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In keeping with the recent travel theme, I thought I would mention some of my favorite pants (“trousers” for those of you in Great Britain — You can stop snickering now) for traveling. As I have previously established, light packing and clothes that are designed for such are a particular obsession of mine. Everything mentioned here I have in my current arsenal and have been well road tested.

• TravelSmith Men’s Anywhere Pants — I actually have a couple of pairs of these and like them a lot. The fabric in the newer model I have is slightly different (and better) than the older model I have so I opt for it more often than not. I have both of these in the khaki color and they look good with both a t-shirt or casual button down. Because of the full elastic waistband I would be less inclined to use these with a shirt you would have to tuck in though. Luckily, I’m rarely in situations, even when traveling, where that is required.

• Travel Pants from SCOTTEVEST — The link is to the the Convertible Travel Pants but I have the non-convertible model which do not seem to be on offer anymore. In fact, I generally dislike convertible pants because I cant help but get that “hoop around the knee” look. In any case, I have been a big SCOTTEVEST fan for years and own several of their products (more of which I will cover in future travel related posts). These pants are no exception. Perfect for travel where pickpockets are a concern or if you have the need to carry a fair bit of stuff but want your hands free. Mine are in the olive green color.

• Patagonia Men’s Nomader Pants — These are a new addition to the traveling arsenal and I can already tell they will become a quick favorite. In fact, I’m tempted to wear them around town now and then because I like them so much. These are comfortable, designed for wear and tear, and look great. I have these in grey.

So, there you have it. Three pairs of pants that can take me anywhere. All designed to be durable, functional, and look great. And each one can be washed in the sink at night and be dry and ready to be packed or worn in the morning. And, when folded and stacked, together they take up the same space as a single pair of similarly folded jeans. And, as I explained in my previous post, the goal for me is as much light travel as it is having a iety of colors and options so I don’t look like I’m wearing the same thing every day. With these, I achieve these goals.

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This originally appeared on the Pack Light, Go Fast blog. Reposting here for archival purposes.

This is my GORUCK GR1 packed and ready for a week long road trip. This is the only bag I need.

I pack light. Always. I hate the very idea of carrying more than I absolutely need. This is as true in my day-to-day carry as it is on a long road trip. The secret, I have found, is to work to ensure that the things I would pack for myself for a three day journey are the same as I would pack for a thirty day journey.

The secret is to pack things that I can wash and dry quickly (overnight). As well, what you want is not only clothes that can wash and dry fast but also those with complementary colors that you can mix and match. Having, say three shirts, three bottoms, and their corresponding accessories (socks, underwear, etc.) can give you enough combination choices that few will ever notice you are wearing the same small supply.

Now, I’m not going to bore you with brands and links about what I have. Because that does not matter. There are tons of great brands that make this stuff, many of which have been covered here before (Patagonia, Ex Officio, Travelsmith, etc.). What matters is the elements as described above. What I can tell you is the basic outline of what I have packed in here:

• Three button down shirts.
• Three t-shirts.
• Two pairs of shorts and one pair of long pants.
• Three pairs of socks.
• Three pairs of underwear.
• Swim trunks.
• Self packable wind/rain jacket.
• Super absorbent pack towel (for hyper drying wet clothes).
• GR Tac hat.
• Kit bag.
• MacBook Air (11 inch).
• iPad mini.
• Small bag with misc. electronic cables and dongles.
• Notebook and pens.

As you can see, there is a lot packed into that bag, but not too much. Only just what I need. Everythng is designed to be light and pack small. And this could keep me for as long as I want. Three days or thirty, no matter.

This is just to say that having the right gear matters and you can get a whole lot of mileage out of very little carry. I do whenever I travel and have long been convinced it is the only way to go.

This is once again my take on some of the items that I have run across this week. I wish to share them with you:

The Bullet Journal is a very interesting note taking markup system along the lines of my dash/plus system. I prefer mine of course but there are some interesting ideas going on here, including having an index page and his innovative solution for having a calendar. Plus, the website is slickly designed. Well worth checking out.

Austin Kleon’s recent post on keeping one’s overhead low is still resonating with me even as after I read it. I’ve long tried to articulate the idea that doing with less means having more freedom to do what you ant to do. Here, he captures it perfectly in just a few short paragraphs.

Speaking of freedom, J.D. Bentley recently shared his experience living in a land where you are naive of the culture and speak little of the language and the freedom that can come when you are forced to let your ego and self-expectations go. Beautifully written as usual from J.D (who remains one of my favorite writers).

I’m all signed up for the Big Gay Race 5K again this year. If you are in the Twin Cities area you should come run it with me and support a good cause (the continuing fight against hatred and bigotry despite landmark legislative victories like the right for all Minnesotans to marry). The early bird registration is only $25.00 and includes a free t-shirt.

I’m a big fan of packing light. Here is a nice account with some great tips of someone packing to travel to and live in Northern China for a year. He’s going over to teach English. A good lesson in figuring out what really is essential.

By the way, I’ve writen his entire post using Editorial — a fantastic new text editor for the iPad. I’m still getting my head around all the things it can do. This write up and review at Macdrifter, along with the nicely done videos Gabe included, were a big help. Suffice it to say that a new bar has been set in iPad text editors and this is now the one to beat. Especially if you use Markdown. Simply fantastic.

That’s all I have for now. Enjoy your weekend.