YouTube Video Comments

One of the great things about Youtube is receiving comments from viewers. It is fantastic to know we helped someone with his or her future travels. However, sometimes the comments can be off-kilter and we have no problem taking comments down if we think they may lead other viewers to make bad decisions on their trips. All over YouTube, there are millions of viewers with way too much time on their hands who enjoy writing something that makes no sense or might confuse someone just for kicks.

For instance, someone said Krystin was wrong in her video about packing by saying that heavy items go in the bottom of the backpack. However, every hiking guide we have read say that heavy items should go in the bottom third of the pack, but most importantly as close to your back as possible. Maybe we should have elaborated on this fact, but we provided the general rule in the time allotted. We would hate for anyone to read that comment and think they should carry heavy items at the top of the pack, which could potentially cause physical injury to that person during their travels.

Everything in our videos and on our Web site is the advice we would give friends and family who asked us a question about our travels. We are not experts, we do not have a Master's degree in international travel, we do not get paid to do this and we do not (unfortunately) get to spend months each year traveling the world. However, we have lived in England for two years, taken a couple long backpacking trips throughout Europe and been on numerous smaller trips around the continent as well. We have read countless books and blogs on the subject. Our goal in every post and every video is to help people make the most of their once-in-a-lifetime European backpacking adventure safely and while spending the least amount of money possible.

One recent comment on Scott's video about packing led us to write this post, because not only was it full of bad advice, but it also completely questioned what we are about at Red Wine. We thought that the best way to handle this comment would be to leave it up and to direct visitors here to this post where we have the chance to address it in detail.

This person said: “Jeans?! How are you supposed to clean & dry those while staying in Hostels? This method of packing is serious overkill, and not practical at all. I understand this is aimed at young Americans who are in massive groups spending too much & traveling on trains, but seriously. You don't need half that stuff.”

We’ll tackle our responses to this post one step at a time.

1. Jeans? We are not sure what else people are supposed to wear on their legs in cooler weather... Perhaps we could have also said khakis? The only pants Scott owns are jeans and dress slacks, so he’ll go with jeans any day of the week. Perhaps this person thinks it's better to wear shorts all the time, which is fine if you are always in a warm climate, but the weather in Europe fluctuates from country to country. As for how to clean and dry clothes in hostels, the answer is simple. Most hostels and nearly every city in the world has a Laundromat to do laundry. The last thing on our mind would be to wash jeans in a sink, as they would take ages to dry which is completely impractical when traveling from city to city. Maybe this person thinks going to a camping store and buying those expensive quick dry/breathable/waterproof pants is a good idea, but we think there is no reason to ever buy anything you don’t already own for a trip – except a backpack and passport, of course.

2. Overkill and impractical? Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but we think this description is quite unjustified. We are both comfortable with the amount of clothes shown in our videos for a five to six-week trip. We only need to do laundry every two weeks, but people should feel free to take half the amount of clothes if they have the time to wash them twice as often. We would rather be out exploring a city than waiting for our clothes to dry. Scott has no problem wearing underwear twice, and even three times on some occasions (to Krystin's utter dismay), so if that grosses you out, take a pair for each day. Some people stink or sweat a lot, so they might need to bring along a couple extra shirts. Everyone is different.

3. Massive groups? What in Scott's backpack told this person that he was traveling in a group is beyond us. Scott has done a lot of traveling, but it has either been on his own or with one other person - namely, Krystin. In fact, if he was traveling with a group, he would get to pack LESS, as groups can share certain resources on trips.

4. Spending too much? The motto of "Red Wine" is to save every penny possible while traveling. If Scott was holding up flashy expensive travel gear instead of his t-shirts, ripped shorts and other modest travel gear, we could understand this comment. As it stands, the most expensive stuff in Scott's video are his backpack, his shoes and his camera... because those three things make or break a trip for him. We endorse sleeping on airport benches, picnicking in parks, and finding the free stuff in every city to pinch every penny on your trip. We have only gotten to travel as much as we have by being super-thrifty and making what some may consider sacrifices (warm beds, eating out) that ultimately make our trips unique and memorable.

The bottom line is that we are here to help and give advice from our personal experience. If we give a specific piece of advice, that little pearl of wisdom came from something that directly happened to us and is always backed up by research that we do so that you don't have to. If you disagree with something we have to say, please contact us directly. We are always hear to answer all questions and address any concerns you may have. Safe travels!