How He Packed for a Trip Around the World

The following is Mike's take on packing for a 12 month trip. For Grace's perspective and to find out what she's been carrying, check out her post here. 

There is nothing more fun than getting ready for a trip around the world. The anticipation, preparation, and the epic unknown that is quickly approaching make for a thrilling combination. If you are like me, you have a wicked multi-tabbed Excel sheet in the works, with a tab that reads something like “Pack List” or “What to Pack.”

Before leaving for our trip, mostly for fun, I would Google things like ‘what to pack for a trip around the world’ and then try to put together what I considered to be the best of all worlds. After 11 months on the road I have disregarded quite a bit of it and sent a good bit else home. Below is what is left. Unless you count the surfboard and board bag I picked up last month in Australia, but we will leave that out for now.

Bags & Storage

Everyone has different opinions on what type of bags you should bring with you for long term travel. My original thought was to try and fit everything into one single bag that is as lightweight as possible. That philosophy shifted over time to two smaller bags one with all your important stuff like camera, laptop, medicine that will always be with you and weigh under 7 Kilos. The second bag will have everything else, extra shoes, clothes, etc. This way when you inevitably get to an airport and they finally force you to check a bag you don’t start stressing.

The other key is to have some type of packing cubes of different sizes for clothes, underwear, jackets, charging cables, etc. This way you can keep the bags compartmentalized and packing and unpacking becomes quick and easy.

Lastly, I brought an ultra-light dry bag to put my camera in. I also chose to pick up a lightweight Billabong dry backpack that I could use for day trips. When empty, it fit into into my Ketly backpack without a problem.  

• 1 x Kelty Redwing 44 Backpack
• 1 x Dakine Day Pack
• 1 x North Face Basecamp Travel Canister (Toiletries)
• 1 x Billabong Dry Pack
• 1 x Ultralight Dry Camera Bag
• Eagle Creek Packing Cubes

Clothing

Once you accept the inevitable lack of variety in your wardrobe, clothing ends up being the simplest part of a traveler's day to day. If you pack smart, it will all fit into a couple small packing cubes and leave plenty of room in your pack. With the help of a good lightweight down jacket and some clever layering you can also be comfortable in weather down to the freezing point. Although the majority of our trip was spent in warm weather which really helps cut down on the clutter.

A couple of caveats to this list: My nicest outfit was a pair of patagonia black rock pants and a short sleeve button down shirt, so no clubbing for this guy. That doesn’t include my finest pair of shoes which are dirty sneakers. Also if you are like me, expect to swap out some clothes along the way. Shirts end up faded with holes in them and shorts stop fitting after you shed a few pounds of working man's weight.

Whenever we were in a tropical beach area such as Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia, the below felt like too much clothing. But when you are on a hike in New Zealand and its cold and starts to rain, the jackets really start to come in handy.

As far as laundry goes, we started the trip with a sink stopper and some detergent. We would wash clothes in the sink then dry outside, which worked pretty well in the dry heat of Africa. Although in Southeast Asia things take forever to dry. It was not long before I realized paying a few dollars for perfectly folded, nice smelling clothes was damn near the best way to spend money on the road. And once you start looking, you realize there is no shortage of people willing to wash your clothes on the cheap all over the world. Just make sure everything can handle high heat and an aggressive tumble.

Below is my optimal clothing set up after 11 months on the road.

(Upper Body)

• 2 x Wool T-Shirts
• 2 x Tank-Top
• 1 x Button Down Collared Short Sleeve Shirt
• 1 x Micro Fleece Pullover
• 1 x Rain Jacket / Windbreaker
• 1 x Mountain Hardwear UL Down Jacket
• 1 x Patagonia Hat

(Lower Body)

• 1 x Patagonia Rock Pants
• 1 x Lulu Lemon Kung Fu Pants
• 1 x RipCurl Boardwalk Shorts
• 1 x RipCurl Bathing Suit
• 4 x Exofficio Boxer Briefs
• 3 x Smartwool Running Socks

(Shoes)

• 1 x Lightweight Sneaker
• 1 x Chaco Sandals
• 1 x Cheap Flip Flops
  
  * UL - Ultralight

Toiletry Bag

This is pretty straight forward. My only advice is keep it simple and get a quality bag to keep this stuff in and everything else out. There is nothing worse than toothpaste all over the inside of your backpack. The beard trimmer is extremely handy as well, quick trim every couple of weeks and you're golden. I don’t miss shaving every day.

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Beard Trimmer & Charger
• Eye Mask
• Ear Plugs
• Fingernail Clippers
• Tweezers
• Tiger Balm

Technology

To each his own when it comes to what gadgets you are willing to lug around the world with you. One thing is for sure: if you are a photography junkie like me, your backpack is going to get a lot heavier. You need your camera, a couple of lenses, a computer to edit those photos and hard drives to store them all on. You are talking and extra 10lbs of weight right there. I debated bringing the camera gear for months before I left. My opinion now is that it is definitely worth the effort but try to go as light as possible. I decided to trade in my Canon Rebel about seven months into the trip for a much lighter mirrorless option and I have not looked back since.

I could write an entire blog post on data protection, hard drives, challenges with cloud storage abroad, in fact I probably will. For now know we kept two 1TB hard drives in two separate bags with all photos backed up at all times. I also bought another harddrive about eight months into the trip, loaded all the photos onto it, and sent it home.

The Kindle Paperwhite is underrated. Unlimited variety of books, small form factor, battery lasts for weeks and no glare even on the brightest day.

It is probably pointless to mention the benefits of an iphone or any smartphone considering the entire world is addicted to them. But I will reaffirm that it is still the most valuable device I have on the road. You can pick up a SIM card with lots of data for cheap in almost every country in the world. Which means instant access to internet for planning, booking travel and activities, vetting a restaurant on tripadvisor and so on and so on. Without coverage you can still use GPS map apps like maps.me to get directions everywhere. Not to mention it’s a source of music, audiobooks, banking, social media all with almost zero weight repercussions.  Enough said.

• 1 x World Power Adapter
• Iphone 6 with Lifeproof Case
• Macbook Pro 13" with Power Brick
• Bose In-ear Headphones
• Sony A6300 Mirrorless Camera with Extra Battery
• Tamron 18-200mm Lens
• Sony 35mm F2.8 Prime Lens
• Travel Tripod
• 1 x 128gb USB Flash Drive Full of Movies
• 2 x 1TB Seagate Hard Drives
• Cable Bag for assorted charging cables
• GoPro with Red Filter, Handle, 2 extra batteries
• Amazon Kindle
• Suunto D4i Dive Watch

Accessories

The only thing in the below list that we could not replace (except for in the remotest areas of the world) is the passport and maybe all the signatures in the dive log books. The UL travel towels were used almost every day so don’t forget one. No stress on the rest.

I added the Charles Schwab ATM card to the list because I can not imagine traveling without it. They refund all ATM transactions fees anywhere in the world. Which means you don’t need to carry a ton of cash with you. You also don’t need to worry about getting ripped off at money changers which are notorious for bad exchange rates and scams. There were very few places we visited this year even in Africa that didn’t have an ATM somewhere within range. And when that was the case you made sure to bring enough cash which you got at the last ATM fee free.

• Passport
• 10 x Passport Photos
• UL Headlamp
• UL Towel
• Nalgene
• Travel Lock/Cable
• Sunglasses
• Permanent Marker and Pen
• batteries (3xAAA, 3xAA)
• Paracord Rope / Clothes Line
• Dive Logbook
• Bug Spray
• Sunscreen
• Sink Stopper and Laundry Detergent
• Charles Schwab Checking Card

First Aid & Medicine

This is the stuff you hope not to need very often. The below looks like a lot but it all fits into two small pouches and I would not travel long term without them. Often times it’s the simple stuff that saves the day though. Things like Advil, tweezers, Neosporin and bandaids. You would not think it but the thermometer is really helpful in not jumping the gun on antibiotics or vice versa it gives you that last bit of confirmation that it’s time to eat some pills.

As far as medicine goes, sad to say Imodium will be your best friend when traveling in places like Southeast Asia. Also a prescription for a sleeping pill like Ambien will keep you sane when you need a time out. (This will make sense eventually.)

I can’t tell you how many times I started taking our antimalarial pills then just stopped for whatever reason. I paid extra to get Malarone which had no side effects and works almost everywhere in the world. I would spend the extra bucks to get it again if I had to.

Medicine Pouch

• Antibiotics - Ciprofloxacin 500mg - Africa
• Antibiotics - Azithromycin 250mg - SE Asia
• Antimalarial - Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone)
• Sleeping Pill - Ambien 5mg
• Laxative - Sennosides 25mg
• Acid Reducer - Ranitidine 150mg
• Anti-Diarrea - Loperamide HCI 2mg
• Antihistamine - Diphenhydramine HCI 25mg
• Anti-Nausea/Motion Sickness - Meclizine HCI 25mg
• Electrolyte Tabs
• Neosporin
• Thermometer
• Yellow Fever Card

First Aid Pouch

• Bandaids (Large, Medium, Small)
• Survival Bracelet
• Advil
• Moleskin
• Medical tape
• Zip Lock Bags
• Rubber Gloves
• Neosporin
• Eye Drops
• Wound Clot
• 3ml Water syringe
• Sutures
• Gauze
• Alcohol wipes
• Steri strips
• Bandage Scissors
• Q-Tips

Some of the stuff that I sent home, got rid of or would like to toss:

• 1 x Long Sleeve Button Down Shirt
• 1 x Beanie
• 1 x Smartwool Long Underwear
• 1 x REI Event Rain Pants
• JBL Clip Mini Speakers
• UV Water Sterilizer Pen
• Notebook
• Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Pack Cover
• Sewing Kit
• Premium Silk Travel Bed Liner
• Hacky Sack

How She Packed for a Trip Around the World

The following is Grace's take on packing for a 12 month trip around the world. For Mike's perspective and to find out what he's been carrying, check out his post here. 
 

When we first talked about creating a website to chronicle our travels, we knew that this post (the one you're reading) would be one of the most necessary and desired posts. So, why did it take 11 months to write? 

Could I have posted a list of everything I was bringing before we left? Sure. And I almost did, but then those last few weeks were chaotic, full of planning, buying more gear, and saying goodbye until the last moments, so I never got around to it.

The silver lining is that now I can assure you I really know what it takes to live out of a backpack for a year. After all, I actually did it. So I think I can call myself an expert. 

I had never truly backpacked before, so to figure out what to pack, I did a lot of research, reading blog posts just like this one. (Mike helped too, and deserves credit for all his trial testing. He had his pack, with nearly everything that's in it to this day, packed and ready to go a full six months before we left.) 

I packed conservatively but lightly, and tried to follow my head as much as my gut. Now, 11 months in, I'm proud to be able to say that almost all my assumptions about clothes, gear, medicine, and so on were proven correct. The following breaks down what I used most, what has lasted the entire year and what was discarded somewhere along the way. 

This is much more than a post about what I packed for a year-long trip. It's a guide for anyone needing to pack for a year in one small backpack and not lose his or her mind. 

So, here it is, what’s in my pack:

A note about clothes: Because we were going to be traveling almost exclusively in warm climates, we didn't need to pack for four seasons. However, we did need some clothing for cooler destinations (like autumn in New Zealand) as well as hiking at high altitudes. The key to this? LAYERS. The Mountain Hardwear lightweight down jacket was key. Laying that on top of a long sleeve shirt and then putting a rain jacket shell on top was as insulated as wearing a ski jacket. 

Clothes

• North Face rain jacket
• Mountain Hardwear down jacket 
• Columbia fishing hat (yes, the one from all those safari photos)
• 2 pants (loose hiking pants and snug yoga pants)
• 3 shorts (swapped out one pair for another halfway through) 
• 3 tank tops (a few lost, a few gained along the way)
• 2 dresses (picked one up in Thailand)
• 1 long sleeve shirt
• 3 short sleeve shirts
• 7 pairs of underwear
• 2 bathing suits
• 2 bras
• 4 pairs of socks

Shoes

• Nike sneakers
• Chaco sandals
• Sam Edelman flat sandals
• Pair of rubber flip flops (acquired in Koh Tao, Thailand)

Everything Else

• PASSPORT* (duh)
• Laptop*
• iPad*
• iPhone*
• Necessary charging cords and cables*
• Medicine bag (this included antimalarials, prescription antibiotics in case of bacterial infections, other prescription meds including Ambien, as well as ibuprofen, Imodium)*
• Back-up wallet with spare cards*
• Cheap digital watch*
• Mask and snorkel
• Eagle Creek bra wallet (with license and primary credit card) 
• Makeup - one tube of mascara, one tube of concealer, an eyeliner (I haven’t run out because I only wear makeup about one day per week, on average)* 
• First aid kit (we built it ourselves)
• Sea to Summit microfiber travel towel 
• Silk sheet
• Laundry stuff (sink stopper, small bottles of high concentrate detergent)
• Toiletry bag - all shower/bathroom necessities, including a toothbrush
• In a small Tumi packing cell, I had a few miscellaneous items including batteries, safety pins, and a small sewing kit

* indicates that the item was kept in my second, smaller backpack, which was often my carry on when the bigger bag needed to be checked. 

Lessons Learned

What I Ditched
Luckily, I fine-tuned the hell out of my stuff before we left the US, so I didn't have to get rid of a lot along the way. Here's what I realized I could live without: 

• one pair of shorts that I wasn’t wearing as much
• one t-shirt that I wasn’t wearing and didn’t need 
• a tank top that was stained and stretched out
• a cheap tank top purchased in Thailand ($2) that I wore for a few months

Acquired Along the Way: 

• Sarong in Seychelles
• A maxi dress in Cape Town that I wore a lot but ditched in Melbourne
• A dress/cover up in Chiang Mai that I wear all the time
• Diving mask and snorkel in Koh Tao
• Bathing suit in Ao Nang when ours were at cleaners (sadly I lost it in Raglan, NZ)
• In Bali: sarong, another cheap coverup, and baseball hat in Uluwatu  
• When mom was with us, she refreshed my wardrobe a bit: green shorts, two tank tops, a loose long sleeve pullover, new bathing suit to replace black one
• Trail running sneakers in NZ that I wore for a week before getting a stress fracture in my foot and then sent home with my mom when she visited us in Australia

This doesn't include the baseball hat that I bought and lost in Cape Town, or the sun hat I bought in Thailand and then there away in Singapore. What can I say? I have bad luck with hats. 

Of all the items gained, the only things I still have are the cover ups, sarongs, hat, flip flops, clothes my mom bought (thank god for that wardrobe refresher), and my mask and snorkel (important for diving).

The Essentials

Packing cells are your new best friend. They make packing and organization much, much easier. Our favorite brand is Eagle Creek but there are a few companies out there to choose from. 

Not surprisingly, the things we used most were the clothes, the electronics, and the medicine. 

My biggest realization looking back is that I wasn’t prepared for the tropical, vacation-like destinations when you’re living in a bathing suit and need lightweight clothes. All my initial clothing choices were better suited for flying, trekking, tours, and keeping me covered so as to not offend anyone or attract unwanted attention. In the end, I added a few items that were more day-to-day and cheap enough that I could leave them behind if necessary. 

And then there are the things you’ll inevitably gain along the way. Even though we've avoided buying and souvenirs or mementos, somehow we still ended up with some. Luckily, they're small knick knacks, like the the three bracelets and hand-sewn bags we were suckered into buying from our hiking guides in Sapa, Vietnam. You'll also have to restock sunscreen, toiletries, etc. as you go. Definitely don't try to bring a year's worth supply! 

Finally, it's important to have room in your bag! Do not leave with your pack filled to the brim because that means you have too much stuff, you won't have room for the new stuff you will inevitably acquire and you’ll be forced to throw something away anyway.  

What we didn't use as much as we thought we would:

The laundry kit we brought was used but after a while, we asked ourselves, does the few times we used it pay off for bringing it? it’s small and light, so it's not a huge deal. But, in most places, you can get your laundry done for next to nothing ($1-2) or find machines. Not to mention that there are almost always washers and dryers in Airbnbs. Only in the very remote areas is it necessary to be able to do it yourself. 

Both of the things I brought "just in case I need to dress up" got very little use. I only wore the Sam Edelman sandals about three times and, as stated earlier, the makeup comes out once a week, maybe. Still, neither of them took up much room, so if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably still bring them. 

The silk sheet is one thing I really never needed to use, although I did sleep in it at a few hostels and when we camped in the dead heat of Arizona in August.

All in all, there wasn't much we felt was a waste to bring along. Chock it up to the luxury of time for planning and research. 

My pack at the end of the trip, compared to the beginning: 

Interestingly, a lot of the items that were with me at the beginning have made it all the way around the world and back again, while the items gained have been quicker to vanish or be left behind. 

I'm proud that my pack today looks pretty much the same as it did on the day that we left. Of course, it's a bit beaten up and much dirtier - riding around on dozens of baggage claim will do that to a bag. But it's still with me, which means it was never lost or stolen. It held up during rigorous travel circumstances, keeping all the loot inside safe and secure. 

Overall, I'd recommend the Deuter Women's ACT Lite 45 + 10 Pack to anyone! It's a great bag that has served me well. 

The first time I tried on my pack in REI! (They fill it with bags of sand so you can tell if it fits correctly when it's full.)

If you have any questions about how I packed or need some advice in planning your own adventure, please email me: theyearbetween@gmail.com. 

BONUS: click here to see photos of items in my pack on our "What's in Grace's Pack" Pinterest board