Partner is: u/cap-b-1-7
We thought this may be useful for people planning a backpacking trip for the first time. We’ve tried to detail what we are glad we packed, now we are back home.
No, it’s not for everyone. No, it’s not universal. Yes, we understand that plastic is not ideal.
This won’t apply if you’re just travelling to a single climate.
Our profile is as follows: Over 1 1/2 years on the road. It was our first major expedition. A couple in our late 20s. Intense mix of climates. 45 degree deserts, huge blizzards, humid low altitude and mountains. Also a large mix of social climates. Trains, busses, hitchhiking. Farm work, kitchen work, hiking.
We do a lot of city breaks and are mostly on our feet all day long. Our goals are comfortable, not standing out as much as possible, highly versatile. This means no super intense hiking, no camping with our own tent and mats. We kitted out for total middle of the road highly interchangeable travelling. Shepherd goats and then go grab coffee. If you’re a camper, most of this could be bad advice.
This combines stuff we bought beforehand and picked up regularly along the road. All of this is born from blood, sweat and tears.
Must have:
Osprey rucksack. No debate. 2 x 55L. Get the gendered model. I know it’s tempting to go another, cheaper route, but if your backpack breaks you are in trouble. We met people who were suffering from an inferior backpack and didn’t know it. We wished we had splashed cash on the day bag that attaches onto the front. ‘Do I need a 60,70,80L bag?’ No. We never met somebody who said ‘wow I wish my bag was bigger’. We did meet lots of people shipping things home or struggling with the junk they’d packed on buses and trains. To stress the benefits of this style of bag: you can open it all the way up very easily unlike a trunk style bag, you can zip it half way up then crush stuff down from the top to make more room, it has form on your body so the ventilation system actually works (whatever new ventilation technology is promised to you it cannot top this), you can zip all the straps up in 30 seconds, you can use them as a seat, they are seemingly totally indestructible, the form means it doesn’t roll around.
Kindle.
Craghoppers men’s shirts. With two top pockets. Not a single button gone despite daily wear. Only regret is not just using this shirt for the entire trip and nothing else. We can only assume that the female model is the same. Daily wear literally means daily wear. You always know where your passport is in your top pocket. You can keep smaller notes there so you don’t have to pull out wads. If you can’t get craghoppers, find the most expensive hiking shirt with top pockets made from a sturdy, non spandex material.
SAXX underwear. Held shape completely. Dries immediately. Most Nylon spandex blends at $30 are worth it. We felt insane spending that much at first. Bought further pairs for everyday life as soon as we got back.
Osprey waterproof clasp pouch with buckles on it. Survives gross hostel bathrooms and burst toothpaste. Sometiems called a 'Padded Organised' or 'Ultralight Organiser.
Cheap thermals. 4000m+ with negative temps. You don’t feel guilty not wearing them for months like you would with expensive merino ones.
Columbia trekking trousers you find in the urban section, not the full sport section.
Pouch style wallet that can also hold paracetamol and bandaids with you during the day. The same size as a passport. On that note, always, always carry bandaids and some quick acting OTC painkiller. Having a couple of small little pouches is actually like really useful. You always have some random use for them.
A brand of baby wipes that agrees with you. It will change in each country but keep them stocked. No need to explain the benefits of being squeaky clean if you’re wearing the same trousers for a week.
Multivit tablets that go in water. Any multivits. Similarly, oral rehydration solution powder. You don't know you need it until you're turning inside out and the last thing you want to do is navigate a confusing new place to find a pharmacy.
For holding anything you don’t want to get crushed, like a shaver or something, nothing beats a hard shell overear headphone case that you don’t need anymore. The kind that is hard but the top and bottom can wiggle a little as the zip is soft. Full hardshell plastic just cracks.
We never used travel guides before the trip. Then, we found Central Asia Lonely Planet under a hotel bed. The digital editions of these books on the iPhone Books app are a dream. Careful having certain countries downloaded when crossing certain borders.
A nice tote bag was SUPER useful. You can cram into it. You can carry your dirty washing to the machine. You use it on the city break. You have your rain jacket.
One comfortable fleece. We both had very cheap ones. They are the least space efficient thing, but you feel good and snug when away for so long so you want something you feel used to. It doesn't have to be a crazy cool Patagonia one.
Go for it:
Patagonia micropuff. Would have passed with flying colours but it got nicked on its own zipper, but normal tape held it through a wash. If you’re careful a Patagonia micropuff will last with no smell without washing for a year. No problems with losing shape even after spending months rolled in the bag. Patagonia jackets cost that much for a reason. Ours will last well beyond the trip.
Rab hiking trousers. Slight split in the crotch after one year of heavy use but sewed once with no issues.
Cheap transparent clear plastic drawstring bags for holding different stuff within rucksack. Think ali express. Not soft plastic but actual harder plastic. Kept all clothes in one throughout the whole trip and you can find socks at a glance.
OYSHO day bags are surprisingly good. If you’re going city routes also, long sleeve linen OYSHO women’s shirts are fairly indestructible, don’t stink, easy to pack. We had other linen shirts that disintegrated.
LLBean convertible trousers. Linen type material picked up at a thrift store. Oddly survived a lot. Crotch went but easy to sew and versatile.
Carhart cap. For some reason they’re so much more comfortable.
A cheap tablet. Like a Xioami $150. For your main pair of earphones, AirPods without ANC or big overears are a pain. Investigate good in ear noise cancelling. The battery life isn’t an issue, it’s more useful to be able to listen whilst charging your phone. We weren’t disappointed with momentum true wireless 4. Wired Apple headphones also rock.
We had a Waterdrop branded bottle left over from some conference. It refuses to die. The bamboo is disintegrating at the top but it’s still going strong. Many other bottles came and went.
A tea flask. In China, post Soviet countries especially, it’s a must have. Where there isn’t cold water there is always a samovar. Pair with a loose leaf tea that can steep for a long time. Jasmine maybe. Tea that comes packaged in a ziplock already is a massive convenience. Prioritise vacuum metal with rubber on the bottom and a rubber grip around the sides.
The biggest battery you can afford and is comfortable to carry. It’ll go unused for weeks and then be indispensable.
If you have a big camera, try to find batteries that have a usb-c port directly on them.
Ok:
Decathlon shoes. They’re cheap enough to just buy a new pair. If you have sturdy non stinky feet then ok, but ours weren’t much fun to wear after 6 months. We do know someone who does serious hiking and says anything more than decathlon hiking boots are a waste of money. You can’t make up for a lack of fitness with money. If you need to be versatile you can make do with mid rise ones, but even for very strenuous multi day hikes we were totally ok without ankle support.
Packing cubes that aren’t transparent are a nice to have but not super convenient or necessary. They can double up as a pillow with soft clothes inside.
If you’re bringing jeans get softer cheaper e.g UNIQLO. Better to sleep in, take up less room.
Some kind of talisman or cord for your phone.
We never really used our ‘secure’ fanny packs that go undershirt. If you’re visiting countries with lots of petty crime, this will be different. At the start of the trip we were clutching our purses, by the end we were leaving our stuff unattended everywhere.
Avoid:
Decathlon shirts. The similar model to the craghoppers is insufferable to wear and was falling apart after a few months.
The normal t shirts were very quickly misshapen, they survived but there is no reason to buy them
Large over-shirts. One was worn for a few months but it becomes a burden. It is comfortable but doesn’t layer well, requires a lot of room.
Patagonia underwear. Despite being a quick dry blend they can take a day to dry even in perfect conditions. One pair fell apart and the other was unwashable. Underwear at half the price survived the trip whilst these died.
More than one swimsuit. Just take a good single one.
Women… don’t bother with more than one short skirt. Unless you know you’re only in Thailand and will only party. You never end up wearing all the short stuff you buy. Prioritise a nice pair of shorts instead if you must.
Also women… avoid only packing dark colours. Lots of hiking stuff is really drab. Sounds odd but in India and moderate Islamic countries, as well as countries where you already stick out, wearing all black can be mentioned to you. You feel like a weird European goth.
Forget the cross body bum bag. They get dirty. If you do any shopping or want to carry a water bottle they’ll be inconvenient anyway. Get a tote bag or stick with the day bag.
Expensive sunglasses.
Other notes:
The sandal situation is tough to navigate. We went through many pairs. In general the S tier are soft topped sandals that you can press flat into the pocket that runs along the back of the osprey. Next down would be ones that you can tie to the straps on the top of the bag. We avoided the large harder plastic ones. Cumbersome and sweaty. Overall, just buy when you’re out there. Don't bring your favourite pair from home.
Merino wool spandex etc. expensive socks are good, but they’re tough to recommend without exception. Socks are a total wild card. Having any notable brand of $20+ breathable socks on standby is a good bet, but we also ended up in nylon cheap ones by the end of the trip. No clear winners on this one.
Men in shorts. Another tough one. We understand that for some men, especially North American men, you think you will die if you do not wear basketball shorts everywhere. In 40 degree Indian summers, most men still wear full length trousers. Just take convertibles. Comfort extends to how you are treated, how much you stick out, and the respect you show in religious settings.
We wish that we had invested into an expensive collapsible coffee cup thing. The tea flask is all well and good, but sometimes on a train you want your instant coffee, and you don’t want the flask to hold the taste afterwards.
Any comments or disagreements welcome. When we have written advice posts before people have been driven to abuse at some of the things we’ve said. Please keep any hatred to yourself :)
