Ahhh... the packing list. Every self-respecting travel blog has a page listing every single item packed for the journey. Below is our attempt to do just that.
Note the total baggage weight (from the table below) for each of us is the total weight of EVERYTHING we brought. This weight is spread out among our "main" and "day" packs. However, on a typical travel day, we are wearing a decent amount of our clothes and our heaviest shoes (our hiking boots). Therefore, the combined weight of our main and day packs will typically weigh 4 or 5 pounds less than the total baggage weight shown.
We both have roughly 60 liter packs which are about half full. At half their capacities and with the straps cinched down, our main packs are small enough to pass as carry-on luggage on plane flights. Our day packs are small enough to fit under the seat of an airplane, too... so no checked baggage for us when flying.
As part of our pack planning, we ensured our day packs could fold flat (or roll up) inside of our main packs, so we have the option of carrying everything in our main packs, when required. Though this is an option for us, we have yet to actually use it. On travel days by plane, the main pack is the carry on and the day bag fits under the seat. On travel days by bus, our main pack goes under the bus and our day bag will sit with us inside the bus, which will contain our valuables.
So, we could have gotten by with smaller packs... maybe a 35L or 40L pack would do. But, having half-full, 60 liter packs allows us room to rent camping gear and add food, etc. for longer 3 -7+ day treks when required. Most hostels have free baggage storage while you are away, so we typically leave our day packs behind. On shorter 1 - 3 day treks, we can sometimes leave our main pack behind and just utilize our day packs. I've read where some believe if you have a larger pack, you will eventually fill it with something - so bring the smallest pack you can manage. However, this has not been the case for us. We really don't want more "stuff" to weigh us down.
We frequently carry food (dry-goods) in our pack, as well. We will typically have food we never got a chance to cook prior to leaving for our next destination. Having a half empty pack lets us pack the unused food for later, helping us save on food costs. Mostly, this would be items like a box of pasta, garlic, a bag of salt, crackers, etc.
We read a lot of travel blogs to get ideas on what (and what not) to pack. Thanks to sites such as Never Ending Voyage, Nomadic Matt, Go Backpacking and others, we were able to get a pretty good idea of what we would need and made modifications based on our specific needs.
Kenny's Packing List
| Item | Weight (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Packs | ||
| Primary Backpack: Gregory Z65 | 3.86 | |
| Gregory medium backpack raincover | 0.22 | |
| Daybag: FStop Guru w/small pro ICU | 3.30 | |
| FStop Guru rain cover | 0.18 | |
| 2 large Eagle Creek packing cubes (for clothes, etc.) | 0.18 | |
| 1 medium Eagle Creek packing cube (for water purifier and other odds and ends) | 0.03 | |
| 1 small Eagle Creek packing cube (for electronic odds and ends) | 0.01 | |
| 7.78 | ||
| Clothing | ||
| T shirts: 2 | 0.33 | |
| Short sleeve button-up shirts: 1 | 0.24 | |
| Long sleeve button-up shirts: 1 | 0.48 | |
| Wool, mid-weight, long-sleeve shirt: 1 | 0.44 | |
| Nylon pants: 2 | 1.65 | |
| Bathing Suit (doubles as shorts): 1 | 0.44 | |
| Socks: 3 (1 long, heavy-weight wool and 2 short, light weight wool) | 0.33 | |
| Underwear: 4 | 0.44 | |
| Long underwear (wool) bottoms: 1 | 0.55 | |
| Hiking Boots | 3.30 | |
| Chacos (sandals) | 1.98 | |
| Flip Flops | 0.99 | |
| North Face Down Jacket | 1.10 | |
| Rain Shell | 0.66 | |
| 12.93 | ||
| Toiletries | ||
| Clear, zippered toiletry bag | ||
| Travel toothbrush | ||
| Mini hairbrush | ||
| Travel-sized deodorant | ||
| Razor | ||
| Spare razor-blades | ||
| Travel-sized sunblock (SPF 50+) | ||
| Travel-sized shave oil | ||
| Soap | ||
| 0.70 | ||
| Camera Gear | ||
| DSLR body, 4 lenses, 4 x 16GB memory cards, 2 batteries, tripod, battery charger, accessories, etc. | 10.59 | |
| 10.59 | ||
| Electronics | ||
| 2 TB USB 3.0 portable harddrive and USB 3 cable | 0.51 | |
| Small hand-full of electric outlet adapters (one for each country)... except the U.S. | 0.13 | |
| USB 3.0 multi-card reader | 0.20 | |
| Electronic water purifier | 0.36 | |
| 1.20 | ||
| Misc | ||
| LED Head lamp | 0.33 | |
| Small notepad and pen | 0.24 | |
| Small towel | 0.22 | |
| Small travel towel | 0.06 | |
| Silk sheets | 0.33 | |
| A zippered drug bag... ibuprofen, benadryl, etc. | 0.88 | |
| Money belt, passports, debit & credit cards, driver's licence, vaccination cards | 0.22 | |
| One 13-gallon garbage bag (for wrapping camera compartment of daypack if rain is really intense) | 0.05 | |
| Small camera cleaning kit | 0.26 | |
| 2.59 | ||
| Kenny's Total Baggage Weight: | 35.79 |
Laura's Packing List
| Item | Weight (lbs) | Total Weight (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| Packs | ||
| Primary Backpack: Deuter ACT Lite 60+10 SL | 3.75 | |
| Deuter backpack raincover | 0.22 | |
| Daybag: Gregory Mywok | 1.5 | |
| 2 large Eagle Creek packing cubes (for clothes, etc.) | 0.18 | |
| 1 medium Eagle Creek packing cube | 0.03 | |
| 1 small Eagle Creek packing cube | 0.01 | |
| 5.69 | ||
| Clothing | ||
| Short sleeve shirts: 2 | 0.38 | |
| Long sleeve shirts: 3 | 0.78 | |
| Wool, micro-weight, long-sleeve shirt: 1 | 0.31 | |
| Wool, mid-weight, long-sleeve shirt: 1 | 0.38 | |
| Tank tops: 2 | 0.31 | |
| Pants: 2 | 1.69 | |
| Shorts: 1 | 0.31 | |
| Skirts: 1 | 0.50 | |
| Dress: 1 | 0.44 | |
| Bathing suit and rash guard shirt: 1 | 0.25 | |
| Underwear: 4 | 0.19 | |
| Sport bras: 3 | 0.19 | |
| Socks: 3 (2 long, mid-weight hikers and 1 short, light-weight hiker) | 0.22 | |
| Long underwear (wool) bottoms: 1 | 0.25 | |
| Warm hat: 1 | 0.05 | |
| Thin, liner gloves: 1 | 0.05 | |
| Hiking Boots | 1.88 | |
| Chacos (sandals) | 1.50 | |
| Flip Flops | 0.38 | |
| Warm Jacket | 1.00 | |
| Rain Shell | 0.69 | |
| 11.75 | ||
| Toiletries | ||
| Clear, zippered toiletry bag | ||
| Travel toothbrush | ||
| Toothpaste | ||
| Dental floss | ||
| Travel-sized moisturizer | ||
| Tinted face sunscreen | ||
| Tweezers | ||
| Moisturizing eye drops | ||
| Nail file | ||
| Nail clippers | ||
| Shampoo | ||
| Mini hairbrush | ||
| Travel-sized deodorant | ||
| Razor | ||
| Shampoo | ||
| Hair ties | ||
| 1.21 | ||
| Camera Gear | ||
| Sony point and shoot portable camera, memory cards, battery charger, extra battery, etc. | 0.56 | |
| 0.56 | ||
| Electronics | ||
| 13" Macbook Air, battery charger and neoprene soft case | 4.17 | |
| Kindle Fire and battery charger (does not include charger) | 0.91 | |
| 512 GB portable harddrive and USB cable | 0.33 | |
| 5.41 | ||
| Misc | ||
| LED head lamp | 0.33 | |
| Small notepad and pen | 0.24 | |
| Small towel | 0.22 | |
| Small travel towel | 0.06 | |
| Silk sheets | 0.33 | |
| First-aid kit | 0.11 | |
| Camel-bak 2-liter bladder | 0.04 | |
| Copies of passports and medical traveler's insurance cards | 0.05 | |
| Combination lock, Small TSA lock, Small TSA lock with 3 foot cable | 0.44 | |
| Compressable shoulder bag | 0.18 | |
| Travel purse | 0.66 | |
| Portable clothes line and universal sink stopper | 0.18 | |
| 2.84 | ||
| Laura's Total Baggage Weight | 27.46 |
I'm wondering how often you get to do laundry with that small amount of clothing. Weekly?
Hey Katie!
I'll be honest here... we wash our clothes a lot less frequently being on the road. Since we brought along a universal sink stopper, we are able to wash underwear when we need to and they will dry overnight. But, our pants and shirts will typically get several uses before getting washed.
How often we do laundry primarily depends on our activities. If we are in a colder climate and are taking it easy, we can go for a week or more. However, even when doing some 2 or 3 day hikes, if in colder weather, we still may go the same length of time. We wear a lot of nylon pants and wool tops (both short and long-sleeve), which do a pretty amazing job of quickly drying and holding back odor... well at least we think so. I guess it couldn't hurt to ask our fellow travelers if they agree. ;)
My guess is when we get into warmer weather, we will need to do laundry more often (or swap out some cold weather clothing for additional t-shirts).
No Death Star Droid?!
Wow, Dan! It probably took me a full minute to figure out the "Death Star Droid" reference.
** For anyone else reading this, in a much older post on packing, I had carefully placed a Start Wars action figure in one of the pictures.
I never thought anyone would notice it - more of a joke, of sorts. However, because you noticed it, I think you deserve to win some sort of prize. What kind of prize - I have no idea. But, you definitely deserve something. Maybe a close-up shot of the Death Star Droid? ;)
I cant believe thats it.....sound sooooo good to me. Do you guys feel like your missing anything more than you thought you would?
Colette,
As far as packing, I think I can use one additional T-shirt and be pretty happy at the moment. In every picture of me until the trip is over, I'll be wearing mostly the same thing. But, I think it an extremely small price to pay.
* Sorry if I misunderstood your question. You may have meant it more generally... not just in the packing sense(?).