I do not believe those men that claim they can go on the road for a week with little more than a carry-on. When I was living in hotels three weeks out of four years ago, I wanted three suits and two pairs of shoes for five days in addition to whatever I was wearing to go to and fro. Not to mention the travel umbrella, workout stuff and power adapters. That meant a 70 pound (32 kg) bag, and though I might need a porter from time to time I never wanted for clothes.
I tried travelling light recently, on the assumption that I had only four days in cities and would not need to be very formal for wandering around the rest of the time. Expecting weather in the 70s (20s C), I wore a shirt jacket for the flights, and packed a blazer and the ten ounce (300 gram) suit in the photo. Unfortunately, the weather was like August, or so the locals told us. Alternating two jackets meant I was wearing said middleweight suit on a sweltering day in Naples when my inability to find a taxi meant several sweaty miles of walking. Had I packed a larger bag, I would have had space for a linen suit that would have been a lifesaver.
Upon my return, the pinstripes were off for a most necessary cleaning. Travelling light is over-rated.
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8 comments:
Well, the grief that I have had with hefty luggage in my time leads me to disagree!
I had exactly the opposite problem on a river cruise two Christmas's ago. Normally early December temperatures on the Rhine are in the 40's and 50's so that's what we prepared for. We hit Amsterdam and it was . . . 13! And it stayed that way for two weeks. My poor wife had to buy a mountain parka just to survive the cruise. I did learn to do a Weather Channel check on the forecast for my destination after that but I have to admit I'm on your side.
Traveling light voluntarily is for some overnight trips, and for people without good style...
Tourists can travel light. I did 15 days in Europe with a Brioni tuxedo (5 concerts/operas) and the blazer I wore on the plane for informal dinners and evening strolls.
There's a site (onebag/oneworld) dedicated to super-light travel but there are inherent contradictions between that philosophy and the multi-suit, ready-for-all-climate, look forever dashing proposition laid out by Will.
No pun intended but there's not a "one-size-fits-all" solution for the travel wardrobe.
There are some destinations where a full complement of luggage is a waste of time. My wife's family lives in a small coastal town in Australia. We have taken a full suitcase once or twice but now realise that nearly all we bring is "too posh for Port" and can comfortably live as long as we want on carry-on luggage.
Have to agree Will. If you're going for more than three or four days (particularly in the changeable climate encountered in Northern Europe) it's hard to travel light if you want to look reasonable.
Well put, Culverwood. When on safari I carry a gun case and a duffel bag. Since your clothing is washed daily there is no need for much beyond traveling clothes and bush gear. The traveling clothes are because I think it pretentious to look like you're heading into the veldt while sitting in an airline seat.
The only way is to send the trunk on ahead by air freight, to be collected by someone else.
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