The ultimate pack
I have been dreading this part of preparing for our trip for some time now. Although I am not a huuuge shopper or too fashion savvy I can’t comprehend trying to fit my life into one bag. I am most definitely your average over packer in the sense of taking a lot of stuff whenever I go anywhere but I do actually manage to use or wear everything I bring.
In fact whenever we go anywhere including camping trips, weekends away I always fill the boot of our little car right up. But you never know when you will need that picnic set or the beach chair, a few pairs of shoes and of course I can’t go away with at least 3-4 books options to pass the time. So the test for me the last few small trips we have made is for me to have (gasp) carry on only! Eeek!
Trust me it was a struggle, I went back home to NZ for literally less than 48 hours with one 7kg bag and I still had to borrow clothes from my sister. However I think after searching through what seems like hundreds of packing lists and blogs and still not finding that ‘infinity bag’ (for those non- harry potter fans this is a tiny wee handbag that literally can fit everything in it including a small house-size tent with all the dressings) I think I can do this with space left over even.
I know all those expert carry-on only travellers will probably still groan at both my pack size and what I am taking but I figure I am still a beginner and perfection takes practice right?
In fact whenever we go anywhere including camping trips, weekends away I always fill the boot of our little car right up. But you never know when you will need that picnic set or the beach chair, a few pairs of shoes and of course I can’t go away with at least 3-4 books options to pass the time. So the test for me the last few small trips we have made is for me to have (gasp) carry on only! Eeek!
Trust me it was a struggle, I went back home to NZ for literally less than 48 hours with one 7kg bag and I still had to borrow clothes from my sister. However I think after searching through what seems like hundreds of packing lists and blogs and still not finding that ‘infinity bag’ (for those non- harry potter fans this is a tiny wee handbag that literally can fit everything in it including a small house-size tent with all the dressings) I think I can do this with space left over even.
I know all those expert carry-on only travellers will probably still groan at both my pack size and what I am taking but I figure I am still a beginner and perfection takes practice right?
I bought my bag several years ago on sale from Kathmandu but I can’t quite remember the size I think it’s a 55L with a clip on day pack which takes it to 65L. Jakes is slightly smaller but with all is flying in and out of work for the past year he has become an expert at travelling lightly.
Now for the packing list.
Living in a tropical climate year round we both live in t-shirts, shorts and jandals. We are travelling to several high altitude cold climate places first up. In other words a whole new wardrobe make over. With this in mind I had banned… ok …limited any shopping sprees for me over the last 6 months knowing that none of
the clothes I would buy I would be able to take with me to travel. Where there have been some good sales we have bought a few warms tops but living in Brisbane cheap warm clothes that I would actually wear is pretty hard to find. The other problem for me only is that I am definitely a warm climate person (as Jake always says he was born in a tent). My feet literally were always iceblocks in New Zealand winters so I had to wear those coooool itchy sleeping socks to bed. Hopefully the final packing list below will manage to keep me warm, dry and also allow for a few different outfit changes without having to do washing every single day.
Now for the packing list.
Living in a tropical climate year round we both live in t-shirts, shorts and jandals. We are travelling to several high altitude cold climate places first up. In other words a whole new wardrobe make over. With this in mind I had banned… ok …limited any shopping sprees for me over the last 6 months knowing that none of
the clothes I would buy I would be able to take with me to travel. Where there have been some good sales we have bought a few warms tops but living in Brisbane cheap warm clothes that I would actually wear is pretty hard to find. The other problem for me only is that I am definitely a warm climate person (as Jake always says he was born in a tent). My feet literally were always iceblocks in New Zealand winters so I had to wear those coooool itchy sleeping socks to bed. Hopefully the final packing list below will manage to keep me warm, dry and also allow for a few different outfit changes without having to do washing every single day.
Kalia's Packing List
1 black jacket 2 zip up tops 1 green cardi 3 merino long sleeve tops 1 jeans (I don’t care what all the packing lists say, in winter I live in my jeans) 1 loose-fitting black pants 3 shorts (1 dress, 2 casual) 1 skirt 1 black dress 2 tights 1 set thermals 4 singlets/tank tops 3 t-shirts 1 long sleeve dress shirt 1 set of exercise gear 1 bikini 2 bras 1 sports bra 5 knickers 1 runners 1 pair of Taylors 1 pair jandals (can’t be the wandering jandals without these) |
Jake's Packing List
1 black jacket 2 jerseys 5 t-shirts 4 singlets 2 bike tights (to stop chaffing apparently) 2 exercise shorts 2 long pants 2 shorts 2 set thermals 5 undies 4 socks 1 pair of runners 1 pair of casual shoes Jandals (ditto) (Sometimes I envy being a male and their minimalistic packing) |
As well as this we have all the extra toiletries, medicines and electronics that comes with back packing or flashpacking these days.
Seems a bit extreme but in our electronic bag we have:
1 14 inch laptop
1 I-Pad
2 I-phones (really for when we get to Europe and buy new sim cards)
2 cameras (1 underwater camera, 1 normal digital camera)
Mini kobo reader (courtesy of my lovely work colleagues)
2 hard drives
1 I-pod
All the cords, headphones, chargers etc that go with these.
Hair straightener (I know it’s not really a travel necessity and extra weight but on those really horrible hair days I NEED this! A hat just won’t cut it.)
We also have a few other extra items such as a knee brace for me as my knees play up sometime, some colouring-in books, chalk and crayons which my brother and his girlfriend suggested to bring when working or volunteering with kids, small sewing kit, plug, travel towel's, jakes snorkelling gear (more for when we get to Europe), our dive books and two sleeping bags.
So now to fit all this in….
Seems a bit extreme but in our electronic bag we have:
1 14 inch laptop
1 I-Pad
2 I-phones (really for when we get to Europe and buy new sim cards)
2 cameras (1 underwater camera, 1 normal digital camera)
Mini kobo reader (courtesy of my lovely work colleagues)
2 hard drives
1 I-pod
All the cords, headphones, chargers etc that go with these.
Hair straightener (I know it’s not really a travel necessity and extra weight but on those really horrible hair days I NEED this! A hat just won’t cut it.)
We also have a few other extra items such as a knee brace for me as my knees play up sometime, some colouring-in books, chalk and crayons which my brother and his girlfriend suggested to bring when working or volunteering with kids, small sewing kit, plug, travel towel's, jakes snorkelling gear (more for when we get to Europe), our dive books and two sleeping bags.
So now to fit all this in….
Success!! All up both our bags weigh around 15kg each so hopefully this will be manageable for us to carry around :)