Your first flights are booked, the route is more or less fixed, the insurance is taken out, so now it’s time to start thinking about what you need to take with you, in other words what needs to go into your backpack!
Since most travelers take way too much with them and often the wrong things, I’m now going to share with you what you really need and what you can confidently leave at home. It’s really a lot as you might imagine!
Things you need for your travels and things you can leave at home
The best packing list for your next adventure!
The question: Minimalistic or with luggage?
Before thinking about all the things you want to take with you on your trip you should first define how you want to travel: minimalistic and with hand luggage only, or with a bigger backpack you check in?
Of course it’s a lot less that fits in your hand luggage than in a bigger backpack, but you really save a lot of money for checked luggage and certainly a lot of time, especially when flying with low-cost carriers. Checking a luggage in costs you at least 20-30 € one way, which adds up with several flights and if you’re on the road for a longer time period.
In addition you save so much time if you don’t need to queue for checking in your luggage and waiting at the baggage claim until your backpack has finally made it out of the plane.
If you ask yourself now how all your stuff would fit in hand luggage only and think you don’t have enough with you, read this article how we almost travel with hand luggage only even if we’re on the road for several months and what you can find in our bags!
If you’re planning to see as much as possible of the world, want to get active and stay in different climate zones indeed it makes sense to take a bigger backpack with you. You prpably need space for warm clothes and solid (hiking) boots.
No matter what you decide, if with carry on luggage only or with a big backpack, the first thing you should put on your list is to look for a well fitting backpack!
The right backpack for being on the road
There are still lots of travelers who save money in the wrong place: the backpack. They buy a bad or not fitting backpack for 50 € less than another just to save some money. And that’s a big mistake!
You will be on the road for quite some time and carry the backpack on your back maybe for several hours, so it really needs to fit perfectly to your body and not only be a bargain!
Most important thing is the wearing comfort. Pay close attention that the backpack really fits you, is well padded at the back, the shoulders and the hips and feels good even when fully packed. Therefore try on several backpack models and take some good advise from the staff.
You certainly don’t want to be plagued by pain in your back and travel from A to B with a pained expression in your face and tensed shoulders.
I have tried a couple of different backpacks within the last years and can especially recommend these to you:
The best backpacks
Deuter Trekking Packpack Futura Vario
Tatonka Backpack Yukon for men
Jack Wolfskin Backpack Rambler
Jack Wolfskin Backpack Highland Trail XT 60 liter for men
Lowe Alpine Trekking Backpack Zephyr 65 liter for men
Fjällräven Trekking Backpack Kajka 65 liter
Haglöfs Trekking Backpack Nejd 65 liter
The best hand luggage backpacks
As I already mentioned I’m a huge fan of minimalistic traveling and often travel with hand luggage only. So these are my favourites for hand luggage:
Osprey Farpoint 40
One of the best hand luggage backpacks ever! Comfortable, a lot of space and it’s not even 100 €!
Pacsafe Venture Safe 45
The Pacsafe Venturesafe is my favorite at the moment within the broad variety of hand luggage backpacks. It’s pretty stylish, super safe and offers a lot of space!
Tatonka Flightcase
The Tatonka flightcase is a small hand luggage backpack you can even use as a shoulder bag! Very handy for short trips or weekend adventures!
Technical equipment and electronics for on the road
Nowadays you basically can’t live without technical equipment and most people just don’t want it. Smartphones, camera, laptop, kindle – all these can be very helpful on the road! Be it to find your way around, keep in touch with others, save the most beautiful moments on pictures, work on the road, write or even read a good book.
As a travel blogger I always have lots of technical equipment with me on the road and so I was able to test a lot during the last years. Here is an overview of the technical equipment I can recommend you for your next trip:
Smartphones:
Apple iPhone 6
The iPhone is really just a very handy smartphone: thin, light, chic and easy and intuitively to handle! For me the best smartphone on the market!
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
An awesome smartphone with a real camera! If you like taking pictures and don’t want to take your camera with you all the time the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is best for you!
Cameras:
GoPro Kamera HERO4 Session
As a real adventurer you can’t travel without a GoPro Kamera! It’s perfect for filming when you’re active, for horseback riding or under water pictures!
Sony RX100IV
Small, but powerful! The digital camera from Sony doesn’t only take awesome pictures but also great videos! I use it for example for my daily Vlogs on Youtube!
Sony RX100IV
Small, but powerful! The digital camera from Sony doesn’t only take awesome pictures but also great videos! I use it for example for my daily Vlogs on Youtube!
Samsung NX 1
You can’t do wrong with this system camera from Samsung! It takes great landscape pictures as well as detail shots.
Canon Powershot G1X Mark II
The Canon Powershot G1X Mark II really takes awesome pictures and the videos are at least as great as the pictures due to the amazing integrated stabilizer! You can read my whole review here.
Laptops and tablets:
Apple MacBook Air 13,3 Zoll
The MacBook Air is small and handy and just great! Since it’s so thin and light it’s the perfect laptop for traveling! If you want it to be even smaller, get the 11 inches wide!
MacBook Pro
If you need to work on your laptop a lot, need to edit big data like pictures, videos or other graphic designs the MacBook Pro is the right one for you!
Apple iPad Air
If you just want to check mails, flights and accommodations, read books and go on Facebook an iPad is enough for your trip! With the iPad you can also save a little bit of space and weight!
Asus ZenPad
The ZenPad is a great alternative to the iPad Air for all fans of windows. It’s super light and handy as well. Go check out my extended review about it here.
Kindle Paperwhite
If you love reading you don’t need to carry all your books with you on the road – just get a Kindle! This way you have unlimited books with you and don’t need to carry any extra weight with you!
The right adapter: one for all!
If you take electronic stuff with you on the road you certainly need to charge them at some point. Since there is no standardized electricity system worldwide you should get yourself an adapter. Instead of buying an adapter for each country and region and carry a lot of unnecessary stuff I’m gonna tell you something now: you only need one adapter, more concrete, a universal adapter!
SKROSS External Power Adapter
With this adapter you really get electricity everywhere in the world! It’s mall but not as complicated as some other universal adapters and you can really use it for every country and electricity system in the world!
The most important and best clothes
Depending on where you’re traveling to, you need to pack your bag differently. If only warm regions are on your list you can certainly leave all clothes in the section „warm clothes“ at home and only need some pieces from the summer list. If you’re planning to travel to cold regions for a longer time period you need to pack a couple of warm clothes though.
If you’re not sure yet I recommend you to only pack summer clothes. Warm clothes can easily be bought on-site and in most of the cases they are even better and sometimes even cheaper than at home!
There are of course also some essential clothes you need to have with you on every trip no matter where you travel! And if you want to get active and are an adventurous mind I have a very handy list for you as well!
Let's start:
Essentials
Underwear
Socks
Kufyia scarf
A Kufyia scarf alway comes handy! It keeps you warm, in case it get cold, protects you from the sun, and even can be used as a towel, a blanket or even as a pillow!
Rain jacket
Jack Wolfskin Supercell Texapore Hardshell for men
A great rain jacket in dark blue which is waterproof and a perfect protection against wind. It is made out of the light Texapore material and can be folded easily – additionally it just looks pretty stylish on your body!
Schöffel Taifun II for women
A plain rain jacket with a great cut, water and rain resistant and comfortable to wear. You can get it different colors like red, blue and green but also in white or black.
Sneakers
Nike Free 5.0 running shoes
Super comfortable running shoes you can wear for every adventure! Be it a walk through the city or a little hike during the wilderness – these shoes are perfect for your travels and even look great!
For men: Nike Free 5.0 Men
For women: Nike Free 5.0 Women
Sandals with profile
Birkenstock ARIZONA – Pantolette
The sandals from Birkenstock are really worth every single cent! These shoes are incredibly comfortable and especially if you’re traveling to warm countries you should walk in sandals with profile because otherwise you will get problems with your feet and back! This model in black has two strips and buckles, has a clean look and fits to every outfit!
Summer style
Tank-Tops
Adventurous Mind Tank Top for men
Really a cool tank top for adventurer! The material is cotton, the print two-tone and the design from us! So you can be sure, that this is THE shirt for every adventure!
Stay Wild Tank Top for women
Again one of our own tank tops that just screams pure freedom and thirst for adventure. The cut is a little more wide, with a round neck, of course made out of cotton and with a really cool Off The Path print!
T-shirts
Make everyday your adventure for men
You’re into adventures in the mountains? Then this is your shirt! With a round neck, of course out of cotton and with a really cool Off The Path print!
Shorts
Jack Wolfskin Herren Shorts Sun Men
I have worn this shorts on many of my trips and can totally recommend it! It’s comfortable, stylish and super light! You can get it in many colours – I prefer blue!
Levi’s 501 Shorts
A jeans short is perfect for every trip! Comfortable and super stylish, it’s just the perfect outfit for hot days, the beach or even for hiking!
Warm clothes
Jack Wolfskin down jacket men
This down jacket from Jack Wolfskin is not only very stylish but also great in function: warm and rain and wind resistant! The perfect jacket for men who love adventures and the cold!
Jack Wolfskin down jacket women
Very comfy, warm and light down jacket for your adventures during winter time!
Hoodie or light sweater
This sweater from Jack Wolfskin is made out of super light material, very comfortable and in addition just super stylish! The perfect sweater for trips and longer adventures!
For men: Jack Wolfskin Herren Fleecepullover Tongari Nanuk
For women: Jack Wolfskin Damen Fleecepullover Tongari Nanuk
Fleece shirt
A fleece shirt keeps you comfy all day, is light, warm and always handy when traveling!
For men: Jack Wolfskin Fleece Pullover Gecko for men
For women: Jack Wolfskin Fleece Pullover Gecko for women
Even more warm clothes, you can pack
Long trousers
Beanie, gloves and scarf
thermal underwear
For active adventurers:
Hiking boots
Mammut Comfort High GTX for men
Really great hiking boors for longer hikes as well a short climbing tracks. I wore these boots when hiking the Dolomites in South Tyrol and can really recommend them! They are very comfy and offer great stability!
Jack Wolfskin VOJO HIKE TEXAPORE for women
These are really light hiking boots which offer great stability as well and are made of real leather. Perfect for your travels, for short hikes and other adventures in nature!
functional shirt
A functional shirt keeps you really warm and are made of breathable fabrics to keep you comfy at all times. This way, you won’t sweat like a pig and thanks to the stretch material it perfectly fits your body!
For men: Under Armour Herren Top HG Sonic Compression Long Sleeve
For women: TCA SuperThermal
functional socks
These socks support your feet and your ankle when doing sports or other extreme activities. They are especially breathable, keep your feet warm and they dry quickly. This way you don’t sweat too much!
Tips for your toilet bag
For your adventure bag there’s only one thing that counts: less is more! You won’t need most of the cosmetic products you use at home when traveling. The only important products are: shampoo, bodywash, antiperspirant, tooth brush and tooth paste, and a few other things for women. But that’s all you need!
Handy toilet bag
This toilet bag is really handy and I’m using it since a few years now already. All your products fit well into the bag and you can fold it nicely together.
Cosmetic travel set
You can also buy pre-selected products in a cosmetic travel set, which usually also complies with the regulations for carry on luggage!
For men: Reiseset Sea to Summit Ready-to-fly men
For women: Nivea Reiseset for women
Things that will make your life easier!
There are a few things you don’t need to pack necessarily, but which will make your life as a traveler a lot easier and more convenient. Here is a small selection:
Packing-Cubes!
So called packing cubes are small bags helping you to pack. With these you can put your clothes in small bags instead of just throwing them into your backpack. Thereby you avoid a chaotic mess in your backpack, compromise your clothes at the same time and can take even more with you!
Eagle Creek Pack It
The most popular packing cubes are from Eagle Creek: chic design and very good quality! You can get them in different sizes and colors!
The best daypacks
What you call a good trip probably also includes getting to know the country, the region and the city you’re in. Then you certainly don’t want to carry your big backpack with you all the way. This is why I put together a list of the best and most convenient daypacks to use for day trips and adventures!
SeaToSummit Rucksack
This daypack is just awesome! It’s water resistant, super light and even a laptop and big camera find their space in there. But the best is: you can fold it to very small so it doesn’t really take space in your actual luggage!
Fjäll Räven Kanken
A very cool backpack which is great for adventures in the city as well as out in nature. It’s water resistant as well, offers a lot of space and just looks nice in every occasion!
Your own travel towel
Even though you will probably get fresh towels at most of your accommodations, be it a hostel or a luxury hotel or even your own apartment, it can be very convenient to have your own towel. Of course you don’t need to carry along a real big bath towel – there are special travel towels for you! And these are the best:
Meru microfibre towel ultra light
This microfibre towel can be folded very small, dries very fast and is super ultra light! It’s perfect for your backpack and having a jump into a cold mountain lake!
PEARL microfibre bath towel
A microfibre towel as well, but a little bit bigger and in blue color. Perfect if you prefer having a bigger but still light bath towel with you!
Notebook for travelers
If you love to write and want to keep your experiences in written form you should carry a notebook with you. This way you can re-experience all the things you did after your trip and don’t forget about all your adventures!
Moleskin Notebook
The classic within notebooks: simple, elegant and fits into every backpack!
Travel diary with antique map
You’re looking for a special travel diary? Then this one with an antique map on the cover is it for you!
Well pecked for your next adventure!
You see there are so many great things you can take with you on your travels and which will make your life on the road more convenient. Certainly all depends on where you’re traveling and how. This list should give you a good overview for each of your adventures!
Author information
Sebastian Canaves
Author & Blogger at Off The Path
Sebastian hat den Blog ursprünglich gestartet und liebt das Abenteuer! Er hat bereits in über 10 Ländern gelebt, war in mehr als 100 Ländern unterwegs und sammelt auf Off The Path seine besten Tipps für dich. Sebastian lebt seinen Traum und will dich dazu bringen, dasselbe zu tun!
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