I’m certainly not the only one thinking about the psychology of packing a bag these days and, to that end, Medium has an interesting look at the mental effects of what we bring with us on a trip–and how we bring it.

Jan Chipchase, the article’s author, is a frequent traveler and the founder of design studio Studio D Radiodurans. He is also the maker of a USD $1,000 duffel bag called the D3 Traveller (really… my Tom Bihn Aeronaut sighed out of class envy when it saw me looking at it). While there are moments in piece where the tone is a bit too prescriptive for my tastes (plenty of “hardened travelers” use wheeled bags), his personal packing philosophy is very much akin to my own and he ends with a few things which work for him:

1. Steer clear of wheels. They are the loan-sharks of weight and space. For a little up-front joy, you’ll be paying back for the rest of your journey.
2. Limit luggage to one piece that fits into a business class footwell or under an economy class seat (about 42 litres). The impact is two-fold: if it’s weighed at check-in (and with that size it rarely is), the overhead weight limits don’t apply; and if the overheads are full it doesn’t leave your side.
3. Leave 10% of your luggage space for what the journey has to offer.

That last one is actually something we’ll be exploring in the next installment of ‘Unpacked’, Traveler Tech’s own look at the how packing a bag can have deeper effects on your travels.