Editorial Team
Our content team
8 min read
Monday morning, 6:47 AM, Terminal 2, Munich Airport. My backpack weighs 9.8 kg. Four weeks of work, three countries, zero checked luggage. I walk straight past the check-in queue, through security, and I'm at my gate in 22 minutes.
That was six months ago. I've done it twice more since. And I'm probably never going back to checking a bag.
Quick answer: Yes, carry-on only travel works for digital nomads even across four weeks or more. The system comes down to three things: merino wool (so 4 shirts last weeks without stinking), a laptop backpack under 45 liters that fits any overhead bin, and doing laundry every three to four days. Once you do it once, you rarely book checked luggage again.
Why I tried this in the first place
Quick math. Ryanair charges between EUR 18.99 and 59.99 per leg for a checked 20 kg bag. As a remote worker, I fly roughly eight round trips a year. That adds up to somewhere between 300 and 960 euros. For a bag that sits on a conveyor belt.
But honestly, the money wasn't the real reason. My buddy Nico, who's been a digital nomad for two years, told me once: "The moment you walk through the airport with one backpack and just leave, you never want to stand at baggage claim again." I thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't. For a similar experiment with a suit and client meetings in the mix, read our 5-day carry-on only business travel test.
Remote work isn't an option anymore for a lot of people. It's the default. The real question isn't whether you can work from anywhere. It's whether you need more than a backpack to do it. Carry-on only travel is the answer I kept ignoring until Nico made me try it.
My remote work packing list: What actually fits in 10 kg
I weighed everything. Yes, everything. With a kitchen scale. Here's my complete remote work packing list for four weeks of carry-on only travel, down to every gram.
Tech setup (2.4 kg)
This part doesn't change. MacBook Air: 1.24 kg. Charging cable: 0.19 kg. Universal adapter, USB-C hub, Bluetooth mouse, wireless earbuds. All of it packed into a UGREEN Elektronik Tasche Reise Organizer für Kabel und Zubehör, which might be my best purchase under 15 euros.
One thing I learned quickly: keep cables and small accessories in a dedicated organizer. Sounds obvious, but it saves real time at security. You never know when someone decides to unpack your entire backpack.
UGREEN Elektronik Tasche Reise Organizer für Kabel und Zubehör
4.6
(8,009)
EUR 14.8
Amazon
Clothes (3.1 kg)
This is where it gets interesting. Four T-shirts, two of them merino wool. Merino absorbs up to 30% of its weight in moisture and doesn't smell even after days of wear. I wore one merino shirt for six days straight on one trip. No odor. I know that sounds gross. It isn't.
On top of that: one pair of shorts, one pair of long pants, seven underwear, five pairs of socks, a light sweater, a rain jacket. Everything in neutral colors. Black, dark blue, grey. Every top works with every bottom.
The secret to four weeks with this little clothing? Laundry. Every three to four days, either at a laundromat or in a sink. Takes 15 minutes. Dries overnight.
Toiletries (0.6 kg)
Solid shampoo bar, solid soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant. That's it. Solid products bypass the 100 ml liquid rule entirely. This saved me the most space because I didn't even need the plastic bag for liquids anymore.
Organization and backpack (3.7 kg)
My laptop backpack carry-on, the Inateck 38.5-46.2 L Reiserucksack Erweiterbarer Handgepäck Flugzeug Rucksack, 15.6 Zoll Laptop Rucksack Carry on, weighs about 1.3 kg empty. It's expandable, has a dedicated laptop compartment, and fits the carry-on dimensions for Ryanair, Eurowings, and Lufthansa without any discussion at the gate. Still looking for the right bag? We compared 8 models in our carry-on backpack test, including weight and measurements.
A set of Cipway Kompressions-Packwürfel-Set, ultraleicht, erweiterbar, Reise-Organizer für Handgepäck, 3 Stück kept everything else organized. It sounds like a luxury, but it's the difference between finding your charging cable in 5 seconds and spending 10 minutes digging through a black hole of socks.
Inateck 38.5-46.2 L Reiserucksack Erweiterbarer Handgepäck Flugzeug Rucksack, 15.6 Zoll Laptop Rucksack Carry on
4.7
(1,711)
EUR 47.99
Amazon
Carry-on size limits by airline
This is the part most people forget to check. The dimensions vary, and at some gates they actually measure.
| Airline | Carry-on (max.) | Personal item | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 40 x 20 x 25 cm (free) | 55 x 40 x 20 cm (Priority) | 10 kg (with Priority) |
| Eurowings | 55 x 40 x 23 cm | 40 x 30 x 15 cm | 8 kg |
| easyJet | 45 x 36 x 20 cm | 56 x 45 x 25 cm (additional) | no limit |
| Lufthansa | 55 x 40 x 23 cm | 40 x 30 x 10 cm | 8 kg |
My backpack comes in at around 45 x 30 x 20 cm fully packed. It fits all four airlines without problems. With Ryanair, I don't need a Priority ticket because the smaller free slot (40 x 20 x 25 cm) works for me and the heavy rain jacket stays on my body.
They don't always measure. But if you're unsure about the rules, check the full breakdown in our Ryanair carry-on guide and how to avoid gate fees.
What was actually hard about carry-on only travel
I'm not going to pretend everything went smoothly.
Week two, Lisbon. 34 degrees. I only had one light sweater because I'd packed for Budapest, where it was still cool. No hiking shorts. Bought a pair locally for 12 euros. Could I have planned better? Probably. But 12 euros for a backup piece of clothing is fine.
On my second trip, I left my USB-C power adapter at the hostel in Porto. That costs you 25 euros and three hours hunting for an Apple Store. I keep a backup cable in the organizer now.
The business call situation was stressful at first. My first client meeting, I joined from a coworking space in Porto with an ocean view. The client thought it was cool. Not everyone will react that way, but if your connection is stable and your background looks decent, people rarely ask where you are.
What I learned about packing light for carry-on only travel
If you want to get good at packing light for carry-on only trips, you learn most from your own mistakes. Here's what actually stuck.
I wear the jacket on the plane now. It doesn't count as luggage and saves about 400 grams in the backpack.
Fewer cotton socks, more merino. Next trip, I'm bringing seven pairs of merino socks instead of the cotton blend. They dry faster and smell less.
I tossed my travel scale after the second trip. Once you know what 10 kg feels like in your hands, you don't need it anymore.
If you want to travel light, you don't need special gear. You need the willingness to commit to the system once.
And the thing that surprised me most: you don't miss anything. Seriously. After three days I'd stopped thinking about the sweater I left at home. Nico was right. I just didn't believe him until I tried it myself. The feeling of carrying everything on your back, doing carry-on only travel across countries, and still being able to work full-time? The last flight took 22 minutes from security to gate. No waiting. No roulette at the baggage carousel. I was first in the taxi.
For anyone looking for a budget entry point: the ZOMFELT Handgepäck Rucksack 40x30x20, 24L Reise Handgepäck Rucksack Damen Herren 15 Zoll Laptop Rucksack also works as a personal item for budget airlines and costs under 25 euros.
ZOMFELT Handgepäck Rucksack 40x30x20, 24L Reise Handgepäck Rucksack Damen Herren 15 Zoll Laptop Rucksack
4.7
(1,610)
EUR 24.99
Amazon
