During my round-the-world trip, many people have asked, “How do you pack enough stuff for a full year of travel?”
I’ll be the first to admit it’s no easy task, especially if you’re preparing for warm and cold climates. To help compile a packing list, I read the New York Times' "Frugal Traveler" and “digital nomads,” such as The Never Ending Voyage and Uncornered Market, both chronicles of couples who have chosen to blog about traveling indefinitely. However, just as no two round-the-world trips will ever be the same, no packing list will ever be the same either.
Staring at a closet full of stuff, you need to think long and hard about what is most import to you. If you are anything like me, your initial lot of “indispensable” items won’t come close to fitting in a backpack, and you’ll need to endure many painstaking rounds of elimination until it does. (I’m still convinced that a deflated basketball and pump should have made the cut, though my fiancée disagrees.) I eventually whittled my list down to something that I could manage to shoulder. Below is by no means a complete list of things to bring, but rather some not-so-obvious items that I have found most useful during the past seven months of travel.
Footwear
Kickin’ it on the road
Footwear can be particularly tricky. If you want to spend a lot of time in the wilderness, then a good pair of hiking boots is a must. If you also plan to visit a few cities, you certainly don’t want to wear those same muddy boots for a night on the town. If you want to continue to go for that occasional run to keep in shape? Your backpack can’t fit your entire shoe rack, so you have to think about bringing minimal footwear that is both versatile and lightweight. In addition to hiking boots, I also bought a pair of lightweight, casual shoes made by TOMS. They’re a bit pricey, but they are versatile, stylish and can take a beating in my backpack without showing it. Also, with every pair purchased, TOMS gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need. I bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers for the occasional run. They look weird at first, but they feel quite liberating to put on after hours (or days) wearing hiking boots, and they are fantastic conversation starters – kids in developing countries will be your best friends.
Clothing
The cotton win
Many travelers will tell you that cotton is not your friend. Well, I’m here to tell you it is your friend— a friend with benefits. You’ll want a few shirts and a pair of pants made of synthetic “quick dry” fabric, but it always feels good to throw on a cotton T-shirt, especially for sleeping. Clothing made of cotton does take longer to line-dry (and be prepared for a lot of that), but you’ll often stay in places for more than a few days, leaving plenty of time for a full wash cycle. A compact down jacket, like the Patagonia Down Sweater, is essential for colder climates, and for underwear, go with a few pairs made by ExOfficio – you can wash them in the shower or sink and they dry in hours!
