Lightweight Travel Tip #8: No laptop - mobile office

In this Lightweight Travel Tip we discuss minimising electronic devices. These days a mid-range mobile phone is very powerful and you can do almost anything - including editing video. Add in a lightweight keyboard, maybe a mouse too. With a docking station, you can use the hotel TV as a monitor. So, you probably can get away without a laptop or tablet.

But, do test your setup before you go. Make sure things are compatible and comfortable to use.

Lightweight Travel Tips is a series of short videos where I showcase the lightweight travel philosophy by discussing specific situations. The individual tips are gateways to the lightweight travel mindset.

I can recall my first trip overseas with overweight suitcases full of things I never used. Even though I have larger baggage allowances than ever, I take less. Less luggage makes it easier to move around, and I'm less likely to lose an item because I have fewer items to track. It's easier to move through crowds and over imperfect ground.

Lightweight travel tips combine my experience in travel and the outdoors to examine what I carry and if I could do without it. I'm not an ultra-light backpacking gram weeny - my outdoors philosophy is more informed by bushcraft, where I learned to make the most out of whatever I carry while keeping necessities and local conditions in mind. So, lightweight travel is a mindset of efficiency - that each item must be helpful or it should be left behind.

At the core of my philosophy is:
Passport, Credit card, Phone - everything else is a solvable problem of a luxury item.

This isn't to say you shouldn't carry anything - decide what balances weight, size, convenience and luxury for yourself and where you're going! Figure out what is available where you're going - both free at your accommodation or what you can easily buy.

How do I start thinking through a pack list? First, learn about the trip: what about the weather when I am there? What activities do I expect to do? What can I obtain at the destination if I need it? What equipment must I take? These questions are the genesis of thinking through what to bring.

And the biggest tip: Start with a small bag. If you can't make your load-out fit, it's easier to get a larger bag rather than the other way around. People tend to think in terms of bag size: it's the airlines that make us weigh everything!

Do you have some lightweight travel tips of your own? Please share in the comments.

Until next time.