Any other backpackers here? (Not the back country kind!)
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Any other backpackers here? (Not the back country kind!)
That is usually my chosen way to travel, and it actually works very well with nonreving. If it is small enough to carry on it's small enough to carry on your back comfortably! What airline do you work for?
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DL....but trying to convince my coworkers that this is the best way to travel is a difficult task!
i agree it is the best way to go!
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We need to start a nonrev backpacking/hostelling club!
i totaly agree backpacking is the best way to travel....if i can't carry on what i am traveling with..then i dont need to travel...i will not check baggage!
My old trusty suitcase has just had its last trip. It is far too worn and damaged to repair. I am shopping for a replacement and a medium size backpack seems to fit the bill.
When shopping for a backpack what do I look for? What should I avoid?
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
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From my perspective it's all about individual likes and dislikes. Bottom line is you have to try a bunch of them on, and pick the one that fits you best. Being a 5'2" female, not a lot of packs are made for me, and I tried on a ton before I found my baby [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] Make sure that the waist belt goes small enough to be tight around your waist. When fitting properly the shoulder straps should be comfortable around your shoulders, the weight not resting on them. The weight is carried by your hips, not shoulders. Top loaders can be a pain if you are changing accomodations nightly. Packs that carry the load too far back and wide, and not tall enough, are hard on the body (in my opinion). Also, mine is quite small and I have found it to be quite sufficient for week trips (even took it to Asia for a month quite easily). We saw people with packs twice my size and they were struggling all the time. I can't remember how many litres it carries, but it is about double the size of a daypack only. Don't let any salespeople talk you into anything that doesn't feel right for you. Good luck!
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If I had a dollar for every time I've answered this question on another board...
Buy a high-quality pack with good zippers that you can lock. I'm a firm believer in the pricey Eagle Creek products, and I have an old Camp Trails bag that I'm quite fond of.
You might want a "travel pack," a backpack whose straps can be zipped away to make it look like a suitcase. I prefer a front loading pack--a top-loader would drive me nuts.
The waist belt is extremely important--that's where you want to carry most of the weight, not on your shoulders.
Bottom line, try it on, and if it doesn't "feel" right, keep trying. Unless you're really tall, short, thin, or heavy, most packs will fit a range of people sizes.
Good luck!
a very good make is Karrimore or katmandoo, the best thing is to chat to some backpackers at the airport and see what they think. Us kiwis and the aussies live out of them!
Mark
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I have loved the backpack that I got from Rick Steve's. It is specifically designed for backpacking Europe (though I've not done that yet). It is very flexible. The straps can be slid back up into the bag and you can put on a single shoulder strap or none and carry by a side handle or a top handle. It has proven very durable. I was in FL one time with my family and put in a bunch of groceries and could not believe how much it could handle. Yet it's soft sided so you can put in as little as you like for the short trips. I just took a look at their site and it looks like they have some totally new bags and have added quite a bit of variety:
<a href="http://www.ricksteves.com/store/home.htm" target="_blank">http://www.ricksteves.com/store/home.htm</A>
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The backpack Chris is referring to is what's called a "travel pack." There are many brands available that are made by companies that specialize in outdoor gear. Some of the older Steve's bags do not have a waist belt, which is a must-have. I;'d definitely shop around.
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The virgin islands national park on St. John has excellent tours and paths for you to explore with guides or on your own. A couple from Austin, Texas, recently spent their second honeymoon and have shared some pictues with us. Kim and Steve June 2003 Vacation
alouise1@viaccess.net
Wow, interesting topic and observations. I have to agree that most backpackers I have seen are the youthful, adventurest types. I have seen OLDER backbackers too. I have come across a few backpackers in my days. I never really had the time nor job, to disappear for a few months at a time doing a backpacking tour anywhere. I saw the world working on board a vessel, which took me all over the world. BUT, what happens when we hit a port? We basically converted into "BACKPACKERS". That is where we carried our belongings, change of clothing, carried our souveniers or gifts back in our knapsacks or backpacks, or just plane travel toat bags. Don't forget, we have no cars to put our things in, nor do we live on shore. Our home is on the ship, and if we get stranded, its nice to have a toat with a set of clothing for the unexpected. I disappeared into the mountains in Northern Philippines with my backpack for 5 days when my ship harbored in MANILA BAY. Of course, I had more money than the average backpacker and could afford to stay in a 45 dollar a night hotel. Aside that, I was your basic backpacker. I was on foot, road the bus, and visited interesting sites around town. A backpacker to me is just a TOURIST with LESS money. Instead of using luggage, he carries a BACKPACK. He stays in cheaper places, but likes to linger in foreign countries for up to a month or more. Doesn't really have a career to go back to, and has alot of time on his hands.
I think some people tend to confuse a BACKPACKER with a CAMPER. A backpacker stays in economy HOSTLES and doesn't mind sharing communal bathrooms nor bedrooms. He doesn't know where he might stay from day to day, and everyday brings on a new and different enviroment. He tries to visit points of interest, to include climbing volcanos or walking through the jungles to see old ruins. If he's lucky and finds a decent HOSTEL for the night, he may linger in the lobby and utilize the internet over good coffee and as Europeans mostly do, converse about anything. If he has to, he may camp the night somewhere if he has no choice.
A CAMPER on the other hand, lives for the outdoors. He travels with SLEEPING outdoors in mind. A sleeping bag is a must, maybe a sleeping mat, a tent, he looks like he is carrying STEPS of equipment upon his back. He usually camps domestically, although, some do it abroad, but a CAMPER and a BACKPACKER are somewhat different breeds. One is in search of the outdoors fun while the other is in it for the "TOURISTY ADVENTURE".
Now, where does the Space Available or Non-rev fit into all of this? Again, they can convert to either a camper or backpacker when the plane lands, only, he did not have to pay FULL FARE, and if his wife works for the hotels and gets free lodging, this makes him the CHEAPEST SKATE with the highest traveling standards, and the ENVY of all in the travel world.
I remember walking through downtown MERIDA, with my wife, we were looking for the bus terminal for a run down to UXMAL. It was hotter than hell, sweat pouring down my BEEP like no tomorrow. I asked the guy at the gasoline station downtown how to get to the terminal. He pointed somewhere to a street, but there were hundreds of streets he pointed but just as I looked up, I noticed a clan of backpackers disappearing into a street. I looked at my wife and said, "THERE THEY GO", and I know they gotta be doing the same thing we are. They were a long way ahead of us, so we cut through the park or ZOCALO and dodged into the street I saw the backpackers go into. Sure enough, they were there, but way way ahead of us. As we walked, they disappeared around a corner. When we came upon the corner, there it lay....in big signs...TERMINAL DE AUTOBUSES. Sure enough, I saw those backpackers and they went straight to the terminal heading for UXMAL. I could tell they must have been from ITALY or GERMANY, somewhere there. One girl had RED as hell hair, and her duffle bag and pack was way bigger than her. I couldn't believe she could carry all that crap. She had awful strong atheletic looking legs, must have been a MARINE or something at one time humping that pack. My wife got a super kick out of that. She couldn't stop laughing at how smart I was to follow those backpackers. I even cut her laughter short when I told her to carry my back pack, since this tough lady was carrying thrice her own size. (Of course, I didn't hold my wife up to that one.) We made it to UXMAL thanks to those backpackers. I felt so happy, I even helped a stranded young kid that got his things ripped off in the terminal on his way home to CHIAPAS. The poor kid just wanted phone card money to call his mother. Or so that is what his story was. Needless to say, WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, JUST FOLLOW THE BACKPACKERS. Chances are, they are going to the EXACT same place you want to go to cheaply.
Ahhhh....you don't really need a new club for backpackers. Go here and check it out. www.hostels.com If you tell them you NONREV, they'll think you have more money to spend. Right?
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MK:
We need to start a nonrev backpacking/hostelling club!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
One of the only reasons i work for the airline is to travel cheap. I have found backpacking,hosteling,cheap travel web sites and camping to be my new way of life. Boy what a life my son is now 12 and enjoys it as much as I.We just spent a week in Maui nonreved over ATA style camped for a week and only dished out about 300.00 clams for it all. I have also thought of wedding myself a hotel employee for the discounts and LOVE also of course.Talk to ya soon and keep it cheap.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 29Palms:
Ahhhh....you don't really need a new club for backpackers. Go here and check it out. <a href="http://www.hostels.com" target="_blank">http://www.hostels.com</A> If you tell them you NONREV, they'll think you have more money to spend. Right?
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MK:
We need to start a nonrev backpacking/hostelling club!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hostels.com is primarily a booking engine and while it has some good hostel info, the message boards are icredibly lame. Besides Lonely Planet's Thorntree, one of the best internet bbs for budget travel/hosteling in Europe is Eurotrip.com, but I'm a bit biased as I am a moderator there (under another name that wasn't available here, unfortunately)
Thanks for that info I will be traveling to europe in march in know its not the best (weather) time to go but lufthansa is offer us 99.00 round trip from the states to europe now thru march 31st so here I go http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/clap.gif . Im flying into frankfurt but catching the first train out to wherever. I will be following my new favorite web site NONREV.NET till I leave. so if anyone wants to chim in go rite ahead http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
To all with the strong backs http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...on_biggrin.gif
BackpackersXpress Airline a new airline to launch in June 2004.
"Karaoke, dance-offs, beer and pizza at the in-flight pub will be among the attractions of the world's first low-cost, long-haul budget airline." ..."Our cabin features are designed around the backpacking culture."
Now I'm not backpacker, but I do like backpacker style. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
Keep'em flying
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Looks like this thread is a bit in-active however I just wanted to say that any of my numerous yearly trips to Europe and Asia are all as backpackers and hostelling. I will be Lisbon and Brussels doing the same this June 2004 (EURO 2004)....hope to see some of you there.
Also a backpacker. I stay in hostels almost everywhere I go. There's no reason not to when you're rarely in your room anyway. And when you travel off-season, you can usually have an entire room (or even dorm) for you and your companion(s).
Good times. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Even though this thread is fairly inactive I'll just say that I'll be hostelling in Bangkok in late November for 2 weeks. If any backpackers from this site will be there--let's have a drink!
Here are two other sites I write for:
<a href="http://www.chatarea.com/backpackers" target="_blank">http://www.chatarea.com/backpackers</A>
<a href="http://www.eurotrip.com" target="_blank">http://www.eurotrip.com</A> (nothing to do with that stupid movie)
I am definatly a back packer and I live for cheap. I found I can travel up to two weeks so far with only my small school back pack. (you just have to know what to pack and more importantly, what to leave behind). As for cheap, I try for free as much as possible, so I am a couchsurfer. What's that? Well, you basically spend the night free at a hosts house (although sometimes you get the floor with a blanket instead of a couch). Maybe someday you will open your house for a fellow traveler, maybe you will buy your host a drink or bring a bottle of wine, or make a dinner that they have never had before. My host made me dinner and since it was in Scotland, he made haggis, neaps, and taters. I loved it. So don't be shy, go check out the couchsurfing web site and hey look me up too, I love meeting new people. <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.com" target="_blank">http://www.couchsurfing.com</A> my screen name is the same and I am under denmark since I am living here for a year and back packing all over Europe.