Deuter’s Speed Lite 30 is a great pack for hikes—day or overnight. It’s also ideal for business trips.
My job takes me around Tennessee and surrounding states to visit, train and consult with school personnel who work with students with autism spectrum disorders. It’s an awesome job; I work with amazing people and see beautiful parts of our country. Just last week I was in an early 1900’s schoolhouse, which served 56 students in the Appalachian Mountains. The week before that I was in the Ozark Mountains. I’m writing this post from Knoxville, at the foot of the Smokie Mountains.
There are two things that make travel difficult. The first and most difficult by far is that I am away from Nea and our daughter. The second is that it can be a real pain to pack and deal with luggage.
There’s not a lot I can do about the first problem, but I’ve solved the second. After trips to Knoxville, Johnson City, Jackson and Memphis, TN, as well as Boone, NC and Rogers, AR I have finally perfected the fine art of packing the Deuter Speed Lite 30 for business trips. You didn’t know it was an art? Read on.
Look at all this stuff I can carry in my Speed Lite 30. I have 2 days of work clothes, “workout” clothes (quotes, because I never really workout even though I intend to), and night clothes (the workout clothes I never actually workout in - I’m typing this in Knoxville…at a brewery), two pairs of shoes, my undergarments and my toiletries.
Make sure to use the extra room in your shoes. Fill them with whatever you can. In this case I have one necktie and one bowtie (we’re in the South).
When you’re ready to pack your pack, start with the biggest and/or most fragile pair of shoes. I like to put my work shoes first, with the heel to the bottom of the pack. If I wrap my undergarments up tight enough I can fit them easily next to the shoes. One thing I like to do is place a piece of cardboard on the backside of the pack. This helps prevent wrinkles.
Next, I stack my clothes and place them into the pack. They slide easily over the toe of my shoes.
After I pack one pair of shoes and my clothes, I cinch the drawstring on the top of the pack and insert my “workout” shoes (the one I walk to the brewery in) into the stretch compartment in the front of the pack.
Next, I put my toiletries into the hood of the pack. I usually only bring deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor, face oil, my eye contact case filled with solution, my glasses and my glass cleaner. I will just use the soap at the hotel, and I Bruce Willised my hair when it started to get too thin to manage with dignity, so I don’t use shampoo.
Here’s how the pack looks fully packed and compressed.
Speaking of compression, if I am not carrying anything extra with me I will fold the compression straps and tuck them into the accompanying loops to decrease extra strap length.
If I need to carry a computer bag with me I will simply attach it to my Speed Lite 30 over the front of the pack with the compression straps.
Finally, when I am at the hotel and unpacked, this pack is really easy to tuck away.
This is a really great pack. It starts at two pounds according to Deuter (I weighed it at 2 oz under 2 lbs). You can just throw it onto your back and go. No handles. No wheels. Plus, it looks really nice. It’s a well-designed multi-functional pack that we put through the paces, from the trail to the airplane.
I plan to use it until it wears out, but since it is so durable, I predict this pack will be with me for a long time.
—Pablo Juarez (Family Ambassador)
Read about Pablo Juarez’s other adventures at his Family Wilds Blog.
Compact Travel with a Speed Lite 30
- Learn all about the Speed Lite 30 at Deuter.com
- Pick one up from Moosejaw.com
- Grab one from Backcountry.com
- Shop at Tahoe Mountain Sports