Updated April 7, 2021

Do you marvel at those who seem to effortlessly glide through their travels with just carry-on? Do you aspire to pack light (or lighter) but don’t know how to go about it? Getting in touch with the many reasons to pack light is a start. Some of them might inspire you to lighten the load.

Reasons to pack light

Why do so many travellers insist on reducing their luggage by packing light? What are the benefits of travelling light? When considering these 15 reasons to pack light, which ones resonate with you the most?    

1. It fosters healthy relationships

Feeling obliged to help travelling companions with their luggage can become weary over time. This doesn’t include situations or people who need and deserve our help. I’m referring to examples of overpacking with little effort invested in lightening the load (and the expectation that travelling companions will help out). It doesn’t promote positive rapport, especially if it means having to take more expensive transportation because someone in the group has lots of luggage. When travelling companions share a common interest in packing light, it presents opportunities to share strategies and recommendations. They might just end up with the same type of bag!

2. Carry-on travel improves mobility

You’re more mobile with less stress when rushing to make a connection. Catching public transportation, dealing with narrow steps on trains and other tight spaces, navigating cobblestones, or encountering accommodation and train stations without elevators is easier. Rural areas present their own challenges with uneven or sandy terrain. City or country, a vehicle can’t always drop passengers at the door.

Being encumbered with a heavy bag and multiple pieces of luggage reduces options for getting around. The effort it takes to deal with a lot of luggage can suck the joy out of travel. 

3. Packing light promotes convenience

Your luggage is with you at all times. Your standard carry-on bag may be in the overhead locker, and a personal item under the seat in front, but you have access during a flight and layovers.

4. Going carry-on saves time

No more arriving at the airport earlier than necessary to check a bag or wait for the check-in or baggage drop-off counters to open. Passengers with lounge access and a boarding pass can head to the lounge before the check-in counter opens.

You don’t need to search for the right luggage carousel, or wait for luggage to arrive. You’ll never have to line up at a baggage claim or customer service desk to report lost or delayed luggage. You won’t need to invest valuable travel time to purchase emergency replacement items. Be one of the first through customs and on your way, spending less time than others to get on with your travels.

Avoid the time-consuming and frustrating task of dealing with a delayed or lost bag. Chances are you’ll need to complete an online form and upload receipts (most of which you don’t have) to support your claim. Following up by phone, email, or trips to the airport adds to the cost and means less time enjoying the travel experience.   

5. Lightening the load makes ecological sense

Packing light translates into fewer vehicles needed to transport travellers and their luggage, resulting in lower fossil fuel consumption. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions estimates that for each reduction of 1 kg (2.2 lb) per passenger, an aircraft can save 9,000 gallons (34,070 litres) of fuel annually. Extra weight means extra emissions. Travelling with less promotes walking and use of public transportation. Doing both is better for us, and the planet.

6. Going carry-on promotes independence

Being self-reliant feels liberating. No one needs to check your bag, or carry it to your room. Without heavy luggage, you don’t need a drive to your destination because your bag is heavy or cumbersome, you can’t walk a reasonable distance with it, or rely on public transportation to get to where you’re going. The mantra ‘you pack it, you carry it’ means you and you alone are responsible for carrying and looking after your stuff.

7. Less luggage promotes conversation

• “Where’s the rest of your luggage?”
• “How do you pack everything you need in just one bag?”
• “What are your secrets to packing light?”

People who pack light usually love to talk about how it’s done, and welcome new ideas on how to be better at it.

8. Going carry-on saves money

Baggage fees are huge income earners for the airlines. With carry-on luggage, there are no extra costs from excess or checked baggage fees (for the vast majority of airlines), or lost or damaged luggage or contents. The money you save can be spent on other things.

Because you’re the only person to handle it, your luggage will be clean, dry, and undamaged on arrival. Bags will last longer. No more using shrink-wrapping services, tipping bellhops, or paying for a luggage cart, porter, or baggage storage facilities. There’s no need to base a decision on whether or not to take a taxi or larger rental car because of too much or awkward-to-handle luggage. You have access to low-cost airlines with more restrictive weight limits. You could possibly choose budget accommodation without elevators, or alternate accommodation with limited space (such as a camper van or cabin on a barge).

9. Packing light reduces the risk of injury

Schlepping a large, heavy bag around city streets, across uneven surfaces, or up and down steps can be hard on the body. Lifting it into the trunk of a car, and rearranging bags to fit in smaller vehicles can be tough on the back. In tight spaces, chances of injuring others are reduced if you’re travelling with a smaller bag.

10. Going carry-on encourages planning and organization

Rising to the challenge of packing light inevitably involves making a packing list and not packing at the last minute. Having fewer possessions to pack increases the likelihood of knowing exactly what they are, and where they’re located. It also means being assured of space when it’s time to return them to your bag. It usually results in a well organized bag, and a quick repacking experience when it’s time to move. Packing the essentials means not carrying around dead weight, and chances are you’ll have room for purchases and souvenirs.

11. Less stuff promotes security

Less stuff means less to look after. Thieves are less likely to target a traveller who looks like s/he doesn’t own much.

If a storage locker is needed in a hostel or transportation hub, there’s an excellent chance it will fit a carry-on bag (and perhaps those of your travelling companions in the same locker). When taking a taxi, shuttle, or ride share, you can choose to take your luggage inside the vehicle with you. If you end up in a compromised situation, grab your bag and bolt. That’s impossible to do (with your bag), if it’s locked in the trunk/boot.

Losing sight of a checked bag increases chances of pilfering, having contraband inserted, or never seeing your bag again. Worrying about whether or not luggage will arrive with you at your destination or how to keep possessions secure can weigh heavily on the mind, promoting fear and anxiety. It sort of defeats the whole purpose of travel, right?

Unclaimed luggage, Montreal-Trudeau International Airport

12. Carry-on travel is safer

If you need help carrying your bags, or look like you need help, you lose some of your independence. You lose control of the situation. Once someone picks up your stuff, you need to go where it’s going. You’re forced to follow. Depending on where that leads, it may not be the safest of positions to be in.

13. Carry-on offers flexibility and promotes spontaneity

When travelling with carry-on, you can make tight connections or switch to an earlier flight on longer layovers. Or, it may be possible to take advantage of opportunities when they’re presented. If a flight is overbooked, passengers without checked luggage can volunteer to take another flight in exchange for a travel coupon or another form of compensation. You might be offered a more attractive routing. Here’s an example posted in a social media group:

The best way to travel in my experience is not to check bags. For example, we were on what’s called a mini-round-the-world trip. If we’d checked bags, we never would have seen Tokyo. Our first segment of the trip was from Toronto to Tokyo-Narita via Vancouver. After boarding in Toronto, we waited, and waited some more, for the plane to push back from the gate. Fifty minutes later, an announcement stated that the plane would not be taking off because of an issue with the windshield in the cockpit.

A flight attendant came by and asked if we had checked bags. We did not, thank goodness. She said she could get us on another flight direct from Toronto to Tokyo-Haneda (ironically, I had been looking for space on this one for six MONTHS on Aeroplan and it never became available).

We were two of four people, out of 200+, that Air Canada could assist right away and all because we did not check bags. If we had, the gate attendant said we would have had no chance of making the Toronto to Tokyo-Haneda flight.

You can change plans on a whim. Having less stuff means you can hitch a ride on a moped, or in a zodiac or tuk tuk.

14. Less stuff helps us focus on where we are

Travel teaches us that material possessions don’t make us happy. Experiences and being in the moment are much more important. Packing light allows us to focus less on our stuff and more on where we are and all the new and exciting things around us. Travelling light can mean immersing oneself in the destination and the way most people get around. Being among residents opens up opportunities for observation and conversation.

15. Travelling with fewer possessions is enjoyable

Experience the joy of finding double-duty and multipurpose items, and thinking creatively on ways to lighten the load and make the best use of limited space. Experience packing as something to look forward to, rather than dread. Soak up the satisfaction of becoming disencumbered and no longer struggling with large, heavy bags. It’s also addictive, but enjoyably so.

Conclusion

Rick Steves summed it up well: “Go casual, simple, and very light. Remember, in your travels you’ll meet two kinds of tourists — those who pack light and those who wish they had. Say it out loud: ‘PACK LIGHT PACK LIGHT PACK LIGHT’.”

Do you need some help on the journey to packing lighter or becoming a carry-on traveller? If so, these might help:

• • How to travel with just one carry-on bag using the nested approach
  • Top 20 tips on how to pack light
  • How to use the pack-by-numbers system to pack light
  • 31 features of a perfect carry-on bag: a guide to choosing the right luggage
  • The best personal carry-on bags according to travel bloggers
  • The best standard carry-on bags according to travel bloggers
  • Avoid overpacking: pack light with these 40 ideas on multipurpose travel gear

 

If you found this post helpful, please share it by selecting one or more social media buttons. Also, what helps you stay focussed on packing light? Please share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you.

 

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