r/HerOneBag

This sub helped me so much in packing for my trip to Japan so I thought I would pass along what I learned! Trip was Sep 21 to Oct 8, visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Disneyland. Since the trip was the end of typhoon season, a lot of days were 70-80F and rainy, though we had a handful of sunny days!

First image was my packing plan using the 3x3 method + a dress. I ended up swapping the left column to a green tee, beige linen button down, and a black midi skirt from RipSkirt based on recs I saw here. I swapped the sandals out for Tevas. I added two light tanks. Everything plus toiletries fit in my Calpak Terra 26L backpack (image 3). I knew I would be buying things in Japan so I packed my backpack inside an expandable carry on sized suitcase - and I certainly filled it! So I did not one bag on the way back.

So I have some regrets…

1. I should have bought Allbirds in a darker color. These shoes were fantastic, but as you can see from image 2, they looked pretty nasty after a rainy walk in the woods.
2. I was not prepared for the humidity and I wished I had brought some sports bras. I am not normally a sweaty person so I didn’t think about it, but my bras were disgusting! Ended up buying some sports bras there.
3. I should have brought my own laundry soap. Due to the sweating issue, I needed to do laundry earlier than expected and my hotel at the time did not have guest laundry. Could not find laundry detergent in stores so I washed my dirty clothes in the sink with hand soap, then did another load at the next hotel that did have machines.
4. I didn’t wear the green light jacket much. I’m from the PNW where we never use umbrellas but it was usually too warm for the jacket.

Some things I did right!

1. The amount of clothes worked out well enough for me to feel like I had options but everything went well together.
2. My day bag from Bagsmart, was absolutely perfect. Could be worn crossbody or like a shoulder bag. Lots of pockets. And best of all, the middle section is waterproof, so I could put a waterbottle or my wet folded up umbrella in there and not get all my other things wet. 10/10
3. A few standout clothing items - The RipSkirt looked cute, had pockets, and repelled rain well. The Lululemon brown baggy pants were my first Lulu purchase and I loved them, so comfy and dried so fast. An Athleta linen blend button down was the perfect layer for the warm and wet weather.

Not a true one bag trip, but I’m glad to say I can do it if I didn’t shop!

Next year I am heading off on a year-long trip which will cover a range of climates & activities. It will include multi-day trekking in places like the Himalayas and Patagonia, along with city travel and easier day hikes. To further complicate matters I am also planning to do some regular running (maybe even a half marathon or two along the way).

My bag is a 34L Osprey Tempest (great as a hiking bag that also fits as carry on). I did a similar trip to this in 2023 when I walked the Camino de Santiago and loved my packing list then, but this will have a far greater range of activities and temperatures so I am trying to refine it to cover this whilst still fitting in 34L.

Image description - packing list:

Bags

• Osprey Tempest 34L
• Uniqlo shoulder bag

Tops

• 2x merino t-shirts
• 1x synthetic running/hiking top 
• 1x in-built bra tank
• 1x button-up UPF50+ shirt

Bottoms

• Silk blend wide leg pants
• Travel / running / hiking pants
• Hiking shorts
• Running (compression) shorts
• Elastic-waist lounge/swim/pyjama shorts
• Sleeveless dress

Layers & Outerwear

• 6x socks, 6x underwear, 2x bras
• Thermals
• Ultralight down jacket
• Rain jacket
• One mystery mid layer! This is where I need help.

Footwear

• Goretex mid hiking shoes
• Nike Pegasus Trail 
• Reef sandals

Not shown

• Merino buff, hat, silk scarf, toiletries & misc/tech items

The mid layer is where I need help! It needs to serve as:

• a good hiking layer between thermals/t-shirt and my rain jacket
• a cosy camp / flight / extra sleeping layer if needed
• something I could wear as an outer layer in a city without it looking too trekky.

My top three options so far:

1 - Macpac Pisa Fleece jacket. Would be perfect for hiking, a little too outdoorsy but OK for cities. I’m thinking the shell exterior will make it less comfy/cosy. Macpac frequently have 40% off sales so expensive but not too bad (~$200 AUD, $320 AUD full price)

2- Icebreaker Merino 200 Long Sleeve Zip Hoodie. Good midlayer for hiking (but will need my rain jacket to make it wind-resistant), will blend in fairly easily in cities and cosy for flights. Downside - expensive & rarely on sale($270 AUD)

3 - Uniqlo merino wool cardigan (maybe my most rogue choice). Cosy for camp/flights and the nicest to wear in cities. I have never worn it hiking but I guess it could serve the same purpose as the Icebreaker. Bonus - I already own one so it's free.

What midlayer option do you think would be best? Any suggestions for alternatives? I’ll also take any further scrutiny on my packing list if you have advice / suggestions!

Does anyone know if this is a thing that’s available? I’ve attached a picture of kind of what I’m talking about.

I know there’s going to be a lot of sound advice against this considering it’ll add weight, be inflexible, and won’t actually compress anything, but hear me out.

In the past I’ve liked my one bag to be a hard sided roller. Though I love to be a one bag kind of person, I still struggle with over packing at times, and the hard shell gives me a rigid limit. There’s no extra stretch like a soft side bag would have, so I know immediately if I’ve over packed. It won’t close, it won’t fit. With soft sided bags I have a tendency to add more items, then I get to the sizer and I’m 1-2” over.

That being said, I also usually try to fly as cheaply as I can, which means last to board. Twice in the last few months I’ve been volun-told to gate check my bag since it was a hard roller, and was assumed to be bigger than the soft sided backpacks other travelers around me had.

My new idea is a soft sided bag, but rigid organization so I can’t “overpack” by accident. I would love any recommendations anyone has, or alternative ideas! Thank you!

Image 1: Items in the bag: phone battery, packable shopping bag, phone, pens, wallet, brush, tissues, sunglass case, Advil, lip balm, floss, gum, glasses cleaning cloth, notepad, international drivers license, passport

Image 2: packed bag side view, Ice Breaker mints for scale (not packed)

Image 3: packed bag top view, Ice Breaker mints for scale (not packed)

Image 4: view of body-facing external pocket with passport, notepad, int'l drivers license

Image 5: view of packed items, configuration 1

Image 6: view of packed items, configuration 2 - more to show that I didn't need to be deliberate about how I put the items in the bag - they fit in multiple "orders"

---

First, a disclosure - I'm not a one-bagger. I have an Away roller carry-on and I paired it with the Aer City Pack Pro 2 20L for a two week trip to Italy (did full laundry once and socks/underwear sink laundry twice). The intent was not to carry the backpack around town - it was more to hold my laptop, tech pouch, toiletries, and a few other items for the travel portions of the trip. We stayed in hotels and took trains once we got to Italy, so didn't need to worry about bag mobility/weight so much.

But for walking around all the places, I had no need to carry a backpack. So I wanted to find a light, packable sling or cross-body for walking and touring around everywhere, from Rome to Pompeii to Polignano a Mare. And I feel like this is the part that is relevant to one-baggers, who want a small, packable bag for daily usage.

I actually ordered three Bellroy bags to compare:

• Laneway Crescent Bag 2.5L
• Laneway Sacoche 3.5L
• Lite Sacoche 3.5L

I needed it to pack flat and also hold the stuff I knew I wanted/needed to carry walking 4-8 miles per day. I have a couple Lululemon 1L belt bags that I wear as slings around home, but wanted something larger that could better pass as a purse for dinners out and looked less "sporty".

When the bags arrived, I packed each one with the things in the first photo, and tried it on cross-body (both shoulders) and then as a purse with a shorter strap on my right. If you're going for weight, the Crescent is the heaviest, but can hardly be called heavy at just over 1/3 lb (5.8 oz / 164 g). The lightest is the Lite Sacoche at 1/4 lb. (4.1 oz / 116 g). And they all packed flat to go into my roller for the flight to Europe.

I started with the Laneway Sacoche - thinking that was going to be the "just right" bag. But my international drivers license didn't fit well in the outside body-facing pocket (we rented a car in Puglia), so that was annoying. I was able to fit everything in the bag, but it felt kind of tight to get it all in there. And I had to move things around to get it all to fit nicely. It was a no-go for me because of that. It just didn't feel like a 3.5L bag.

Then I went to the Lite Sacoche. Even though the dimensions are slightly smaller on the Bellroy website - this one felt bigger as I packed it - both in the body-facing outside pocket and the main pocket space. But with the light fabric, you could see the odd shapes and outlines on the bag surface. So it looked like it had weird lumps. Also, the shoulder strap is narrow. It felt fine wearing it cross-body or as a purse in the house for 10 mins, but I felt like it would dig in and start to get uncomfortable after 2+ hours of walking around the Colosseum.

I was a little worried about the Crescent bag, as it is advertised as 2.5L, but when you take the volume from the dimensions, it's 3.18L. So I put everything in. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The thicker fabric on the Laneway series smoothed out the lumps that I was seeing on the Lite Sacoche. It packs way bigger than the specs advertise, and the wider strap was definitely more comfortable. You can see my passport, int'l license, and small notepad fit in the body-facing pocket. My wallet, sunglasses (which need to be in a case, as they are progressive prescription - as my eye doc says, "in a case or on your face"), battery, tissues, etc. all fit easily in multiple "configurations" in the main section, and there's a little internal side pocket, where I stuck my lip balm, Advil, floss, and glasses cloth.

Most importantly, the way it sits on your body - or at least my body - is more natural. The crescent shape better hugs the body vs. a sacoche, where it sits closer and doesn't extend out as much. The sacoche, when filled, is a pretty hard rectangle, where the edges stick out as corners. The crescent shape here softens the look, and also feels more comfortable when it hits your body as you walk.

The bag performed great! Comfortable to carry, easy to access on the go, and simple to flatten and pack. Highly recommend!

Also - a callout. I didn't carry a water bottle all day every day. To start, I accidentally left my water bottle on the first flight. 😢 I blame the 11 hr flight and not getting any sleep. But also, we just didn't see the need. It wasn't super hot, we drank plenty of water during our meals, and if we needed some, we just bought a small bottle that we would use/refill for the day, usually for less than 2 €. Also, I'm Gen X - I lived my 20s, 30s, and half of my 40s not carrying a water bottle everywhere. This is a newer phenomenon over the last 10-ish years. And this was not a hiking or heavy exertion trip.

So there you have it - my thoughts on a few small, daily carry options.

ETA: Also, I probably should have mentioned my height/body type. I’m 5’1” (about 155 cm), and thin/small-framed, so the way the two shapes sat against my body may be different than how they might sit on someone else.

Heading to Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and New Zealand over the next 6 months with my husband. I’m planning to pick up a light dress once I arrive, but we are mainly doing jungle hikes / camping / beaches hence the casual outfits. We’re sharing the toiletries / first aid so he’ll be carrying the toiletries.

Pic 1:
Slip sleep mask
First aid kit
Toiletries
Linen towel
Baggu bag
Osprey dry bag / day pack
Goggles
Sunglasses
Headlamp
Kindle
Journal
Watercolor supplies
Projector
Passport
Wallet
Mini projector
GoPro
AirPods
Charger
Adapter
Headphones
Electrolytes
Tissues
Clothing
Salomons
Tevas
Baseball cap
Sun hat
Monocular
Microscope

Pic 2:
1 pair linen pants (Patagonia)
1 pair hiking pants (Halfdays)
3 tank tops (Halfdays, Beyond Yoga, Paka)
2 short sleeves (Icebreaker, Patagonia)
1 long sleeve (Dilling)
2 bikinis + 1 swim shirt (Seea)
2 shorts (Adidas)
3 bras (Unbound Merino)
5 undies (Branwyn)
1 pair of pajamas (Unbound Merino)
4 pairs of socks (Smartwool)

Pic 3: Meds, first aid, toiletries. Not pictured: laundry sheets, Sea to Summit clothesline, Saalt disc and Kula cloth.