I’ve been on the race for Six Months now, and before training camp I had made an extensive packing list, and I thought I had it all figured out. Well, turns out I missed some things, and overshot on some others, so here is my new and improved packing list, I hope you can use it well. Some things on this list are things I wish I’d brought and didn’t, and I’ll mention some things I brought and wish I had left behind!
Real Talk: Ladies, you’ll get more out of this than the guys.
Three Rules When Packing For The World Race:
- Lightweight is important, because you can’t check a bag on a flight that is over 50 pounds. Compressible things are better because of lack of space.
- If you don’t wear it at home, don’t pack it for the race.
- Quality is important, especially because on the race there is no replacing broken items. Don’t go cheap.
Start your packing for the race by buying these Five Things:
- Internal Frame Backpack – You want to get the right thing, here. Go for a minimum of 65 liters, (that’s storage space) and make sure it fits well. Have someone at REI or whatever sporting store you have near you size you for one, and then go and buy it online, typically it’s cheaper that way. I purchased the Osprey Ariel 65L Women’s Pack, and I love it. Buy an Airporter for it, you will not regret it. I bought the Osprey Airporter LZ Backpack Travel Cover, and I love it. You don’t really need a rain cover for this big pack, you typically won’t be outside with it for long periods of time. The airporter is for when it’s travel day and you have 74 things strapped to the outside of your pack and it’s about to be thrown in the bottom of a bus or a plane, the airporter keeps everything safe and together. (Found on Amazon.com)
- Tent – Okay I’m on month 6 on my race and haven’t used my tent once, but the guys on my team have, and the married couple on my team have. I’m not sending it home because there is still a great chance that I could need to use it, but because I haven’t yet, it’s tempting to tell you not to pack one, but, you should. Ideal tent wait is between 3 and 4 pounds. Don’t buy one heavier than that. I recommend buying a 2 person tent, which honestly looks and feels like a 1 person tent. They’re small, and us and our bags is the equivalent to two people. I purchased the Kelty Salida 2 and I like it a lot. Consider buying a footprint for it, but you don’t necessarily need it, especially if you aren’t going to be tenting often, I wish I had just left my tent footprint at home.
- Carry On/Day Pack – You don’t need to spend lots of money on this, just bring a nice backpack. Some people carry theirs around with them everywhere, but I don’t. I really only use my day pack on travel days or weekend excursions. I bought an expensive one, the Giga 28L daypack, and it’s great, but like I said, anything works. I like having the larger pack because it fits more things, and I’m not carrying it around with me everywhere. Instead, my “daypack” that I use every day at ministry is just a little over-the-shoulder purse I bought in Colombia. (found on Amazon.com)
- Sleeping Mattress – This is a really important one, I use my mattress pretty often. Don’t go cheap on this, and you can use it for years. Do some research and know what type of mattress works for your body type; don’t get a petite mattress if you’re 6’5” and 250 lbs. Look for “Self Inlfating” or “Insulated” mattresses. (Insulated means more warmth retained.) ((Not vital if only in hot countries)) I purchased the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core and I love it, and it packs well. It’s so comfortable, too, and beats many of the mattresses offered to us in these foreign countries.
- Sleeping Bag/Sleep System – I love to be comfy when I sleep, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m always going to be hot on my Race. It’s hot. I wish I hadn’t packed a sleeping bag. I did, though, and I packed a really quality, warm one. I bought the Thermarest Women’s Capella Synthetic Bag, which is super warm, comfy and wonderful, it’s just too hot to use. If you’re in cooler countries, get this, it’s great. If you are in hot countries, consider just bringing a sleep liner, and a travel blanket. I bought the Greenhermit Sleeping Bag Liner Travel Sheet and I love it. I also highly recommend packing a pillow case with it to optimize space usage. (liner found on amazon.com)
Ok, those are the first five things you should have before moving on to the next things. Like I said previously, your Hiking Pack and Day Pack are both great for packing full on travel days, so use all your space as best as you can. The following things are what I recommend having for the race, though many racers like to have more or less than me. Use your judgment, consider this just a nice guide ??
Eno and Bug net – I like having my Eno, you don’t need the bugnet but if you intend on sleeping outside, the bugnet is the BEST thing to have. Also, save the money and buy Paracord instead of eno straps. Paracord is strong, durable, and you can use it as laundry line and to hang your hammock.
Towel – buy two of the Sea to Sumit DryLite Towels from Amazon, they’re really great, pack small, and come in a cute little mesh bag. I only brought one and I wish I had two.
Multitool – I purchased the Gerber Dime Multi Tool and I lost it before the race. I wish I had it, I’ve borrowed lots of people’s on the race, it’s really helpful. (Found on Amazon.com)
Knife – having a lightweight, slender, sharp knife on the race is a really good idea, whether it’s for spreading peanut butter, slicing mangos or avocados, or for cutting rope or something, it’s useful. (be sure to keep it in your checked bag, not day pack for your flight!)
Mini Sewing Kit – I bought a great little travel sewing kit and I use it occasionally, and though I could have survived with out it, I like having it. I put lots of extra safety pins, and even some thumb tacs inside it, and I’m grateful I did.
Zip Lock Bags – Pack as many as you can, I use them all the time and I’m running out of them and it’s sad.
Medicine Bag – THIS IS IMPORANT Don’t skip out and not bring medicine. Buy a little cute bag to keep it all together and invest in these essential things.
- Go to the pharmacy and ask your pharmacist for Cold And Sinus Medicine that they have behind the counter. They’re magical little pills that take away congestion and colds and headaches and all the things that you don’t want to have on the race. Pack as many of these magical little pills as you can. They’re better than DayQuil and NyQuil.
- Ibuprofen, Motren, and Excedrin – just pack what you know you need. I combined these three things into one medicine bottle and I use them frequently. It’s good to feel okay when doing ministry in such extreme heat.
- Zinc, Daily Multivitamins, and Vitamin C – These three things are really important. Zinc is really good for your immune system, Multivitamins have important things that food on the WR will not give you, like iron and potassium, and Vitamin C is important to staying healthy. Consider bringing all three of these things, and if you can find Iron, b12 and Potassium supplements, bring those too. I wish I had them.
- Biotin keeps your hair healthy, girls, and the sun in these countries can be damaging, so if you can, bring a bottle of biotin pills.
- Tums and Pepto Bismol – The amount of times I’ve asked teammates for this is embarrassing, but the reality of the race is you’ll have diarrhea a hundred times. I’ve had it for two months straight, and sometimes the tummy hurts real bad and tums have helped me greatly. I know, theyre not good for you, but feeling crappy (haha) is no fun in hot, dirty countries. Bring em. Also, bring Stool Softeners and Stood Solidifiers.
- Bug Spray and Sun Screen – These are important things, people. Every time your skin burns it increases your risk of cancer by 20%. Wear sunscreen, and consider buying special sunscreen for your face. Take care of your skin, you will be thankful you did in thirty years. Also, bugspray. It’s important. I didn’t use it, and now I’m sick in bed with malaria, which is why I have the time to write this long thing.
- Ladies, pack Yeast Infection Treatment – Malaria Medication and Anti-biotics increase your chances of getting yeast infections, and yeast infections are the worst. Bring two to three rounds of treatment for vaginal yeast infections, you’ll be grateful for it.
- Consider asking your doctor to write you a prescription of Cipro, an antibiotic for travelers diarrhea.
- Melatonin and Motion Sickness Drugs (Dramamine) – Melatonin has helped me a lot on nights where I can’t sleep, and Dramamine is ESSENTIAL especially if youre going to mountainous countries. Bus rides can be ROUGH and bus drivers drive FAST through the mountains.
Packing Cubes – These make packing a whole lot easier. I bought four, and I use them a lot. Try Eagle Creek’s Pack It Compression Specter Cubes. They weight nothing, compact your clothes well, and make sorting super easy. (Pro Tip: When traveling, stuff your clothes in the packs instead of folding them, stuffed clothes pack smaller than folded clothes, and compress easier. Once at your place of residence for the month, take your clothes out, fold them, and keep them in your decompressed cubes!)
Headlamp and Flashlight
Bluetooth Speaker – the JBL Flip 3 or 4 are excellent, my personal favorite, but there are lots of optionis
USB Cord – bring one, they’re handy for long car rides that has a USB port, and for plugging phones into speakers! I didn’t pack one and I use my teammates often!
Pillow – I bought the Thermarest Compression Pillow (amazon.com) and I love it. Most of my squad has it, it’s comfy, packs small, and is washable. Bring a pillow case though, you don’t want to sweat all over your pillow and not be able to wash it for a month, that smells bad.
Junk Bag – buy a little travel bag to keep some odds and ends inside. Including but not limited to: Rubber Bands, Hair ties, Chapstick, an-absurd-amount-of sharpies, small roll of tape, scissors, bobby pins, super glue, hand sanitizer, safety pins, tweezers)
Feminine Products – The Diva Cup is great, try it before the race to make sure you like it. Keep in mind that tampons are hard to find in many countries and if you do find them, theyre expensive. I brought a huge bag of them and wish I’d brought more, I ran out last month, but I also like the diva cup. Many girls swear by it. Decide what works for you and go with it.
Duct Tape – It’s your best friend. Bring it. Also, consider buying cute patterned duct tape, it’s great for labeling a lot of your stuff.
Adapter – get one that works all over the world. I got a travel adapter on Amazon, and I love it! Also bring a power strip for the days where your whole team is in one bedroom that has only one outlet. That’s important.
Spork – I brought a bowl and sport and ditched the bowl, no one is going to serve you food without giving you something to eat it in, and the spork I just use on travel days when I’m eating peanut butter out of a jar or making a sandwich. Also, consider investing in a metal spork, not a plastic one. I’ve broken three plastic sporks. Boo.
Nalgene – This is vital, you don’t want to reuse the plastic water bottles you buy on the street. Bring a Nalgene and it will be your buddy.
Thermos – If you like coffee or tea, bring a one. Also consider bringing your own tea bags. ALSO IF YOU LOVE GOOD COFFEE bring a French Press Travel Mug, many of my teammates have them, you can buy coffee beans everywhere and the French Press Mug is a great way to make coffee.
Notebooks – I bought a bunch of cute mini notebooks from Walmart and I love them dearly, I have my journaling one, my letters to God one, my things to remember one, etc. They’re great, they’re light, and so cute! If you are a serious journal-er, bring more than one, nice journals are hard to find in many places. Consider also bringing a small folder with white paper, and loose leaf paper in it, if you’re artsy or like to write or doodle or write letters/cards to friends.
Dayplanner or Daily Calender – my teammate and I bought these month one, and pretty much kept record of everything we’ve done on the race in them! It’s great to look back through them to see what we’ve done and when!
Bible – I wish I had thought about this better. I bought a brand new Journaling Bible for my race and it was so great but wow SO HEAVY and bulky. I love it, but I wish I’d bought a small, light one for the race. Honestly, every little pound matters, it all adds up fast. Buy a lightweight bible that is small.
Laptop and Charger – put it in a waterproof case.
Headphones and Splitter – Bring more than one pair of headphones, and make sure they have the attached mic, so you can easily talk to people from home. I only brought one pair and I’ve had to buy more. Bring the splitter so you can watch movies with teammates.
Camera and Charger – I didn’t bring one, I use my iPhone.
Batteries – if you’re packing things that require batteries, pack extra batteries.
Paperwork File/bag – I have a little bag that contains all my important stuff: Passport, Drivers License, ID, Proof if Immunizations, Credit Cards, Health ID, and Money pouch.
Charles Schwab Banking Card – I love Charles Schwab’s system. They return all ATM fees at the end of each month which will save money, a checking account is free and international checking is free! No Fees, no minimum amount required in your account, and it’s super easy to apply online. Google it, do it, it’s worth it!
Wipes – Get baby wipes, face wipes, disinfectant wipes, get em all. They’re handy.
OK: Bathroom Essentials: (Dudes, you can probably ignore this paragraph)
Travel Size Shampoo and Conditioner, Soap, Loofa, Nice Razor with re-fillable blades, TWO sticks of deodorant (goes fast when ya sweat all the time) Make-up if you wanna look and feel cute ladies, Chapstick (get the good kind with SPF), Lotion, Toothbrush (bring an unopened extra one for month 6!) Large Toothpaste, (It’s relatively easy to find abroad but it’s nice to just have enough to not have to buy more) Hand Sanitizer, (a big one if you can) Face wipes, Q-tips, Floss (You don’t want cavities in Africa, that sucks.) Hair Ties, Jewelry, Headbands (When ya look nice, ya feel nice) EAR PLUGS (Seriously bring them, and an Eye Mask) Tweezers, Nail Clippers and a Nail File! Travel Mirror, Coconut Oil, and really nice Facial Moisturizer. I bought the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion, which feels SO nice when put on the skin. It’s a small bottle but a little bit goes a long way. I’m serious when I say bring three bottles of nice exfoliating face wash. It’s hard to find the good stuff overseas. I miss Neutrogena. I wish I brought Essential Oils! The Essential ones in my opinion are Pepperment and Tea Tree oil. There’s also some great oils for acne, which has been a real struggle for me on the race, and I’ve never had breakouts before. My poor face has needed the Tea Tree treatments it gets when my friends share their oils with me. Consider bringing some sort of spot treatment for acne, it can get bad. I also brought my favorite Bath and Body Works Perfume, because hey, we like to smell nice. Also, bring some combs and a good hairbrush.
Moving on to Clothes:
Things I sent home/threw away: Because my route is SO hot, I brought some things expecting nights to be cold, and they aren’t. I sent home my Fleece, Sweatshirt, comfy sweat pants, yoga pants, and jacket. You don’t need these things if your route is hot, yoga pants are against dress code anyway.
Raincoat – lightweight, people. Ladies, try the Columbia Women’s Switchback on amazon, it’s awesome.
Tops: I wish I’d brought only tank tops, I brought a ton of Target’s V-neck T shirts, and theyre great but because of the heat I wear mostly my tank tops. You can find lots of nice sleeveless T’s, bring those if you can! I have a lot of tops, but theyre nice to have. Bring at least two cute Dressy Shirts. It feels nice to look nice. In total I have probably 5 t-shirts, 2 dressy shirts, and 3 tank tops.
Bottoms: I had jeans, but I cut them into shorts. I have two pairs of basket ball shorts, and one pair of short shorts I wear around the house and to sleep in. I also brought a dress and a skirt, but in Africa I had two dresses made (A common thing to do, costing usually between 15 and 50 USD) I got rid of most of my pants, even my elephant pants, but lots of girls love theirs. I have one pair of thin, nice skinny jeans and I wear them all the time. I wish I had two pairs.
Underwear: I brought 3 sports bras, but I wish I had like 5. I sweat a lot, and laundry isn’t always done once a week. I only brought one regular bra and I rarely wear it. Bring lots of socks, consider a pair of wool socks for cold months, and 10 pairs of underwear. I wish I’d brought underwear to save until month 6 of the race, but I didn’t. It would be nice to have new underwear right about now.
Pajamas – I’m on an all-girls team, and have been my whole race, so honestly, we sleep with almost no clothes because of the heat. If you like PJs, bring them, but honestly you don’t need them, a tank top and shorts do the trick.
Shoes – Initially I had only wanted to bring Chacos, because Chacos are the best, but I settled on bringing shower shoes, tennis shoes and my Chacos. I ditched the shower shoes almost immediately, because of space, and honestly unless you plan on working out a lot, you could get away with only bringing your Chacos.
Extra Tips:
Pack from the top of your bag, not the front loading side, things will fit tighter if you pack from the top… after filling the bottom first (If your bag is also bottom loading)
Remember to write your initials on everything with black sharpie. Just do it.
If you want to treat yo’self month one and two, pack some of your favorite snacks, like fruit snacks, or granola bars, and pack a ton of chewing gum! Especially on travel days, having nice gum is helpful for feeling like a human.
In my little purse that I carry around daily I keep: Hand Sanitizer, some cash, my iPhone, some pens, my journal, and a granola bar.
I also brought my teddy bear, and I have no regrets.
