Onebagging Updates 2026 - Issue 1

Dear travellers: Welcome back to the Onebagging Updates! Implementing our new blog site has been keeping us here at Packing Panic busy during the last few months as we wanted to provide you with our latest travel stories and give our new co-authors the floor. Therefore, there hasn’t been an update in quite a while, but the wait is over now.

So, what’s new in the world of onebagging?

Overview

Osprey Daylite 26+6 very popular

Only recently, we published a comprehensive review of the Daylite 26+6. The backpack is an allrounder that will come all the way with you: on your everyday paths, weekend trips, and even extensive travels.

But you don’t have to rely only on our own experience. Instead, we’ve done the research for you and learned how numerous long-time users like the backpack.

If, in addition to our review, you’re interested in the latest opinions, see the most recent discussions here: Onebagger using the 26+6 for the first time 14-day trip through Europe incl. packlist Nine-day trip through Europe

Fabrics – the freedom of choice?

Merino, hemp, linen, bamboo? Which of these is best? As is so often the case, the answer is: it depends. What is your main focus? Temperature regulation? Odour control? How quickly does the material dry after washing?

Let’s have a look at the different materials’ properties.

Odour control

Merino wool is breathable and odour-resistant. The same applies to linen (and cotton, for that matter), and even more so when it is nice and crumpled.
Hemp also absorbs very few odours and remains more odour-neutral than cotton, for example, although it is not as effective as merino wool.
A ranking would look as follows: 1. merino, 2. hemp, 3. cotton.

Temperature regulation and drying properties

Although merino wool regulates temperature, it might absorb too much sweat in very hot and dry conditions, which can negate its cooling effect (apparently with the exception of socks, which work in all temperatures). It seems to work better in hot and humid conditions. Merino wool keeps you warm in cold weather when worn in layers.
Linen feels the coolest.
For all fabrics, moisture-wicking works best when they are as thin as possible and fit loosely on the body. This can be done with merino, linen and bamboo.
Merino wool and linen dry relatively quickly after laundry. Bamboo and hemp, however, only dry rather slowly. In the case of the latter two, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are cut very thinly.

Wearing comfort

Hemp might feel heavy and warm.
Merino is often mixed with viscose or Lyocell, but feels comfortable to be worn pure (as opposed to other kinds of wool).

Other

While being rather expensive, merino usually last long and can be worn for many days at a time.
Merino and bamboo are both often mixed with viscose in order to save costs and improve wearing comfort. Both then feel softer, lighter and cooler.
Clothing made of bamboo, while feeling comfortable to wear and being less pricey that merino, is always highly processed, and treated with chemicals in order to feel nice, so it’s much less sustainable than the other materials. Additionally, its “naturally antibacterial” effect often even vanishes during the chemical treatments. Also, on cold days, it doesn’t keep you as warm.
A mild detergent that contains all enzymes (particularly lipase) except protease (which is harmful to wool) is best for merino.

So, what you choose really depends on where you are going, what you are planning to do there, and what are the laundry and drying facilities there.

What shoes do Onebaggers choose?

Shoes have been a huge issue for onebaggers. The reasons are simple: the take up space and are heavy. Which is why, in relevant forums, we keep seeing questions and tips from onebaggers to the community.

When it comes to this topic, too, it helps to ask yourself the right questions:

Where are you going?
What are you planning to do there?
How much packing space do you have?
Will you check any of your baggage?
How long are you staying?

Some travellers are simply overwhelmed by the immensely grown choice of shoes suitable for travel – and at the same time by the unnecessarily tight specialisation. That is why many onebaggers tend to take one pair of shoes “for everything” (usually running or trail shoes), that are worn “all the time”, plus one pair for special occasions – sandals, flip flops, ballerinas, etc.

Often, your “everything” shoe is a pair that you already own and wear. And most of the time, you will see that you get along with those better than you thought.

You might also find these discussions helpful: New shoe recommendation discussion Shoe packing reddit discussion

The Challenge of travelling for work and leisure at the same time

A Reddit user is going to New York and on to central Asia – a 24 day trip. In New York she will have to go into the office, then trekking in central Asia. A real challenge. In her post, she’s sharing her pack list.

Another onebagger is going to Thailand for two weeks, will have to work afterwards, and is asking for hints regarding bags and backpacks that will hold all her baggage. And not to forget: outfits for leisure and work will have to fit into 1.5 bags.

As in many other posts, she, too, is advised not to focus on brands and names, but rather to try backpacks on for herself – ideally when they are full – and have the panels and straps adjusted to suit her. Even within a single brand, and even within the same range of backpacks, the fit can vary considerably.

Especially if you have to travel frequently or for long periods for work, you automatically have to think about what you’ll do and wear in your free time once you’re there, if you don’t want to just swap your business outfit for pyjamas. The rest of your luggage can also be easily optimised and minimised with the right kit, such as a lightweight water bottle, a pouch for a bar of soap, or packing cubes to keep your clothes sorted and within easy reach.

Again, shoes are a special challenge.

Important questions that you will have to ask yourself when packing for work and leisure:

Which bag / backpack makes sense?
What means of transportation will I use?
What do I really need (friction!)?
Do I have a single or even several destinations?
Which compromises could I make?

Onebagging as a wheelchair user / handicapped person

As a wheelchair user or a person needing special aids, onebagging presents a whole lot of different challenges. While being able to bring a little more luggage free of cost, you might have to have your hands free or need to fix your luggage onto your wheelchair. It is even more important to plan which means of transport you can and will use, what is necessary in order to bring your medicine, and maybe even special appliances.

The subreddit r/HerOneBag also provides a platform for discussion on this topic.

In her post, one user explains how her trip to Germany and Austria went, shows her pack list, tells which means of transport could be used without problems, and which bag was especially useful with her wheelchair. The post is encouraging and is interesting not only for wheelchair users.

Free use of her hands was essential for this other user who wanted to stay as independent as she could. Despite the one-bag rule, a fair number of medicines and an oxygen concentrator need to be accomodated for. The other users are imaginative, even inventive, and supportive, offering the user sound advice.

Users with e.g. cerebral palsy or arthritis, however, agree that for them, a roller is the far better solution than a backpack.

Questions by Onebagging Newbies

More and more people want to try onebagging. So, in forums like Reddit, posts by new onebaggers keep popping up, asking for help with their pack list or choosing the best backpack for their purposes, or who are insecure as to whether they are even “allowed” to call themselves onebaggers.

Their questions go from “How did you become a onebagger?” to “If I add a fanny bag to my 40L backpack, will the onebagging police arrest me?”. The replies are similar, and the community is very eager to help and sympathetic.

Most of the time, newbies get the following helpful hints:

Keep it to the bare essentials, but not so much so that you feel uncomfortable or insecure.
Ask yourself what items you really need as opposed to what you would only bring “just in case” or because someone tells you to.
Keep in mind that you can always do laundry. So you don’t have to bring 14 pairs of underwear or socks.
Forgot something? So buy it!
Get solid soap/shampoo/deodorant or fill your own into smaller containers.
Pack pieces of clothing that can be combined with each other.
Layer, layer, layer!

In this first post of a onebagging newbie, long-time onebaggers tell about their first steps and experiences, give tips, etc. Some users have really gone to great lengths to change the way they pack and travel!

It’s not uncommon for newcomers to start one-bagging because they’re fed up with high fees, long waiting times or even damaged luggage, as in this post, where someone offers the sound advice to pack for the ‘best-case scenario’ – that is, for the best possible outcome rather than the worst.

In the subreddit r/onebag, you’ll find Wikis for beginners and those who simply want to stay up to date.

And us here at tight.fit created an interactive packlist, that wants to help you focus on the essentials and be you ultimate guideline with a new approach at packing. Also, check out our blog posts about packing, travel stories, and the gear we use.