anything I would want to keep, partly due to the information I've gotten from a friend who is setting up the baggage handling system at the Munich airport. As with any engineered system, it is designed with a "tolerable" number of failures...

Well, I'm four hotels into this Asia trip and the bundle method of packing clothes works a treat! It will save me a fortune in pressing bills in the years to come.

[three months later] After my second trip — Singapore, Melbourne, Singapore, Manila, and Hong Kong, I wanted to write and thank you for the tip about shaving oil. I bought some Somerset's shaving oil and took it on the last trip. I'm never shaving with anything else again.

Our family of four (mum, dad, and two daughters 9 and 12) have just spent three weeks traveling through SE Asia with carryon bags. It was easy and very satisfying and I would definitely do it again. One of the main advantages was that the children did not spend hours deciding what to put on — they had so little choice! (My 12-year-old is keen on personal adornment, so found it a bit stressful, but did not grumble — I think she wants to go on another trip!) There was a fair bit of washing, but my husband and I shared the task and got it done quite quickly (and hurray for Coolmax). We got a few comments from check-in staff and customs/quarantine officials who seemed surprised at our lack of luggage. Thanks for the Web site!

Last month, my girlfriend and I took our leap toward onebagness for a trip to France. We road tested the philosophy through airports, Paris' Metro system, and the luggage racks of the new TGV train to Strasbourg. I can say without reservation that we are converts. The system is genius, and it is practical in every way. We never felt the need for things we didn't pack — in many instances we felt that we overpacked (me one too many shirts, her a dressy dress), and this was in the oft-chilly weeks of early October. Thanks and praise to the packing list, which recommended thermal underwear, an obvious but usually neglected choice. Most of all, it was the little suggestions that added up: needle and thread, duct tape, sink stopper, used to prick a bottle of contact solution, repair a ripped backpack, and stop the shower to soak tired feed, respectively. And I can't say enough good things about bundle wrapping. I am certain I am going to become one of those people who snicker at luggage-laden travelers from now on. I am a one-bagger and never looking back.

I was printing out a checklist for our holiday trip, and I realized how many years I've been using your site. It's radically changed how we travel. We've spent 3 weeks in England and Ireland with just carryons, 2 weeks in Italy, 2 weeks in Mexico, and just this March, two weeks in Japan and China in quite cold weather with just our carryons. It's truly fabulous! We actually use bags that are a bit smaller than your recommendations ... [and] occasionally have trouble with security and customs people at airports, who can't believe we don't have any other luggage.

The MEI "Voyageurs" that my wife and I traveled with (we are both 66) proved their worth when we landed in Paris in the midst of a metro strike. Unable to take the train past the Seine, we quickly converted them to back packs and hiked quite comfortably the two miles to our lodgings.

I've used the Air Boss on four trans-Atlantic trips [recently]. It's the first time in 10 years I have not had to iron any clothes at the other end. To give you an idea — my Air Boss carries four formal shirts, one casual shirt, two t-shirts, a suit, my underwear, a sweatshirt and then laptop, cables, iPod, and books etc. necessary to my job.

I'd like to travel lighter, but regrettably circumstances do not usually allow. I was reticent to bundle wrap my suit, but once I worked out that the sleeves fold down the back of the jacket (my suits will not extend their sleeves sideways), it worked a treat. Because I travel with double cuff shirts, I’ve worked out that the best way is to actually fold the cuff back on itself, (after wrapping the sleeves) rather than round the bundle — as long as you follow the stitch line it seems to cause less creasing.

Anyhow — thanks again, I’ve saved around 10 hours of waiting time alone in the last few trips!

I would like to take a few minutes to thank you for a terrific and informative website!!!

In the last six months alone, I've traveled to Prague, Brussels, Amsterdam, Nice, NYC, San Francisco, Baltimore, Tucson. And last but not least, Chester, CA.

Fortunately, I've been able to travel Business Class (international), and First Class (domestic). However, my luggage has not fared so well! For some odd reason, Delta enjoys my "frequent" visits to their Baggage Claim Center. In fact, I see Eric the Delta B.C. Rep in Atlanta more than I see my husband! (I know there is a joke somewhere in that last sentence!)

After finding your website, (a fellow passenger provided this information). I decided to implement a few of your ideas... I absolutely could not believe it!!! Everything fit into my carry-on...

You are either a genius or an angel!!! (And I'll be missing Eric from Delta.)

I came to your site because my husband made me ... for now, I'm refusing to read it and I'm bringing all five pairs of shoes on my trip next week.