Man Circles the Globe Without Luggage

Aug. 20, 2010— -- Rolf Potts won't be worrying about luggage fees or lost bags as he travels around the world over the next six weeks. That's because he isn't bringing any luggage, not even a carry-on.

"Not even a man-purse or a fanny pack," Potts told ABC News before heading out on his journey this weekend. "Just things in my pockets."

The 39-year-old travel writer from Kansas departs Saturday from New York, flies to London and then heads overland through Western Europe to Morocco. From there he will fly to Cairo, then South Africa and then Bangkok. From there he will travel overland again to Singapore, fly to New Zealand then Los Angeles and finish up on land in New York on Oct. 2.

"All without a scrap of luggage," Potts proudly adds.

He is out to prove "that you don't need lots of things with you to have amazing travel -- and life -- experiences."

"I've always been big on traveling light," he said, normally carrying just a small backpack that can fit in the overhead bin of an airplane, plus a daypack. "This is just the ultimate manifestation and test of that habit."

Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter

So what is he bringing?

Potts will wear one set of clothes: a T-shirt under a long-sleeve shirt, a travel vest, cargo pants, socks and underwear.

In his pockets -- bolstered by the cargo pants -- will be: A toothbrush, small tube of toothpaste, passport, credit and debit cards, iPod and bluetooth keyboard, an extra t-shirt, two extra socks, two extra pairs of underwear, glasses, contact lens solution, lip balm, a small tube of sunscreen, a small digital camera, pocket notebook and pen, a 2-ounce bottle concentrated detergent, a 2-ounce bottle of multipurpose soap and a handkerchief.

"I can fit all of that into my vest without even using the big cargo pockets in my pants," he said.

And he says he'll still have plenty of room there for souvenirs.

Rolf Potts is Traveling Without Luggage

The trip is being sponsored by ScotteVest, which makes travel-clothing with lots of pockets, and BootsNall, an online travel community. Potts and blogger Justin Glowplan to update the website along the way, posting stories, photos and videos.

Potts said he's been traveling since age 6 when he went from Kansas to Colorado.

"I was amazed by the sight of mountains, my first," he said. "I didn't make it overseas until I was 26, but in the past decade-plus I've been to nearly 70 countries around the world."

He has a home in Kansas but spends six to eight months a year on the road.

Some of his exotic destinations include: South Sudan, Ethiopia's Omo Valley, central Laos, Mongolia, southern Burma, southern Chile and central Australia.

Now Potts plans to jet all the way around the world, this time without any bags.

"This is an idea that goes back to the initial travel-dreams of my childhood," he said. "When I was a kid dreaming of faraway places, I didn't imagine what I would pack -- I imagined what I would do."