𝔉𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 🌱

Packing and preparation

6 min read

Exercise

Long-term travel, especially as a pedestrian, is no joke. Make sure you are ready to carry your backpack for significant distances, whether that be up a mountain or from one end of an airport to the other. I recommend going on walks with your pack during the weeks leading up to your trip, and slowly increasing the weight.

Picking a Bag

There’s a lot of guidance around this on the Internet, but here are the reasons I picked a Cotopaxi Allpa 42L:

  • Laptop pocket
  • Zipper pckets help with organization, lots of pockets
  • Opens suitcase-style for easy access to everything

UPDATE: I later dropped the Cotopaxi because it hurt my back, returning to my trust 40L Osprey backpack that’s taken me all over the world. Suitcase style is overrated because you end up having to take everything out anyway a lot of the time, and opening it up that way takes a lot of space. Keeping the stuff you need at the top of a normal backpack compartment is more efficient.

Packing & Gear Tips

Packing light is all about the mindset. Pack as light as you can get yourself to, especially when it comes to clothing. Most places have laundry available. (I brought laundry detergent and a folding bag I could use to do my own laundry, but I never actually needed it.) When I traveled in 2021, I wore everything for at least two days, and ended up doing laundry around every 9 days.

Pack clothes based on each location’s historical weather - plus a degree or two to account for global warming. When considering what to bring, layering is key. Think about how items can serve multiple roles - like a button-down shirt that can work at both a nice restaurant and a club, or a pair of shorts that doubles as swim trunks.

When you aren’t sure about something, remove it from your packing list. Don’t bring things that you “might” need. Certainly, when you are traveling the US or other European-style countries, there is no need to pack anything you aren’t going to use regularly, since you can buy anything you need. Cheap, replaceable things can be purchased or replaced easily.1 On a couple occasions when I needed something, or a restock, I had it shipped to my next stop.

The #1 thing to keep in mind is that unless you are backpacking through the Mongolian Steppe, the rest of the world is remarkably westernized, even the more remote parts. Most countries, especially cities have stores where we can buy things. Not every problem that we have to solve in our daily lives requires that we carry the solution with us at all times. For every problem you think you will encounter, analyze how much of a problem it is. If every day you dry your hair using a hairdryer, ask yourself: will where I’m going have hairdryers? If not, will I struggle if I can’t dry my hair every day? If the answers are “no, yes,” then by all means bring a hairdryer, but chances are, if you’re being honest, it’s not an actual problem. On the flip side, if the problem is “I am diabetic,” carrying your insulin is probably a good idea.

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 – {{< /rawhtml >}} [deleted] on Reddit (note: I replaced some ethnocentric language)

For a great guide that covers almost everything, I recommend reading through the entirety of OneBag.com. I also appreciated Jacob Hall’s tips.

Here are some more specific packing tips:

  • Bring just one bag, but pack a couple smaller (packable) bags inside for carrying food and other things. In 2021, I brought a packable tote and a packable backpack, and in trips since I have brought just the packable backpack.
  • Don’t bring an umbrella - just wear clothing that won’t be ruined in the rain, have a good rain shell, and bring a pack cover (my pack had one included) - EDIT, 2023: unless you are going to a professional conference someplace, say England, for a whole week. But you can always buy one if you need
  • Use packing cubes to keep things organized. And the ranger roll is a useful technique for larger times, like a rain jacket or blanket
  • Get cable wraps for all of your cables and keep them in a little pouch
  • Avoid liquids - I packed solid shampoo and body wash

Example Packing List

This was my 2021 packing list. Hopefully I didn’t forget anything.

Clothing:

  • 5 synthetic or merino wool t-shirts
  • 7 pairs of synthetic underwear (probably 1 more than I actually needed)
  • 6 pairs synthetic or wool ankle socks (probably 1 more than I actually needed)
  • 1 pair tech pants, medium weight
  • black denim jacket (heavy, annoying, but an adaptable piece that can work in more formal environments)
  • rain shell
  • lightweight merino sweatshirt
  • baseball cap (for days when I can’t shower)
  • merino wool baselayer leggings and longsleeve undershirt for colder environs
  • 1 pair log wool socks
  • 1 pair shorts
  • 1 button-up synthetic patterned shirt (for when more formal look is needed)
  • packing cubes
  • small compression laundry sack
  • flip flops (for hostel showers)
  • sleep mask
  • lock for hostel lockers

Hygeine/Health:

  • toothbrush
  • toothpaste
  • portable water flosser
  • rotary electric shaver
  • microfiber travel towel
  • nail clippers
  • solid shampoo and body wash, in Matador soap baggies
  • travel ibuprofen, dramamine, and allergy medicine
  • a few band-aids
  • small sunscreen
  • anything else you might need for your health, and for safe sex

Tech:

  • phone
  • phone dashboard mount (for rental cars - EDIT: so many cars have CarPlay that I don’t bring this anymore)
  • laptop and charger (I got a small, more portable charger partway through)
  • e-reader
  • bluetooth mouse
  • bluetooth noise-cancelling earbuds (useful both for music/pods and as ear plugs)
  • Apple wired headphones and headphone to lightning adaptor
  • USB C, microUSB, lightning
  • USB C hub (with HDMI)
  • power block

Other:

  • wallet w/ vaccine card (remember those? back in 2021 it was still essential…), credit cards
  • playing cards (I played solitaire in a bar one time)
  • backup cash

Things I brought but didn’t use:

  • ear plugs (not needed with my bluetooth earbuds…EDIT: used in 2023)
  • portable clothesline
  • Soak no-rinse laundry detergent
  • small Field Notes notebook - I just used my phone
  • reusable sandwich bags
  • a small roll of electrical tape

Things I would have brought if I was on the train more often:

  • warm packable blanket
  • combination luggage lock

Footnotes

  1. I ended up replacing my headphones, an Apple headphone adapter, and batteries for my electric shaver. I also purchased additional layers as the weather got colder. ↩

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