More general advice on packing light

The world is geared more and more towards miniaturization. 

Ryanair is moving towards pressuring travellers into only having carry on luggage (by threatening to make it expensive to check bags). More and more travellers were moving in that direction years ago. Even while commuting to and from work, miniaturization will save you a lot of strength in the long run.

So, exactly in what areas can you miniaturize?

Sound equipment

Once upon a time I took a whole boombox with me on (car trip) vacation. These days I don't have much need for that.

I'll take an MP3 player and a set of personal speakers:

These days they come in lots of versions. The ones pictured are really small - picked them up at an airport years ago. They can be used with or without batteries. It's called passive, if they don't need batteries, and the sound is lower - can be useful, and is getting more common.

Another possible solution, is to use an FM transmitter. You'd have to have a Radio to receive the signal. And most of the transmitters get bad reviews...

This is my current MP3 player. About the size of the Ipod Nano. Flash based, 6 gig. Sandisk Sansa e270. Perfect except for audible system noise (at low volumes) when changing tracks. Oh, and occasional ID3 tag glitches. It's my favorite player so far. I love how it handles (organization possibilities, ease of use, sound quality).

Other MP3 players

Most people today use at least one MP3 player when on the go. There are several criteria for choosing yours.

Price, capacity, sound and use.

There are three main types of MP3 players that qualify for travelling:

1) Flash based. Often small, in capacities up to 8 gigabytes.
2) Harddrive based. Capacities up to 60 gigabytes, often with video playback.
3) Cell phones. These have microdrives (harddrive) or flash memory, or even flash memory cards

1) Seldom used. If you seldom listen to music while on the go, anything goes. The smallest, cheapest MP3 player will do. Fill it with favorites, and make sure it's small enough to stash in a pocket.

2) Commuting (train, bus). For this, I'd use a large harddrive based player, preferably with video capability. But the newest big capacity flash players might be OK for some - as a convergence player - usable for most purposes.

3) Long trips, in hotel rooms or apartmens. Same type of use as commuting. Rule of thumb: Accessibility to charging the battery as often as needed.

4) Long trips, only occasional accessibility to electricity. Use a large capacity flash player that takes AAA batteries. Look for 2 gigabyte players (I have a Sansa M250 - the e200 series has better sound, but this one has AAA batteries). If you already have an Ipod or Sansa e200 series player, find a USB wall adapter!

5) For working out. A flash based player. Harddrives are fragile to shocks in general. Flash drives have no moving parts and are perfect for the constant bouncing suffered on the arm of a runner. How large capacity depends on how much you work out. With a large capacity player, good playlists are important, or alternatively the ability to organize by folder.

6) For listening to audio books. I'd go with a harddrive based player, unless you have a laptop with you. Audio books can be anything from 50 megabyte to 1 gigabyte, so a small player will not last you more than a few hours. Good bookmarking capability is important, preferably within an MP3 file. The ordering of files is also important. Some players have issues there. My old Creative TX (flash based) player is pretty good for audio books, if you have a computer near by (small capacity).

I bought these a while ago, and have found them a good, small, comfortable compromise.

My review of the Sony MDR-EX71SL Fonotopia Headphones.

The Creative EP-630 are good and cheap - same principle. They're my current pair (though I miss the Sonys - better bass).

When leaving for extended periods of time, such as going to school, you may want to bring your CD collection with you, but lose the bulk. If you've got a computer, a DVD player or a new CD player with MP3 playing ability, you could look into converting all your tracks to MP3. Consider your target player, when deciding between burning CD's or DVD's. I don't know about you, but my old 20 gigabyte MP3 player won't hold all my albums... Invest in a CD case that will hold all your discs, whether it's small or big. Also remember to choose DVD-R or DVD+R depending on the computer you'll be using while travelling.

Other mini DV camcorders.

Cameras

Video

For a camcorder I'd still recommend the mini-DV format. They have good compatibility, and although they're not the smallest type of camera, they're fairly easy to handle on a trip.. Here's mine (see left pane).

Make sure you get a PAL version if you're in Europe and an NTSC version if you're in the US.

My camcorder model was chosen because it has analog and dv in/out. You can get cheaper models in the same size range if that's not important to you. And by now it's too old, so check the link for the other camcorders.

Sony Ericsson K790a

Today, the choice is between film and digital, regular digicam and cell phone.

Digital cameras from just a few years ago drained batteries in record speed. The newer models are way better at that. So for a trip with dicy access to electricity, keep that in mind. A newer camera might help, an extra rechargeable battery will help (but my camera from 4-5 years ago are eating rechargeable batteries way too fast - can hardly use it). Maybe a camera that runs on AA batteries is the right ticket? A Nikon camera I used for a while would run forever on a pair of AA batteries.

Small digicams often have noisier photos (digital noise). The smaller size means the CCD is smaller, and less light reaches it. So you give up something to get a smaller camera.

I deliberated between a tiny regular digicam and a cell phone with a good camera...

Digicam or cell phone?

A cell phone with a good camera (the Sony Ericsson K800i/K790 is the current darling for the camerati) is always there, and is often the difference between getting a photo and not getting it.

But cell phone cameras are WAY worse than a cheapo digicam. Yes, even the K800i. It's got a very shallow depth of focus. That means: What you're focusing on will be sharp, but the rest of the picture will be fuzzy. And most pictures taken with a cell phone camera will be fuzzy because of camerashake. Yep, most people have the shakes when it comes to cell phone cameras. And if you need to use flash - take more than one photo, they often end up slightly unsharp. Good enough for a 4x5 print, but not more. Ordinary digicams are way better. They have very wide depth of focus (compared to regular 35-mm film cameras), and the optics are good enough so shutter speeds are short enough to forestall the shakes.

Me? I've got the K800i, and enjoy it, but I'll take a regular digicam when I know I'll take pictures.

Cell phones

I only have one piece of advice for cell phones. If you're travelling with others, remember that newer Sony Ericsson phones (the whole T series have the same charger, and the K and W series have a new type in common) and newer Nokias can generally use the same chargers. Consider taking only one charger if you've got the same make of phones. Check online first if all your cell phones can take the same chargers. The Nokia and Sony Ericsson sites will show accessories for each phone. Check what chargers models are supported. Sometimes models other than those displayed will work too. Check that at your own risk.

Test your cell phone prior to departure. Many of them will double as alarm clocks even when turned off.

Some cell phones have flash lights (the Nokia 5100 and successors, as well as cameras with photo-light, not flash). Very handy. Until I discovered tiny led flashlights for the keychain...

Laptops

Eh, if possible, rely on WAP and GPRS or 3G (cell phone)  for reading your mail. Check this page for advice. There are small laptops out there, but most of them will run over 1 kg. Alternatives are PDA's and smart phones. But with a regular newer phone, you'll get your mail, so unless you have a big need for regular surfing, leave it at home. Airports often (Gardermoen 2006) have paid wifi. If you do bring a laptop, make sure you get a wireless card configured before you leave home. Win98 SE and later are easy to configure. Check my tutorial for installing wifi on Win98 (pre SE).

If you do bring a laptop, remember that unencrypted wifi is unsafe unless you use a VPN or encrypted e-mail solution. There are people who sniff the traffic on wifi connections and look for passwords. If you use a terminal server or external desktop, even a really old laptop will do for travelling.

I had a picture of my little luggage cart here (CompacCart 100). Sadly it's been discontinued. The closest I could find was this one, the Samsonite Micro Mover:

Samsonite also has a similar one:

Luggage

What I've found, is that I get very tired from carrying heavy luggage for an extended period of time. I had one really heavy carry on suitcase on one trip. I didn't bring extra wheels, because I thought carts would be readily availabe. WRONG! I had to carry that thing all the way to the baggage claim. I learned... These days I don't carry anything if I can help it. I'd rather concede a few kg for the wheels. Discount airlines like Ryanair make you walk looong distances to avoid having to spring for stuff like trams or covered walkways. So be prepared! I've got a collection of different sized luggage, and always take the biggest I can fit into the size requirements - with wheels!

Oh, on my latest trip I had a "rolling upright" that had its wheels a little too close together. Probably an earlier model. Let's just say it's not as directionally stable as one with wheels spaced well apart....

I use wheels a lot even at home. I have a better solution on my big "gym bag" that I tote anything around in. Works fairly well in Oslo. Don't pack anything fragile, though, as sidewalk bumps may cause it to go flying, fall flat or just plain flip around! And look for wheelchair ramps... Wheels are common in Oslo. I see luggage on wheels every day around town.

Remember to bring a flashlight. I usually use keychain flashlights. I've upgraded to led types now. I'm currently looking locally for one that takes one AAA battery (most are too big, or use expensive flat cells). Until I find the right one, the tiny one on the left is my steady companion - it's cheaper to buy a new one  than a replacement battery.

• Discussion on travelling light
• Great advice on clothes!
• One Bag
• Photography blog