In my first photographic trip to Japan, rather than take suitcases, I packed everything I needed into my backpack for maximum mobility and foot travel. In those days my comfort limit for my backpack weight was about 70 pounds. With this in mind I packed a maximum of 20-pounds of clothing plus the pack itself, leaving me 50-pounds for gear and film. In my upcoming trip to the West Coast, I'll have a much more capable gear kit that weigh less than three pounds.