Editing Tips by Nomadic Noize (section)

==Keep it simple==
Packing small is always the best option. The less you have on your back, the more you are able to wander around a new city or country. The larger your bag, the more stuff you will carry one way or the other. I learned this after picking up a hitchhiker that had been traversing the globe for two years, and had a normal daypack. This way you can leave your bag in your lap when on city buses, and you only have to deal with a carry on when you fly. If you are traveling overseas you can always send home boxes of presents and mementoes that you acquire. Then when you return home you can find so many surprises you don't even remember getting, you don't break everything, and your back will thank you for it as you are already giving it extra strain from changing your sleeping arrangements often.

A newer backpack is good, not too flashy and technical, but not army surplus. You want the first impression to be of a person who is rational, not broke, and can take care of business. If you get all technical and your simple bag costs $200, you are attracting unwanted attention to the fact that you may have a digital camera, ipod, or laptop in your bag, whether this is true or not. You feel much safer in a foreign city at 2 am when you do not appear to have lots of fancy stuff in your bag.

This last year I spent a year on couches in 3 countries mainly just carrying my shoulder bag. I always had a daypack with my extra changes of clothes at a friend's house, but with a pair of socks, a toothbrush, and a spare t-shirt, I could always end up at another person's house and feel refreshed in the morning.

The key to staying on a friend's couch is knowing when to give people space. If you are visiting someone for a month, it is always nice to let them have a few days alone in their home after a week or two. By then you can usually meet some interesting kids to hang out with so your friend can complete the tasks required of them since they are not on vacation. My shoulder bag looks a bit rough, but I carried my laptop, digital camera, mini-disc, a book, blank cds, toothbrush, a pair of socks, compressible windbreaker, and a t-shirt. It looked a little bit stuffed, but in no way flashy. I felt just as comfortable walking around downtown Tokyo as I did walking through the west side of Oakland.