What do we call a world traveler these days? A nomad? A vagabond? Backpacker is probably word we all hear. Probably due to those ubiquitous, massive spine breaking backpacks. And its no surprise when people see those bags, they're put off by the idea of backpacking. We begin to assume that backpacking is only a young man's game, since only the young can carry that much gear.

Well I’m here to show you how to travel with just 15 pounds at almost any age. Let's shed the notion of the standard vacation, where you lug around multiple suitcases. And let's rollback our image of backpackers with their monstrous backpacks. This image is one of the reasons people believe only the young can backpack. Think of how nice it would be to travel with a day pack no larger than 40 liters. Suddenly backpacking can be done at almost any age. Check out some of these amazing benefits:

• I weigh 140 lbs. Lugging around a large backpack gives me a desire to ring bell towers in France.
• Those cheap European airlines (and most American ones) love finding ways to squeeze out a little more blood money. By keeping your belongings down to a carry on, you'll find yourself with extra savings.
• Walking to your hotel? Your plane is delayed and you have to catch a connecting flight? Waiting at the bus station and realize you have to pee but are holding multiple bags? One small bag is king.
• Safety! You look less like a tourist and most certainly have less items to steal.

Of course, this setup won’t work for everyone. What I’m recommending here is for the average traveler visiting countries with reasonable temperatures (Read. Not Antarctica). If you scuba, mountain climb, or camp, you may need something larger. But for the average traveler, 40 liters will make your traveling easy and carry all the essentials you need to be comfortable.

Even if you're doubting this, just try it once. I promise you'll never look back. I had a cousin travel through half a dozen countries for two with normal school backpack (roughly 22 liters) and I have no doubt he believes 40 liters is already too much. We both doubted possibility of minimalist travel until we tried it. Of course I'm going to give credit where credit is due. I started reading Snarky Nomad's Blog years ago, and that's what inspired me to start shedding weight after my first encumbered trip.

So now that you're thoroughly convinced, or most likely curious, what kind of travel gear could you use? Below, I have posted my backpacking gear  to get you started. All of these items are travel gear I personally own and use with great results during my travels.

The smaller bag that changed my life. But in reality any small bag will do. I like this one since it has multiple compartments, isn't top loading, comfy and durable. A stiffer frame would have been nice but that's a small complaint

A wonderful daypack that's smaller than your fist. Sure there are more durable bags, but I personally place a premium on size and weight. This isn't an essential item, but it’s an improvement if you can spare it. 

I used to be one of those paperback purist, telling everyone about how turning a page or physical ownership of a page was irreplaceable. I used to be dumber too. Maybe I still am. But at least present me can lug around hundreds of book in lieu of one Harry Potter novel.

I always felt like there were two kinds of people in this world. One that loves the attention to detail, the desire to take home perfectly composed photos and loves quality. These people don’t mind the weight of a DSLR. 

I am not one of those people. I am much lazier and all I needed, was a camera that’s small, portable and still has some degree of quality. I’d like to think that most of us fall under this category. 

The Olympus TG-3 is a camera fills all those needs with the added bonus of being a durable camera. I originally could have passed on waterproof, and shockproof camera, but after a day of swimming in lakes, jumping off bridges and navigating a kilometer long tunnel holding nothing but a candle, I found myself sorely in want. Plus this camera has a great macro function but admittedly a not great digital zoom. This item is also fairly optional. If you don't do anything too extreme, and don't care for the extreme quality of photos, your phone should work fine. If you plan to do all extreme sports, the GoPro does still reign supreme.

Another optional but incredibly useful item depending on how far off the beaten path you go. In many third world countries, the quality of plumbing may leave much to be desired. And sometimes, bottled water is not readily accessible. A light water filter that doubles as a water bottle is a wonder in these scenarios. Though for most trips and countries, this is probably not necessary.

Fold and roll. Nice little space saver for your clothes. I didn’t use half of this set though. You might want to find someone who travels with a large suitcase to split this with. 

Generic battery pack. I just like the ZILU Smart Power since it has a light so it doubles as a crappy flashlight. 

Generic lock for those hostels that actually have lockers. 

For those moments when hostels don’t have lockers, you can loop this back to your bag. I’m honestly not sure how useful this is. It might inconvenience an opportunist bag snatcher enough that he’d rather steal the adjacent bag? You might have to supplement the cable with a healthy dose of praying. 

You might not need this depending on the country you visit. But for most foreign countries, it’s a cheap and essential item to bring.

A generic lock to secure any valuables compartment in your backpack. This is also another wishful deterrent. It helps me sleep better.

Also recommend finding one that's TSA compliant to save you some hassle.