Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Light-packer Guide: Globetrotting on Bare Essentials is a nonfiction travel prep book written by Renata Lanzoni. Lanzoni has been fortunate in having had opportunities to travel both for her work and for pleasure. She’s visited more than 40 countries. One thing that has stood out for her during her travels is the importance of traveling light and bringing only the most essential items. In this book, she discusses important reasons why one should not bring valuables with them, including that camera you love so much and explains how cheaper alternatives are a lot less painful to lose. Lanzoni shows how carrying too much not only puts a damper on your travel enjoyment, but it can actually impact your physical health and lead to extra costs when traveling by air. Travelling light gives you mobility, lessens the chances you will be targeted by robbers or muggers, and makes it infinitely easier to keep your stuff safe while on the road. Lanzoni provides you with guidelines depending on the length of your trip and any climate considerations. She recommends that you forgo packing items you can easily get while on your trip and sets out parameters for planning your basic essentials. She even includes a flow-chart for making the more difficult decisions on what to leave home. For those who use a backpack, she gives tips on recommended sizes and desirable features, such as compression straps and mesh pockets. She provides the reader with a list of essentials and gives instructions on packing everything most efficiently.

Renata Lanzoni’s book caught my eye as I’ve been planning a car-camping trip and wondering just how much stuff I should bring...and what could fit in my car. Her guide is informative, well-written and fun to read. It’s also brilliant. As I read, I started mentally discarding items I was planning on bringing and decided to opt for a new lightweight compression sack instead of my heavy duffle bag. Her idea of using a smartphone to stand in for a computer, maps and reading material is sound, and her choices for clothing are well-thought-out and eminently practical. Finally, my eyes lit up when I found her Lists in the back of the book differentiated by gender. It was the list I had been putting off creating for weeks now, all written down for me and even better than I could have done myself. The Light-packer Guide: Globetrotting on Bare Essentials is most highly recommended.