There are a few things you should know about Expedition before you start packing.
First, it’s a lot less backpacking than you think. In fact, I didn’t go backpacking once on my entire Expedition trip.
That’s not to say you won’t ever be backpacking. You might be (people usually backpack if they go to Spain (El Camino) or Georgia). But you’ll probably spend the majority of your time in cities. The WR packing list is meant to prepare you for everything.
Second, because you’ll be in cities, you’ll have access to gear shops to get what you need.
So if you have a really specific thing, get it in America, but remember, you can find good-quality gear in other places too! This allows you to save on space and weight while still planning to take your trip.
Here is what I packed (along with some suggestions!)
Gear
- Backpack – I got a 70L. Good brands are Osprey & Gregory. Make sure you get one with a front-zip, that was so useful!)
- Rain Fly should come with it
- Airporter – People say you don’t need this & the guy at REI tried to talk me out of it. Don’t listen; bring it! It’s necessary on flying days.
- Day-Pack
- Buy a separate rain fly for your day pack! If you already have a backpack, take it to your local REI so you can size it for the rain fly.
- Tent I got a 2-person tent that was 5.1lbs. I never used it on the Race, but we DID use it the entire time at training camp, when it rained for 6 days straight. Mine was big enough to fit two people and their bags, but you probably won’t need that much room…
- Sleeping Bag
- Sleeping Pad – I got the Big Agnes. Best decision ever. Everyone was jealous.
- Sleeping Pad Inflater This was sooooooo helpful. No blowing up by mouth!
- Liner – Doubles as blanket for hot climates
- Pillow – I got the Travel My Pillow at Costco… best decision ever. It was the perfect size, comfortable, and washable. Plus, I had an extra to unpack on Christmas!
Other Gear:
- Headlamp – Dorky? Sure. But so much better than a flashlight. Trust me.
- Straps – I used these to compress my sleeping bag because my compression sack kept busting. I also used them as belts in some places.
- Multi-tool I did not bring one and was fine.
- Knife – I also did not bring this, but often wished I had. However: if you travel by train in China, this will get confiscated, so don’t bring a valuable one!
Clothes
Obviously you’ll need some specialized things, but as a general rule of thumb, try to bring clothes you would wear in the states/feel comfortable in. Remember, you’ll be in cities most of the time, and you’re not going to want to be in camp-attire for 11 months. TRUST ME.
Clothing Gear:
- Packing cubes (THESE ARE SO NECESSARY.)
- Rope (for drying clothes)
- Scrubber (For washing clothes.)
Underwear:
- Underwear – Pack half of it in a ziploc at the bottom of your bag to open at Christmas/halfway through. You’ll be glad you did.
- 2 Bras
- 1 Sport
- 1 Normal
- Socks
Upper Body:
- Shirts: I brought about 5-6 warm and 5-6 cold because I was going from 100 degree desert to 0 degree mountains (literally).
- At least one shirt you don’t mind getting grungy for painting/outdoor work
- At least one shirt with sleeves for places where shoulders must be covered
- At least one shirt/dress that goes past your butt for Muslim countries
- Other than that, what you normally wear in the states
- Long-sleeves (2-3) for cold weather
- Marino wool quarter zip for snow
- Cardigan
Lower Body:
- Thai pants (1) great for hot climates where you need to keep knees/ankles covered.
- Jeans (2)
- Bermuda shorts/knee length jeans – these meet modesty standard and are great for places where you can show your knees
- Shorts – are hard. Make sure they go past your fingertips—they are SERIOUS about this! They will dress code you at Training Camp. Target had some good workout ones for girls.
- Maxi Skirt – One girl on my team swore by these. I never wore mine and ended up giving it away. This doubles well as a towel if you’re in a bind!
- Leggings – I wish I had brought these and ended up buying a pair in month 2.
Other Items:
- Dresses (1-2): Make sure it follows modesty standards, especially cleavage. This is really helpful for church and can be combined with leggings/scarf/cardigan for more modest countries.
- Work out gear – for me, this was a swimsuit, googles, and cap
- Rain Jacket – do not skimp on this!
- Crushable down/synthetic jacket
- Swimsuit
- 1 pair of Chacos or flips – if you go to a place where the streets are dirty (India) you’re definitely going to want chacos over flips. Just fyi.
- Closed-toed shoes
DO NOT BRING:
- Laundry detergent. It’s way too heavy and you can find things in other countries.
Tips
Layers are your friend. For cold weather climates, plan to layer your crushable jacket with a rain jacket and then have a warmer under shirt. I used the marino wool jacket, and this worked fine!
Pass on the head scarf. You wont be in Muslim countries where you need to where a head scarf often enough to justify bringing one, and if you are, you can find prettier ones in other countries!
If you can combine things (aka: a shirt that doubles as something to work out in, pants that double as workout clothes or swimsuit, skirts that double as a towel/something to sleep in) you’ll cut down on weight.
Dryer sheets are lightweight and will keep your packing cubes/bag smelling fresh.
Toiletries
Toiletries Gear:
- Foldable dop-kit with multiple pockets
- Small dop-kit for travel days
Toiletries:
- Razor + replacements (2 replacements/country!)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- 1 regular size, 1 < 3oz (see tips)
- Floss – This is hard to find overseas; I recommend bringing 4 packs so you’ll have enough for the year
- Antibacterial soap – Definitely make sure it’s antibacterial; this will keep you healthier than regular soap, especially in dirtier places. Also: get a bar of soap. It’s not as heavy as liquid and it lasts longer!
- Quick-dry travel towel
- Hairbrush/bobby pins/hair ties
- Q-tips
- Tampons or diva cup – Pads are available everywhere, tampons are not.
- Small bottle of sunscreen/bug spray
- Make-up – I didn’t bring this because I don’t wear it often, but others did!
- Deodorant
- Tweezers
- 12x Magnifying Hand Mirror/Hand Mirror
- Lotion
- Perfume
- Nail Polish – One bottle comes in super handy as an activity to do with little girls. You also might find that you want to paint your nails.
- Nail Clippers
- Nail File
DO NOT BRING:
– Big shampoo/conditioner or lotion. They are heavy and you can buy good brands overseas.
– Hairdryer/appliances, unless they are geared for 240V (on the tag).
– Your entire regiment of beauty products. Choose what’s necessary, leave the rest!
Tips
Have a separate, small dop-kit for travel days. Put a small bottle of facewash, toothbrush, the < 3oz toothpaste, deoderant, a small face towel, hand sanitizer and tissues inside. Also put a pair of underwear and an extra shirt. On multiple-day travel days you’ll be glad to be able to freshen up a bit; also, if your bag gets lost (it happened to me in Ethiopia!) you’ll have the essentials.
Electronics
In America, power from outlets comes out at 110V. Overseas, the power output is double that (240V). It is very important that you make sure all your electronic devices can handle 240V power (this will be on the tag). Most phones/computers can handle it, but some of your appliances (like hair dryers/curlers) won’t. If you bring an extension cord, make sure it can handle 240V power!
If you don’t, you’ll blow out a wall of sockets… at least.
And no, I’m NOT speaking from experience, why would you think that?!
- Universal Adapter – You can buy one of these at target for about $20; it will have multiple adaptors for each place in the world.
- Computer + Case + Charger
- Phone + Charger – unlocked for local Sim; most smartphones nowadays come unlocked UNLESS you bought it as part of a cell plan. Then you will need to ask the carrier to unlock the phone.
- Camera & rig – I did not bring this. One of my teammates brought her rig and ended up sending it home because she didn’t use it, while others wish they’d brought it. It just depends on you!
- Bluetooth speaker – I wish I’d brought mine! This is so useful for worship with your team!
- Power strip (240V) – didn’t bring this and wish I had. There were so many times we didn’t have enough outlets!
- Case for charging cords
- HDMI Cable – for hooking computer up to TV screen so you can watch stuff.
- Portable Charger – also wish I’d had this!
Health & Medical
- Tylenol/Ibuprofen
- Dayquil/Nyquil
- Benadryl
- Benadryl anti-itch pen
- Hydrocortisone cream – for eczema or itchiness; especially helpful in humid climates
- Probiotic – I brought this and didn’t take it. Some people swear by it; my advice: save the space for other things
- Multivitamin – This one comes in handy if you are prone to deficiencies (iron, etc.)
- Activated Charcoal – (helps remove toxins from body, handy if you accidentally drink or eat something that could make you sick – I didn’t bring this, but it’s still helpful!)
- Small container of sunscreen
- Small container of Bug spray
- If you get motion sick: Dramamine/ginger pills
- Imodium (helps with diarrhea)
- Bandaids
- A year’s supply of any prescription medications.
- LICE COMB – didn’t bring this and wish I had
WHILE OVERSEAS, BUY
- Mupirocin – anti-bacterial ointment for staph infections/cuts/bruises
- Malaria meds, if necessary
- Neem Oil found in India/Nepal for lice. Very helpful!
OTHER PEOPLE BROUGHT:
- Thermometer
- Med kit (beyond what’s above)
Handy Things
- Baby wipes – I didn’t bring these because they were too heavy; there are other people who swear by them!
- Hand sanitizer & tissues – two words: Squatty Potty
- Key Rings – cheap ‘travel locks’ for your bag. Work really well in places where there are pickpockets!
- Water Bottle: Hydroflask, NOT NALGENE. Nalgenes (or plastic bottles in general) start to smell after month 3. Metal bottles are much better.
- Replacement gaskets – this is the plastic liner inside the cap. It gets moldy quickly and then you’re drinking mold; bring some replacements to freshen up your water bottle!
- Essential Oils: I kept my peppermint and gave the rest away.
- tea tree (antibacterial & anti fungal, anti-mosquito!),
- peppermint (good for staying awake, motion sickness),
- lavender
- 30% deet lotion on Amazon for cheap! – Ultrathon brand
- Ziploc bags – You never know when you will need these. Take like 3 of the gallon & sandwich size. You won’t regret it!
- Sewing kit
- Caribeaners: I cannot sing the praises of these enough. I used them to clip everything to everything. My instrument to my backpack; my shoes & rain fly to my pack, etc.
- Camelback – I didn’t bring my camelback and there were many times I wished I had it with me. Would definitely have worth sacrificing some clothing space!
- Aeropress – I was lucky enough to be on a team with someone who had this. If you like your coffee, this is worth the purchase!
Fun
- Watercolor – apparently this is “such a world race thing”. If you are artistic, this is easy to transport & light.
- Book or two – choose wisely! While on the Race, I would buy a book from a bookstore, read it, then put it coffee shops that had a library and buy another one. Kind of a cool way to be able to read actual books!
- Hammock
- Straps
- Mosquito Net
- Extra Underwear/pillow for Christmas!
- Letters for each country (pre-written by friends/family)
- Jewelry
- Small instrument (guitalele/ukulele)
- Playing Cards (2 decks)
- Games – You can bring settlers if you want! Just take all the supplies out of the box and package it up in a ziploc!
- Kindle App/Library App on Phone – Don’t bring your iPad (too heavy), and don’t buy a kindle fire. You can read books from your phone. If you have a local library & card, they probably also have an app for downloading ebooks. Just make sure you register and get it set up before leaving the states and have books pre-downloaded!
Back to “The Ultimate Expedition Survival Guide”
Now that you’ve read all that, pause and take a deep breath.
Remember: IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY. Other people have done this before.
Past the essentials, it’s all your choice. You may bring things that others don’t, and that’s okay! Also, you’ll all share on the Race so you don’t need to be the one-woman or one-man show and bring everything yourself.
Know this also: you are going to start the Race with your pack lighter than it is now. That’s okay. It’s okay to bring things you don’t need. It’s okay to mess up and realize you need to repack at Launch. It’s okay to drop half your clothes on Month 5 because you have a change of heart. This is a journey and no one expects perfection… except, perhaps, you. 😉
