Stress Reduced Travel

The global pandemic has caused us to rethink a lot of things. Sports with no crowds. Interviews with no handshake. Restaurants with menus on your phone. Virtual graduations. Zoom birthday parties.

Travel has been one of things that needs rethinking. Travel used to be stressful for some people -crowded planes, tight connections, extra fees. Since the pandemic, these things have become easier. But they’ve been replaced by other worries… different kinds of stress.

This got me thinking… travel is supposed to be freeing and fun. It’s supposed to bring great experiences, adventures, connections, relationships, and accomplishments. As travel returns, we want to focus on these things… not the stress.

I had never thought before about backpacks and luggage as vehicles for stress reduction. But, they actually are. Consider:

• Modular luggage eliminates the stress of checking a bag, or being forced to gate-check your belongings.
• Packing cubes that help you to remember items and are sized to fit the bag perfectly reduce the stress of packing.
• Having a backpack that straps to the seat in front of you and becomes a workstation reduces the stress of not having your items easily available, and gives you the legroom you need to relax.
• Expandable backpacks and luggage reduce stress if you accumulate things on your trip.
• Intuitive organization and design reduces the stress of trying to find something during your trip.
• Traveling with only one bag helps you to lug less, and enjoy more!

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that almost every major attribute of our products is a stress reducer. Water resistant fabrics – less stress if it rains. Lockable zippers – less worry about theft. TSA Checkpoint-Friendly design – less fumbling around at security. Unzip your backpack and go – no need to lug extra stuff around.

With this in mind, we’ve started to think about how to design products for further stress reduction during travel. More on that in a future blog post! For now, relax! Focus on your adventure, and we’ll take some of the stress!

Safe Travels,

Dave and the Onli Travel team