Two months into the trip, we now have enough experience with our gear to provide some insight on what we packed, what mistakes we made and what has turned out to be very useful last minute additions.
Below are pictures of the gear we packed up as we left Philadelphia for the last time in September. Rather than list everything I thought a more interesting way to share our lessons learned is to look at a couple of categories. If you have specific questions on any gear pictured, or want a detailed list please email us and we will be happy to get you all the very exciting details.
Keith's Gear
Amy's Gear
Things We’ve Lost
- Sink stopper (Istanbul): We had this to help with doing laundry by hand in sinks. We managed to leave it in our first hotel. I blame the fact that it was white and was tough to see, but that is really just a lame excuse.
Things We’ve Ditched
- Coffee Travel Mug (Turkey): Despite hearing from a couple of other travelers that this would be useless I still brought it. It was such an important part of my daily routine back home. I even used it to bring tea when I biked to work. Turns out all of the travelers were right. Unlike America, the rest of the world, or at least the Middle East, seems to not want to drink while traveling.
Things That Have Broken Or Been Damaged
- Amy’s sunglass lanyard (Israel): the rubber ripped, and it turns out to be a design issue as the rubber on mine is already halfway ripped.
My Keen hiking shoes (Israel): As you can see, the stitching in the toe of my right shoe ripped out. The timing on this one was really unfortunate as it happened as soon as we got to sandy desert, which results in my right toe filling up with sand as we hike. I emailed Keen and I am in discussions with the warranty department to get a replacement pair. Let’s hope they do the right thing and replace them as they were pretty expensive.- Amy’s Eagle Creek money belt (Turkey): The clasp that holds the two straps together does not seem strong enough to hold, annoying but not a complete failure. But the money belt is nine years old, so we can’t really complain.
- Amy’s camera and iPod (Egypt): Both of these are 4-5 years old, so as electronics go not a bad run but it is unfortunate timing as the next place for cheap electronics is not until China, maybe Thailand. If anyone has any suggestions in Southeast Asia let us know.
- Converter cube (Istanbul): This was a piece of junk we bought from Amazon.com. It broke within a week of use because it is cheap plastic. But we realized it was overkill. All of our electronic chargers have built in voltage adaptors so all we need is cheap plug adaptors which you can get for less than $5.
Most innovative re-use
Using the dry bag for laundry: After we lost the sink stopper we discovered that using the dry bag as a washing machine works much better and makes much less of a mess than the sink because a dry bag keeps water in as well as it keeps it out. Simply load with dirty clothes, laundry soap and hot water, seal and shake for 15 minutes, rinse and hang clothes to dry. Pretty simple and effective.
Best last minute packing additions
- PacSafe: We were not sure that this would be worth the weight. Turns out it is indispensable. If you are traveling with a laptop or camera gear it is critical so that you can lock up the electronics and other valuables in your room while you are out. While not impossible to break into, it provides a deterrent and peace of mind.
Neti Pot: This one is for my SUDAFED® friends. A neti pot is great for dealing with sinus congestion. It is also helpful in the desert where the dryness can irritate your sinuses. If you suffer from sinus congestion, as Amy and I do, and have not yet tried a neti pot, you should. Get over the water up your nose thing, the result is true relief.
Most indispensable items
- Packing Cubes: While these seem boring they really do help make packing and unpacking much easier.
- Pocket Notebooks: Amy brought these to keep in her purse for quick notes. They are excellent for doing our daily budget and for jotting down information like names and emails of new friends.
Things we forgot
- Winter hat for Amy: The Jordanian desert is cold in late November, and sleeping in a Bedouin tent can be chilly. A winter hat would have made Amy more comfortable at night.
- A sewing kit: We meant to bring this but somehow forgot. We got a spool of white thread and a large, somewhat rusty needle in Dahab for 1LE ($0.20), so no big deal.
That is about it. We will report on gear again after we have been in Southeast Asia and a tropical climate.
December 16, 2009 update:
I am attaching this picture per David’s comment below on the PacSafe we use to secure our computer and camera in our hotel rooms.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I have used the neti pot for years. its part of the home remedy element when a sinus infection is on the verge. Use it well. Ive had mine for years.. ANother tip..* after you use the neti pot use “Ocean”, a product that is salt water based for an extra clean out..its awesome..
Safe travels.. great post.
What no Walmart to be found.
You guys seem to have an incredible grasp on winging it!
Keep up the great postings…..parental units are at ease with them:-)
xoj
I have 2 Eagle Creek bags. The handle on the newer bigger one broke not too long into its life. They were very good about fixing for no fee (other than shipping the bag, which was hefty since it was the huge rolling duffel, but less expensive than replacing or trying to fix at a local luggage shop). I’d recommend e-mailing them to see what they can do for you, even if you wait until you get back home. Surprised to hear that the Keens haven’t held up. I have 2 pairs of their shoes (not hiking boots though) which I’ve nearly worn into the ground but they’re still going strong.
Robyn – Keen came through, kind of. They are sending a new pair to Amy’s mom’s house as replacements. So while they would not send them abroad they did replace them. It always pays to ask the company when you have an issue.
I’m glad to hear that Keen came through, sort of.
The PacSafe bag sounds intriguing. Tell me more.
Happy Asian travels!
David – the Pac Safe is essentially a wire net that has a cable allowing you to close it off and lock bags inside of it. You then loop the cable through something secure (bed frame, radiator pipe, etc) to secure it. While not totally secure, it creates a significant barrier to our computer or camera bag from “walking” out of the room while we are out for the day. I have added a picture to the above post to illustrate it’s use in our current hotel. The only place to lock it here is through a clothes rod that is pretty securely attached to the wall. I think that when I return to the states I may travel with it to secure my computer bag in hotels. The PacSafe 55 we use is for sale on Amazon, be sure to click through the widget on our side bar as we earn a 4% referral commission on all sales. So far we have racked up about $6, so not exactly funding the trip. Let me know if you any additional questions.
We pretty much lived at REI before we left. The Pack It Cubes are lifesavers! We’ve seen so many people try to get one thing from the bottom of their packs and having to unpack it all. Another cheap gadget that has really come in handy is a simple power strip! We only need one converter plug thing and can charge the ipod, laptop and camera all at once!
Good call on the laundry in the dry bag – we’ll have to try that