Why I Stopped Chasing the Smallest Backpack—and Chose 25L

I used to think the smallest backpack was the freest.
Minimalist meant mobile. Less meant lighter.

I was wrong.

Eighteen months in Mexico City, I cycled through three backpacks—each smaller than the last. Each one solved a problem and quietly created another.

The issue wasn’t size.
It was what I was optimizing for.

What I learned living the digital nomad lifestyle is this: the right backpack isn’t the smallest one. It’s the one that stops asking you to decide.

Colorful Day of the Dead skeleton decoration in Mexico showing vibrant cultural experiences for digital nomad lifestyle travelers

The First Mistake: When Bigger Felt Safer

My first month in Mexico City, I showed up to cafés in Roma Norte with a 40L hiking backpack.

It fit everything. That was the problem.

Because I had space, I filled it—extra jacket, backup shoes, a book I never opened. The bag wasn’t carrying essentials. It was carrying my anxiety about not having options.

Too heavy to walk far. Too bulky for café tables. Too much to manage.

I wasn’t more prepared.
I was more burdened.

This is a quiet reality of the digital nomad lifestyle: your backpack sets the pace of your day long before you sit down to work.

The Second Mistake: When Smaller Felt Smarter

I overcorrected. Switched to a 15L daypack.

Clean. Minimal. Laptop and nothing else.

No room for water at 7,350 feet altitude. No jacket for cafés blasting AC. No flexibility when plans shifted.

I started noticing a pattern.

Friday afternoon: “Want to check out a mezcal bar in Coyoacán?”
Me: “I need to go home and change bags.”

Sunday: “Teotihuacán tomorrow?”
Me: “Give me an hour to repack.”

I wasn’t saying no because I didn’t want to go.
I was saying no because my backpack couldn’t handle it.

Torre Latinoamericana skyscraper with golden dome Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City showing modern infrastructure for digital nomad lifestyle

When I Realized the Problem Wasn’t Size

The smallest backpack isn’t the freest.

It’s the one that makes you choose the earliest.

Choose in the morning what kind of day you’re allowed to have. Choose which invitations you can accept. Choose which version of life fits inside 15 liters.

What I actually needed wasn’t more space—it was fewer decisions.

Not bigger to carry more.
Bigger so I didn’t have to think about it.

That shift changed how I understood the digital nomad lifestyle. It’s not about carrying less. It’s about being constrained less.

Where 25L Finally Made Sense

Most days, I carry 12–15L of actual stuff.
Laptop. Notebook. Water bottle. Jacket.

The extra space isn’t for filling.
It’s for not worrying.

It means:

  • Thursday night plans don’t require going home first

  • A Tuesday afternoon can turn into an overnight stay

  • Spontaneous weekends don’t trigger a logistics rethink

The space isn’t about capacity.
It’s about not locking yourself into one version of the day.

This is what I mean by infrastructure — not equipment, but systems that move with you without demanding attention.
I wrote more about this shift in When Stability Stopped Being Borrowed

7705 Waterproof Canvas Backpack for Digital Nomads 25L shown as a mobile office setup with laptop, notebook, headphones, water bottle and coffee on a wooden desk

What a 25L Backpack Actually Looks Like

Daily essentials (≈12L):

  • 13" laptop

  • Charger + adapter

  • Notebook and pen

  • 500ml water bottle

  • Light jacket

  • Sunglasses

Just-in-case (≈3L):

  • Portable charger

  • Headphones

  • Small snack

Usually empty (≈10L):
This is the difference.

Monday through Thursday, that space stays empty.
Friday afternoon, someone says “Oaxaca this weekend?” and I add clothes and toiletries.

Same 25L backpack.
No repacking strategy. No pause.

One bag. Multiple modes. No friction.

Confucius Institute classical architecture in Mexico with green trees showing educational opportunities for digital nomad lifestyle cultural immersion

Why This Matters More Than You Think

For ten years in New York, I had different bags for different lives.

Gym bag. Work bag. Weekend bag. Suitcase.

Four bags. Four decisions made before leaving home.

Now: one 25L backpack that goes everywhere—cafés, coworking spaces, weekend trips, apartment moves.

The freedom isn’t carrying less.
It’s not thinking about it.

Life doesn’t wait for weekends.
It also doesn’t wait for you to go home and swap bags.

The 7705: When I Stopped Optimizing for Smallest

When the borrowed backpack I left with finally broke, I knew I didn’t want another “smallest possible” solution.
That moment came from an earlier decision — the backpack my boss gave me when I quit my job.

I needed tolerance.

The 7705 landed at 25L not to carry more, but to stop forcing decisions —
the backpack I now use as my daily mobile setup.
Canvas, not nylon.
Simple, not over-engineered.
Most days, half empty—on purpose.

The extra space isn’t a feature.
It’s breathing room.

7705 Waterproof Multi-Color Canvas Backpack 25L perfect Christmas gift for teen boys and girls

What Actually Matters for Daily Digital Nomad Life

Daily café use (60%)

  • Fits under tables

  • Properly padded laptop compartment

  • Quick-access essentials

  • Doesn’t look like you’re moving

Apartment moves (20%)

  • Fits 2–3 days of clothes

  • Comfortable for walking

  • Neutral enough for real life

Spontaneous weekends (20%)

  • Handles extra clothes without overpacking

  • Comfortable on buses

  • No switch between “work bag” and “life bag”

Highway in Mexico with colorful billboards and mountain backdrop showing infrastructure for digital nomad lifestyle mobility

Your Backpack Is a Philosophy

Overpacked means rigid.
Underpacked means constantly postponing life.

Right-packed means ready.

The perfect 25L backpack isn’t the smallest or the most feature-rich.
It’s the one that disappears into your routine.

I don’t want the smallest backpack anymore.
I want the one that lets me say yes without thinking.

That’s 25L—not because it’s perfect, but because it’s tolerant.

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