backpacking on a personal item? can it be done?

backpacking on a personal item? can it be done?

the airlines have almost all gone to a model of charging for carry-ons, and its not cheap. most transoceanic flights are still including carry-ons but those days are probably limited. unbundling is not a trend that is going to reverse itself and fact is that for every airline that hasn't already unbundled carry-ons its the obvious next frontier of the policy.

so what about travelling long on a personal item? lets call these dimensions 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45 x 35 x 20 cm). lets say its for three months.

if so what bag? what are you bringing? I feel like this will be a trend in the next few years as budget conscious travellers look at a new way of exploiting airline policy to avoid rising fares and unbundling chicanery.

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >do intercontinental flight with minimal luggage
    >acquire clothes and stuff at destination and continue from there
    Or you could not be poor and pay the price to get you and your luggage across the ocean.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      obviously never travelled for more than a month
      >return flight home
      >domestic/regional flights when you're abroad

      that's where the real headache of flight costs come in. "just buy clothes when you're there" is meme advice. the only way to take advantage of the LCC budget airlines, where you were travelling quickly (aka not a twenty hour bus) for wildly low fares, anymore is to stay one step ahead of the airlines and actually make it to wheels up having only spent the initial quoted airfare price.

      >hurr dont be poor
      go back to SighSee, homosexual

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        I expected these arguments so let me answer based on my experience:
        >return flight home
        - dump things you don't need, e.g. the few old clothes you brought from home.
        - wear the heaviest things, nobody can stop you from wearing your winter coat in summer
        - send things back by mail, low priority overland and sea shipping isn't that expensive compared to air freight/cargo/baggage
        - buy checked or carry on luggage for the way back, at least saved from the way out
        >domestic/regional flights when you're abroad
        - same as above, always get rid of things you don't need any more
        - send back souvenirs by mail, check from where it's the cheapest to send from
        - travel overland
        - just pay for baggage, it's not that expensive for regional flights
        >hurr dont be poor
        You can literally earn your luggage fares on minimum wage, if you can't afford that you shouldn't be travelling by plane.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >- buy checked or carry on luggage for the way back, at least saved from the way out
          Meant to write: at least saved yourself the fees for the outbound leg

          Other tips:
          - rent stuff like camping equipment, but make sure you can actually rent it somewhere at your destination
          - check different airlines, sometimes the second cheapest offer is a much better deal

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    you know real happy my thread about the possibility of travelling on a personal item became this butthole anon's thread to extol his virtures of carry-on luggage.

    great

    we all know about carry-ons

    the point is can you travel on a personal item, which no doubt overall is better on the budget and has you lugging around less shit

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      You can also try not being a israelite or not getting israeliteed, it'll enhance your travel experience.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >the point is can you travel on a personal item
      No. There's your answer, OK?

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    The illustration uses the extended handle to show that there's a handle, nobody actually measures the handle.

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    There is basically zero doubt that charing for carry-ons is going to become industry standard. There is also zero doubt that they will continue to raise the price on carry-on items as a way of raising fares without having to show rising fares on aggregate sites.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      You mean you aren't using a flight search that allows you to include luggage in the query?

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        frick no, why would I do that?
        >yes mr. israelitenited airlines, please just automatically bundle in your israelite bullshit since im such a fricking goy I'll pay and do whatever im told
        start me at the absolute baseline and let me see what can weasel out of, or just be like southwest and not make me go through that hassle.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          moron

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >explicitly search for extra luggage
          >automatically bundled
          and
          >start me at the absolute baseline
          >let me see what [I] can weasel out of
          Your reading comprehension is really bad and you're just spouting memetic phrases instead of actual arguments.
          You should spent less time on /misc/, maybe take a break for 3 weeks and go outside and actually talk with people.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    The 'personal item' has dimensions of a carryon of all the flights I've been on and we don't get on extra bag of the same size on top of that, but I've never been to america so I assume you guys get to carry loads of luggage on free?

    Anyway with the limitation of one bag, I normally carry around a hammock or tent setup as well as all my clothes, a couple books, a stash of food and all the other basic things you need. It really is beyond me why people need more than a carry-on.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Millennials are entitled, they expect everyone to serve them for free

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >a stash of food
      They have food abroad, you know.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        As an american that's simply not enough

        1. burger for taxi
        2. burger during first soda+cookies
        3. burger with meal
        4. burger for dump (takes a while might get hungry)
        5. burger for landing
        6. burger waiting for luggale

        It adds up man, travel is expensive

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          -1/10 probably one of the most low effort Amerifat memes I’ve seen

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Yeah, he forgot to account for the post-clapping burger and the packs of fries needed to tip people.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              The funny thing is he's just jealous because he can't afford beef

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                >beef
                >in American burgers
                Bug burgers would increase the quality of average American fast food.
                Just look at the posts praising how McDonald's abroad tastes much better than at home.
                I'm miring US steak houses though.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                McDonalds had some interesting burgers last night, even a spicy korean one with egg, but what made it more savory was 10 hot ass girl sandwiching me with their breasts and ass right after while I was still digesting with a glass of Guiness(makes the pp strong).

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                You are so poor you can only afford McDonald's and imaginary cartoon burgers from the American tv that makes up your culture. SAD!

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    What’s an extra $100 both ways if you are backpacking?

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      alone not much, but if you save money aggressively whenever you can (especially on shit like airfare where you get NOTHING out of it if you spend more money) it makes a big difference culmulatively.

      think about all the times you're travelling and you say "well its just 10/20/50/100 bucks if I just do this, what the big difference?"...well if you plan better and go with the cheaper option as a matter of habit you're going to save like a thousand dollars over the course of a few months. or you're going to be spending another thousand dollars on shit that you want to spend money on, and not transportation costs.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >especially on shit like airfare where you get NOTHING out of it if you spend more money
        In the case of additional luggage you DO get a concrete service for your money.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        $1000 is not a lot of money unless you’re literally 16 dude. Most people would rather pay $1k over the course of a couple months and be comfortable than save a measly grand and have to live out of a tiny ass bag on vacation

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          And that's why you are poor and can't afford to travel, good goy

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          being frugal is a mindset and if you look at everything individually it won't make sense. but when you're buying a $750,000 house instead of a $400,000 house because you were smart the last five years it'll suddenly dawn on you. I was like that in my twenties though, no perspective.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Sorry, but you sound very immature. For $100 you can bring a sufficient amount of clothes.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          you can bring a sufficient amount of clothes in a personal item easily. the issue is clothes +.

          how fricking fat are you and how massive are your clothes to actually believe this?

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >backpacking on a personal item? can it be done?
    Yes but you're going to be dressing very plainly.
    >5 shirts
    >5 shorts
    >5 pairs socks and boxers
    >use rubber bands to help save space rolling these up in your bag
    >laptop+phone+chargers
    >buy toothpaste and soap at destination
    So long as you don't mind stopping to do laundry at least once a week it's easy. I've done it multiple times, hostels are pretty useful doing this way because they almost always have washers and dryers.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >Yes but you're going to be dressing very plainly.
      >5 shirts
      >5 shorts
      >5 pairs socks and boxers
      ??? How much clothes people are usually packing? When I have one month trip with checked luggage I take less clothes than that

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      why do you need to many fricking shorts? you could probably get away with 2 and double up their usage.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        not the anon you're responding to but swimming/beach runs through shorts like crazy. saltwater, sand, etc get them really dirty really quickly. i bring two or three pairs of really nice patagonia trunks (that kinda double as shorts) if i know i'll be in a hot seaside climate for a while.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          shorts are generally the kind of clothing you can swish around in some hot water and hang to dry or easily replace once you wear out the few pairs you have.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        I get by with one. three underwear is plenty if you buy ex_officio, they are designed to be worn 10 days in a row, same with a decent travel shirt, with a collar and zip pockets. Newbs wear shitty cotton t shirts etc and suffer

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >t. manages to deter even the most desperate prostitutes by appearance and smell alone

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I'm going to SEA for eight weeks with a 28L which has always been able to fit under the seat every time I've flown. Bali, Laos and Vietnam. I feel pretty good about it, bringing enough clothes to where I wont have to be doing laundry more than once a week plus a laptop.

    I don't think I could pull it off if I had to deal with colder or more variable climates. 40L was really pushing it in South America going from Altiplano to Amazon to Rio, each of which kind of required different clothes. Though overall I was glad to have packed light.

    It really comes down to how often you want to do laundry and/or what your personal tolerance is for stinking. Theoretically you can make it on a 20L or 15L if you're in a consistent climate, but you're either gonna get a little rank or you're gonna need to wash clothes all the time.

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I just lost a 90 dollar merino wool shirt
    Next time its gotta be 3 shirts 2 bottoms max. Help keep track of things.
    I use very little from my backpack hotel hopping

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    could be done if you only travel to places with warm to mild climates and you avoid formal clothes:
    >pair of pants
    >pair of shorts
    >3 pairs underwear
    >3 tshirt
    >1 or 2 misc shirts
    >3 pairs of socks
    >swim trunks and slippers
    would double check the carry on regulations for all the airlines you plan to fly. my countries airline is 17x13x6 for personal item so you might want to leave some space in your bag incase you gotta squish it into a smaller sizing device.

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    don't fly us airlines

    there are still airlines that offer deals, two carry ons, and actually feed you plus the staff aren't morons or c**ts

  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I travelled for about half a year with an osprey farpoint 40, it might be a bit above the official allowance for personal luggage but I never got called out on it

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Idk I still haven't encountered a situation where I wasn't allowed a regular piece of hand luggage and I always go for the cheapest option. This time I'm flying with Pegasus and they also allow it

  14. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    just flew delta to peru with a surfboard. the boards was free with delta. Maybe get a surfboard bag and a beat up old board, then stuff the bag with your clothes and other junk. What I did but also used the surfboard.

  15. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    i have a 28l cotopaxi bag which i think is exactly designed for the purpose of sneaking things under the personal item threshold (even though dimensionally it is too big for many airlines, its functionally going to sneak under any airline employees radar). its basically a big laptop case, i can comfortably fit

    >toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
    >small BT speaker
    >thinkpad laptop, charger
    >guidebook + large novel
    >trail runners or sandals (whichever isn't on my feet)
    >1 pair outdoors pants
    >3 pairs shorts + 1 pair trunks
    >5 shirts
    >rain jacket
    >5 pairs underwear
    >3 pairs socks

    plus enough room for phone, wallet, keys etc. to come in and out without ever having to stuff or cram. adding a sweatshirt is possible, but its really no longer a personal item at that point (the shoes are an issue too in that regard). it will fit under the seat in front of you though no matter what.

    you decide whether that's enough for you. cold climates i dont think so, temperate climates neither, but hot climates its certainly doable

  16. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I fly all over europe with ryanair and they do not give a frick about the size of your personal item as long as you don't have a suitcase. I travelled to crete with a 40L Backpack (obviously bigger than their rules) and had the space for an inflatable sleeping mat and sleeping bag with pillow and all the rest i neesed. As long as you travel to a warm country you can absolutely get away with a 40L Backpack, even when camping. The Lighter you are the more miles you can walk too.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      You were really able to get by with a 40l backpack as a personal item and just walk on with it? I travel with a 40l and I feel like they'd blatantly catch it. I guess the gate agents absolutely just give 0 fricks so they probably don't even see NO CARRYON on the boarding pass.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        what are they gonna do? hold up boarding or not let you fly until you buy the priority boarding thing?

        some airlines will, some wont. generally the smaller the bag the better your odds are of them not calling your bluff. 40L is probably on the higher side, but some 40L's can look deceptively small. I doubt any airline employee is going to really hassle you over something 30L's or less going on as a personal item.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >what are they gonna do?
          Make you check it in.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        It might depend on the airline. Like i said it's no problem with ryanair. Just smile and be confident. Obviously don't have shit hanging on the bag, make it look as small as possible.

  17. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >the airlines have almost all gone to a model of charging for carry-ons, and its not cheap.
    what is it like 50 bucks? who cares gay

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      if you're on a six month backpacking trip that can add up to like five hundred bucks

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >six months trip
        >500 bucks
        who cares gay

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Why are you flying every few months like a spaz, doesn't your generation believe the climate science?

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        The point of backpacking is to enjoy going from place to place, no need to fly everywhere if there are other transport options available.

  18. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    anyway i doubt its even 50 bucks its probably like 20 or even less. the cost for an extra 23kg checked bag with air nz is like 100 kiwibux. a 7kg carryon would be maybe 30 kiwibux max which is like 15 usd

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      yeah air new zealand is one of like three decent airlines left in the world.

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