Our Packing List For Long-Term Travel & How We Keep It Light

When going on a long-term travel adventure or any other backpacking trip, one of the most important things is what to take and how to pack. Your backpack will be your house during your whole trip. So it’s important to have the essentials with you while keeping it light. It’s easy to overpack and it can happen very quickly. Which is logical. The first time you pack, you’ll pack for the “what if” situations. This usually occurs when you have no idea what may await you. We had the same problem in the beginning. To be fair, we already sent a package back home the first week of our trip with things we actually didn’t need to carry along. We wrote this to help fellow adventurers, so they don’t make the same mistake we did. Of course, not everyone travels the same like us, and everyone has its personal needs. But find out our packing list to travel around for more than a year and how we try to keep it light! We hope this will help you to pack smart and as light as possible!

What if I’m going to need this in that situation?

OUR PACKING LIST

THE BACKPACKS

60 + 15L Deuter Aircontact Pro
Thomas uses this Deuter backpack for more than two years now and is very happy with it. He bought it for our trip to Norway because it’s superb for long trekking. We had to use such a big backpack because we had to pack our inflatable kayak in it.

Now, the bag is actually a little bit too big for our trip now. Thomas can easily use a 45 + 10L backpack. That’s why we recommend not to buy a backpack that’s too large because you’ll have the intention of packing too heavy just because you’ll have some space left. This Deuter is perfect because you can get quick access to every part of the bag because of all the compartments. This way, you don’t have to take everything out to get something that’s on the bottom of your backpack. We always carry our laptop and gear in it because it’s also a little bit sturdier than Myrthe’s bag.

45 + 10L Deuter ACT Lite
This lightweight but spacious Deuter backpack is great for Myrthe. The only downside is that she has to take everything out before reaching for something on the bottom. This size is perfect for her, because it’s not too big and bulky but also not too small. She even doesn’t need the extra 10L.

17L North Face Flyweight Daypack
We are very happy with this daypack and its quality. We use it for daily hiking trips or when traveling around. This bag has the perfect size to put the laptop and other expensive things in it when traveling by bus, train or plane. We don’t want to leave our valuables out of sight of course. It’s very lightweight and we can easily fold it up to reduce the space in our backpacks.

Eastpak Bum Bag
We never leave the room without it. It’s the perfect thing to keep your wallet, cell phone, room keys and passports save and close with you. Pick-pockets won’t have a chance when you wear this in front of you.

CLOTHING

Packing your clothes is one of the hardest parts. You have to decide what to bring with you for a long time and what to keep at home. Bear in mind that it’s best to wear layered clothing when it gets cold and if you forget or need something after a while, you can certainly buy it in the country where you’re staying at that moment.

THOMAS

4 x T-Shirts
2 x Sweaters (which are quick-drying and lightweight)
1 x Shorts
1 x Swimming Shorts
1 x Zip-off Pants (I use it more as a short than as trousers but it’s quick-drying and is really useful for trekking.)
1 x Trousers
5 x Underwear Shorts
2 x Regular Socks
3 x Trainer Socks
1 x Falke Hiking Socks (Quality socks for your feet and quick-drying too)
1 x Nike Sneakers
1 x Toms (for shorter walks or when strolling around in the city)
1 x Havaianas Flip-Flops
1 x Jack Wolfskin Texapore Jacket
1 x Sunglasses
1 x Sun Hat
1 x Linen Bag (to put dirty clothes in)

MYRTHE

3 x T-Shirts
2 x Tank Tops
1 x Adidas Tee Dress
1 x Skirt
1 x Sweater
1 x Hoodie
2 x Shorts
1 x Trousers
1 x Thermal Underwear (Used on colder days or the top as long sleeve shirt)
1 x Running Tights (Very useful for hiking)
2 x Bras
1 x Sports Bra
7 x Underwear
2 x Bikini’s
4 x Nylon Trainer Socks
1 x Regular Socks
1 x Falke Hiking Socks (Quality socks for your feet and quick-drying too)
1 x Nike Sneakers
1 x Toms (for shorter walks or when strolling around in the city)
1 x Havaianas Flip-Flops
1 x North Face Jacket
1 x Sunglasses

We ditched our hiking boots already on the first week of our travels because it weighed too much so we’ve sent them back home. We still need to buy good walking shoes somewhere that are light enough.

Travel tip: Roll your clothes up in packing cubes. This will save you at least 35% of space in the backpack.

TOILETRIES

Osprey Toiletry bag
2 x Bottle Containers (1 for shampoo, 1 for shower gel)
Deodorant
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Remington Beard Trimmer (with just one extra trimming length)
Comb
Nail Clipper
4 x Sea To Summit Pocket Towels (Lightweight, quick-drying towels)
Wet Wipes
First Aid Kit (Including all sorts of bandages, antiseptic wipes, gauze, small scissor, moleskin, pain killers, anti-diarrhea tablets, malaria tablets, antibiotics, DEET, sunscreen, anti-bacterial soap, thermometer, …)

ELECTRONICS

Apple Macbook Air 13 inch
As one of the lightest Macbooks on the market, we are very happy with this purchase. We opted for an Apple laptop because of its functionality. While traveling, we need this to write articles for our blog. Another good alternative could be an iPad or other tablet, but this is only convenient if you don not need to edit photos or make movies on the road. We upgraded the laptop to 512GB SSD for optimal performance. We keep the Macbook in the Inateck Protective Sleeve. It has an extra pouch to keep the charger close by.

DJI Osmo 3-Axis Gimbal Camera
We bought this camera mainly to avoid the bulkiness and weight of a DSLR camera. We are very happy with the result after filming. The image is super sharp (4K) and always stable, even from moving objects! The 3-axis gimbal camera really does its work, and we can fully recommend this camera for every traveler. The only downside is that you always need to connect your smartphone with Bluetooth to see what you’re filming.

Guardo Action Cam One
We’re already using the Guardo for a long time, and it never disappoints! It’s a lightweight action camera that offers almost the same quality and gadgets as GoPro does, but they are a lot cheaper. This action cam even comes with a 2-inch display which is very useful while filming! For us, it’s the perfect alternative of a GoPro Action Cam.

Apple iPhone 4s + 5s
We are both iPhone users, although Thomas is not a big fan of it. The main reason why he uses the iPhone is so he can Facetime with his friends & family at home sometimes, and it’s easy to back everything up with iCloud. All our Instagram photos are also made with the iPhone 5. We also have a One Plus One if one of the phones would die. We should actually use that phone to make pictures with. 🙂

2 x Travel adapter
2 x Memory Cards
2 x USB’s
WD Elements External HD 1TB
Spare battery packs

OTHER USEFUL THINGS

Eagle Creek Packing Cubes (Definitely one of the best things we have. It compresses our clothes to its minimum of space (saves up to 80%) and makes the backpack look a lot cleaner)
Backpack Raincovers (We use the Deuter rain covers that were included with our backpack)
Sea To Summit Silk Liner (Helpful to use for those colder nights. We also still think it could prevent getting bed bugs)
Sea To Summit Ultralight Mat (A lightweight mat that doesn’t take a lot of room. Perfect for when you go camping or need to sleep on the ground somewhere in a rural place)
Sea To Summit Clothesline (Super small and useful clothesline to easily dry your clothes in your room)
Sewing kit
Combination Locks
Sleeping Mask & Ear Plugs (For those loud nights in the hostel)
Guidebook (Lonely Planet or Rough Guides)
Credit card Without Banking Fees (We are using Revolut and are very happy with it! They ensure we get the best conversion rates when using an ATM and spending money in stores or online is totally free, so you get more money to travel longer)
Washing powder/soap
Zipper bags (to keep things dry)

Don’t forget all your official documents, travel insurance, credit cards, proof of vaccination, etc.!

COOL TRAVEL GADGETS

Here are a couple of cool travel gadgets that we use. Some of them are very handy sometimes, and others are just fun to have or great ideas to give a fellow traveler as Christmas present.

All this together probably looks a lot to carry in two backpacks but it actually isn’t. A lot of items are very small and lightweight so they don’t take much space in the bags. Each bag weights approximately around 11kg. We know that it’s probably not light enough for a lot of other travelers so if you have recommendations on what we should need or have to get rid off, let us know in the comments underneath this post!

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