$175 for the CAS2 is insane, Ultra is not that great to warrant that price. Wow I’m really surprised by this and decided to not order. I really wanted a CAS2 but I’ll stick with the regular.

EDIT: Carryology is ruining another brand! Fuck the bearded guy!

Got it for the price of 110$. The stitching, materials, design is impressive for the price I got it. Size comparison with Sympl Commuter 24l. Bottles are klean kanteen’s 800 and 1200 ml

So the day has finally come. My custom ULA Dragonfly is all finished and is ready for its first trip to Chicago tomorrow!

I wanted to once again thank Peter Longobardi and Jeremy Tripp over at ULA for an amazing customer service experience during the process of designing and making my DF30.

I wanted to share all the mods I made to the stock bag. First, I started with a base 400tx White Lightning Dragonfly 30 with luggage pass thru and secret pocket. I added a leather grip and strap keepers on the compression and shoulder straps, white Duracoated Austere’s and a Woojin magic buckle sternum strap/dock setup courtesy of Jake McCoy from Ruck Safely, and zipper pulls from ELE Survival (the main zipper pulls are from my Matador Globerider 35, I like them better on here). Also kudos to Max Stier of MaxPaxCo on Insta for my custom Dragonfly patch made in Ultra!

The pics are the list of all of the additions, deletions, and modifications to the pack along with the front. Link below has all …

There seemed to be a lot of controversy over my zero bag claim on my recent Portland trip. The claim was that it wasn’t zero-bagging because I used my every-day-carry purse and didn’t wear my travel gear on my body.

To assuage these critics, I now bring you Part 2. I took the ENTIRE contents of my Uniqlo bag and put them in the pockets of my rain jacket. This proves that I can zero bag by manly-man definition. Please note that I am not using my cargo pants in any way.

Also note that this is a regular backpacking rain jacket. It is not a specialized travel jacket with lots of extra pockets like the one used in Rolf Potts “No Bags” challenge. Yet I got everything in my jacket without using my cargo pants.

This brings me to the reason for this post. it is the insistence on worn-in-pockets manly-man method as the only way to zero bag. This insistence has a greater focus on carry style instead of weight and volume. Yet we know from our own travels that weight and volume are the critical …

Hello everyone! In my last post, I showed what my Osprey 26+6 looked like in the RyanAir sizer.

However, recently, RyanAir started adding red stickers, that your bag is not allowed not stick out above of. As luck may have it, on my trip today I found one of those updated sizers!

Here are the pictures. As you can see, the red stickers are an improvement for us travelers, because they give more leeway than the sizers without the sticker did. My Osprey 26+6 comfortably fits below the red line, no problem.

Like last time, I slightly underpacked the bag and put it in its compressed/unexpanded state. Also, putting the back towards the opening of the sizer is better, because as you can see in the last picture, otherwise the front of the bag will bulge out due to its softness.

I hope that clears things up and settles any remaining doubts regarding bringing this bag along with RyanAir as a personal item. Happy traveling!

It’s finally time! I’m (38, m) heading off from our home in Scotland to Japan tomorrow with my partner for 14 days for a mix of city stops, moderate hiking and cycling. We’re starting in Kyoto, then a temple stay in Koyasan, then a few days walking parts of the Kumano Kodo trail. After that we go to Hiroshima/Miyajima via Osaka, then we’re going to cycle the Shimanami Kaido route (using e-bikes so not too strenuous), then return to Osaka and fly home from there. I’ve Onebagged a lot on shorter trips but this is the furthest and longest I’ve tried for.

Here’s my packing list. Let me know what you think:

Bag: Osprey 26+6

Shoes: 1 pair of trail shoes for the active days (which I’ll wear on the plane too); 1 low top trainers for city days.

T-shirts: 2 cotton Ts + 1 active-wear (plus 1 more cotton wearing on the plane not pictured)

1 merino wool sweater (mainly to wear when out at night and traveling)

1 linen shirt & 1 super light blazer (for city wear and if we go somewhere …

Here’s a quick breakdown of my packing list from a recent trip to the Greek islands (Iraklia, Amorgos, Astypalea). It was my 7th trip to Greece in the past few years, and I’ve been consistently optimizing my luggage to reduce weight and volume even further.

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Backpack: Ortlieb Light Pack

• Pros: Ultralight 25L backpack (330g), comfortable straps, small hip belt, fully waterproof (though not really needed in Greece).
• Cons: The inside coating is rubbery, so getting things from the bottom often requires unpacking all of my stuff. Strategic packing is key. The side pockets are tight and only fit 0.5L bottles. Only one compartment, no pockets at all.

I also used the bag for day trips, beach, and light hikes. For evenings and strolls, I brought a Uniqlo Half Moon bag.

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Shoes: Shaka Chill Out SF

I always bring just one pair of shoes to Greece: sturdy sandals that work for short to medium walks, beach, and dinners out. Closed shoes aren’t necessary unless you plan long …

Zero Bagging for Three Days in Portland

Hi all, I just returned from a three day zero bag trip to Portland OR. I only used public transportation and tours to get around. I also stayed at a hostel instead of a hotel room.

I have done purse only trips before, but it is usually with a larger purse. This was my smallest and lightest trip yet.

If you haven’t been to Portland, I can definitely recommend it as a tourist destination.

You can see the full write up at: https://ladylighttravel.com/2025/09/13/zero-bagging-for-three-days-in-portland/.

I would be happy to answer any questions here!

• Osprey 26+6
• Aer Slim Pouch for tech
• Aer Dopp Kit 3
• Thule Packing Cube
• Aeropress Go
• Patagonia Blackhole Mini 1L sling

Not too keen on the colour of the Osprey bag, but it was £59 and is growing on me.
I use the sling as a case for my Fujifilm X100vi whilst traveling, then as my day bag during the trip.

Look, I get it’s a soft goods manufacturer trying to still establish their identity in a very niche market but since Jack left, I find a lot of the marketing direction and overall vibe from the company is, well - not for me. I know marketing in every facet of business will always be cringe/disconnected from reality but I definitely don’t understand the direction their products and hipster cosplay video characters are painting. It’s a hard pill to swallow on the price hike considering how much more money is going into marketing/promotion (and not in a good way imo).
Anyways, the world appears to have bigger issues than my vibe for a bag company most people never heard of.

Feels a bit like Dads left and now mums shacked up with the beardy guy from carryology

:(

I’ve ordered the Alpaka 9th anniversary patches and they look awesome. They are 5x5cm (2”x2”) so size is perfect for EG bags.

Just want to share.