Eulogy to the Best Travel Backpack
My nickname in some circles is “light packer” and I must admit a smile crosses my lips whenever I hear it (although I’d argue a more proper name would be “efficient packer”, it doesn’t have the same ring to it).
Really though, it’s a love story with an impeccable backpack.
Backstory, if you care (if not, skip down): In 5th grade I started playing basketball for my elementary school and, in preparation, had successfully pleaded with my mother to splurge the extra $12 for the backpack with a special bungee-cord contraption on the front that, I kid you not, held a fully inflated basketball (not the Tom Brady style). At the end of 8th grade, at 4’7”, I admitted to myself that I was not going to make the high school basketball team and began the search for a new, academically-serious-and-not-girly adult backpack (little did I know I would grow 7 inches that summer). To my pre-8th grade mind, all colors were “too girly” but solid black was “goth” so this greyscale Trans by Jansport backpack was really the only choice at our local Walmart. I named him “Jan” (because I’m super original and creative).
Skippers pick up here: Although it was not love at first sight, this backpack has stuck with me over 17 years and 20 countries on 5 continents! Half of those trips were more than a week in length with Jan as my only luggage (it’s like the wizards at Jansport placed and Undetectable Expansion Cram on the thing)!
In addition to my clothes for 2 weeks, all these souvenirs came back to America in my backpack!
Sadly, Jan has been looking a little worse for the wear. No TSA agent has stopped me for the safety pins holding on the water-bottle holder, but on my return from Morocco I noticed a small hole (nickle-sized) in his outer layer. Normally I would trudge on, not wanting to cast to a landfill something still usable, but I was pleased to discover that Jansport offers a LIFETIME WARRANTY on their backpacks. Hopefully they can send Jan back good as new but if not I should be returned one of his numerous siblings with whom I expect to share adventures that are just as numerous and exhilarating.
Do you have go-to travel gear that has withstood the test of time and space? Tell me about it! I am always looking for tested brands.
Want to learn to make the most of your travel space? Packing light and packing efficiently are skills we will take on in the How To series. Stay Tuned!
