10 months packed into one backpack: Ox edition

The first test of travel. Zipping your life up into a backpack, packing only what you need – or, what you think you need. Because these necessities all suddenly become based on hypothetical questions: What if you have to walk to the loo in the dark? Will there be enough power outlets to plug in the laptop AND your phone? And how often will you be able to wash your undies?

So less than a week out from leaving, it was time for the long awaited, much discussed and slightly dreaded ‘test pack.’ Where we try to fit everything we’ve planned to put into our bag, well, into our bag. Luckily most of the legs on our trip have a reliable 20kg baggage allowance, but that’s a limit, not a target.

Geoff was ready first. I still needed to buy a hat and couldn’t possibly do my own test pack until I had a hat.

So here’s the men’s version of 10 months worth of travel, in a 70L backpack. It feels like a lot, and it is – a conservative packer could certainly do a lighter version. But at 17kg this was a manageable balance of clothing options, the electronics we needed, and the weight of the bag.

It should be noted that we divided up certain things. Geoff carried all of the shared electronics and camera equipment, and I carried the lighter shared medical bag and laundry bits.

Here’s the list of what went in:

Clothing – 30 items total: T-shirt x4 Shorts x2 Long pants x2 Long sleeve t-shirt x2 Merino jumper x1 Warm under-layer (top & bottom) x1 Underwear x7 Singlet x2 Socks x4 Hat x1 Rain jacket x1 Sleeping underwear x1 Sleeping singlet x1 Swimming shorts x1	Electronics: MacBook Air 2015 Fujifilm X-E2 camera DJI OSMO Pocket 1TB portable hard-drive x2 Kindle Headphones Portable Battery Pack Universal power adapter Mini torch Head-torch Camera and laptop accessories (mini tripod, batteries, SD cards, OSMO phone mount, cables, microphone, chargers, adapters etc)
Toiletries: Toothbrush Toothpaste Razor Bodywash+shampoo combo Deodorant Ear plugs Deet insect repellent	Others: Waterbottle Quick dry towel Sleeping bag inner Pack cover Padlocks (small) Padlocks (large) Personal Medicines Monopoly deal Safety cable lock Pack rain cover Passport and document case
Shoes – 2 pairs total: Hiking Boots x1 Sandals x1	1x cat. For decoration only.