I work in the adventure travel industry. So I spend nearly 250 days of the year on the road in some less-than-normal conditions. At the beginning of the Soft-adventure trips I often lead, the first thing I do to prevent my clients from hauling unnesessary loads is check what they've brought and together we eliminate what isn't needed. Nothing can make a good trip miserable than having too much weight to carry about. So here are some tricks I use.

1) Bring a soft bag that has as few zippers, closures and outer straps/buckles as possible.

-Hard bags (luggage) though they protect valuables better they are much harder to transport and stow.

-Buckles and straps tend to catch on things and/or break while moving from one form of transportation to another. Mountaineering type back backs are comfortable and light but often they have many external straps and closures. For an overland trip where you're not carrying everything from your stove to survival gear all these features are not necessary. Even though it's a great solution, there is nothing worse than having to duct-tape up an expensive and otherwise perfectly good pack, and hope it stays closed untill you reach your next destination.

2) Your bag should be smallest size that will accomodate your gear. If you have more space, you're likely to use it, meaning you'll have to hoist it around with you throughout your trip.

3) Most people bring far too much with them. A good rule of thumb is to lay out all that you intend to bring and leave half of it home. Doing this you'll likely still find that you have too much. Remeber that anything truly essential can be acquired at your destination. So no worries.

That's all
See you out there

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www.liahonaquest.com
Vacations Without Limits