While preparing for the trip, we read tons of practical articles on packing for a long journey. Every one of them presented a different idea of what a properly packed backback should look like. Our list of things to take takes into account the specifics of the trip - hitchhiking, frequent sleeping in a tent, running a blog on the go, and no specific return date.
When choosing our luggage, we came to the conclusion that starting from a certain point, the length of the planned trip stops mattering. Whether you’re on a tour a month or a year, the basic list remains the same. You just have to do the laundry at least every 2 weeks. Instead of the length, we took into account the variability of climate zones and seasons. We feel prepared for over 30°C in Rio de Janeiro and freezing temperatures in Tierra del Fuego.
And now for the specifics! Here’s what we’re taking.
Backpacks
- Deuter Aircontact Pro 55 + 15 SL women’s backpack
- Deuter Aircontact Pro 60 + 15 men’s backpack
We chose them for their durability, perfect size, but mainly because of the brilliant weight distribution system. The models are definitely not light (they weigh 3080 and 3180 g, respectively), but they distribute the weight much better than other backpacks we tried.
Clothing
For her
- Quechua MH100 rain jacket - the cheapest one from Decathlon, and surprisingly good
- Quechua Trek 100 down jacket
- fleece jacket
- 7 t-shirts
- light dress
- skirt
- 2 pairs of long trekking pants
- shorts
- flannel shirt - perfect when it’s too cold for a short-sleeved shirt and too warm for a fleece
- underwear
- thermal underwear
- multifunctional scarf - it can be your hat, scarf, headband or balaclava
- bandana - to be worn on the head on sunny days
- gloves
- swimsuit
- prescription glasses with sunglass attachement
For him
- Quechua MH100 rain jacket
- Primaloft Montane pullover (bought too long ago to remember the model - M.)
- fleece jacket
- 2 pairs of long trekking pants - including one convertable to shorts
- shorts
- 7 t-shirts
- underwear
- thermal underwear
- multifunctional scarf
- bandana
- hat
- gloves
- swimming shorts
- sunglasses
Shoes
For her
- Salomon Ellipse 2 LTR trekking shoes
- Teva Hurricane XLT sports sandals
For him
- La Sportiva Boulder X trekking shoes - Maciej has been using them for over 5 years, so we won’t be surprised if they need a replacement during your trip
- Teva Hurricane XLT sports sandals In addition, we have shower flip-flops - one pair to make it lighter 😉
Sleeping
- Karrimor Elite Ridge 2 tent - already proved itself on an Israeli desert, the slopes of Mount Blanc and the cliffs of Iceland
- Naturehike down sleeping bag
- McKinley synthetic sleeping bag
- 2 sleeping bag liners - light and easy to wash
- 2 sleeping mats
Portable kitchen
- gas stove
- small metal pot - serves as a pot, and together with the lid successfully replaces tableware
- cup - light, metal
- 2 sporks - for the uninitiated, a spoon and a fork in one
- folding knife
- lighter
- magnezium rod - for starting fires in an emergency
- plastic spice containers - probably nobody would want to carry a kilo of salt in their backpack
- water disinfecting tablets
Electronics and surroundings
- Dell Chromebook 11 laptop - with Linux installed, bought for a round $45
- two phones: Huawei P8 Lite and LG G2 Mini - both are pretty old, but should be enough for our modest needs
- Sony RX100 III camera - a very satisfying ratio of photo quality to the size of the device
- Kindle 4 e-book reader
- powerbank - 10,000 mAh capacity
- quadruple output charger - for convenient power supply of everything mentioned above
- car charger
- solar charger - added to our list just before leaving - thank you for the gift!
- plug adapter - in South America alone there are three completely different types of sockets, so we’re prepared
- socket hub - even if we have 50 sockets available, we only have one adapter
- 64 and 32G memory cards - we intend to store photos in the cloud, so shold be enough
- headphones
- 2 headlamps
Toilet supplies
For her
- quick-drying towels - large and small
- toothbrush
- shower gel
- shampoo
- deodorant
- hairbrush
- several hair bands and hairpins
- razor
- tweezers
- menstrual cup
For him
- quick-drying towel
- toothbrush
- 2 in 1 shower gel
- deodorant
- electric shaver
For both
- Toothpaste
- strong cream with a UV filter
- insect repellent
- nail clippers
Documents and money
- passports - fresh from the office
- identity cards
- driving licenses
- Euro26 cards - insurance is key
- copies of passports
- waterproof covers for documents
- payment cards - Revolut (Visa), Curve (MasterCard)
- undergarment wallets
- fake wallets - inside old cards and some cash - a patent for pickpockets
Other
- trekking poles - 2 pairs
- thread, needle, safety pins
- pocket knife, small scissors, insulating tape, string
- ziplock bags
- reusable cotton bags - for shopping or laundry
- roll of toilet paper
- marker - necessary gadget for hitchhikers
- notebook, pens and pencil
- playing cards
- a small gorilla-like tripod
- stickers with the logo and address of the blog
- first aid kit - basic medicines, set of band-aids, bandages
Sounds like a ton of stuff? Well, it is. Our backpacks probably have never been so heavy, primarily due to the record-breaking amount of electronics. However, we have enough space left to fit food for a longer stay far from civilization.
It took us a long time to decide what to pack for our trip and what to leave on the attic. We’re not prepared for everything, but it’s impossible to be. We just assume that there will be strore along the way to buy any missing equipment.
Marta Płuciennik
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