Packing one bag each for the round the world trip

We leave in just a few days and the house is being packed away for storage. So the main thing on our minds at the moment is to make sure that everything we think we will be taking on the trip is kept out of the packing cases!

“Simplify, then add lightness”

Colin Chapman

In our previous post I discussed the thinking behind our hand baggage / one bag only plan. On hearing that, the natural next question has been “what are you (not) taking!”. So this is what we are packing at the start. I suspect some of this will get sent home once we get on the road and we start to feel in our backs what Colin Chapman was on about.

We are packing for all the seasons from hot to cold, from dry to temperate, and all types of activities. We aren’t packing hard core hiking boots. Much of the early parts of the trip are unlikely to need them. And if we get to Patagonia and think we need some we can always buy some. Better that than carrying them halfway around the world.

Will it all fit?

In reality we suspect most of the time when in transit we’ll have one of our day packs filled with some of this stuff needed while on the move. But it is good to know we can get it into one bag each if we need to.

The Detailed List: Clothing and other individual stuff

We are including these lists here so we can check back later to see what we actually used and what got lost along the way.

Item	Qty	Notes
Main pack	1 each	Jim – Peak Design Travel Backpack 45l Helen – Cotopaxi Allpa travel pack 35l Rafe – Tom Bihn Synapse 25l Dessa – Cotopaxi Batac 24l
Packable day bag	1 each	Jim – Patagonia ultralight black hole 20l daypack Helen – Patagonia ultralight black hole tote
Kindle	1 each	Because they’re great and there’s no way we’re carrying books Rafe and Dess each have a Kindle Fire which they’ll use for reading, schooling, watching random people on youtube etc
Phone	1 each
Wallet	1 each
Passport	1 each
International driving license	1 each
Sun hat	1 each
Cap	1 each
Belt	1 each
Swimming goggles	1 each
Swimmers	1 each
Rash vest	1 each
T-Shirt	2 each	There’s a lot of merino going on in this list
Long sleeve t-shirt	1 each
Long sleeve shirt	1 each
Hoody / fleece	1 each
Insulated jacket	1 each
Rain jacket	1 each	Both Helen and I are starting out with Rab Kinetic waterproof jackets
Trousers / dress	1 each
Running shorts	1 each
General shorts	1 each
Socks	3 pair each	Mine are all from Darn Tough. If socks can ever be epic, it is these
Underwear	3 each	Merino again, of course
Buff	1 each
Gloves	1 each
Warm hat	1 each
Flip flops	1 each	One pair is much the same as another right? Not so. Jim’s are superplush Orlebar Brown numbers from our wonderful friends Ana and Simon (of Mrs O Around the World fame)
Shoes / boots	1 each	Shoes. The packspace killer. We’re both setting out with Vivobarefoot(feet?) – Jim with shoes, Helen with the ankle boots
Running trainers	1 each
Headphones	1 each
Water bottle	1 each	I’ve used a Vapur bottle for a long time, and now we’ve each got one. Folds down very small
Bag tracker	1 each	Each bag will have a Tile in it
Travel towel	2 between us
Face mask	1 each	Hope we don’t need them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we do
Ear plugs	1 each	Not everyone is convinced these will be useful. I however suspect I may be lauded as a genius for bringing these

The Detailed List: General and random stuff

This will be spread across all of our bags

Item	Notes
Washing line	Since we’re packing light, we’ll need to wash stuff and dry it too
Lightweight caribiner	I’ve got three handy lightweight s-biners from NiteIze
Folding cup
Spork
First aid kit
Soap bar	No liquids on us
Soap bar pouch	Brilliant this, works really well. Wet soap goes in, and dryness ensues – the Matador flatpak soap case
Face cloth
Dry sack	A dry bag with a valve so we can compress it down. Going to see if we can use this to compress our winter jackets etc
Inflatable globe
Folding football	A fold flat football? Oh yes. Because Rafe wants to constantly boot things around. Check out the Foooty
Ground sheet	A Matador pocket ground sheet. We’ve had one for years and its so useful for parks and beaches
Travel power adapter	A worldwide adapter with built-in USB-C PD fast charge port plus other ports – game changer! Leave all the other power adapters at home and just carry a few cables. Ours is the Zendure Passport 3
GoPro	And associated paraphernalia
Cables
Laptop	A Dell XPS 13 Plus. The new one. Aiming for a good combination here of power enough for light video editing, and lightness. We’ll see
Keyboard and mouse	Because my back won’t thank me for being hunched over a laptop for any period of time. Flatness helps the packing. I’m going to take what I’ve been using at work for a while – a Microsoft Surface Arc mouse, and a Moko universal foldable keyboard
Portable battery bank
Travel router
Small speaker
Small games
Silicone straw	100% useful for the kids. 100% chance of being left behind on a cafe within the first week
Folding food box with lid	One of our budget killers as well as environment killers will be wasting leftover food, or having to pay top dollar for snacks when the kids get grouchy. This might help us spend less
Torch
Keychain knife	I’ve long carried a little Victorinox Classic SD through the airports of the world. It’s got everything you need – scissors, a little knife. Entirely TSA compliant. Chances of it getting confiscated on this trip? = 100%
Keychain tool	The little Gerber Shard. Crucially has a bottle opener on it. And a screwdriver for tightening the inevitable drawer handles in airbnbs
Corkscrew	Highly likely to get confiscated at some airport somewhere. Ours is the least intrusive we could find (True Utility), but it will still get taken
Eye masks
Pens, pencils and paper	In all likelihood, too many
Sleeping bag liners