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  >  North America & Caribbean   >  His and Hers RTW Packing Lists

One of the biggest goals for our time in Texas, was to shop and get all geared up for our year of travels. It was a teensy bit stressful trying to get everything done in one week, but it all came together in the end.

Our style is definitely last minute, and no matter how often we say we’re going to start preparing earlier, it just doesn’t happen that way. Instead of beating ourselves up about it, we’ve just accepted that that’s how we do things, and choose to go with the flow. Or you could also call it running around like mad, crazy people for a few days.

Our procrastination levels are so bad, that we even left buying our travel backpacks for when we were technically already on our trip! So, we took a trip to REI (which is like American MEC), right when we got to Dallas, and picked up our packs right away. There wasn’t too much selection and we didn’t have much time, so the choice was simple.

I ended up buying the Osprey Porter pack, which is 46 litres and the maximum allowable carry on size. He ended up with the Osprey Waypoint pack, which is 85 litres total – 15 litres of which is in the form of a detachable daypack. This means that I get to walk around with a relatively light bag, while my super strong hubby lugs around the heavy stuff. Sounds like a good plan to me. 🙂

It’s hard to know what to pack for a full year trip around the world, but we tried to keep it as minimal as possible. This is a lesson learned from years of carrying around way too much stuff traveling. Never again! It’s much easier to start with less and buy what you need along the way. Right now, I actually have room in my carry-on size bag, so I think we’re doing pretty good.

Without further ado, here’s what we ended up packing:

What’s in My Pack

1 Columbia fully waterproof and breathable rain coat
1 pair of capris
2 pairs of long pants that convert to capris
1 pair of Lululemon Stride pants
3 tank tops
1 maxi dress
1 black pencil skirt
2 long sleeve technical shirts
1 long sleeve zip up hoodie
1 knit cardigan
6 t-shirts
2 leggings/thermals
4 pairs of socks
1 pair of flip flops
2 weeks worth of underwear
5 sports bras
bathing suit/bikini
1 pashmina scarf
1 pair of New Balance Minimus Trail Runners

What’s in His Pack

1 pair hiking shoes
1 pair indoor soccer shoes
1 pair flip flops
10 t-shirts
1 Columbia fully waterproof and breathable raincoat
2 long sleeve shirts
1 zip up Puma jacket/sweater
3 pairs of shorts
1 pair of long pants
1 pair of Lululemon Stride pants

We also have an amazing amount of technology with us. In fact, all of it together may even outweigh my backpack.

Technology We’re Carrying

1 Sony NEX-5 camera
1 16mm pancake lens
1 55-210 telephoto lens
1 Canon point and shoot camera
1 iPad with Zaggfolio keyboard and case
1 HP Netbook
1 Kindle
1 Samsung 500GB external drive
1 iPhone4
1 ancient iTouch
1 worldwide adaptor
1 Steripen Traveler Mini UV water purification system

We’ll keep you updated and let you know how we do with what we’ve got…

Comments:

  • January 14, 2015

    Did you guys use your SteriPen? We’re thinking of taking one on an upcoming trip and are unsure if we’ll actually use it! Thanks!

    reply...
    • January 14, 2015

      Hey there, actually we didn’t use it at all, even in “dirty” places like India, but we did see other travellers on the road using it. We have an updated packing list post here: http://travel-stained.com/2012/08/27/our-rtw-packing-list-an-update/

      It covers what was useful, what we missed and some other tips for packing if you wanna check it out. How long are you traveling for?

      reply...
      • January 14, 2015

        Gotcha, thanks for the link to the updated post! We’re going to be in south and central america for 5 months, then nepal and thailand later in the year. Did you guys just end up doing bottled water then?

        reply...
        • January 14, 2015

          Yeah, we did bottled water, fresh coconut water, or fruit shakes. Those things were easy to get most anywhere we were traveling. Have an amazing trip! 😀

          reply...

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