In 2016 I started travelling with a single backpack and have never looked back.

Since then I've really gone for the whole "minimalist" travel route, where you reduce everything down to the core essentials, allowing you to travel light and freely without lugging around a suitcase.

When you have less than 50 things in your backpack, every purchase is significantly more important; it forces you to purchase intentionally.

Because of this, I end up spending a lot of time (and I mean a lot of time,) researching the "best" options for every purchase.

Rather than let my obsessiveness go to waste, I thought I should share what I've packed incase anyone else is looking to do some minimalist travel.

Here's what I'm packing for the next year of travel:

Three golden rules

Minimize the amount of items by ruthless reduction.
Minimize the weight of each item by purchasing high-quality goods.
Err on the side of buying things you need, rather than carrying those you don't.

Travel backpack

When it comes to minimalist travel, everything revolves around your choice of bag.

Aer Travel Pack

I absolutely love this pack
It can fit everything I could realistically want to travel with
under international carry-on size

Alternatively, if you're looking for a travel pack, don't waste your time searching the web, pick one of these undisputed kings (trust me, I've spent hours researching this):

Aer Travel Pack – for utilitarian style, that is a slightly heavier
Minaal Carry on Pack – for ultra-lightweight bag, that looks a bit floppy when empty
Goruck GR2 – for rugged as shit, and heavy as shit
Tortuga Outbreaker – for large & smart, but slightly ugly

Day pack

If you're travelling for a serious amount of time then you'll want to have another bag other than your main travel pack to take around with you day-to-day.

Despite the dorkiness, I've opted for a travel sling which in all honesty, has changed my life.

Aer Travel Day Sling

minimalist design, small, lightweight, and functional
hidden pocket for your passport, phone, and/or wallet
it's black

If you're shopping around for an alternative day pack, try:

Patagonia Atom Sling – it looks alright, people rate it.
Katmandu Pocket Pack – if you're into that kinda thing
Crumpler Squid – a neat viable contender if don't mind floppy bags

Clothes

When doing the whole "minimalist travel thing" you have to reduce everything to its core essentials.

You basically want to be travelling with one week's worth of clothes that you cycle through. For me this means:

1 pair of Uniqlo black shorts
1 pair of Uniqlo black pants
7 Uniqlo shirts (grey/black)
7 Uniqlo underwear
7 H&M socks
1 H&M dark blue sweater
1 Patagonia windbreaker - this is a life saver
1 pair Converse Chuck Taylor 2.0s
1 pair Birkenstock Arizonas

Packing cubes

every travel blogger will tell you that using packing cubes changes everything
It doesn't really matter which brand you buy
I got the Amazon Basics 4-Piece Set

Electronics

13-inch Macbook Pro

This year I went down from the 15" to the 13" and couldn't be happier.
There is plenty of screen space to work on the go (designing might be a little tight) and you can always plug into a display if need be.
Space grey, because I'm a sheep and it's as close to black as they come.

iPhone 7

probably the last Apple phone I buy before making the switch to Google for good.
It's a phone. It takes pictures. Nice.

Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless headphones

the worlds most comfortable headphones
noise cancelling on these are great for removing the monotonous hum on a long flights
They come in all black.

Cygnett Power Bank (10,000 mAH)

will charge your phone up to 5 times
beautiful and sleek, great build quality

SKROSS World Travel Adapter

Talk about a quality product built to last.
It's lightweight and has a replaceable fuse.
Beautiful.

Reading & Writing

Rhodia "Webbie" Notebook

when it comes to notebooks, I've tried them all
Forget Moleskin, they are poor quality and overhyped
Rhodia has high-quality paper, durable cover

Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard

I'll be working on my second book this year while travelling
a good portable keyboard that connects to my phone makes writing on the go a breeze

Kindle Paperwhite

despite loving the feel and smell of books, when I'm travelling that's a luxury my backpack can't afford.
Kindles are a traveller's best friend, especially when you read 50+ books a year, just saying.

Lifestyle

The thing I find difficult about travelling is that I don't have the comfort of my buckwheat zafu & zabuton (if you're into meditation and don't have a zafu, get one, it'll change your life.)

Inflatable Zafu