No Baggage Challenge

August 21, 2010 7:43 AM

No Baggage Challenge
Heyo. I'm traveling as a producer and cameraman (and director...and editor...) for a project that will take travel writer Rolf Potts around the world in 6 weeks (hitting 12 countries on 5 continents) with one twist: he's doing it with no luggage. No backpack, no man purse -- not even a fanny pack.

I designed the website as well. We depart tomorrow, Saturday, August 12 from New York City, and head to London. You can see our route, the camera equipment I'm using, and learn why the hell Rolf would do such a thing. We may have a meetup at a bar somewhere in midtown Manhattan on Saturday if you're interested in sharing a beer and talking travel. Check our Facebook page for more details when we come up with them.

posted by nitsuj (16 comments total)

This project was posted to MetaFilter by gman on September 15, 2010: No Baggage Challenge

But I also see my journey as a field-test for a more philosophical idea — that what we experience in life is more important than what we bring with us.

I'm all in favor if this...but with spare underwear. It doesn't have to be an either/or thing.

This is a neat project and looking at the scottevest.com website my first thought was have fun at customs with that vest.

I'm not sure it matters what you are putting your stuff in. It's luggage if it's in a pocket or in a suitcase. I'm still looking over the links, so maybe this is addressed.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:31 PM on August 21, 2010

i'm no longer friends with the person who borrowed my copy of "vagabonding" and it really pisses me off that i never got it back.

anyway, i like Rolf Potts. have fun!
posted by gursky at 6:20 PM on August 21, 2010

That's a terrific looking website, I look forward to following the trip.
posted by jessamyn at 2:19 PM on August 22, 2010

Thanks Jessamyn.

cjorgensen: Here's a video that describes what he's bringing. (tl;dw: yes he's bringing extra underwear and socks and such.)

The strangest reaction thus far has been that lots of people automatically assume that traveling without any bags or luggage means he won't be showering. Not sure how they come to that conclusion, but we've heard it a bunch.

Also, London police don't like you filming anywhere. At all.

From Paris,
Justin
posted by nitsuj at 2:45 PM on August 22, 2010

Also, no problems at customs yet...
posted by nitsuj at 2:46 PM on August 22, 2010

I'm traveling as a producer and cameraman (and director...and editor...)... We depart tomorrow...

Hey, wait a minute! What's in YOUR suitcase? And how much of that stuff is mission critical for Rolf's trip? I cry foul.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:09 PM on August 31, 2010

Hi Meatbomb. I have a small backpack mostly filled with camera equipment, and it's a part of the rules that I do not carry anything for Rolf, or he doesn't benefit from anything I'm carrying.
posted by nitsuj at 7:50 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

So, uh, sponsored by Scott eVest, are we?
posted by dersins at 10:08 AM on September 1, 2010

Yeah, that's what it says in the corner. Your point?
posted by jessamyn at 10:53 AM on September 1, 2010

Yeah, didn't notice that, actually. I was responding to this entry, which mentions Scott eVest about 47 times. But thanks for jumping down my throat anyway, jessamyn.
posted by dersins at 11:20 AM on September 1, 2010

Just wondered why you were asking.
posted by jessamyn at 11:23 AM on September 1, 2010

Yep, it's sponsored. We're very up front about it. In fact, here's a post about that specifically:

Adventures in planning a sponsored adventure
posted by nitsuj at 2:55 PM on September 1, 2010

It's a corporate sponsored stunt, like the World Hotdog Eating Championships. Nothing wrong with that. In particular when Rolf is already the patron saint of vagabonding, he gets a free RTW trip, I think it bolsters his reputation on how to travel for free creatively.
posted by stbalbach at 7:53 PM on September 15, 2010

Love this idea, but I was frustrated with the website because I couldn't find an easy way to get to the first post and read them in chronological order. Did I miss something?
posted by anotherkate at 12:17 AM on September 20, 2010

Hi anotherkate, the best way to do it is just click "blog" on top and scroll to the very bottom. It's in non-sequential order, but it would be handy if I built in a button to switch the order. Maybe when we're back stateside!
posted by nitsuj at 3:26 AM on September 22, 2010

Or... I guess it is in sequential order, but reversed. That's what I should have said.
posted by nitsuj at 3:27 AM on September 22, 2010