Packing for one year of travel

Living a year with only one bag of stuff can be challenging. Here’s how I packed my carry-on backpack for such a long time.

The Bag®

Choosing a bag was quite tricky and it took me much more time than I thought it would. At first I was thinking of taking a big hiking bag of 60L. After reading about the subject, I came to realize that my trip wasn’t some kind of long hike but simply a long trip and that there were bags more suited to this situation.

I decided to go with a carry-on bag, this means at most 46L. I also wanted to be able to wear it on my back for easier transportation and one of the mandatory feature was a wide opening on the front (like a normal travel bag).

I went for the Osprey Porter 46 (2011 edition) because I had read great reviews about it from other world travelers. I tested it during my Eurotrip and it is indeed a very good bag. Comfortable enough to carry on the back for a full day with a big front opening and made of strong materials.

My daypack is a Millet Prolight 24 which is a really good bag and very comfortable to wear with an airflow suspension system. This was important to me as in the end, this is the bag I will carry the most.

Packing list

All this stuff fits inside the bag thanks to the Eagle Creek Pack-it Cubes. Without them it wouldn’t be possible!

Clothing & accessories

• 7 pairs of underwear
• 3 pairs of socks
• 1 pair swim trunks
• 1 sport shorts
• 3 pairs of shorts
• 1 pair of denim
• 1 pair of convertible pants
• 1 short sleeve shirt
• 1 long sleeve shirt
• 5 short sleeve t-shirts
• 1 long sleeve t-shirt
• 1 base layer
• 1 soft shell
• 1 jacket

Some of these clothes are quick dry but I didn’t want to buy an entirely new wardrobe and I find most tek clothes not very pretty.

Shoes:

• 1 pair of walking shoes
• 1 pair of “light” shoes (for the city and to go out)
• 1 pair of sandals

Accessories:

• 1 toiletry kit
• 1 medical kit (I asked a doctor to advise me on which medicine to take)
• Sea to Summit Tek Towel (quick dry towel)

Gadgets

Most of the gadgets will go into my daypack.

• Asus Zenbook Prime 13” ultrabook
• Canon S100
• GoPro Hero 2
• Amazon Kindle
• iPhone 4 (with international sim card)
• Old Nokia phone (for local sim cards)
• GPS tracker
• GorillaPod (tripod)
• 2 universal socket adapters

Misc stuff

• Cocoon Travel Sheets
• Petzl headlamp
• Sea To Summit Dry Sack (waterproof bag)
• TSA locks (with cable)
• Sink stopper
• Suction hook (to hang clothes in the bathroom)
• Point-it dictionary

All cubed up:

And in the bag:

I hope I didn’t forget anything important!