the wander project dispatches from over there
Gear
TWP Gear Guide: A Rough Edit of my Packing List
It’s easily one of the top three questions asked of RTW travelers (right after “Why are you doing this?” and “How are you financing this little venture?”): What does one pack for a year-long trip?
So here’s your answer. I’m still editing this list— I’m sure I’ll ditch some stuff (like clothes) and toss in a few odds/ends, but this is pretty much it. Travelers, feel free to offer your suggestions.
Clothing
one pair of travel pants (patagonia continental pants)
three l.s. travel shirts (patagonaia/gramicci/the north face)
two synthetic s.s. T-shirts (patagonia calpilene)
two synthetic l.s. T-shirts (patagonia [...]
Weekly Steals: The Best Deals on Travel Gear
Chaco Hipthong Sandals
Insanely comfortable and supportive enough for the trail, Chacos are the gold standard in sport sandals. Grab the Hipthong model for a mere $48 at Sierra Trading Post, then add the 36% you’ve saved to your travel fund.
Campmor Men’s Microfleece Zip-T Neck
A super-thin fleece is invaluable when traveling: it wards off the chill while taking up little real estate in your pack. At just $16, there’s no reason not to snag Campmor’s in-house version.
GoLite Quest Backpack
If we had to recommend a RTW-able pack to a ladyfriend on a budget, the GoLite Quest would be a top contender. [...]
Weekly Steals: The Best Deals on Travel Gear
High-Capacity Roller: Osprey Space Station 100
While backpacks are the norm for the long-term travel set, sometimes you just need a hauler with wheels. The Osprey Space Station 100 holds over 6000 cubic inches of gear and is perfect for bulky stuff you’d rather not strap to your back. It’s durable, too— I tested it for Men’s Journal and it survived a toss out a window, a stint as a speed bump and being dragged behind a truck. You can get one of your own for just $160—that’s 35%off— from REI Outlet.
Double Duty: Arcteryx Envoy
Travel shirt pros: they can take a [...]
Weekly Steals: The Best Deals on Travel Gear
Vasque Equalizer (For Men)
The Vasque Equalizer strikes the perfect balance between hiking boot and running shoe, making it an ideal choice for travelers looking for do-it-all footwear. Snag them for $80 at Sierra Trading Post and save 30% for your travel funds.
Mountain Hardwear Monkey Woman Jacket (For Women)
Made from warm, packable and quick drying polyester fleece with strategically placed stretch panels, the Monkey Woman Jacket is a perfect addition to any adventurous lady’s pack. Campmor has it for a mere 80 bucks — 43% off the retail [...]
Weekly Steals: The Best Deals on Travel Gear
Outdoor Research Revel Jacket ( For Men)
With 2.5 layer Pertex fabric offering waterproof yet breathable protection from the elements in a 13 oz package, the Revel Jacket promises to be a near-perfect travel shell. Thanks to Campmor, you can snag it for $80 — nearly half of the $150 retail price.
Vasque Volta Low (For Women)
If I were a lady, I’d have to take a long look at the Voltas. They’re lightweight yet supportive, with a Gore-Tex liner to fend off moisture and a lugged sole that’s at home on rough trails or potholed [...]
TWP Gear Review: The Kodak Zi8
The best backpacking-with-camera advice I’ve heard came from a guy who lugged a full-fledged professional video rig around the world: “Take the smallest camera you can find with a microphone jack.”
Mini cameras like the Flip are hugely popular with travelers for good reason — they’re pocket-sized yet capable of capturing great video, and uploading them to your favorite social media or video sharing site is unbelievably simple. The downside: audio is less than stellar, and there’s no input jack for an external mic. Roaming filmmakers were forced to choose between lugging a larger camera with the necessary inputs or sacrificing audio quality.
Mini cameras like the Flip are hugely popular with travelers for good reason — they’re pocket-sized yet capable of capturing great video, and uploading them to your favorite social media or video sharing site is unbelievably simple. The downside: audio is less than stellar, and there’s no input jack for an external mic. Roaming filmmakers were forced to choose between lugging a larger camera with the necessary inputs or sacrificing audio quality.
Enter the Kodak Zi8.
TWP Gear Guide: Packing Light
You’ve seen them: 100-pound girls buckling under 110-pound backpacks, guys with entire trains of rolling luggage in tow — people lugging so much stuff around the world that they spend more time managing their gear than actually experiencing their destination.
Don’t be one of them.
A huge bag is a liability. You’ve got to transport it, then you’ve got to stash it somewhere or keep it with you at all times. You’ve got to keep it (relatively) clean and dry, and you’ve got to keep it safe. Clearly, less is more.
Now that you’re convinced [...]
Theft Proof: Make Your Gear Ugly
There’s a very simple way to ensure that opportunistic thieves stay away from your travel gear: make it less desirable, or rather make it appear less desirable. I once saw a guy carrying a massive green pack that looked like Jackson Pollack’s practice canvas — it had multicolor paint splattered from one end to the other, even on the straps and buckles. It looked wonderfully horrible. Steal it? Most people wouldn’t want to touch it. What’s more, they’d probably assume that it couldn’t possibly contain anything of value. Brilliant.
TWP Gear Guide: Travel Footwear
Footwear is perhaps the most important gear decision you’ll make when preparing for your extended trip. Why? Because shoes are the one item that must function flawlessly: “making due” with ill-fitting or inappropriate footwear is asking for trouble. Does mean that everyone should be packing a pair of burly hiking boots? Absolutely not. You should make every effort to match your footwear selection to your itinerary. If you’re simply stringing together as many Indonesian surf breaks as possible, pack your flip-flops and forget it. But if you plan on doing any significant trekking, you’re going to need a sturdy pair of hiking shoes or boots to protect your feet and ankles from the terrain and help support the weight of the pack you’ll be carrying.
TWP Gear Guide: Travel Clothing
Picking clothing for an extended trip is often a source of frustration for many travelers — they’re apparently attempting to cram their entire closet into 70 liters worth of backpack. They’d do well to learn from outdoor athletes: the contents of a hiker’s bag, much like that of a long-term traveler, should represent the minimum amount of gear that keeps him/her comfortable across the widest range of conditions. Travel clothing has never looked better, either. With manufacturers now cranking out stylish designs in subtly high-tech fabrics, there’s no need to look like [...]
