Julia! Thank you so much for all your helpful comments! I am working my way slowly through them and enjoying them a lot. It sounds like you indeed do some "serious badass adventure travel," and you have invaluable tips. I appreciate all these suggestions. If you ever write a separate piece on packing for adventure trips, I would very much welcome the link here in the comments! :D

For some context (which I edited out of the final draft for brevity's sake), I wrote this piece from the perspective of being someone who lives below the poverty line. Special, fancy gear and high-octane adventures tend to be well out of my reach; when I began traveling with a carry-on only (a €5 foldable rucksack from IKEA), it was out of necessity; I couldn't afford checked bags or cabs to/from airports. Most of my trips are of an admittedly low-key variety: snagging a €30 international flight / bus ticket to another European city (I'm based in Berlin.), and then having to find ways to soak up the vibe and stay comfortable while being severely limited with respect to spending. I wanted to ensure that similarly impoverished people had information on some of the workarounds that can make travel more comfortable and accessible than they might've previously assumed... but I forgot to specify that this packing list was primarily written for (and from!) that demographic. ;)

Hopefully, my future travels will hold a lot more freedom and flexibility; your suggestions will definitely come in handy, and I look forward to trying them out.Thank you again!