Part of packing for the world race is figuring out what will work for 11 months. We just got back from the race, and here’s a few thoughts on everything!
Tent vs Hammock vs Nothing
Tent: Our squad needed to sleep outside one night in month 11! Some people tented, others used their hammock, and others just slept on their sleeping pads (but were eaten alive by mosquitos)! Until then, I hadn’t really used my tent (except to try and prevent getting eaten alive by mosquitos in India, but then was dying of the heat)! I have an REI tent, and tents in general don’t allow all the airflow to come into the tent (even if you have a fan pointed at you from the outside). It also depends on your route as I saw other squads who launched the same time as ours who used their tents quite often. If you find yourself in a field during the rain, well, the tent is probably your best option!
Hammock: The tricky thing about this one is you need supports to hang your hammock on, which may or may not be available. It’s a lot lighter, unless you drop tons of money on a light tent. There’s possibilities for built in bug nets and rain covers too, but the more “features”, the more expensive and heavy. It’s a nice option if you’re able to find a place to hang it!
Nothing: The teams I was on slept in a bed 6 out of the 11 months. The other months we slept on the floor on our sleeping pads inside a room. Sometimes they didn’t have windows which allowed mosquitos in. One of my squadmates brought a mosquito net and was able to rest it on chairs and such.
Opinion: Invest in a good sleeping pad and patch kit (those things do pop). Whether you want something else, that’s for you to decide!! If I were to go out again, I might still bring the tent, but work it out with your squad and share (woohoo Acts 2)!
Dry fit Towel vs Sarong vs T-shirt
Dry fit towel: Many squadmates brought the dry fit towels. The only input they have is that if you are in a humid climate, they take longer to dry and can start to smell. If you’re able to air them out, then you’ll have no problem with smell!
Sarong: I used the sarong the whole race and never had a problem with smell. These things are thin, but absorb the water. They dry super quick too and I would recommend this! Plus depending on the design, it could be semi-stylish 🙂
T-shirt: Well, if you lose your sarong or towel, you’ll always have a shirt you can use!
Opinion: If I were to go out again, I would bring the sarong for round 2!
Laptop vs Tablet vs Cell Phone
Laptop: I carried a laptop for half my race, then swapped to a tablet in our layover in Chicago. The laptop is heavy, and you will probably regret it every travel day (statement verified by other squadmates). In terms of those who are photographers or video editors, feel free to add more comments below. I had two photographer squadmates (one who used a Mac and the other who used an iPad the whole race, which I’ll share their blogs with photos below). Before I got the tablet, I needed the laptop to offload my photos onto a hard drive because I had no space, but figured other ways around it! Wifi SD cards can prevent the need of a laptop and/or flash drives specifically for iProducts and others.
Tablet: This made travel days so much easier… and lighter!! I used it for blogs and making videos. It is nice and compact, and got the job done! You can also get some fun travel day apps, as well as watching Netflix on a screen larger than your phone 🙂
Cell Phone: The quality of cell phone pictures has come a long way! My squadmate (bless her amount of memory) went the whole race without needing to offload them on a hard drive since it all fit on the phone (she has 128gb). You can also load google photos on your phone so that all the pictures are offloaded into the cloud in the event your phone breaks or sinks in water.
Opinion: If you have a tablet, or someone can bless you with one… take it and leave the laptop!
Something like this will prevent the need of a computer and hard drive:
Here are some examples from the race!
Photos:
Call Phone: https://rainaluthra.theworldrace.org/post/lll
Tablet: https://breiersanders.theworldrace.org/post/mahesh-and-the-squad
Laptop: https://adrianaernst.theworldrace.org/post/world-race-recaps
Videos:
Cell Phone: https://chelsysmoak.theworldrace.org/post/project-dream-videotruck-roof
Tablet: https://kellymorimune.theworldrace.org/post/nicaragua-recap-video
Laptop: https://nicolewittmann.theworldrace.org/post/world-race-cribs-episode-11
Wall Chargers vs USB Chargers:
Wall Chargers: If it’s just for yourself, and you want one thing, go with the picture on the right. It includes all the adapters needed, two usb plugs, and an outlet. I brought the Belkin one (the left one) but would recommend something else. It’s pretty bulky plus it requires an adapter for other countries! It got lost month 7 and I don’t regret the forced abandonment!
USB Charger: I have become a huge proponent of sharing stuff and having stuff shared with me. One of my squadmates brought this USB plug (middle). It is fantastic! There are going to be times when the number of outlets are scarce. If everyone plugs in their bulky charger, not everyone will be able to charge their items. This USB charger is fantastic for your team and helped us in Nepal when there was only 1 outlet! You will need an adapter, so I would still recommend the right one too!
Opinion: I would use the Anker USB port with the adapter (middle and right)!
Here are some links to find items like it or similar!
Personal Recs for the Race:
After doing the race, here are a few of my top recommendations:
A 40 liter big pack:
It is possible! One of the most popular on my squad was the REI trail 40 liter pack! You won’t regret it on travel days 🙂
Instax photo printer:
You’ll forget about all the items you bring on the race, but you’ll never forget the reaction to blessing others. I will never forget the faces of the people we met when they received a polaroid picture of their family. They don’t have access to photos, and this may be one of the only keep sakes they have of their family. A friend generously gave this to me for my race, and it is definitely an item I would HIGHLY recommend! (I recommend these over the cameras as you can adjust the lighting and everything instead of wasting your photo paper on pictures that don’t turn out).
Speaker:
Chances are you’ll do kids ministry. It’s not if, it’s when! These speakers are great for playing songs for ministry, having a dance party in the sweltering heat in your hottest month, or putting together a worship night! UE Boom and Wonderboom were two brands that worked really well!
Google translate:
Your lifeline in every country you don’t know the language. It works offline if you download the language, plus there’s a camera option that allows you to point your camera at words and they will show up in English!
Maps.me:
Great for downloading maps. I started with google maps, but switched when google maps didn’t have our location. You can star your home locations to easily get back when it’s time to come home if you venture out.
External battery:
This is a given. It’s useful for travel days and days when your power UNEXPECTEDLY goes out. Try not to go cheap on this one.
Bible for kids app:
It’s fantastic for the kids. You can download these interactive lessons that will get the attention of pretty much every kid in the room!!
Uno:
It’s the most universal games and easy to explain without knowing the language. People of ALLLL ages love it around the world. You may be bored of it by month 11, but it’s an awesome ice breaker in EVERY country!
Spotify:
Great for travel day! Download this before you leave the US. Many of my squadmates had trouble downloading this once we left America! It’s worth the premium account as you can download all the songs for when you’re without wifi!
WILL HOPEFULLY CONTINUE UPDATING THIS AS I REMEMBER THINGS, BUT IF YOU’VE DONE THE RACE ALREADY, PLEASE COMMENT AND ADD THINGS YOU’D RECOMMEND!!
