Packing List - The Backpacker Report

Packing is a back and forth process which involves packing, realizing that your pack is too heavy, unpacking everything, removing things from the pile, then repacking and so on. An important thing to do is to not fold anything. Rather, roll up all your clothing, it makes it more compact. And lastly, it’s best not to wear any cotton clothes, they are (compared to dri fit / athletic clothing) heavier, don’t compact as well, and don’t dry quicky. I had originally packed 4 cotton tee shirts, but reduced that to 2 and replaced them with dri fit shirts. In the end, I brought down my large pack’s weight to around 40 lbs / 18 kgs. I used my 35L as my carry-on luggage and only carried stuff I wanted easy access to.

Gear

1 74L backpack

1 35L backpack

1 30L daypack

1 10L drysack

1 headlamp

1 combination lock

1 pair of sunglasses

1 unlocked GSM phone

1 netbook

1 digital slr

1 waterproof compact camera

1 portable hard disk drive

2 waterproof pack covers

1 20F/-6.6C sleeping bag

1 travel towel

1 1L water bottle

1 pack of baby wipes

1 ipod

1 travel hair clipper

1 compact swiss army knife

Outerwear

1 waterproof shell

1 down sweater

1 fleece vest

1 dri fit hoodie

1 pair of waterproof shell pants

1 beanie

1 pair of lightweight gloves

Clothing

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of quick dry insect repellent convertible pants

1 pair of trekking / yoga / cycling pants

1 pair of long underwear

1 pair of gym shorts

1 pair of board shorts

8 boxer shorts

4 pairs of hiking socks (these probably won’t make it past Nepal)

7 pairs of socks

6 athletic / dri fit tee shirts

2 cotton tee shirts

1 cotton tank top

1 thermal long sleeve

1 athletic / dri fit long sleeve

1 button down shirt with sweat wicking material

1 bandana

1 baseball cap

Footwear

1 pair of hiking boots

1 pair of sneakers

1 pair of everyday sandals

1 pair of shower sandals (for the many shared bathrooms i’ll be encountering)

Other

Toiletries – toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, floss, tweezers, nail clipper, scissors, lotion, shaver

First aid kit – bandages, gauzes, medical tape, finger splint, etc

Motion sickness pills

Anti – Diarrhea pills

Painkillers

Antibiotic ointment

Chinese anti – diarrhea pills

Altitude pills

Malaria pills

Extra roll of toilet paper (i’ve traveled enough to know that this is an essential thing to carry)

Multivitamins

Jon says:

25 April 2014 at 09:30

I was wondering if you could post pictures of your backpacks and give a little information on why you carry 3 different packs all different sizes. Did you have any trouble carrying a 75L pack with checking it in on flights or leaving it under the bus while on longer trips? I would be worried it would be stolen without me knowing. Were you able to take your smaller pack on the bus with you? Do you think you could have done the trip with a smaller pack? I am currently planning a trip and am curious about what i need to take and how big of a pack i need. I am thinking a 40L with a 22L day pack. I am not sure if that will be enough. I have traveled Asia and Europe both with a larger 65L pack and a smaller 30L day pack but I was thinking about going lighter carry on size this trip. Do you have any thoughts on this dilemma? Thank you for your help. Your blog is very helpful and fun to read.

Steve says:

27 April 2014 at 22:00

It’s been a couple of years since I wrote this so my packing has gotten considerably better 🙂

I quickly learned that I brought way too many things when I first left NYC. Having 3 different packs was overkill. The 75l one was a necessity since I had clothes for all seasons. the 30l one was totally unneccessary. and the 35l one i brought to use for hiking trips.

Never had problems putting the 75l bag on buses or planes. The smaller pack I took onto the bus with me. Theft is always a concern, but to be honest there’s not much you can do about it other than keep things where you can see them.

If you’re going to be in warm weather climates then you can make do with smaller packs since you won’t need to carry a lot of heavy clothing. The things that took up the most space in my pack was winter clothing and hiking gear (boots, etc). Hope this helps!

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