If you’re going to backpack across the world, you need to pack light. My husband Bradley and I made a goal to pack 1 large bag we could check and 2 smaller bags we could carry on our person to last us an open ended amount of time. This we could carry trekking through the jungle or across beaches a lot easier. I learned my lesson the hard way when I first visited Thailand. I had a roller suitcase and those wheels do not enjoy the jungle floor. It was a challenge and I swore off roller luggage ever since.
Bradley and I prefer to use Osprey packs. They are perfect for adventurous travel and each pack comes with a warranty against damage for its entire lifetime. I was so impressed with my first pack that I bought another smaller one. No regrets! My third backpack is a $5 walmart clearance find and Bradley’s is a soft bag he picked up in Thailand years ago. We focus primarily on functionality over brand or fashion. Backpacking must be sensible and simple or it could be a hot mess.
Since our adventure is open ended, we couldn’t really plan to pack for specific days like you would for a vacation. We chose to pack based on what we absolutely needed, plus a few things we decided we didn’t want to live without. We chose clothing that was climate and culture appropriate and could be mixed and matched with each other. We packed items that had multiple uses and also packed small things that would make us feel at home while we are on the go. It’s the little things.
While I haven’t lived this nomadic lifestyle yet, I have traveled quite a bit now and over time I developed the ultimate trip packing list and the ultimate camping packing list. (Let me know if you would like for me to share these with you in the comments section below!) These two lists helped me a lot through my practice packs for this big journey.
Below is a basic list of what Bradley and I packed.
Kayla’s Bags:
- 1 swim top and 2 swim bottoms
- 1 pair of soft sleep shorts and 1 silk nightie
- 2 sports bras and 3 bralettes
- 3 pairs of socks (I wore compression socks on the plane – they actually worked!!)
- 16 pairs of underwear (panties are small and you can never have too many)
- 5 light dresses
- 1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of jean shorts
- 2 pairs of biker shorts
- 1 pair of athletic capris
- 8 tops and 1 light long sleeve shirt
- 1 silk robe
- 1 ultra-light down jacket
- 2 pairs of sandals and 1 pair of water shoes (I wore tennis shoes on the plane)
- 1 travel jewelry case with pop up vanity mirror
- 1 travel toiletries case
- 3 tapestries (I use these as swim cover ups and decoration in our room to make us feel at home)
- 1 foot hammock (for the plane – saved my legs severe pain as I struggle with gravitational edema)
- 1 book and 2 journals
- 1 deck of playing cards and 1 deck of Uno
- 1 travel purse, 1 fanny pack, and 1 roll up multipurpose nylon bag
- 1 Sun hat
- 1 Chromebook
- 1 selfie stick/tripod
Bradley’s Bags:
- 1 pair of jeans
- 4 pairs of shorts
- 2 pairs of swim shorts
- 1 nice button down shirt
- 7 t-shirts of lightweight fabric
- 10 pairs of underwear
- 1 long sleeve shirt
- 1 ultra-light down jacket
- 2 pair of sandals (He wore tennis shoes on the plane)
- 3 pairs of socks
- 1 leather belt
- 1 baseball cap
- 1 travel toiletries bag
- 1 book, 1 activity book, and 1 journal
- 1 battery pack
It took me about 4 pack practice runs to finally get down to what I ended up carrying with me and each practice made me more efficient. I’m able to pack up my whole life in about 20 minutes now. My bags weighed about 33 lbs or about 15 kgs all together. Bradley’s bags weighed about 35 lbs or about 16 kgs. All things, conditionings, and mentalities considered, I feeI I did a really good job of packing up my whole life into 3 bags. What a rush that is! I feel a bit like Alexander Supertramp (Christopher McCandless) from Into The Wild. I feel free. I also have this striking feeling that the more we travel, the more I may leave behind and the less I will carry. Only time will tell what is worth the weight.
Love!
💛