Backpack preparation

Initially we thought that building the itinerary would be the hardest part in preparing our trip around the world but the hardest is actually deciding what to bring! Traveling for a year with only one backpack per person needs a lot of thinking and sacrifice (especially for Maider). During the year we will face pretty much all 4 seasons and will engage in a wide range of activities: treks in the mountains, wandering around cities, spending the day at the beach, hitting the road on motorbikes etc… Hence the need to be prepared for any situation.

Our backpack will be our home for a year, so let’s make sure we choose the right “furniture”.

After reading some advice on different blogs here is what we decided to bring.

BACKPACK (per person):

• 1 large backpack (a 55L for Maider and a 80L for Matt)
• 1 backpack cover in which we will store our backpack for transportation (plane, bus) and where we will store some stuff we won’t need during treks
• 1 20L backpack

CLOTHES & SHOES (per person):

The clothing choices have definitely been the hardest for Maider. No more fancy handbags, multiple pairs of shoes or all the dresses you can possibly find on earth! When you only bring 2 shorts and 3 tee shirts, you need to make sure all the colors match! No problem for Matt who already lives with 3 tee-shirts and 2 pants (granted all the closet space at home was taken by Maider so he didn’t have much of a choice)!

Trying to take into account any weather we can face, here is what we will each bring:

• 1 shoft shell
• 1 thin raincoat
• 1 fleece
• 2 hiking pants
• 1 jean
• 1 synthetic short-sleeved shirt
• 2 cotton short-sleeved shirts
• 2 long-sleeved shirts
• 2 baselayer shirts
• 1 short
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 dress for Maider
• 6 underwears
• 1 bra for Maider
• 2 sports bra for Maider
• 2 pairs of thin socks
• 2 pairs of hiking socks
• 2 pairs of warm hiking socks
• 2 leggings
• 1 baseball cap
• 1 pair of gloves
• 1 hat (that we will buy in Peru)
• 1 neck warmer
• 1 pair of hiking shoes
• 1 pair of light shoes

GEAR (per person):

The gear listed here will be especially useful when we will go on multiple day treks and will need to bring everything with us. Indeed in Peru, Patagonia and New Zealand we have planned to go on 4 or 5 day hikes and will need to be entirely self sufficient. This is by far the heaviest and what will take the most space in our backpacks, so we made sure to buy only what will truly be needed and didn’t hesitate to pay a little extra to have extra light gear. Again this list is what we will each bring:

• Storing bags:
  • 1 25L compression bag
  • 3 sorting bags of different sizes
  • Ziploc bags
• 1 ultra light sleeping bag
• 1 sleeping bag liner
• 1 sleeping pad
• 1 tent (for 2)
• 1 kitchen set  (for 2)
  • 2 pans
  • Cups and cutlery
  • 1 knife (for 2)
• 1 travel towel
• 1 water bottle
• 1 Sawyer filtering straw
• 1 camelbak
• 1 pair of walking sticks
• 1 survival blanket
• 1 sleeping set:
  • neck pillow
  • earplugs
  • sleeping mask

ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER (for the both of us)

The electronics are also relatively heavy and take a lot of space so we decided to bring only one computer and one smartphone for the both of us. The cables and chargers are pretty heavy when you add them all up, so we made sure to only bring the shorter cables and make sure to not duplicate cables we already had. Finally we replaced our over the ear headphones with simple ear buds – any space and weight gain is important at this point!

• 1 laptop + protective sleeve
• 1 Kindle
• 1 hybrid camera and a couple 32GB memory cards
• 1 smartphone
• 1 GoPro + 2 batteries
• 1 universal charger
• 1 multi socket adaptor
• 2 pairs of earbuds
• 1 double Jack adaptor
• 2 headlamps
• 1 lamp
• 1 GPS watch and 1 waterproof watch
• All chargers
• 1 10 000 mAh portable charger

MISCELLANEOUS (for the both of us):

• 1 card game (UNO)
• 1 rope
• 1 hidden travel belt
• 1 mini sewing kit
• 1 Scrubba wash bag and travel detergent sheets
• 1 pair of glasses for Maider
• 2 pairs of sun glasses
• 2 locks
• 2 straps
• 1 lighter
• 2 wallets

DOCUMENTS (the most important):

• Passport
• Vaccination certificate
• Insurance card
• International driver’s license
• Electronic and paper copies of all documents listed above
• Emergency contacts (phone number and address of the French embassies in the countries we will be visiting as well as our parents contacts and instructions in case we lose our credit cards)
• ID pictures for our visas in Asia
• A few American dollars
• A little Peruvian money as it will be our first country visited
• A dry pouch to keep these documents
• 1 VISA credit card with no foreign transaction fees
• 1 MASTERCARD debit card with no foreign transaction fees and no foreign withdraw fees
• 1 travel notebook with a pen

TOILETRY BAG (for the both of us):

We decided to travel with a single toiletry bag for the both of us. We bought a very practical toiletry bag that can be folded and that we can hang everywhere. Because they last longer and present no risk of spills we decided to go with shampoo and soap bars. All the rest is pretty classic and luckily Maider almost never wears makeup so no need to bring any mascara or lipstick!

• 1 soap bar
• 1 shampoo bar
• 1 deodorant
• 2 tooth brushes
• 1 tooth paste
• 1 hair brush with a small mirror
• Tweezers
• 1 nail clipper
• A few elastic bands
• 12 pairs of monthly contact lenses for Maider
• 1 bottle of contact lenses solution
• 1 razor
• 1 lipstick
• Q-tips
• 1 moisturizing creme
• 1 bottle of sunscreen
• Tissues

FIRST AID:

Here is another thing we spent some time on: the first aid kit. We will be traveling through 3 different continents and will face a few different climates: hot and tropical, arid or mountainous. Our bodies will have to quickly adapt to the different changes in environment, food and beer 🙂 so we need to be prepared for almost anything. Knowing that we also have a space constraint we packed a little bit of everything knowing we can replenish on the way when needed.

Little trick : get rid of all the packaging and simply keep a single document on how and when to use each medication. We saved a lot of space by doing so.

• Anti-diarrhea – Tiorfan
• Aspirin
• Paracetamol – Doliprane 1000
• Antispasmodic – Spasfon
• Antiemetic – Vogalib
• Water purification tabs – Aquatabs
• Malarone against malaria in Laos and Cambodge specifically
• Mousti-click pour relieve fro, mosquito bites
• Band aids
• All purpose gauze pads
• Cortisone creme
• Thermometer
• Antibacterial gel
• Insect repellent with 50% DEET
• Insect repellent to spray on clothes

In total, our backpacks weight 27.5 lbs for Maider and 43 lbs for Matt INCLUDING ABSOLUTELY ALL THE EQUIPMENT ABOVE.