ultralight Archives - Solo Vagabond

30 liter personal item-sized backpack versus 45 liter carry on item backpack, planning backpacking trip, 2..

Hello traveling guys and girls! Its time for me to plan the second part of my trip which is what I will bring. I am considering downsizing my current Pacsafe Exp 45 liter backpack and using instead a 30 liter personal item sized backpack for flights on either RyanAir or Wizzair throughout Europe. Now I haven’t decided which backpack I will take as it involves some changes.

If I do decide to take a personal item sized back on the discount airlines I will not have to pay the Priority Fee per flight which ranges from roughly $17 to $45. However, if I do decide to take the bus or train instead, then I wont have to pay the priority fee for those trips. In my previous blog post, I discussed the size of the bags for each category here…

Now on to the good part… In order to take the 30 liter backpack I will first need to downsize the tent from a 2 person to a 1 person. Now there aren’t too many 2 person tents that id be able to take, but I am still looking to see if there is an extremely light 2 person. The easier choice would be to simply purchase the 1 person tent in the range of 1 to 3 lbs in weight versus 3.6 lbs for the 2 person. I currently carry a 2 person Naturehike tent with the VentureSafe Exp 45 liter pack that weighs 3.6 lbs.

Another slight change and here’s the plan for flying… Ill just bring 1 less outfit. Now since I dont have the 30 liter pack yet I honestly am not sure what would fit inside, but here’s the plan. I’ll wear 2 to 3 outfits on the plane, then ill take these off and put them in the second carry bag… this one, the Decathlon 20 liter stuff sack. This will give me a little more space to unwind, a total of 50 liters of space, versus 65 with the 45 liter pack…. this is a great little bag that only costs $12 and its carriable (usually in my left hand). Down below you will see the item plan…

Decathlon Stuff Sack 20 liter, secondary bag

Here is the item list and weights, courtesy of my profile on lighterpack.com packing app. This is a useful app that a backpacker can use to estimate pack weight, and wearable weight: Notice that the luggage weight and clothing weight are down some. The base weight decreased to 16.29 lbs whereas I’m wearing 8.33 lbs worth of gear (this is for the flight only). This pack is lighter than my last trip because I’ll be carrying summer clothes, about 2 to 3 outfits total. Here is the break down by category from lighterpack.

Finally, heres the actual list via Lighterpack.com!

June 8, 2022 by Solo Vagabond CEO Packing and Backpack Tips 0

Wild Camping … on Tenerife, Canary Islands

Looking for tips on wild camping or backpacking tents??!?! You have come to the right place to see advice on camping! I am a solo vagabond/traveler who does some camping across the globe, although by no means a professional or full-time outdoorsman.

Why wild woods camping and which brands? I came up with the idea to cut down on my spending for housing on my world tour and also because i dont mind the outdoors versus a crowded hostel. Previously, I did not own a tent so this is my first time camping as an adult. A few brand choices for the tent that i considered, Big Agnes, Nemo, MSR, REI and Kelty. Some of these brands have some fantastic lightweight bikepacker and backpacker setups, but most these are hella expensive! Kelty is a brand that is a bit less expensive but also a bit too heavy for my requirement. The volume was also a consideration.

What did I choose? Instead of the high end brands, I settled on buying a Naturehike Cloud up 2 person tent from Amazon.com that weighs only 3.6 lbs and is approximately 17 inches by 6 inches in volume, priced at $120. I ordered this while I was staying at a hostel in Valencia, Spain and it arrived in 2 days. The tent is small enough to fit inside the 45L Pacsafe backpack – space is at a premium! It is also budget-oriented so the price is low enough just in case I change my mind and buy a more expensive one! See some more of my story down below…

What is included in the NatureHike 2 person tent setup kit? Tent stakes, a ground cover, the inner tent, the double shelled outer tent or rainfly, some guidelines, two small stuff sacks, and pre-attached tent poles. As I said the total weight is only 3.6 lbs so this is just perfect for a two-person tent (I am solo but needed some extra space for gear). Now the material is a bit on the thinner side, however it is waterproof and does hold upto the wind, strong enough to withstand one month’s straight camping. Setup takes around 7 to 10 minutes time and condensation is minimal. Good luck out there!

Where to camp? Wherever, but make sure its a hidden spot away from too many buildings or roads.

Tenerife seemed like a great place to start camping due to the weather and also the natural areas of the island. It is very warm there. During the month of March the nighttime temp was somewhere between 58F and 65F, so plenty warm enough – I wanted to be comfortable while sleeping outside. I also brought a coat and a hat, and bought a small blanket that weighed 11oz, and all 3 were needed. The NatureHike 2 person cloud up tent setup was just about big enough to fit myself inside of plus my backpack, shoes, and some food. They do offer free spots to do wild camping on Tenerife, but unfortunately these were still closed due to Coronavirus restrictions. Instead I found a wild spot, near to El Medano, Tenerife, Adeje and Tenerife Airport south. Some people do go up to the mountains or near to Mount Teide forest to camp but up there, it is much colder so its necessary to take some winter gear.

montana roja wild camping — Montana Roja on Tenerife near my spot

The spot I chose was hidden so it was hard for passers by to see the tent. I was a bit concerned for my safety but this is where the security features of the Pacsafe bag came into play. When i was asleep I had the Pacsafe steal cable security to my pants and my wallet and phone locked inside, but the good news here is that I didn’t have anyone bother the tent while I was asleep. The oddest thing that happened was that a woman was calling out to her dog that had wandered away, it was about 4am, and she was speaking a language besides English, so at first i didn’t know what she was saying. Other than this nobody came by the tent at night. It was perfectly safe.

A few tips for wild camping…

Over in south Tenerife, there’s a lot of wind, so I decided to use some extra rocks to weigh down the tent rainfly and straps to keep the windy conditions from blowing it away and if you need even extra wind security, you may buy some extra safety pins to secure my tent for camping. The wind can get pretty bad down there; upto 30 mph. The Naturehike is also really easy to set up and take down. Heres a pic of myself enjoying my hike and camp time near Montana Roja near El Medano, Tenerife… good luck! questions welcome.

wild camping tenerife — wild camping on tenerife

April 29, 2022 by Solo Vagabond CEO Packing and Backpack Tips 1

Backpacker in Spain …

Looking for a backpacker who traveled to Spain? That would be me! I am US citizen who flew/bussed it/ hitchhiked and camped around Spain! it was a lot of fun! I visited the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Madrid, El Medano, Tenerife in the Canary islands and a few others on my backpacker tour of Spain…

My overview of Spain: Spain is a very safe country and very well organized. The weather is also warm and more on the moderate or temperate side, so its great for backpackers in Spain! I have a backpack, the Pacsafe EXP 45 which is a carry-on size medium backpack that i used on Ryanair. It also fits my small 2 person tent, the Naturehike Cloud up. I’ll be doing a separate post on that tent, but it is very compact and weighs only 3.6 lbs. It was small enough to carry around the country of Spain as a backpacker in Spain. See more info below about my trip.

Accommodations and Price: I started my trip by flying from a second home base in Albania to Barcelona Spain via Wizzair. The cost was very cheap with my backpack it was only $30. I then took a city but from the airport in Barcelona to central BCX where i walked to my youth hostel, The Loft Hostel in Barcelona. The Loft was a standard hostel with beds covered by curtains. The price of the hostel is moderate, about $15 to $25 usd or about $13 to $18 euro. They also have a courtyard where you can sit outside and enjoy the moderate weather and a kitchen where you can cook your own food to save money. I usually bought a potato that cost less than 1 euro and also bananas for 20 euro cents. There is a store where you can buy cheap packaged foods in Barcelona, its called Coaliment…

Sites: Barcelona is a fabulous town with a lot of panache, let me tell you. Above you can see my photo of the fantastic church, Familia Sagrada, which is a church designed by the architect Gaudi. The architecture is one of my favorite things about being a backpacker in Barcelona. The second is the parks, you can check out the most famous Parc de la Ciutadella. Make sure to check out the fountain at the center of the park.

About 2 miles away from the park you can take a city bus for a cheap price of under 2 euros to the beach! The beach is close and pretty nice. It has benches, and some buildings, playgrounds, swingsets, and plenty of sand! The temp is also pretty good for December. i even took a swim as it was around 60 to 65 F, other people were swimming in wetsuits.

Make sure to check out my packing list for backpackers in Spain in the site here!

Here’s a video on Youtube, A walking tour that filmed of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, which is something else let me tell you! Its very narrow medieval looking street and buildings with no cars, and some interesting looking boutiques! Enjoy the tour here on Youtube.

April 29, 2022 by Solo Vagabond CEO Travel Locations 0

Decathlon Ultralight and lightweight items shopping! Packing Advice for onebagging it!

Hey traveling guys and girls! Today i’ll detail a few items i just bought today and why. Decathlon is one of my favorite discount lightweight travel and outdoor stores that is mostly in Europe, southeast Asia, and north Africa! i am not even sure if they have a store in the USA, but know that there is one in Belgrade, Serbia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Marrakech, Morocco, and Madrid, Spain because i visited all of these stores!

Here are a few things i bought today that i really like… number one is Quechua polyester/cotton blend short sleeve shirt that is very breathable for summer an exercising. The temps over here in Marrakech are getting a bit warm at 80F during the afternoon and i must say this shirt is really breathable and lightweight. It came in at 3.5 ounces for a men’s size large. They carry several variety and the price is reasonable at 59 MAD or roughly 5.9 euros. You can find these here at Morocco’s Decathlon website. The store is located about 4 miles north of central Marrakech accessible by the #37 bus or using a taxi or horse drawn carriage.

Item #2 i bought for today’s trip to Decathlon is this, a men’s eyeglasses case that is lightweight. I actually saw this at the store in Madrid and had planned to purchase this at a date, the weight is only 43 grams or 1.5 oz. my other eyeglasses case weighs 2.5 oz, so the savings is a bit, but if you are a full-time traveler and solo vagabond, the savings is worth it. ill be discarding my original case.

The next lightweight/ultralight item i bought is a foldable spork, spoon-fork combo that i can use to eat while im away from my kitchen. Many times ive stayed in hotel rooms without a kitchen and traveling in a city far from home, i can use the foldable spoon to eat food i buy at the grocery store. The spoon weighs about .4oz or 11 grams so plenty small enough to fit inside my backpack along with a few other tools.

April 25, 2022 by Solo Vagabond CEO Packing and Backpack Tips 0