Thursday 8 August 2013

Edinburgh packing

Just taking the daypack up to Edinburgh for the weekend (two nights
away); partly as a matter of convenience in case I end up wandering
around tomorrow afternoon without being able to dump my bag at the flat,
partly because I'm not sure I need the full-sized travel pack, partly as
an experiment.

Bedroom scales make daypack out at 5.5kg. This includes:
- a largish (half litre?) bottle of water
- two cards to post
- Rohan trousers (I doubt I will wear them, but I want a spare pair just
in case and they're lighter and less bulky than the alternatives, either
chinos or a pair of jeans)
- polo shirt
- T-shirt (both short-sleeved)
- reversible fleece/jacket (I am not wearing this, at least not yet)
- noise-cancelling headphones and four batteries
- toiletries
- first aid kit
- five satsumas (or are they tangerines? Mysterious!)
- four cereal bars (food for train)
- two sets underwear
- pair of boxers (for sleeping)
- phone charger and cable
- camera

It is a little tight on space, primarily I feel due to the fleece/jacket
squashed in at the top.

I am wearing combat trousers, with some items stuffed in the pockets,
although very little in the leg pockets - basically some medical cream
and a pair of clip-on sunglasses. Other stuff in the "normal" pockets is
what I'd normally have in there if I'm not wearing a jacket - i.e.
hanky, keys, pedometer, whistle, mobile phone, wallet, Oyster card.
Pockets feel a little bulky but this is "normalish" when I am not
wearing a jacket and have to stuff the wallet and phone in there. I
guess the new slimline wallet helps at least a bit.

Things I don't have:
- any kind of book, electronic or otherwise (using my phone)
- netbook and charger
- most of the contents of my "tube cube", e.g. travel clothes line,
mains adaptors, mouse, AA battery charger, camera battery charger
- mosquito net, sleep sack (obviously not, mentioning these just as I do
normally have them in my bigger bag)
- viscose towel
- duck tape
- check the packing list for full details, but those are the bigger and
more obvious items

Actually, thinking about it, I am going to stuff the sleep sack in the
daypack and take that. I doubt I'll use it but it just might be handy or
politically expedient if I end up sharing a bed with someone. (I could
half imagine other people turning up with full-on sleeping bags;
probably not, but you never know.) It's not really heavy or bulky.

I think this should be adequate for a weekend away, let's see. I can
always buy crap up there if I need to.

This raises the tempting possibility of getting by with this volume of
luggage on a longer trip, but I think that would be pushing it a bit - I
am very tight on space, and things like the netbook and a few extra tops
and the viscose towel and (probably) the mosquito net are hardly insane
luxuries. (Maybe the netbook is debatable for some, but for me if I'm
away for months, I think it's well worth the kilo-odd it weighs.)
Obviously I could get a slightly bigger bag than the daypack and use
that, but still. Probably better if anything to focus on slightly
lightening up/de-bulking the contents of my travel pack in light of this
experience rather than switching it out for a smaller bag. Anyway, let's
see how this weekend goes before even thinking about it.

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