In order to organize the best backpack for long term travel, you will need all the experience you gained in your previous trips and add it to the tips you received from people who have been through all of this before. Nevertheless, it will be like packing for the first time.
Not only you will need to bring all the regular touristic stuff, but also all the gear you’ll need for the various activity you may or may not do during the travel: labor work (at the hostel or at the farm), hiking, beach gear, winter clothes, blogging hardware…
Every single piece of clothing must be versatile and durable enough to handle different activities and temperatures. Repurposing is the key word here: that stained evening shirt will be your new work uniform. Having a general idea of your first few stops will definitely help you. Don’t forget that there’s always the option to leave behind some of your stuff during the trip.
Luckily, I’m no fashion addicted. I only own monochrome sports t-shirts, I’ve always dressed in layers and I don’t get attached to clothes in general. The only times I go on a shopping spree is when I buy power tools and there’s no risk I will bring them within this journey. (Or is it…)
In my travels I don’t usually buy stuff, nevertheless, I always manage to gather what I like to call my treasures. (Dibs on that Icelandic molten rock! Dibs on this piece of a broken fence of this village in Borneo! Dibs on that machete that our guide is selling so that he can afford to marry his girlfriend! True story, true story, and true story). I always leave an empty slot in my backpack for these treasures.
I’m a gear lover. My backpack will always contain technical equipment.
THE BEST BACKPACK FOR LONG TERM TRAVEL
•THE BACKPACK
Decide: what’s the maximum weight you will be able to realistically carry on your shoulders? Let’s keep this trip back pain free, shall we? Be aware of your own limits: you should carry enough stuff, not to caught unprepared and, at the same time, not too much so that you will move with ease.
I won’t need to move my backpack on a daily basis and I prepared my backpack accordingly. I would have organized it in a completely different way if my trip involved frequent trips. A stiff neck is a pretty common condition after the first few days but doesn’t worry, if you did your backpacking homework right, they will disappear soon.
I choose a Ferrino 100l backpack that guarantees easy access to all my stuff. You can get to the main compartment through various openings. The lower compartment is adjustable and can be closed with a string.
I personally prefer to balance the weight I carry, that’s why I will bring a daypack that I carry on the front. The daypack will contain all the precious and fragile stuff (drone, tablet, documents) and will be my hand luggage during flights.
I’ll bring also a bonus 24l pocket daypack, it’s extremely ultralight and completely waterproof, it will definitely prove useful.
•EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE
Before filling your backpack, divide everything into smaller bags. You will notice that your clothes can occupy very little space if properly organized and your accessories won’t spread all around your bag.
Packing your stuff in different kind of bags let you reuse them in various ways: a net bag for hiking gear can contain dirty clothes, or a waterproof bag for the electronics might be helpful as a daypack for a kayak trip. (Pro tip, your water bottle is one hell of a container when you don’t fill it with water).
Belts, ropes, and carabiners are super useful if you need to attach extra stuff to your backpack. Sometimes it’s easier and faster to hook stuff on the go instead of trying to find some space inside the backpack.
I learned (at my expense) that the provided rain cover is usually not enough to keep your backpack dry. Make sure to fit your stuff in a plastic bag if you don’t want to spend hours trying to dry your stuff with the hostel hair drier.
•CLOTHES
9x – Socks (3x short, 5x long, 3x long warm)
8x – Pairs of underwear
3x – Tights (2x light, 1x warm)
2x – Short trousers (1x sport, 1x cotton)
1x – Board shorts
5x – Long trousers (1x sweatpants, 2x chino, 1x hiking light, 1x hiking warm)
1x – Waterproof cover trousers
1x – Belt with hidden zip
11x – T-shirts (8x cotton short sleeves, 1x cotton long sleeves, 3x -dry fit short sleeves)
2x – Light fleece sweatshirts long sleeves
1x – Sweatshirt
2x – Hoodies
2x – Shirts (1x cotton, 1x flannel)
1x – Lightweight waterproof jacket
1x – Waterproof parka with detachable down
2x – Neck scarves (1x lightweight, 1x fleece)
1x – Wool hat
1x – Pair of gloves
1x – Hiking boots
1x – Running shoes
1x – Flipflop
•WORK CLOTHES
1x – Long trousers
2x – Cotton t-shirts
1x – Fleece Sweatshirt
1x – Lightweight jacket
1x – Work gloves
1x – Fleece hat
1x – Old trekking boots
1x – Waterproof boots cover
•TECHNOLOGY
1x – Universal 110/220 power adapter
1x – Micro USB to Lightning adapter
1x – Power bank 5200 mAh
2x – iPhone chargers
2x – USB to micro USB cables
1x – iPad Pro with both front and back cover + charger
1x – iPod shuffle
1x – Earbuds splitter
1x – Lightning to jack earbuds adapter
1x – Old iPhone (bring with you an extra phone, just in case…)
1x – Compact camera, including spare batteries, SD cards, Gorillapod and cleaning kit
1x – Hard drive 1 Tb
1x – DJI Mavic Pro, including 2 spare batteries, ND filters and carrying case
1x – USB car adapter
1x – Waterproof and shock resistant speaker
•EXTRA
1x – Trx
1x – Thera band
•GEARS AND UTILITY
1x – Sunglasses
1x – Wide mouth water bottle
1x – Pocket knife
1x – Leatherman
2x – Bind belts
1x – 30m Paracord
1x – Inflatable neck pillow
1x – Needle and thread kit
1x – Padlock
1x – Headlamp
5x – Carabiners
1x – Pack water bottle cleaning tabs
1x – Lightweight dry bag
1x – Mesh bag
3x – Waterproof pouches (S, M, L)
1x – Sleeping bag liner
1x – Sleeping bag 15°
1x – Customized enamel mug
1x – Waterproof pouch daypack
1x – Bum bag
1x – Pen
1x – Notebook
•BEAUTY
1x – Toothbrush
1x – Toothpaste
1x – Shower gel
1x – Shampoo
1x – Marsiglia soap
1x – Face cream
1x – Hand cream
1x – Talc powder
1x – Electric shaver
2x – Microfiber towels (M, L)
1x – Nail clipper
•MEDICAL KIT
1x – Antibiotic
1x – Contraceptives
1x – Painkiller
1x – Arnica cream
1x – Aspirine
1x – Plasters
1x – Sunscreen
1x – Anti-diarrhea
1x – Gauze
1x – Mosquito repellent
1x – Thermometer
1x – Tea tree oil
LOVE IT? PIN IT!
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A fantastic write up there. Good stuff. One of the best yet!
thank you so much!