Hey, I’m Johnny.
Right around when COVID hit, I was wrapping up a decade in the military, and when the world’s shutting down, what else are you going to do besides travel? So I grabbed a backpack and left.
The plan was a year. That turned into multiple years, tons of countries, all solo, all out of one bag. Basically a professional hobo. After a few years on the road I went through so many variations of what’s in that bag that I’ve got it pretty dialed in now, for me at least. $5 Hostels, nice spots, weird spots, expensive spots, slightly dangerous spots, all of it.
I’ve slowed down since then but I still get out whenever I can. Got a bit more money these days, but I still prefer one-bag travel. There’s something freeing about having everything on your back and nothing else to deal with. If you’ve never tried it, I think you’ll find that you really don’t need much on a day to day basis.
There’s already a ton of travel content out there. Some good, some not, and a whole lot of it just telling you to go drink coffee at a cafe in every article. I’ll probably be guilty of that too, sometimes that really is all there is to do somewhere.
But what I’m more interested in is the practical stuff. The things that actually helped me over the years, logistics, gear, travel hacking, and how to move through the world without overcomplicating it. Whether you decide to One-bag it or not, my goal is that there’s something in here that you find useful.