Onebag

The essence of the onebag approach is simple: pack everything you need for your journey into a single bag that meets airline cabin size restrictions. I do not travel by plane a lot, as you can go to many destinations by train in Europe, but I enjoy the freedom of just having one backpack to travel almost indefinitely.

My interest in lightweight travel began in July 2015 when I spent 25 days exploring Norway with less than 5 kg (11 lbs) of gear in a single backpack. Ever since, I’ve embraced the onebag philosophy for my travels, even when friends opt for (massive) checked luggage.

This is my 2025 version, which will be refined over the years.

Packing

• Backpack: Patagonia Black Hole Mini MLC (1,290g). I use this bag for literally everything. It fits everything I need to travel without issue and even has additional room.
• Packing Cube: Patagonia Black Hole Cube 6L (189g). This cube is designed to fit perfectly in the MLC bag. It can hold four to five days of clothes (underwear, socks, T-shirt).
• Toiletry Kit: Decathlon Trekking Toiletries Kit (43g). This is a small toiletry kit. However, it is still too complex, with too many pockets, so I want to downsize it.
• Camera Bag: Peak Design Cube v2 XS (185g).

Tech

• Laptop: Macbook Pro 14" M2 (1,604g).
• Tablet: iPad Pro 12,9” 4th gen (643g). I only take it if I know I will work heavily during my trip, using it as a second screen.
• Phone: iPhone 15 Pro (187g).
• Headphones: AirPods 3 (58g). I will eventually switch to newer AirPods to get the USB-C charging cable.
• Power Bank: Belkin 20k (433g). I am considering replacing it with two NiteCore NB10000 v3 Ultraslim (300g).
• Charger: Port GaN 65w (108g). With two USB-C ports, it is handy to charge two devices simultaneously.
• Cable: 2x Anker USB-C to USB-C (86g).
• Camera: Sony ZV-E10 with Smallrig cage (515g).
• Lens: Sigma 18-50 F2.8 (318g).
• Wrist Strap: Peak Design Cuff (24g).
• Backpack Camera clip: Peak Design Capture v2 (75g).

The camera system weighs 932g, which is not much given its capability. But I am considering either removing it entirely or replacing it with a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 (179g).

Clothing

• Boxer: Uniqlo AIRism Ultra Seamless (x) x4.
• Socks: Uniqlo Colorful 50 (x) x4. I am considering upgrading to Darn Tough socks.
• T-shirt: Jules Le Parfait (x) x4.
• Down Jacket: Décathlon MT100 (342g).
• Rain Jacket: Patagonia Torrentshell (x). My second Torrentshell jacket. I bought the first one for Norway’s travel and have been abusing it for ten years. The new one will hopefully hold as long!
• Flip-flops: Decathlon Nabaiji Slap 100 (200g). It's a bit heavy for its usage, but it’s necessary to take showers in hostels.
• Sleeping Kit: 1x T-Shirt + 1x Short (396g)

Only take this if the weather is below 10°C:

• Gloves: Leather w/ Cashmere lining (81g).
• Beanie: Decathlon Solognac (118g).
• Buff: Buff Polar Fleece (44g).

Toiletries

• Deodorant: L’Oréal Carbon Protect 5in1 (59g). Too bulky for onebagging, I’m looking for a suitable replacement.
• Perfume: Sample-sized Spicebomb (5g).
• Towel: Decathlon Microfiber (230g).
• Tooths: Elmex Travel Kit (Brush+Paste) (40g).
• Soap: Yves Rocher concentrated soap (x). Very useful and does shampoo, too.
• Hand Sanitizer: Sanytol Green Tea (64g). This one smells good, which is a bonus to avoid smelling pure alcohol each time you use it.
• Bandages: 4x Compeed Blister Care (13g). Walking all day, it’s pretty easy to create blisters, which becomes a real pain.
• Menthol: Frisk Peppermint (17g). Very useful to keep a fresh breath throughout the day.
• Sound: Quies 35dB (12g).
• Sleeping Mask: Decathlon Trek Mask (80g).

Miscellaneous

• Notebook: Rhodia dotBook A5 (247g). I used to use Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks in Canada, but these are incredibly difficult to find in France, so I have switched to the Rhodia dotBook which is very similar.
• Pen: Ohto Dude (25g). I bought this pen when I lived in Montreal and have been using it since then. It is one of the rare pens I do not have fatigue writing with.
• Sunglasses: Rayban Caravan (18g).
• Wallet: X (14g).
• Passport (42g).
• Water Bottle: Lightweight Hydroflask (281g). Still heavy for a water bottle, but it’s stainless steel.

Clothing

• Boxer: Uniqlo AIRism Ultra Seamless.
• Socks: Uniqlo Colorful 50. I am considering upgrading to Darn Tough socks.
• T-shirt: Jules Le Parfait.
• Pants: Jules Chino Le Parfait.
• Shoes: Merrel Moab Speed 2. I need good shoes to walk all day, and these are perfect for that.
• Pull: Jules Merinos Turtleneck Black.
• Cap: Carhartt Madison Logo.
• Watch: Garmin Fenix 6 Sapphire.