Hi I'm about to start a 2 month global pass trip and not sure what size bag is recommended. I'm planning to go to Scandinavia and then across to South Eastern Europe so I'll need cold and hot weather clothing. Any other tips welcome!
Best answer by noah.mark97
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+5
Usually I take my bag of 90 liters, for travels longer than a week. In it a smaller bag and a pair of extra shoes. Hiking shoes are generally perfectly usuable in snowy and icy circumstances, and for hikes in warmer mountainous areas.
Don’t stuff it too full anyway. You can always buy more appropriate clothing in the respective countries. And it’s usually a nice souvenir ;)
Layers, layers for when it’s cold layers. A bit of thermical underwear will do miracles in combination with your day to day clothing in wintery circumstances and do not take a lot of space. If that’s not enough. Hup, an extra layer. Some zip-off outdoor/hike pants will also prove useful and is very space efficient.
March/april/mai are usually not that cold in the north (except if you plan to go very high up north), nor that hot in the south
Just do your laundry under the road, it’ll save you quite some space.
I have a 70 liter backpack but it's a bit large I find. I'll probably buy a new one some time (this one is over 30 years old and is starting to disintegrate...) that's a bit smaller.
For trips up to a week, I use my small backpack of ~30 liters.
Usually I take my bag of 90 liters, for travels longer than a week. In it a smaller bag and a pair of extra shoes. Hiking shoes are generally perfectly usuable in snowy and icy circumstances, and for hikes in warmer mountainous areas.
Don’t stuff it too full anyway. You can always buy more appropriate clothing in the respective countries. And it’s usually a nice souvenir ;)
Layers, layers for when it’s cold layers. A bit of thermical underwear will do miracles in combination with your day to day clothing in wintery circumstances and do not take a lot of space. If that’s not enough. Hup, an extra layer. Some zip-off outdoor/hike pants will also prove useful and is very space efficient.
March/april/mai are usually not that cold in the north (except if you plan to go very high up north), nor that hot in the south
Just do your laundry under the road, it’ll save you quite some space.
Hi brendan, thanks for your tips. Hmm I was looking in a shop the other day at a 40litre bag! Wondered if it would be too small and sounds like it would be! And yes i did wonder about what shoes I would need, usually I think trainers are fine but going to Scandinavia I wonder if I should take my walking boots but they are going to be heavy to carry when I'm not wearing them.
Have you interrailed around Scandinavia?
+5
Hi brendan, thanks for your tips. Hmm I was looking in a shop the other day at a 40litre bag! Wondered if it would be too small and sounds like it would be! And yes i did wonder about what shoes I would need, usually I think trainers are fine but going to Scandinavia I wonder if I should take my walking boots but they are going to be heavy to carry when I'm not wearing them.
Have you interrailed around Scandinavia?
40 litre is a bit small yes for a trip that long; but the bigger it is, the more you tend to stuff it. Avoid that, you don’t want t ;)
As you’ll be on the change of season, you might need a bit of extra space for a heavier coat. I usually put a smaller bag ín the bigger bag, when travelling. That’s why went for 90 l.
Just try some different brands of/and bags, and see what goes more comfortable for you, it’s really personal preference.
Shoes-wise, I always take two pair. Some light, comfortable ones for city-outings, and sturdy hiking shoes for in nature (or rough terrain). It’s always nice to switch. When taking trains most of the day, I usually put the sturdy ones on. Saves a lot of weight, but it’s not the most fashionable of course.
I did my Erasmus in Norway, so I lived there for half a year. I also railed a bit around in Scandinavia. Norway I know best. I travelled a lot in Denmark too. Sweden a bit less. Finland I don’t know at all :)
Have just returned from a 6 week route including Norway up to Narvik, east to Helsinki and south to Switzerland and back to the U.K. in January and February. We did as a couple with a 42ltr wheely cabin bag each and a small day pack each. We had layers, wore winter shoes with trainers in the bag. This combination worked well for hopping on and off trains, accommodation always 10-25 minutes walk from railway stations, able to put bags on racks above seats or behind seats on trains.
I would recommend you a bag around 60/65l, otherwise you take to much stuff/weight with you. And less is not enough for taking warm clothes with you.
Thanks for all your answers they're really helpful!
I think I'll try packing things into a old 65l backpack I have and see how full it ends up! Then either take that one or buy another.
The wheelie suitcases are something I considered too…
And with the shoes, I might have to buy some walking, weatherproof trainers so that they can be multipurpose.
Side note, I'm new to this app and tapped a tick icon and it created a 'best answer', didn't mean to do that and don't know how to undo!?
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