Business trips and backpacking
Lists for trips with one bag: either a short work trip in a carry-on or a long budget trip with a pack.
Business trip packing list (3 days)
Meetings, a presentation and a carry-on that arrives with you: documents, kit and clothes for a short work trip.
Backpacking and hostel trip packing list
One pack, a weekly wash and the dorm essentials: padlock, earplugs, a sleep liner and a towel that dries overnight.
How to choose
These two lists are opposites in one way. The business trip list is for one to seven days and has to arrive with you and look crisp, so it counts shirts and shoes, adds a section of work kit for slides and adapters, and keeps everything in a carry-on.
The backpacking list is for one to eight weeks of buses and hostels. It caps the clothes at the same size for any length of trip and relies on a weekly wash, and spends its extra space on dorm items, security and a few trekking items you can switch on.
If you are working remotely from a hostel, start with the backpacking list and switch on the laptop option. If you are adding a weekend onto a work trip, the business list plus the city break list covers both.