Oh yeah! Late summer 2021 and we’re finally back to traveling!
The Bellroy Transit 28L, still my choice so far.
All my planning has paid off! If you read earlier in the year, I’ve been trying and buying various things to make travel lighter and easier, which had lead to streamlining what I own and wear a little bit too. We’re headed to the maritimes for a week in just a week, and I’ve been having a lot of fun putting together my bag. Let’s start with the clothes.
Pretty minimal, I think I could cut down a bit more but we’ll see.
I’ve been trying out a lot of different brands and options for clothing, and I think I’ve settled on this stuff so far. I’m keeping my colors to greys, blues, and blacks as well to streamline choices. All of the below is packed into a Peak Design medium packing cube.
2x Seagale Action Merino t-shirts: These have been awesome so far. They’re a blend of Tencel, merino, and elastane, which means soft, stretchy, and odor/wrinkle resistant. Seagale is great too as they’re French, which means a more European focused cut. For someone smaller like me, XS actually fits pretty decent! I could probably cut this to just one. Two extra shirts as I can get multiple wears out of one, and they dry overnight after a sink or shower wash anyway.
1x Wool and Prince 130gsm merino button down: I’m not happy with the price I paid to get this here, but I am happy with the overall fit and finish of the shirt. This is the first button down that I’ve been really happy with. I did take it to a tailor to taper the arms and bring up the hem a little bit, and now it fits great and wears better untucked. Merino is stink and wrinkle resistant, so I can wear it a lot without washing. Dresses up or down for some of the slightly less casual restaurants we may be hitting in Halifax. I wouldn’t mind grabbing another one of these in grey in the future.
1x All Saints Mode Merino hoodie: This is the closest I could find to a normal hoodie in merino. Very warm for the weight, and quite soft. I still don’t think it’s perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it.
1x Uniqlo Blocktech parka: I expect there might be a little bit of rain back home, and it’s possible we could see some chill off the water too, depending on where we’re going. I’ve had one of these forever and I’ve been real happy with it.
2x Uniqlo Airism trunks: These are for sleep. One dirty one clean. I cold probably get away with just one considering how fast they dry, and I’ve been known to wear them more than once at home. I’ll take two just in case.
2x Saxx Quest 2.0 boxer briefs: I’ve been a briefs guy for a long while but these are wonderful. Slight compression fit, great pouch, moisture wicking, good stretch, anti-stink built in, and they sink wash and dry overnight. They might do for swimming in a pinch! I’ve been adding these to the underwear drawer whenever I can.
3x Smartwool No Show merino wool socks: Merino blended with nylon and elastane. I can get a few wears out of a pair but I figure they take up almost no space so why not bring 3 extras. They’ll sink wash and dry overnight.
1x Arcade Midnighter adventure belt: This thing is pretty much just a stretchy waistband for all your pants. Nylon buckle so you can wear it through airport security, if that’s your jam. Works fine for a belt.
1x Lululemon ABC Pants Skinny: I’m bringing the Warpstreme fabric version of the pants with me. They’re skinny fit, polyester with a little technical shine but not a ton. Work great as a plain pair of black “jeans” with a lot more stretch and a lot less weight. Happy with these!
1x Uniqlo x Theory relaxed fit shorts: Surprisingly slim for being relaxed fit. Lots of pockets. Light weight Kando fabric means fast drying, and coupled with mesh pockets and internal drawstring they make for pretty decent swim trunks, while holding up as a chino short.
(Not pictured) Uniqlo Airism Mask: Gotta have a spare. This might actually end up being the Matador version if I like it.
Worn.
Up next we have the on-body. Again, keeping with the minimal color palette of greys, blacks, and blues. Not pictured is the keys, wallet, phone, and AirPods. Those will be between pockets and bag most of the time. The keys will contain a NiteIze Doohickey and a RollingSquare InchargeX.
Vessi Everyday Sneaker: I had enough of the ads and finally bought them. I haven’t had an athletic style sneaker in ages, but these look space age and have some great features. They’re very comfortable for long walks, very light weight, and best of all, waterproof! I’ve tested them a bunch and they’re 100% no leaks.
Saxx Quest 2.0 boxer briefs: Same good things to say as above.
Smartwool no show merino wool socks: Same good things to say as above.
Seagale Action Merino T-Shirt: Same good things to say as above.
Lululemon ABC Joggers Skinny: Fancy sweatpants in the same fabric as the skinny pants. Exceedingly comfortable, great for flights, lounging, and just day to day.
(Not pictured) Uniqlo Airism Mask: I love the weight and the fabric, and the fact that they’re three layer masks. They wash and dry well, no wrinkles or special care.
DOP o’clock.
The DOP bag has been kept to all solids to breeze through security. If I find something isn’t performing well, I can just grab stuff at a pharmacy locally.
Matador toiletries roll bag: This is dry-through and minimal. Holds stuff, doesn’t leak, but lets stuff inside dry out. Magic.
2x Matador soap bags with Lush Seanik and Lush Avocado Co-Wash: The bags are magic for solid soap - They don’t leak but let the bars dry out. Seanik from Lush is a shampoo, but works great for washing body and clothing as well. The Avocado Co-Wash washes and rinses from hair really well, and doesn’t leave my hair super dry feeling. These two take care of personal hygiene and laundry needs.
Nalgene bottle with Lush Dirty Toothy Tabs: They work great, taste good, and they’re not a liquid.
Nalgene bottle with meds: Advil, Gravol, ginger Gravol, and Benadryl. Just in case.
Neutrogena sunblock stick: No liquids life. Takes a bit of extra care to apply but works well.
Schmidt’s deodorant: Wish I could have gotten a smaller size but it works. Might swap for Dove travel size.
Folding toothbrush: Self explanatory.
Folding Hairbrush: I bought this thing from a 100 yen store in Japan and it’s still going great.
Floss: For flossing.
It’s ya boi, the Peak Design 3L Sling.
Up next we have the tech bag - This also doubles as my day bag and holds my camera goods. I love how this can just be thrown into the top of the backpack and it’s good.
Peak Design 3L Sling: Just the right size for a Fuji X100V carry. I find myself thinking the 6L might be a better choice but this one has been consistently great.
Fujifilm X100V: Outfit with a hood, a B&W UV filter, a Peak Design cuff, and a 128GB SD card. This has been my main camera for over a year now and I still love it every time I pick it up.
Fujifilm TCL and WCL: Both outfitted with B&W UV filters. Great options to add a bit more flexibility to the fixed 35mm of the X100V, they give me a 50mm and a 28mm equivalent focal length while maintaining the 2.0 max aperture.
Fujifilm EF-X20 flash: Great compact flash that adds a bit more flexibility to the kit. Fires remotely via command flash on the X100V for off camera fun.
2x extra Fuji batteries: Mirrorless isn’t exactly known for it’s great battery life.
2x extra AAA batteries: The flash might get hungry.
Mophie 6000mAh external battery: This was a HUNT. This does power delivery off the USB-C port, has a lightning input, and supports pass through charging. I can charge this off lightning and chain my AirPods and my phone to it if I need to. Great battery.
Anker 30w Powerport Slim: This thing is great. 30w fast charging and fits in a coin pocket. Definitely a great backup charger just in case.
Apple Lightning SD card reader: Brand name still seems to be the best option. Fast, portable, reliable.
Etymotic soft case with Lightning EarPods: Just a backup. I’d like to replace these with a USB-C and Lightning audio dongle along with the 3.5mm EarPods. Mediocre sound but solid mic. Great in a pinch.
Microfibre cloth: Cloth. Cloth for cleaning. Cleaning cloth.
DIY filter kit for the flash: Cut up some old filters and packaged with an elastic. Provides a few more creative options.
Various cables: All 3ft, USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C, USB-C to Lightning, USB-A to Lightning. Charge all the things. They don’t leave the bag.
Hair elastic: Long hair life.
Bellroy classic pouch for the extras.
For extra tech I’m stowing it in a Bellroy classic pouch. I’m probably going to drop this and just use the tech portion of the backpack, as this is a bit much for just a few cables and a charger.
6FT Cables: USB-C to USB-C for the USB-C things, and USB-C to Lightning for the Lightning things. Anker and AmazonBasics.
Apple USB-C SD card reader: It’s just faster than the other options and well built. Lets me ingest into the iPad directly.
BASEUS 65w GaN charger: 2x USB-C and 1x USB-A cover all my charging needs, and should be able to shoulder fast charging the iPad and the iPhone at the same time. Compact. Would like to swap this for an Anker option that has the removable cable in the future.
(Not pictured) Cards: Health card, debit card. Just in case.
The free-floaters.
Last up we have what gets packed in spots in the bag.
iPad Pro 2020 11” w/ Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard: This thing actually penned this entire blogpost. I’ve been really enjoying the magic keyboard experience, the typing is really nice vs the Smart Keyboard folio. Overall this can do 80% of what I would do on my desktop and does it all really well. Happy with the size and the performance. Great for planning days, reading/entertainment, or editing photos in downtime.
Packable Towel: Probably won’t need it as everywhere we’re going should have towels but nice to have. This has served me well across a lot of trips. Would like to replace it with a Matador nano version, but maybe in the future.
GorillaPod Action Tripod: Holds the X100V just fine and doesn’t take up a ton of space.
Matador packable tote: Got these for 12 bucks on clearance, they’re built great and pack down to nothing. Love the waterproof shell. Can clip to my sling in case we grab anything while we’re out.
Merino Buff: Probably mostly a face mask for sleeping if needed. Doesn’t take any space.
All packed up!
I’m real excited to be taking this thing out for a spin. I may still make a few tweaks to the final packing list, but overall I think this is what’s gonna be going with me. Post trip report to follow!