Pompous Rhombus posted:

I'll pop in in a week or two when my schedule clears up to post more contrarian bullshit/photo stuff, but:

A laundry bag is nice to have, especially if you're backpacking somewhere like Southeast Asia where you're typically farming out your laundering to someone else. It's also a great place to hide valuables in your room. My camera and/or laptop would go at the bottom of my laundry bag, itself inside my plain-jane military surplus duffle bag, which was locked.

There are a ton of things wrong with a military surplus bag for traveling (straps lack padding, deep and accessible only through the top, etc), but they hold a shitload, are tough as nails, and cheap as dirt. You're seldom walking long distances with your pack on your back in Southeast Asia anyways, so the comfort issue really isn't one. They stand out from Black Rolling Suitcase #263 at the baggage claim (throw some patches on it to differentiate from actual military ones if you're in the US) and don't scream "well-heeled tourist". They also wad up well; when I switched from regular backpacking to motorcycle touring, it went inside one of my saddlebags and didn't drag me down at all. I don't necessarily recommend them for everyone because there are more convenient and ergonomic options out there, but I've been using one since I was 19 and will probably continue to do so.