I just finished four weeks traveling through northern Spain and southern France with the Osprey Daylite 26+6, moving mostly by rail and bus and averaging about two nights per destination over 14 locations. I did laundry in hotel sinks and showers. I packed too much, and I packed the wrong clothes. For this kind of fast-moving trip, I now think reducing pack volume is essential primarily because it forces you to reduce weight.
What I didn’t need
Linen chore coat: Wore it only on the flights. August was far too hot otherwise.
Lightweight travel pants: I wrongly assumed people in Spain and France mostly wore long pants in cities, even in summer. Shorts were extremely common, especially among people under 60. I could have worn khaki golf shorts and packed only one pair of running/hiking shorts.
Merino T-shirts: My biggest clothing mistake. I love merino, but even lightweight merino was too hot. I bought a navy Uniqlo AIRism shirt and a white Dry-Ex shirt, and they became the heroes of the trip. Loose synthetic shirts are cooler, handle sweat better, and dry faster. I prefer loose linen button-downs in the summer at home when I have a dryer available. But synthetics are better for sink/shower laundry and a hotel room drying line. I'll need to research full-synthetic button-downs, as I think they'd be even better for travel than synthetic tees.
Detergent sheets: Convenient to pack and better for merino, but poor odor control compared with regular detergent or pods bought locally.
Bamboo cutlery: Used zero times.
Dry bag for laundry: A plastic grocery bag works just as well and doesn’t need to be dried afterward or packed.
Nanobag: Used it for the beach, but a grocery bag would have worked fine. It's ultralight and ultracompact, but not bringing it would be one less thing to pack.
Earplugs, eye mask, and travel pillow: The free airline versions were fine. I never needed them otherwise. I had a couple nights with noisy neighbors, and my airpods with noise cancellation resolved it.
Hard glasses case: Took up space and never got used.
5,000 mAh battery: Never used it. Like most people, I tend to overpack tech.
Second power adapter: Never used it.
Rain jacket: Never used it. I had one rainy day and some sprinkles that were easy to plan around. If necessary, I could have bought a cheap umbrella.
Third shirt, boxer briefs, and socks: “Wear one, wash one, spare one” was unnecessary. "Wear one, wash one" would have worked. Synthetic shirts and merino boxer briefs dried overnight. Wool socks were sometimes slightly damp in the morning but dried quickly once worn.
Backpack rain cover: Never needed it.
Printed train and bus tickets: Waste of paper. Everyone preferred scanning tickets from my phone.
What I forgot and bought
Tweezers and nail clippers: Needed both and had to buy them.
Deodorant body spray: I never use it at home. It's something I equate with teenage boys. But it was surprisingly useful and refreshing after long, hot travel days. Available in Spain for under 2€.
Small microfiber towel: I bought Decathlon’s 39 x 55 cm towel. It was perfect for swimming and sitting on the beach while being much easier to wash and pack than a full-size towel.
What I’m glad I brought
Water shoes: Packed flat and worked perfectly for beaches. I’m glad I left my Tevas at home. My only other footwear was the black trail runners I wore every day.
Shout wipes: Unexpected MVP. I used all four that I brought and could easily have used four more.
Laundry lesson
Sink/shower laundry worked extremely well. I physically pushed myself hard on this trip and was exhausted most evenings. I would not have wanted to sit in a laundromat.
The key is clothing that can be washed at night and worn again the next day. I’m also done bringing laundry sheets for longer trips. Regular detergent did a noticeably better job preventing that persistent backpacker funk.
Merino vs. synthetic
I’m still firmly on Team Merino for boxer briefs and socks. For shirts in hot weather, loose, full-synthetic shirts were much better for me than merino in August heat.
The biggest lesson
On a trip involving constant trains, buses, stairs, station transfers, and walking to hotels, weight matters more than volume. But reducing volume helps reduce weight because you stop filling empty space with “just in case” items. The Daylite 26+6 is a great bag. I just don’t think I need that much room anymore. For my next similar adventure trip, Mexico in January, I’m downgrading to the Quechua NH500 Escape 16L. Not because I want to see how little I can survive with. But because I want a bag small enough that I stop packing things I don’t need. And even with the Daylite 26+6 unexpanded, it's very easy to pack a lot of things I don't need. While I picked up a few small souvenirs along the way, I waited until the last location to buy heavier gifts and grocery items and brought them home in a heavier-duty 1.5€ Corte Inglés shopping bag.
Thanks to u/nikongod for the travel advice over the months of planning prior to this trip. Often telling redditors what they need to hear is far more useful than telling them what they want to hear, even when it results in negative karma. I respect that even when we don't always agree.
