About two years ago I became interested in finding ways to travel more efficiently. I tended to overpack, and didn’t even consider trying to travel without checking a bag. It wasn’t the result of a single event that made me want to change, but I recognized that I was packing too much and thought I could do better. I started by doing a lot of reading on how to pack light. As a good overview, this article by James Clear puts it pretty well:

1. Carry less stuff
2. Reduce weight, not usefulness
3. Optimize for comfort and design

The most obvious thing for me to do was just take less stuff. But, as I removed things from my pack, I wanted to make sure that what was left were the right items. Most of the articles I saw referenced some similar items, so I figured that’s what I needed. I had enough disposable that I could buy the right pieces and go straight from over-packer to minimalist traveler. I dove right in.

I bought lots of wool shirts, some expensive pants, new shoes, new bags. I gave Outlier a lot of my money. Over the last two years I replaced most of the clothes in my closet. Finally all of my travel problems were solved.

Not quite.

For the first year, I hardly wore any of my new clothes. They were so expensive that I didn’t want to wear them on any “normal” day. What if they got ripped, or dirty? I will agree that merino wool is a great fabric: it’s naturally insulating, naturally cooling by wicking sweat, and naturally odor resistant. Unfortunately, it also naturally shrinks if you forget it’s in the laundry and throw it in the dryer. When I packed for France, I figured that my fancy heavyweight wool shirt would provide enough insulation, so I neglected to bring my vest or proper coat. Rainy and 50 degrees is pretty chilly for a shirt and rain jacket, even expensive ones.

Now, clearly all of those things are my fault. But I have learned a lot since I started traveling this way. First, throwing money at the problem isn’t going to magically fix everything; it’s okay to travel with jeans and some cotton shirts. However, context is important. Traveling for work for a few days is different than vacation with kids, which is different than traveling alone around a new country for weeks at a time. I didn’t consider that most of the articles I read were from people that travel far more than I do and need the benefits that merino wool provides. I’ve learned that I prefer to take one or two extra shirts and not have to wash my clothes in the hotel sink. Toddlers are pretty rough on my clothes, so Disney isn’t the right place to bring my fancy stuff. On the positive side, I have started wearing my wool shirts in a more regular rotation, and I do get some benefits from that like not needing to do laundry quite as often, and they’re just plain comfortable. But when it’s time to replace them, I’ll likely look at some alternatives that are cheaper and not quite as fragile.

I’ve got a great collection of clothes, a lot of which I like, but some that I won’t re-buy when they wear out. I’m going to purchase fewer items from here on out, ideally only buying something that really fills a need. With all that said, here are some thoughts about what works well for me, and what I might do differently in hindsight.

Outlier

As I mentioned above, I’ve purchased a few things from Outlier.

• Runweight Merino T
• Ultrafine Merino T
• Dreamweight Merino T
• Gostwyck Merino T
• 2 Cottonweight Long sleeve T
• NyCo oxford
• Ramielight Pivot
• F. Cloth Hard Shirt
• Doublefine Hoodie
• 2 New Way Shorts
• OG Free Ways shorts
• 2 Slim Dungarees
• 3 Futureworks
• 2 OG Classics
• Strong Dungarees
• Socks

When I put it into a list like that, it certainly looks like a little much. But I have gotten a lot of use out of these clothes. The runweight, dreamweight, and ramielight shirts are all nice for Austin summers. The cottonweight shirts are comfortable and look great. The Gostwyck is an amazing fabric; I’m a little sad that it’s probably overkill for me. For those that do want or need the benefits of merino wool, though, Outlier does make some top notch shirts.

For me, the real star of the show is the collection of shorts and pants. I’ve gotten rid of nearly all my other pants and wear these almost exclusively. They are highly functional, but instead of looking technical they just look like really nice pants. If I lost all my clothes, the first pants I’d buy would be a pair of Slim Dungarees, some Futureworks, and some New Way Shorts. I love these things.

I also want to talk about the F. Cloth Hard Shirt. I just got it recently so I don’t have a ton of time with it yet, but it’s already a favorite. I like to have something to throw over a shirt when I’m traveling, especially on planes where it can go from hot to cold pretty quickly. It doesn’t have the bulk of a hoodie, and it also looks a lot nicer. It’s on the lighter side, so it works well from cool to warm temperatures, which is exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up. It’s nylon, so I’m not worried about babying it, and it’s got a little water resistance just for fun. I’ll probably bring this on every trip I take from here on out.

Clothes

The number of technical or travel clothes that I’ve purchased from other brands is probably less combined than all my Outlier clothes. I won’t list everything here, but I’ll call out a few things that I’ve been really happy with.

Pistol Lake One-Bag Henley

It might not be surprising that my first attempt at a long sleeve shirt was from Outlier. But it didn’t fit me right, so I returned it. I had read some good reviews of this and picked one up. It’s really nice. It’s soft and comfy, wicks sweat, and it looks like a regular shirt. When it’s time to replace my merino shirts, I’ll probably look at picking up a few T’s from Pistol Lake in this fabric.

Smart Wool 250gsm Long Sleeve T

This is just a nice mid weight crew neck shirt. I’ve got a 300gsm shirt from another company, which should be warmer since it’s thicker. But this T seems more comfy every time I wear it. This one has some nylon content, which makes it stand up to laundry a bit better, and that gives me one less reason to be concerned about wearing it out. This is one piece where I do get some benefits from the wool. I have worn this a bunch walking with the kids around the neighborhood on cool days. It keeps me warm, but not clammy, and I can wear it a few times before it needs to be washed.

Patagonia Men’s Long-Sleeved Capilene Cool Daily Shirt

This is a nice lightweight shirt to keep the sun off my arms. I haven’t really tested the supposed odor resistance, but it’s comfy and keeps me reasonably cool in the summer. Add in that it’s from partially recycled materials and not terribly expensive and you’ve got a nice shirt.

Socks

I might be questionable on wool for shirts, but I’m all in on wool socks. I’ve got a few pairs in different colors and it’s all I wear anymore. From skiing in Colorado’s freezing temps to walking around during Austin’s summers, they are always comfortable. I wear Darn Tough socks, but there are a number of brands that should be just as good.

Coats

For the most part I wear one of these four coats. I do have a pea coat and an insulated coat for skiing, but I don’t wear those often.

Patagonia Nano Puff Vest

This was one of the first pieces of technical clothing I purchased. I didn’t wear it all that much at first, but I’ve found it hits a sweet spot that the other coats don’t. It’s great around 50 to 70 degrees to help stay nice and warm. It’s not bulky so it can be worn under a rain coat (or my ski coat) easily, and it takes up very little room when packing.

Marmot PreCip Rain Jacket

I did some research on rain jackets and this was one of the budget picks. I found one on sale for half price, so I figured I had to pick it up. It packs well and keeps me dry, and I’ve gotten some good use out of it. But it is pretty bare bones and not terribly stylish. I wouldn’t be all that upset if it got ruined and I had to look for a new rain coat.

Myles Apparel Elements Jacket

I bought this shortly after my other rain jacket. I was intrigued by the Polartec NeoShell fabric; it’s supposed to be waterproof but highly breathable. Normally jackets that use it are hundreds of dollars. This was a final sale for $100. I read a good review of it, I liked that it looked more fitted, and the blue color was nice, so I bought one. I’m very happy with it. I would consider this my only rain jacket if not for two things: it doesn’t have hand pockets and it doesn’t have a hood. Even with those downsides I prefer to take this coat for rain unless I know I’ll need the hood.

Arc’teryx Atom LT

Reading through reddit I kept seeing people recommend this coat. I didn’t have a light or mid weight insulated jacket, so I picked one up. In short, it lives up to the hype. It’s lightweight and quite warm, and I love the fit. Between this, the vest, and a rain jacket, I have layering options for most any weather.

Bags

Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30

This was my first bag purchase with the intent of carry on travel, and I started with a winner. I love the organization on this bag, with a few big pockets instead of a single unstructured blob. It can carry as a shoulder bag or as a backpack, both of which are useful. It’s durable but not too heavy. This would be my only travel bag if not for one known limitation: there is no place for a laptop. When traveling for vacation, I reach for this bag with no hesitation. But for work travel, I always had to make a decision about which bags to bring. After a few trips of thinking I made the wrong choice, I ended up buying a new bag.

Tom Bihn Synik 30

I thought about backpacks for months before buying this. I wanted the “perfect” backpack but there was always something wrong. I looked at this when it first came out, but was put off a bit by the price, surprised that it was heaver than the Synapse 25 that it shared so much with, and unsure if it would be too big for what I wanted. After some more thought I concluded that it still weighed less than other similar backpacks, and some recent travel made me think that 30 liters was probably the right volume for how I pack. I certainly wish it was cheaper, but since it checked all my boxes and it solved a specific need for me, I picked one up. I just got it recently and haven’t had a chance to travel with it yet, but from seeing the bag in person I think I’ll be very happy.

Tom Bihn Co-Pilot

I got this with a pretty specific purpose in mind: traveling with kids. This bag is just the right size to carry the kids’ iPads, a water, and some snacks on the plane. And it’s not so big to take up a bunch of space at my feet. I haven’t used it a ton outside of that, so maybe I could get by with a different bag, but in that use case it does a great job.

Aer Day Sling 2

This was a pretty recent purchase that I’ve used only in France so far. I had been on a few other trips where I’d done a day hike and didn’t feel like I had the right bag. I didn’t want a big backpack, and the co-pilot was more of a shoulder bag that wouldn’t be great for a lot of walking. From using it one time, I like it. It fits close to the body so it doesn’t wobble around. It can hold a phone, keys, passport, wallet, and, importantly, a bottle of water. It’s small enough to pack into another bag, or works pretty well as another airplane bag.

Shoes

I fall somewhere in the middle on shoes: I don’t need a ton of them, but I also want some choice. I don’t think I’ve found my ideal set of shoes yet, but partially because they take so long to wear out and try something new. I donated a couple of shoes that I don’t wear much so I could focus on a small number of shoes that could handle everything.

Brown leather boots

I don’t remember wearing boots much before the last two years, but they are probably my preferred shoe now. They’re so functional and they look good with most of my clothes. I have a pair of Clarks Varby. They are fairly plain looking, and the sole is not too dressy and not too much like hiking boots. I wore these for 20 hours when flying to Sydney and then went straight to work for another 8 hours. They’re very comfortable.

I also have a pair of Astorflex Greenflex suede chukka boots. These look great and get a lot of wear, but they aren’t quite as functional because they don’t handle the weather as well.

When these wear out, I’ll probably look at getting a pair of Blundstones. Reviews point to them being comfortable and handling the elements, but still looking halfway decent. For a more dressy pair I’d look at something like Thursday boots. I’d be more worried about keeping those looking nice, so I might not travel with them as much. But given how much I wear my boots now, I would probably be okay with both of those pairs of boots for home.

Quoddy Bluchers

I saw somebody speak very highly of these, so I went to take a look. A durable leather shoe that looks great, has a grippy sole, and is hand made in the US? Sold. There is a bit of overlap between these and my boots in the fall and spring, so I’ll rotate through all of them. But these are so nice for the warm days in Austin. These are less than a year old and still in good condition, so I tend to baby them. I’m a little excited for when they start getting more worn so I don’t have to worry about wearing them around the dirt or rain. For warm weather this should be an ideal travel shoe.

Astral Loyak

I’ve had these for a little while, and the more I wear them the more I like them. Super lightweight and a sort of minimalist shoe. These feel great when I’m wearing them. They’re comfortable without socks, and they handle water well, so they’re a good choice for a rainy summer day. I got these in blue, which I still like, but if I bought them again I’d probably go with the black color.

Allbirds Wool Runners

My wife got a pair of Allbirds and loved them (she now has four pairs), and got me some for a gift. I like them but I don’t love them. They are incredibly comfortable on my feet, and they look great for a casual sneaker. But, for me, they aren’t great walking shoes. When I cut down on the number of shoes I was wearing, I put aside my running shoes since I have these. I went for a few walks around the neighborhood, and they were fine. Then, for the next walk, I put on my running shoes again — much more comfortable, enough to keep my running shoes around. The other negative is when running around at the park with my kids, the soles aren’t very grippy, and have actually been a little slippery sometimes. The shoes are pretty good for daily use, but they aren’t a great travel shoe for me.

Arc’teryx Acrux SL

These were another case of having a pretty specific use case in mind, plus a sale, so I bought them. They are built as a rock climbing approach shoe (what you wear on the way to the main climb), but I don’t use them like that. For me it’s primarily a combination of three things: they’re waterproof, they are very grippy, but they don’t look like hiking shoes (to me, at least). They worked great on my trip to France — the rain wasn’t a problem, and when others were commenting on how slippery the sidewalks were, I didn’t notice. These do have a limited use case and are definitely a splurge. I’m not sure I’ll replace them but I’m going to enjoy them while I’ve got them.

Others

Above is what I wear most of the time, but I also have a few others. Merrell Moab hiking shoes, which are nice but pretty specific. They look very much like hiking shoes, so I don’t wear them much other than that. It is nice, though, to have a pair of shoes that I don’t care, and even expect, when they get muddy and dirty. I also have a pair of Brooks running shoes that I’ve had for a while. I don’t run very often anymore, but I use them a few times a week for walking around the neighborhood. They’re also the main shoes I wear at Disney, so they get plenty of use there too.