Pockets
Your basic travel unit is your jacket and trouser pockets, you need to think about security, zips, buttons and Velcro are your friends. As discussed, urban travel relies on the mobile phones and the debit card. Travel into more rural surroundings require a good pen knife, I say pen knife on purpose, for reasons of legality. Please be aware that only pen knives are legal to carry in the UK and that you can’t fly with them.
Pouches
In the army, pouches are generally part of a body wore webbing system. In civilian life, dry bags and other zip up pouches are useful, to pack a bag of bags. For instance a wash bag containing all toiletries, medications and sewing kit. A shirt carrier “packing cube” will store three shirts, tie, pants and socks etc. A pouch for charger and cables, stationery and the like. Likewise a small dry bag for tea, coffee, sugar, snack biscuits, cuppa soup, noodles, sardines, tinned meat etc. This approach of double bagging makes packing quick and efficient. Everything in it’s place and a place for everything.
Packs
Packs are obviously suitcases, holdalls, rucksacks, bergens or panniers if your cycling, canoeing or even on horse back! Many of us are travelling with public transport, so the ability to live for a year with hand luggage only, certainly focusses the mind. My eldest son @Travel Dave has this down to a fine art and has written about it extensively. As was said a long time ago attributed to Robert Baden-Powell, “Only a fool is uncomfortable in camp”. This equally translates to any type of travel and experience being away. The actual secret, Is all about research, planning and preparation. Research, know where your going, how log for, where you’ll be staying and what you need to have with you. Always factor in some contingency for when things go wrong. In domestic travel it’s all about thinking through what can go wrong and having a contingency plan to counter act or mitigate the risk or minimise the in-convenience.
Pods
A pod could be a large ammo box full of camping equipment or my favourite “Chuck box” a wonderful design of a mobile kitchen going back to the true frontiersmen the Cowboys of Victorian times. There are wonderful designs for field boxes, desks and camping configurations. I love camper vans, but have come to the conclusion of late and alternative answer is the “Day Van”, where the van doesn’t have static furniture, but instead has removable boxes. Taken to the extreme, a trailer tent, roof box or even a caravan could be described as a pod!
