If there is one thing I have figured out, it is that if you have space, you'll fill it with stuff. Pick a smaller bag and make it work. That being said, I know I packed more than I need.
So what do you take when you’re traveling for a year? Here is the list of the stuff I'm carrying:
Bags:
- Osprey Farpoint 55L Pack (40L pack with 15L daypack, 15L normally empty when checking bag)
- GoRuck Shadow Ruck (extra daypack)
- Chicobag compact market bag
Clothes
- 3 pair pants (Arcteryx/Lululemon)
- 1 pair good shorts (Lululemon) – should’ve brought 2 pair
- 3 pair running/gym shorts
- 1 pair board shorts
- 3pair compression shorts
- 4 pair of boxers
- 5 regular pairs of socks
- 1 pair heavy wool hiking socks
- 1 pair compression socks
- Compression pants (compression is key on long flights)
- 4 quick dry shirts (Lululemon and Eddie Bauer)
- 1 comfy t-shirt (Rife Coach shirt)
- 2 long sleeve, quick dry, button ups for layering (Eddie Bauer)
- 1 quick dry tank top (Lululemon)
- 1 Hoodie
- 2 long sleeve base layers (Lululemon)
- Raincoat (Northface)
- Shemagh
- Baseball Hat
- Hiking Boots
- Flip Flops
- New Balance Minimus Trail Runners
- Belt
- Sunglasses (Oakley)
Almost all the clothes, a few are in the packing cubes.
Toiletries:
- 1 microfleece quick dry towel (REI)
- 1 microfleece quick dry wash cloth (REI)
- Bar of soap
- Safety Razor and shaving kit (shaving brush, soap, pre oil, after shave balm, extra blades) – definitely one of the luxury items I decided on when packing
- Toothbrush
- Crest toothpaste
- Couple packs of floss
- Cotton swabs
- Nail clippers
- Year supply of allergy meds
- Bottle of Visine AC (allergy eye drops)
- Advil
- Body wash leaves
- Laundry soap leaves
- Chapstick
- Band aids
- Neosporin
- Dramamine
- Vaseline
- Wet Wipes
- Six months of Malarone (anti-malarial)
- Lots of Zithromax (anti-biotics)
Workout Gear:
- Jump Rope
- Green stretch band
- Voodoo band
- Lacrosse ball
- Nalgene water bottle
- Wod logbook
- Roll of athletic tape
Electronics:
- 11” Lenovo Thinkpad laptop
- Nexus 5x smartphone – Google Fi phone plan
- Universal power adapter – with USB ports
- Surge protector (also gives 2 outlets instead of the power adapters 1)
- Amazon Kindle
- Battery backup for phone
- External hard drive
- Headphones
- iPod shuffle
Extras:
- Deck of cards
- Pens and pencils
- Rain cover for bag
- Inflatable pillow
- Clothespins
- Safety pins
- 50’ parachute cord
- MTU Flag
- 3L Camelbak
- Sleeping bag liner
- 2 Carabiners
- Drain Plug/Cover (for doing laundry in the sink)
- Bag Locks and cable
- Travel Alarm clock
- Headlamp
- Spare batteries
- Sleep Mask
Packing cubes are awesome, they really help keep everything organized and in place, plus keep clean and dirty clothes separate when they all have to go in the same bag.
Its probably too much stuff, but it fits and I haven’t wanted to throw any of it out after a month. We’ll see how the list looks after a few more months!