One of the most common questions I often get asked is how I’m able to explore around the world with only carry-on baggage. While the method I use to pack helps (more on that in a future post), what’s most important is that the travel gear inside my backpack is essential for my personal needs and style. For me this means that, whenever possible, each item must be highly functional, lightweight, and take up minimal space.
This also means that, in many cases, I’ve spent more on some items for the smaller/lower weight travel model. So chances are you may be able to find a lower cost option if these aren’t such a priority to you.
Because this list is made to fit MY travel style, not all of these items will be of use to everyone. In fact, I consistently modify the contents of my travel gear kit based on my destination. Morocco in the middle of the dry season? Go ahead and ditch the rain jacket, which will free up valuable space for something else.
Everything below is able to fit between my 45L backpack and camera case, and comes in at about 32 lbs (about 15 kg).
Travel Gear
The core of my travel kit, with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. While many of the other items on this list are interchangeable, these are what I never leave home without.
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Lowepro 45L Backpack
The perfect backpack for my kind of travel. It even comes with padded camera cubes, a camelbak slot, and will fit most airline carry-on bins.
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Collapsible Daypack
Not only is this a great lightweight backpack for regular day trips, but it’s also able to fold down into its own front pocket for easy storage.
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Portable Travel Safe
You definitely have to be careful with valuables while on the road. This travel safe is big enough to fit all of my expensive items and easily secures around any permanent fixture within a room.
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Combination Locks
Cheap, customizable, and convenient. I always carry a few of these to help ensure that my zipped-up bags aren’t easily accessible and remain closed.
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SteriPen Water Purifier
Perfect for when you’re traveling around areas that may not always have access to clean drinking water. SteriPen uses UV Light to kill harmful bacteria, so it’s a great lightweight and convenient solution.
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Worldwide Power Plugs
This small stack of power plugs has everything you need to access just about any wall outlet around the world.
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LED Headlamp
A great overall headlamp for a relatively low price. It has multiple settings, a very bright beam, and even a lock mode so that it won’t accidentally flip on when stashed away.
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Waterproof Dry Bags
Pretty much just super sturdy ziplock bags. But these do a great job of keeping your electronics and important documents dry at all times.
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Travel Laundry Detergent
Detergent in the form of those little minty breath strips. Throw 1 or 2 in a sink of warm water and you’ll have enough suds to do a small load of laundry. Allows you to travel with minimal clothing!
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Earplugs
Need sleep, but you’re in a super noisy environment? These babies will shut just about everything out.
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Peppermint Bar Soap
Sure, any bar soap will work. But why not pamper yourself? This stuff smells amazing, lasts forever, and always wakes me up during my AM showers.
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Shaving Lather
Another pampering product. A little of this goes a long way and will leave your face feeling buttery smooth!
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Travel Clothing
Clothes always seem to have a habit of taking up a TON of space in your travel pack, don’t they? To minimize this, I make sure to travel with only around 3 different mix and matchable outfits and then wash everything as I go along.
In addition to generic shirts, underwear, and socks, these are my core pieces of travel clothing.
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Packable Down Jacket
Not only is this jacket nice and toasty, but it also packs down into nothing by folding into one of its own pockets.
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Packable Rain Jacket
Just like the down jacket, its lightweight and effective, but also packs down into the front pocket.
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Moisture Wicking Long Sleeve
An airy shirt to keep you cool and your arms covered on a sunny day? Yep! An odor resistant base layer under your warmer jacket? Sure thing! Overall a versatile long sleeve shirt.
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Pick-Pocket Proof Travel Shorts
I own a pair of the travel shorts and they ended up saving me recently in Morocco. Multiple secure spots for your valuables, while still being just a great pair of shorts!
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UPF Travel Pants
A nice pair of comfy pants that are breathable, lightweight, and offer great sun protection. Perfect for the days that you want to step out of the backpacker look.
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Buff Headband
I absolutely love my Buff. The fact that it’s both super versatile and moisture wicking has me bringing it along on just about every trip.
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Waterproof Hiking Shoes
Lightweight, breathable, AND waterproof. These Rockports are the perfect casual hiking shoe and have gotten me both up an active volcano and across part of the Sahara.
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Comfortable Sandals
Pretty much essential for warmer tropical climates and beaches. Big bonus that these are durable, comfortable, and handle sandy water very well.
[/mks_one_quarter] [/mks_col]Electronics
Whether to keep this blog chugging along or just to make my time on the road a bit more comfortable, these are the electronics in my travel pack that make it all possible.
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13-inch Macbook Pro
This one’s definitely a splurge, but also one of the best travel laptops I’ve ever used. It’s portable, powerful, and allows me to remain ultra productive while on the road.
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Unlocked GSM Phone
When overseas, I always try to pick-up a cheap SIM card on arrival, which gives me voice and data over the local cell network. This low-cost unlocked phone allows me to use just about any SIM anywhere.
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Kindle Paperwhite
It goes without saying that a Kindle is pretty much the ultimate travel gadget. But with my long layovers and periodic downtime, it’s an absolutely essential piece of travel gear.
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2TB Hard Drive
Snapping hundreds and hundreds of RAW pictures per week can take up some serious HD space, so I always have a couple of external drives on hand for overflow.
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Portable Battery
Nothing is worse than when my phone runs out of juice with no power outlet in sight. That’s why my travel gear now always contains a portable battery, which can fully recharge an iPhone up to 5 times!
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Travel Power Strip
Combined with the worldwide travel plugs, this compact power strip gives me 4 additional outlets wherever I go.
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Noise-canceling Earphones
These earphones work like a charm when it comes to shutting out noisy distractions around you. I wouldn’t even dream of getting on another airplane without them.
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Digital Audio Recorder
This one’s another splurge, but I picked it up recently for a new project that I’ll be sharing in the coming months. The overall quality of the audio recordings have been spectacular so far!
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If you spend even a small amount of time on this blog, you’ll see that photography is a major component. The below camera equipment is what helps me to keep this imagery coming.
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Sony A7 II Camera
I don’t go anywhere without my trusty A7 II these days, I just love it that much. Really a perfect balance of size, performance, and price.
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Zeiss 24-70mm F4 Lense
Not the sharpest of lenses, but it still provides excellent image quality and much needed flexibility. More often than not, this is what’s attached to my A7 II.
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GoPro Hero4 Black
Such an awesome little camera! Addmittedly, I haven’t really used mine all that much. But you will definitely start to see more GoPro video trickling out from this site soon!
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Domke Camera Case
A snug, protective, and comfortable travel case for the A7 II. Plenty of available compartments to fit the camera, spare batteries, my notebook, and a few smaller items.
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Travel Tripod
Bringing a tripod along helps to give me a bit more photo flexibility on the road. The MeFOTO’s aluminum construction makes it extremely lightweight and easy to attach to the side of my pack.
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Mini Flexible Tripod
Extra stability in tight spaces is always a challenge, but this Magnus MegaGrip can be a big help. It may look tiny, this tripod can support a GoPro or even an A7 II!
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GoPro Clip Mount
This clip attaches to a backpack or any kind of chest strap and allows you to easily clip-on your GoPro for a POV shot. Just picked this up and have so far been very impressed.
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Comfortable Camera Strap
With as much time as the A7 II spends over my shoulder, it’s essential that I have a super comfy strap. The Air Strap totally fits the bill here and is even moisture wicking (important for those hot shooting days)!
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What’s a great aritcle. The tools and tips are very useful. If you are looking for traveling gear, this page is recommended.