RTW Packing: In it to Win it

After some hemming and hawing, I feel fairly confident that I am slowly working my way up to Mastery Level in the Art of Packing. Based on my last post, you may want to tread lightly when using this post as a resource, but I think it’s looking pretty good. So here’s a summary of what made the final list.

Packing for an 8 month around the world trip
Resources for the next 8 months!

Packing Necessities:
Gregory Deva 60 Backpack
eBags Packing Cubes (3)
Rucksack (to be replaced in Rome at marathon)
Swiss small daypack- doubling as camera bag
LL Bean Personal Organizer
LL Bean Cabin Fleece Sleeping Bag
Money belt
Passport, passport copy, visa photos
Credit & debit cards, ISIC card

Wear:
2 pairs North Face Convertible Pants
1 pair of jeans
1 pair Nike dri-fit capris
2 pairs Champion running shorts
2 long sleeve quick drying shirts
1 black zip up fleece
1 rain jacket
1 swim suit
3 dri-fit shirts
4 tshirts
1 nylon running tank top
2 tank tops
6 prs of adidas nylon socks
8 prs travel underwear
2 pairs running shoes
Chacos (one of my most favorite travel items!!)
Flip-flops
Sunglasses
Running hat/visor
Bonus: Electric blue leggings (there’s a story behind them that’s bound to emerge on this blog at some point!)

Survive:
LED flashlight
Headlamp
Metal Water Bottle
Nathan Sprint Water Bottle
Runner’s Belt
Gu electrolyte gels
Protein bars
Pillowcase- has multiple uses

Entertain:
Lonely Planet Italy
Lonely Planet Jordan
The Sex Lives of Cannibals
Moleskine, pens
Sketch Book
Snorkel & mask- never go on a trip without it

travelmeds
Drug dealer or prepared traveler? Jury’s still out.

Hygiene:
Travel size toiletries
First Aid kit: Bandaids, antibiotic ointment, pepto bismol chewables (for race days), ibuprofen, malaria meds, multivitamin, glucosamine chondroitin, stomach travel meds, nauseau meds (for Nepal trekking)
Hair ties, bobby pins, q-tips, dental floss, chapstick
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Contacts, glasses, solution
Body Glide (highly recommend for runners)
Travel size detergent
Microfiber towel

Technology:
My rucksack is the new home for my technology. See picture below. Gasp. I know. I’m having to cope with it as well. Here goes:

flashpacker

Sony W-220 Cybershot camera
Olympus e510 dslr camera w/ kit lenses
Circular polarizing filter
Macbook (confession: I bought a netbook for this trip, but decided I couldn’t live without my Mac, so I turned around and sold the netbook and bought a smaller Mac to take with me)
2 external hard drives
Backup camera batteries & storage cards
Battery chargers
Camcorder
Tripod
iPod
Plug adaptor
Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch

It was exhausting just to write this, let alone get everything together. After all the stress that goes in to packing and planning, it all seems to go down the drain and become trivial once you’re on the road; unless of course you’re lacking a passport, at which point you won’t get very far! But as long as you have that, and your toothbrush (dental hygiene ranks high on my list) then you’re good to go. Bon voyage!

13 thoughts on “RTW Packing: In it to Win it

  • Looks like you’ve got it pretty much covered.

    One thing I might suggest is a Steri-pen, it makes water drinkable anywhere and only takes 4 batteries to clean enough water for many months. I found it to be cost effective for my own long term trip.

    I did the same thing and packed a macbook when I just couldn’t make myself part with it for a netbook… and I can’t wait to hear the story of the electric blue leggings. :)
    .-= Catia | Vagabond Roots´s last blog ..Packing List for Round the World Travel =-.

    • Catia,
      Thanks for stopping by. I read about the Steripen on Shannon’s blog at Alittleadrift.com. It does sound really economical for long term travel. I got a lot of my stuff together at the last minute due to procrastination so I didn’t make so far as to looking into buying it. Lucky for me, I’ve got people meeting me at spots along the way so it may end up being a mid-trip purchase. And yes, the blue leggings story is pretty good so keep your eyes peeled for when I blog about my past trip to Egypt!

    • I’ve found that an old pillow case ends up being really practical. You can shove a fleece in it and use it as a pillow or you can use it as a dirty clothes bag if you’re on the move and haven’t done laundry. It’s like a traveler’s version of duct tape…

  • I am super impressed by your packing simplicity. Billy has been anxiously awaiting your packing list and he apparently approves and wants some packing cubes for his own bags.

    • Thanks Leigh! I also found it helpful to sift through other people’s packing list when I was planning so it was important to me to put it up. I can also update it as I go, documenting what was good and what wasn’t!

  • I still have one month to plan before going to dolphin island! As of now I am already listing down what to bring. My kids and my nephews are going with us, so there will be a lot of packing too.

  • Haha Awesome! I hadn’t used them before but so far so good. They help my chaotic cram tendencies to become a little more streamlined… :P

  • I might suggest is a Steri-pen, it makes water drinkable anywhere and only takes 4 batteries to clean enough water for many months. I found it to be cost effective for my own long term trip.

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