Traveling Lighter

I’ve been going on more weekend trips lately (I’ll be in Portland for a conference next week, and then for an event in San Francisco in early May), and I’ve been aspiring to become one of those travelers who can pack everything they need in a single backpack and leave their rolling carry-on at home.

I spent a good amount of time looking at backpacks online (unfortunately my beloved Jansport from junior high — which I still have in very good condition — wasn’t going to cut it), and the ones I liked either weren’t functional enough, or were too expensive.

And then I found the Mother Lode (that’s the real, literal name of the backpack I found), which looks like this:

It has a special compartment for laptops, plenty of room for packing enough clothes for a weekend, and compartments to store chargers, toiletries and other small items you might need. The price was right at $72. Plus, reviewers of the bag note that they’ve been able to stow it underneath their seats when overhead bins were full, which is gold.

Next week’s trip to Portland will be the first time I’ve flown without a roller bag, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes.

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