Pack Less, Do More

Issue No. 12 : On traveling light, gear repairs, ruthless prioritization and spring road tripping

From empty beaches in Malibu to active mornings at Santa Monica Beach: A spring road trip for gear repairs, trade-ins, and new discoveries. Photos: Per Håkansson.

Hi, everyone!

I’d like to first welcome the hundreds of new subscribers that have joined since last week and apologize for being one day late on publishing Fewer Better Things. As you’ll learn, it’s been quite a busy week. And if you’d like to read the whole story, you can become a paid subscriber right below.

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Last Tuesday began as usual: an early rise before sunrise followed by breakfast and then weights and swim practice. In the pause in between I browsed the weather report while sipping on my protein shake. Spring had finally arrived.

I could feel a physical restlessness emerge and with no more rain or winter storms on the horizon I packed the car for a few days road trip 100 miles south to Los Angeles and jetted off before the lunch hour traffic could change my mind.

A new season (yes, they do exist here but they are subtle) begged for new activities and new fun adventures but also for a spring cleaning and gear overview. So before I left I grabbed a few things for trade-ins, repairs, and to donate.

Living on the coastal countryside there are few local stores that are satisfying my outdoor needs. I can of course always order online but trying out new gear, trade-in old gear, and getting old gear in need of repair is a challenge.

I first drove past Rincon Point, made famous by The Beach Boys’ song Surfin’ Safari from 1962, but the waves were still coming in too hard after the last winter storm and I kept cruising down to Ventura and my first stop at Patagonia HQ.

My beloved 35-liter backpack had suffered another accident and I was now, again, to choose between repair, replacement, or a gift certificate. Since my luggage needs have changed a bit since last I went for the very generous gift certificate.

Now I’m in the market for a smaller waterproof roll top to be my everyday pack for both work and sports. There are lots of great brands that offer urban roll tops, everything from Timbuk2 that I started to use in 1995 to Chrome and Rapha.

I continued along the coast and turned off on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) to check out surf spots from County Line to Malibu Surfrider Beach. Still the same blown off waves so I didn’t stop until Whole Foods in Malibu for a late lunch.

The following morning I made breakfast and brought it down to an almost empty beach to watch the sunrise. The lifeguards arrived a few minutes later to open up the towers but there was hardly anyone else around except a few surfers.

I learned why when I took off south to head down to Los Angeles. Right outside of Nobu, the famous restaurant chain owned by Robert De Niro, the traffic slowed down to a halt and I could see a checkpoint guarded by military police.