Work hard, travel harder.

In Janice Horton’s 2018 book, The Backpacking Housewife, Lorraine Anderson finds solace in her backpack and decides to travel the world to overcome not just heartbreak but reinvent the life that she once knew. With every new mile and her bag strapped tightly behind, she sheds layers of the submissive woman she once was and finds a new world of freedom and spirit, on a mission to explore the unknown. 

Backpack, almost synonymous with autonomy and self-discovered power, has been a solo traveler’s best friend for time immemorial. Whether one wants to trudge mountains, cross rivers, sail around oceans or see the world on the mighty feet, a rucksack or backpack, undefeated, turns out to be bae. But while there are ups for highs, the lows aren’t far behind either. Stiff shoulders, cracking necks, sore back, which backpacker hasn’t had them? 

For tech whizzes and travel troubleshooters looking for intelligent solutions to fix their worries, there is CarterX, of course! Slashing travel woes by half and ensuring a hassle-free, baggage-free travel experience. But if you are yet to get there and are looking for shortcuts to the big adventure of a lifetime, we have got you covered too. 

Here’s what you need to know to pack light. We will make sure that you are smiling in amazement all throughout your journey:

As a well-known saying goes, “We make our choices, and then our choices make us.” We don’t know who said it, but we can definitely gain from it. Before shooting those mighty travel plans, make sure you have chosen the right travel partner – your backpack, of course! Go for a smaller load. The reason for it ain’t rocket science. It will simply push you to carry less baggage around. While in some cases, extra pockets, fancy buckles and belts, pouches, and paddings are great selling points, in a way, they are just invitations to stuff more. Cut off, go for a clean-designed quintessential backpack that can store enough to give you a comfortable travel experience. A tip to swear by is that your gear shouldn’t weigh more than 5-10% of your body weight.

In a way, one decides to travel to break away from the ordinary and mundane life. So carrying the same energy in a bag on a trip doesn’t really make sense. Carry select, bare minimum, easy to wash and dry laundry but don’t forget to fold it right. While stacking may be a great tool in a suitcase, in a backpack, the trick lies in the fold, instead, a roll. Don’t shy away from coiling and curling those t-shirts and track pants, scarfs, and towels and place them smartly to ensure you catch hold of what’s important, in need of the hour. When done, fold it back and put it back in its home, the compact backpack.

The most human thing to do on a trip is journal the experiences and note them down somewhere for future reference. The need to open a good book during free time comes next close. But the books are heavy lugs and can make that back sore, especially if hardbound (pun intended). If the whole business behind your travel is to look outside and peep within, hardback and paperback books can be given a miss in your ‘what to pack in a backpack list.’ A more innovative thing to do would be to install a good journaling app on the smartphone and download a couple of books for the company. A friendly piece of advice, do not put that power bank in the backpack, especially if you are checking it in during your flight. 

Unless you are traveling to a forest where it’s sure it’s either fruits or hunt of the day, don’t lug packaged food around in that backpack. Biscuits, chips packets, sponge cake, bananas, before you know it, the gear is a mini pantry on the go. Don’t look that way at all and chant the mantra, real food over junk… real food over junk… real food over junk, until you have removed that last piece of cookies tucked at the corner of your backpack. 

Often the strain in the back is less due to the backpack and more due to the toxic emotions we choose as a company during our trips. Try traveling without them once, and you shall thank CarterX forever for suggesting a baggage-free trip, quite literally. 

And if you ever decide, at any point of your backpack journey, that you no longer wish to lug that weight around, call us at +91 911 063 5588, and we will be happy to take that pack off your shoulders.