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🎒 One-bag packing list for 7 months across Europe and Central Asia (boy + girl)

  • Writer: Calvin Chan
    Calvin Chan
  • Jul 11, 2024
  • 4 min read

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Whether you pack your bags weeks in advance, keep a packing spreadsheet or pack your bags last minute - packing for any trip is no easy feat. Even more so if you’re choosing to one-bag it!


One-bagging is the challenge of going on a trip with just one bag - usually carry-on.

How many clothes should i pack? Do i really need those shoes? What if i cut my toothbrush in half? If you’ve asked yourselves these questions, you’re not alone. Packing everything you need for your trip into one-bag can be challenging, especially if it's your first time. Trust me though, the benefits are well worth it. Skipping the baggage claim, money saved on extra baggage costs and the cool factor of walking up stairs while people lug their suitcases up. You feel like a travel pro!


If you're looking for some one-bag inspiration, or just want to compare and critique, Kimmi and I are currently one-bagging around the world in 14 months. Here is what we packed for the first 7 months across Europe and Central Asia. We're just about to set off on our second half to South and Central America, and will have another blog post on changes we're making soon! (It's now out! Check it out here!)


What we packed for 7 months: Europe and Central Asia

For the first half of our trip to Europe and Central Asia, we had a few things to think about.


  • Weather: European Winter to Central Asian Summer (-10 deg C to 40 deg C)

  • Bag size and weight: Carry-on compliant and <10kg each

  • Activities: City stairs, multi-day hiking and wild camping


❗Disclaimer: To help you in your research to put together your one bag, we've specified the brand and model of items we've packed in brackets. The items with links are affiliate links, which are a way to support us with no cost to you.


💁🏻‍♀️ Here's what Kimmi packed

<Currently missing an image>


🎒 Bag


🥾 Shoes


👕 Clothes


📱 Tech

  • Phone (iPhone 15 Pro)

  • Garmin watch (Forerunner 255)

  • Kindle (Kindle Paperwhite)


🪥 Toiletries

  • Toothbrush (N/A)

  • Face sunscreen (N/A)

  • Moisturiser (N/A)

  • Retinol (N/A)

  • Lip balm (N/A)

  • Concealer (N/A)

  • Eye liner (N/A)

  • Mascara (N/A)

  • Toiletry bag (Bellroy Toiletry Kit)


📦 Other


🙆🏽‍♂️ Here's what Calvin packed

<Currently missing an image>


🎒 Bag


🥾 Shoes


👕 Clothes


📱 Tech

  • Phone (iPhone 13 Pro)

  • Laptop (Macbook Air M2)

  • Digital camera (Fujifilm XS-20)

  • 35mm camera lens (Fuji XF 35mm F2.0)

  • 13mm camera lens (Viltrox 13mm F1.4)

  • Garmin watch (Forerunner 255)

  • Gan charger (Amazon)

  • Universal adapter (Amazon)

  • Cables (N/A)

  • Power bank (Anker 10K)

  • Universal dongle (Rolling Square)

  • SD card reader (Lexar)

  • Tech pouch (Thule Subterra)


🪥 Toiletries

  • Toothbrush (N/A)

  • Toothpaste (N/A)

  • Face wash (N/A)

  • Face sunscreen (N/A)

  • Shaver (N/A)

  • Hair wax (N/A)

  • Toiletry bag (Kathmandu)


📦 Other

  • Packing cubes (Peak design)

  • Rain cover (Tatonka)

  • Exercise band (Amazon)

  • Torch (Olight i3T)

  • Lens pen (N/A)



🧠 What we've learnt after one-bagging for 7 months across Europe and Central Asia

There are a lot of things we learned packing and carry-wise throughout these 7 months, mainly that we can bring less stuff!


  • Less clothes

    • After backpacking in the mountains, we realised we really don’t need to bring that many clothes. Cycle through a few key items and washing regularly is enough.

  • Less tech

    • Two wall plugs and two international adapters is unnecessary, especially if we’re travelling together, one of each is enough.

  • Less toiletries

    • Just like above, we only really need one toiletries bag between us, and one of each of liquid (i.e. face wash). Separate toothbrushes still (ew!).

  • Add camping gear

    • We fell in LOVE with backpacking and doing multi-day trails. But got destroyed by heavy and bulky rental camping gear. If we cut down the above, we should be able to squeeze in camping gear for the second half of our trip. So we’re gonna try packing our own lightweight and compact camping gear for South and Central America.


For what we're packing for 7 months across our South and Central America, check out our post here!


For our favourite travel and backpacking gear, check out this post! (COMING SOON!)




📔 Planning and budgeting your next adventure? Check out our FREE resources:


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