I like to get out and hike while I’m travelling. That usually involves bringing a small packable day pack. I don’t like the zip-off packs that come with many travel packs. They tip you off balance, add weight to your luggage, are uncomfortable, and over designed. I prefer a small, light, rugged pack that gets the job done. That pack would be the Wanderlite Packable Day Pack.
At 9 ounces, the Wanderlight is slightly heavier than some of the other packable day packs. I actually own the Sea-to-Summit Ultra-Sil pack, which is a mere 2.4 ounces. I find that I’m always packing the Wanderlite instead. There is a good reason for this – the straps on the Wanderlite are incredibly comfortable. That means that I can stuff the bag full and not be worried about the straps cutting into my shoulders. I can even carry heavy groceries home with it. I can be out all day and the bag usually holds more than I normally need. There have been very few times when I have filled it up. The pack is also very rugged. I have dragged the thing all over the US, Europe, and Africa. I see little signs of wear. I have even used it on cave trips, which is a testimony to its ruggedness.
The pack is a classic rucksack design. It has one single compartment and a small outer pocket for the little things you want to get access to. You have to know how to pack a rucksack to be happy with it. For example, you’ll need to line your fleece jacket against the back of the pack if you have anything hard within it. If you don’t you’ll get poked (this isn’t a problem if you are wearing the fleece). If you want to organize the pack you will have to use plastic zip top bags to create “compartments” inside. This sounds like a pain, but it really isn’t. What you’ll gain back is a very light, extremely compressible pack that will fold away in your luggage.
I have used the Wanderlite pack for several years now. It is my “go-to” bag and is highly recommended. The bag is made in the US and 100% of the net proceeds go to World Vision.
Order the bag through the Wanderlite website: http://www.packbarefoot.com/
Note: Wanderlite has ceased production. It was a great pack and held up for over 10 years.
Lady Light Travel 
Nice day pack. I would also recommend the Rick Steve’s Civita backpack and the cross body shoulder bag, and the original back door bag. These are what I am using right now.
By the way, I am 60, retired military, and have found my way to minimalist travel the hard way. I forgot a couple of items. Clinique has some wonderfully tiny sample bottles if you can talk them into giving you a few. My deodorant goes into a tiny plastic spray bottle that had Biolage color-care shine stuff in it (from the beautician). It’s about 2 1/2 inches tall, by dime-sized diameter. Perfect for my
Stuff. I liked your contact lens case idea, that’s a great idea for first-aid stuff too. Maybe even my tooth powder mix. A lot of people have allergies, so heavy perfumes in an aircraft bugs me, probably others as well. One thing I found a few years ago is “Sweetgrass” oil. A little goes a very long way, and the scent is subdued and natural (read clean). I put this into a very tiny perfume sample bottle that has a little applicator. I really had to scrub and deodorize that bottle before I could use it for my purposes (which should tell you how strong most perfumes are). Anyway, it’s minuscule and worth the effort if you want to smell nice. Otherwise I have nothing scented, I think it’s rude to reek when you get on a plane, no matter how expensive the product is.
I also have an IPod with all my music and photos , a favorite movie or two, and 8 or nine books on it. That being said…bring a book anyway. You never know what your situation is going to be, and I hear there’s nowhere to plug in on planes yet. One more useful item is an LED headlamp (see previous sentence). Thanks for listening, hope this helps someone else.
Connie
Looks like the Wanderlite packable daypack is no longer available
for retail purchase. :(
Hopefully they’ll find someone to take over the manufacturing! It’s a great little pack – I’m still using mine.
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