Skip to Content

What’s In My Backpack?

Traveling lightly, but warmly, in Switzerland

Traveling lightly, but warmly, in Switzerland

I must admit, I look at the details of my post about what I took on my trip with a tinge of embarrassment.  I can only guess the level of order and detail was directly proportional to my level of excitement!

I was aware of how the contents of my bag and wardrobe slowly morphed as I moved from continent to continent over the months.  Hopefully you can see a little bit of humor in the eclectic assortment of items with which I ended.  I noted whatever I bought along the way, and am not including the few things I've picked since I stopped traveling.

Clothes and Packs

  • Gregory Chaos backpack (2,800 cubic inches)
  • Patagonia daypack
  • Merrell multi-purpose sneakers (Kynsna, South Africa)
  • Brazilian flip flops (mall in suburban Jo'burg, South Africa)
  • Windbreaker (mall in suburban Jo'burg, South Africa)
  • North Face khaki cargo pants
  • North Face khaki cargo shorts
  • Volcom board shorts (Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa)
  • Element collared shirt (Hermanus, South Africa)
  • 3 t-shirts by Volcom, Quicksilver, Billabong (Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa)
  • 3 pairs of socks (Smart Wool – medium for hiking, low cut for everyday)
  • 3 boxers
  • 1 bandanna
  • Green cap (Kho San Road, Bangkok)
  • Eagle Creek money belt
  • Oakley sunglasses (Cape Town, South Africa)

Toiletries and First Aid

  • Small pack towel
  • First Aid Kit (ziploc bag) –  assorted drugs from various countries, (uch as Cipro from Nepal), Neosporin, Cortizone, Imodium, Gas-x, Benadryl, band aids, Q-tips, digital thermometer, moleskin, healthy travel and first aid booklets
  • Toiletry bag – toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, Listerine, nail clippers, tweezers,  skin lotion, Centrum vitamins, Gillette Mach3 razors, shaving gel, Burberry aftershave (gift!), mini-mirror
  • Suntan and bug sprays

Electronic Gear

  • ASUS eeePC laptop (Hong Kong)
  • Canon PowerShot Digital IXUS 860IS camera w/soft case (Phuket, Thailand)
  • 2 camera batteries and 5 SD memory cards (four 2gb cards, one 1gb card)
  • Canon battery charger
  • Petzl Zipka LED headlamp w/2 AAA batteries
  • Casio Pathfinder digital watch (loved the altimeter and digital compass functions)
  • Transcend 4gb MP3 player w/headphones (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
  • Universal Adapter/Power Converter (minus one lost adapter piece)
  • E*Trade digital security token (new)
  • SanDisk Cruzer Micro 2gb Flash Stick (recently lost all info, reloaded with Mozilla Firefox, Filezilla FTP, Flickr uploader, etc.)

Documents and Money

  • Passport w/extra pages added
  • Photocopy of passport info page
  • 5 extra photos (for Visas)
  • WHO Immunization card
  • Lonely Planet Colombia
  • E*Trade Visa debit card
  • Capital One Visa credit card
  • 3 paper E*Trade checks (never used them)
  • $60 cash (USD)

Miscellaneous

  • Notebook and pen (Medellin, Colombia)
  • Binoculars (Hermanus, South Africa)
  • Small nylon drybag (Australia)
  • Large nylon drybag (Chengdu, China)
  • 2 scarves (Holland, Egypt)
  • Combination/cable lock (Hong Kong)
  • 3 Moo/Flickr mini cards w/blog and e-mail address
  • 4 DVD's of archived photos (2 original plus copies)
  • Assortment of tickets, business cards, etc. kept as souvenirs
  • Gum

Lost and Stolen Items

  • Lost – 2 pairs of Smart Wool socks (which sucks because they're even more expensive abroad, though worth the investment)
  • Lost – North Face fleece (light) – accidentally left behind somewhere toward the end of my Nepal trek
  • Stolen – money pouch with VA Driver's License, ATM card, and some cash (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Stolen – laptop AC adapter, USB cable, 3 mix CD´s, French corkscrew (Medellin hostel)

**Tips**

  • Traveler's checks were a hassle – I am glad I only took $150 worth as back-up funds.
  • Advice I read before my trip rings even truer now – pack light and maximize your savings and methods for accessing money abroad.  My E*Trade ATM card worked in every country, and I almost never approached an ATM I couldn't use.
  • Strong (freezer-style) ziploc bags are priceless.  I had a few which have lasted 15 months!
  • I´m a fan of packing stuff in nylon or heavier (but more waterproof) rubber drybags.  Consider them as an alternative to backpack covers.  Plus, they also function as a way to compress the contents of your backpack.

Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:

Honour

Friday 29th of October 2010

You're such a nice person!

order lexapro online

Friday 29th of October 2010

Sorry, I'd like to get a similar theme for my blog, how can I find it?

rafilsks

Wednesday 25th of March 2009

definitely a round world trip is on my plan..

nice to read your experience and congrats for this!

rafilsks

Tuesday 24th of March 2009

definitely a round world trip is on my plan..

nice to read your experience and congrats for this!

Stu

Tuesday 24th of March 2009

Nice to see your gear list dave, tho I still think that's a lot of stuff :)

Comments are closed.