Packing and Gear Update

We left our home 4 months ago to travel the world. Our longest trip to date had been 18 days, so we spent a lot of time planning and packing for world travel. Check out what made the initial cut for our backpacks here. After 4 months, we have learned a lot. We have lost, tossed, and given away many things. Other items have proved invaluable. We started off with a combination of brand-name and generic supplies, and recap how they are holding up.

So, let’s get to it, 4 months of traveling the world, gear check:

Gear we use all the time

• All of our clothes. We literally wear every single thing we packed, you can review it all here. Our focus on quick-dry style clothing has been incredibly helpful.
• Travel clothesline. Jon was a bit skeptical about this, but we have used it everywhere and it’s awesome.
• Portable power bank. We rely on phones for transportation planning and tickets, audio tours, money transactions, and more. Thanks to our power bank we’ve yet to be stranded with a dead cell phone.
• Power inverter. This gives us 2 American plugs and 4 USB charge ports and has held up perfectly.
• Legos. The kids play with them all the time, usually while listening to an informative or historical audio book about the area of the world we are in.
• Water bottles. We fill, drink, wash, and re-use these daily.
• Laptop.
• Go Pro. We use it for most of our action footage, and all of our water footage. The internal stabilization is great.
• Packing cubes. The space-saving from clothes is amazing, but we also use these for electronics, medicines, and all other odds-and-ends to keep things organized.
• Travel towel. We only brought one, but it will dry our entire family, then be dry itself within hours. Amazing.
• Kids Abeka math books and journals. We are consistently schooling through these 2 methods.

Backpacks

All of our travel backpacks are holding up very well. As a reminder, Ashley has a name-brand, framed Osprey with a zip-off daypack. Jon has a cheap 60L pack from Amazon, and Brandon’s is from Wal-Mart. The tactical backpack that Abigail is using was already 7 years old at the start of the trip and is starting to fray in spots.

• We use the Osprey zip-off daypack all the time. It’s a great feature when you only bring 4 backpacks.
• The frame of the Osprey is nice at times, but Jon’s backpack folds up easily. It can also be squished into smaller spaces if needed during a plane, bus, or taxi ride. We are still glad to have one of each.
• The frame does make it a little easier to carry a heavy load. Ashley definitely carries quite a bit of weight in her pack relative to her size.
• Brandon struggles with his pack at times. The lack of frame mades his bigger load awkward to carry and doesn’t sit great on him. When we originally looked at backpacks, there weren’t options for a mid-size framed backpack that fit him, leaving what he has as his best option.
• Jon has really tested his pack in terms of weight and volume, and it has held up great. He’s big enough that no frame is not a problem.

Still schlepping

This is our list of things we have packed but used sparingly. They are all just helpful enough that we continue to schlep them around:

• Medical kit. We have needed a few band-aids and some Benadryl cream, but have been blessed to have not utilized any of our other medical supplies.
• Baseball gloves and ball. We plan to get back into regular practice.
• Angel Watches. In theory they are great, but after a bit of a fiasco with WorldSIM, we have not utilized a SIM card to enable the full tracking and GPS features. To use simply as a watch the battery life is much too short.
• Hair trimmers. Jon cuts Brandon’s hair. The original plan was for Ashley to cut Jon’s hair as well, but that hasn’t happened yet.
• Phone telescopic lens and tripod. We schlepped these around for nearly 4 months before using it during our African safari. It actually worked great and gave us some amazing shots. It does take a little bit of practice to set up and a stable hand/surface for picture clarity. If your newer phone has a better zoom lense, this is definitely not necessary.

Another one bites the dust

Here’s the list of things that have been broken, lost, tossed, given away, or replaced. Also, some lessons on what we would do better next time:

• Scrubba bag. A waterproof bag that aids in handwashing clothes. In theory it’s awesome. However, the only time we would use it in the future is if there was a severe water limitation and no basin of any kind. The ribbing did not assist in cleaning better, and we ended up using this more as a dry bag for the beach and excursions than as a laundry aid. It developed a small rip after 3 months, so it got left behind. Lesson: bring a durable dry bag (we had family bring ours from home) and forget Scrubba.
• Drone. It’s quite a hassle to transport around and stay up to date with permits and local requirements. Jon paid for the European permit and flew the drone in Spain and Slovenia, but the hassle wasn’t worth it to keep going. We were able to leave it with our missionary friends in Uganda, where they plan to use aerial photography to assist in their ongoing building efforts.
• Goggles. Jon really loves the goggles we brought and used the exact ones to finish his Ironman triathlon. However, the durability is not good enough for consistent travel. From our 4 original pairs, only one remains unscathed. Broken seals, clasps, and straps are frustrating. Lesson: bring higher quality goggles if you swim a lot.
• Jon’s sandals. An earlier post recounts the rookie mistake of bringing new sandals. They never fit right, caused blisters, and got left behind. As a bonus, we replaced them with much lower profile sandals that are much easier to pack.
• Extra phone cables. Jon packed several extra micro-USB and USB-C cables. There was no need, as both are easy and cheap to buy internationally if needed. We now have just 2 of each, which is plenty and is easier to manage.
• Jon’s Goodr sunglasses: He lost them on the very first flight out of Louisville.
• Ashley’s flip flops: We attempted to replace them at the start of the trip after seeing the start of a tear. They finally broke in Kenya! This was pretty impressive since her $1 Old Navy Flip Flops lasted for 4 months with a tear.

Shoes

All of our shoes are already wearing out. We have walked a ton, hiked all over, and all of it with the same pair. Ashley’s North Face boots are still in the best shape. Both Abigail’s North Face hiking shoes and Brandon’s cheap Amazon hiking shoes are nearing replacement. Jon loves the quick lace design of the Salamon Speedcross. However, the traction is wearing out really fast and will replace them soon with a more traditional running shoe.

Lesson: just plan on replacing your shoes while packing for world travel. Start with reasonably priced waterproof hiking shoes.

Added to our packs

We have tried to keep from adding things. Tried is the keyword. We have been schlepping a beach paddle-ball game since Spain, and Ashley’s parents brought us the following:

• Our large dry bag
• Atomic Fireballs. Jon’s primary birthday present, and a lot of them!
• Crafts from Nana for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These have been awesome to have when celebrating abroad.
• Additional cash. We always recommend having at least some USD.
• Replacement ATM and credit cards. Read about why here.
• Excedrin and Aleve. Much harder and more expensive to buy abroad.

There you have it; our gear update after 4 months of travel. We have learned a lot from packing for world travel, hope you enjoy our mistakes and lessons, and that it’s helpful for you! Make sure to see our other recap articles detailing our highlights “A Few of our Favorite Things” and mishaps “When the Dog Bites and the Bee Stings”.

We plan to continue updating about our gear and packing!  To see the pictures that accompany our world travel adventures, head over to our Instagram page. 

Comment below with any questions you have or share your own gear and packing for world travel tips!