Packing it up

So we're two days away from our flight and we're in full 'wrap-up' mode.  My last day of work was long and weird; it was hard to say good-bye to my friends and colleagues and I still haven't come to terms with the fact that my next scheduled day in the office is March 1st, 2016 (more after the jump).  

After putting in a 10-hour last day at work and having dinner/drinks with some friends Friday evening, Nathalie and I have spent the weekend doing a mixture of cleaning out our place, seeing some more friends, packing our stuff, getting a good workout in and making tacos.    

Today, after yet another good-bye lunch, we came back home and started finalizing our backpacks.  I've never really pictured myself as a backpacker and have always preferred urban holidays over camping.   That being said, it'd be really difficult to do this sort of trip with either roller suitcase or a duffel bag (side note; everyone should be using a duffel bag when having having to check luggage; I travel with a bag that weigh 500 grams/one lbs.  Compare that to a roller/hard-shell case that weighs 6-7 kg/10-12 lbs and you're able to gain around 33% more storage weight.  Also, you'll have to lift the duffel bag; which is a great workout within itself).  

My backpack, an Osprey Farpoint 55 bridges the gap between suitcase/duffel and traditional backpack by incorporating the best of both types of bags.   Instead of top-loading, the front of it zips open like a traditional suitcase.  We won't need to dig to the bottom of the bag each time we need to get something.  There is a smaller backpack that connects to the back and holds approximately 15 liters.  It's extraordinarily useful because we get a small backpack that we will take everywhere we go and can keep our electronics separated from our main bag.  Additionally, the main pack works just like a traditional backpack in terms of straps meaning that it will be easy to carry should we want to look like bone-fide backpackers. 

To make packing easier, we found these awesome little compartment bags that let us separate our clothes into smaller pouches.  Our socks, shirts, pants, and underwear each ride in a separate pouch, keeping the backpack organized.  So far, it seems promising.   

Here's a picture of what my bag looks like opened up.  The smaller breakaway backpack is pictured on the the top right.

I'm aiming for a total weight of 10-12 Kg/22-25 lbs.  So far, I'm at 7 Kg without the small backpack added or packed.   I'll post the total weight on Tuesday before heading to the airport.