Living Lightly

Living Lightly

In each issue of Sojourner’s Journal, in this column, Living Lightly, we will discuss simplicity and minimalism and review certain objects that have worked for us, often over many years. Some years ago we began a process intended to make our lives simpler and less stressful. Part of this process was divesting ourselves of the accumulated possessions of decades of married and family life.
Before becoming a parent, minimalism had been a central part of my nomadic life. The esthetics, practicality, and sheer ease of living with few possessions simply felt right to me, and I lived for thirty years owning no more than I could carry, or drive. Raising three sons led to large houses with many rooms, all of them filled with stuff. And that was fine, for a while.
Eventually, both ML and I came to feel burdened with the weight of all our possessions, and with the stultifying nature of sedentary life. From time to time we would shed houses and possessions, often in springtime, and with our sons in tow take to the road, or to sea. We returned to shore and house only when the season and work demanded. Each time we went through this process of accumulation and molting we acquired fewer things during the acquisition phase, until, finally, we realized we could get along without all that stuff. We then started the process that led to our present way of living – simply, with minimal possessions, and much freedom.
The complexities of operating a business, sometimes two or three at once, on three continents, created another kind of burden and discontent, which I’ll write about another time. For now I’ll just say we worked to simplify all aspects of our lives, as we also developed a way of living with minimal possessions.
Some advocates of minimalism say that for them the quality or kind of stuff they own doesn’t matter to them. It does matter to both ML and I. Both of us have made our living as artists and designers. Esthetics matter to us, deeply. So does quality. There is great pleasure in the contemplation and use of well designed and finely crafted objects, and a much higher degree of utility.
Poorly conceived and made tools are frustrating to use and cannot be relied upon. Aside from esthetics, when you live with few things those few things had damn well better do their job when you need them to. The two usually go together. The simple, clean lines of the early VW Bug pointed to its utility and reliability, while the confused styling of the Gremlin revealed it for the rolling disaster it was.
The foredeck of a heaving sailboat in a wild gale and confused seas is a bad place to regret saving a buck on the cheap shackle that just broke and sent you sliding across the deck. The bag that bursts open and spreads its contents in the gutter when an overeager porter grabs it will be cursed roundly while you remember the better bag, the one you didn’t buy. You’ll be glad you bought the best knife available when you have to use it to cut through a locked fire door to escape a burning building, as I did once. We are tool users and good tools are the only kind worth having. Stuff matters.
In this issue we’ll take a look at a Mary Poppins kind of backpack, one of those bags that’s bigger on the inside than on the outside.

Disclosure: we are NOT paid by any of the companies whose products we review.

Patagonia Lightweight Travel Backpack

The Patagonia Lightweight Travel Backpack is offered as a pack that folds into its own pocket, takes up little room in your primary luggage and becomes useful when you arrive at your destination and unfold it. Then, voila, the tiny little pouch becomes your day bag, picnic bag, going to the beach bag. We have found it to be all that and more. We use it as a primary travel bag.

I say ‘we,’ but strictly speaking it’s ML’s bag. I only use it when she’s not looking, or when the load’s a bit too much for her. ML bought it over four years ago at the Patagonia store in Venice, CA. Since then we’ve carried it all over the world and used it far beyond its design envelope. This little backpack, sometimes heavily loaded, sometimes lightly, has been carried on and off dolmus, tuk tuks, jeeps, airplanes and trains; up and down mountains; through rain and snow and summer’s heat, without failing or even showing hints of failure. The stitching is as good as new. The fabric shows little sign of wear and is water resistant.

ML can pack a week’s worth of clothing and toiletries, her laptop, camera, a couple of paperback books, snacks and a water bottle in this gossamer wonder (the bag only weighs eleven ounces) and live out of it indefinitely. When she arrives at a destination, she dumps her clothing, laptop, and accessories in our room and uses it as a combination purse, day bag and grocery getter. The bag expands and contracts as needed. We have hauled two or three days worth of food from markets and bazaars to holiday apartments, rented rooms and camp sites in a dozen or so countries.
Yesterday at the local bazaar, she packed into it: a double bunch of two foot long leeks, a half kilo each of walnuts, cashews, dried apricots and goat cheese, a half dozen tangerines and tomatoes, a half kilo of onions, some potatoes and two loaves of flat bread. There was still had room for chocolate bars and a few other things, which ML picked up on the way home.

For a picnic with friends at the two thousand year old ruins of a Roman city, I carried it with four bottles of wine, two of water, a half kilo each of Brie and paté’, two baguettes, two pears, a bunch of arugula, a couple of tomatoes and a lemon, olive oil, paper plates, and forks – and my sweater and rain jacket. For camping ML can easily carry in it her sleeping bag and air mattress, food and water, and personal effects.
The only improvements I can think of for this pack (I used to design backpacks and luggage) would be to make the shoulder straps longer. They fit ML fine. They also fit medium sized fellows. I wear a size 48 jacket, and would like longer shoulder straps. Also, the elastic on the side pockets needs to be stronger; it has stretched out of shape. ML is planning to sew some stronger elastic over the worn out stuff.

In addition to the main compartment, there are two side pockets, one zippered pocket on the front, a back pocket into which slips a foam pad, and a top pocket for little stuff. The bag does in fact fold into the top pocket when it’s not in use, which is pretty much never.
http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/lightweight-travel-pack-backpack?p=48817-0-065