(Somewhere in South Australia…)

When you choose your back pack, get it from a real hiking store, and try it on with some weight in it.  It should have good quality zippers, an adjustable harness, a waist belt, and be the top-loading draw string type, so you can really crush your stuff in.

I have a 30 litre “Tatonka” bag – pretty small by backpacker standards, and its camo green for a good reason.  I choose dark colours and khaki for all my kit because if I am sleeping rough in a public park, or beside the road, I don’t really want to attract attention.

Every bit of weight counts, so recently I got rid of my trusty old go-bag, and upgraded to a new ultralight one.   It is also a “Tatonka”, and six months on, it has impressed me with its strength and durability.   Well worth the money, because the bag itself weighs less than half what my old one did.

(My Tatonka 30L backpack fully loaded.)
 

I camp out a lot.  How do I stay warm and dry?  A hard core sleeping bag, a very basic waterproof bivvy sack and lightweight hiking fly.   Very compact, very light.     And not too expensive either! For comfort, I have a half length “Thermarest” mattress.I’ve owned a few sleeping bags over the years but recently I lashed out and spent big on a really good “Western Mountaineering” one.  High crush factor, down filled, very warm, super light!

A bivvy sack is basically a waterproof outer shell for your sleeping bag.   Mine is light, simple and compact.   It has a single zipper, and a panel of water resistant fly mesh for ventilation.   I only get inside my bivvy sack in wet weather.  Normally I just lay it flat and use it as a ground sheet under my sleeping bag.

The hikers fly, or tarp, is the ultimate in shelter versatility.   It is a flat rectangle of lightweight nylon with ropes at each corner.   I pitch it diagonally, with one corner tied to a tree at shoulder height, and the others pegged to the ground in a triangular shape.  It provides shade, shelter, and is very well ventilated unlike a compact tent.   It is khaki, of course, so it camouflages.

The “Therm-a-rest” mattress has been a piece of standard hikers kit for decades.   Light, robust, compact and comfortable, they are an absolute must have, and mean the difference between a comfy night, and sleep deprivation.  Mine is a “Pro-lite Small”, half length model, and is extremely compact when rolled.Camping is a great way to save money when u travel.

For more info, check out my “Rookie Guide to Urban Camping“!

 

It’s a good idea to do scans of important personal documents like passport, credit cards etc, and send them as Jpegs to your own online email account or Mega. That way, if you lose the originals, at least you have something to show to the consulate guys when you are trying to prove who you are.

Keep your passport and credit cards in a bum bag, and never let it out of your sight.I take thousands of photographs, and blog as I travel.  I use a compact Canon sx280 camera, and a Nexus 7 tablet.  I bought a cheap bluetooth keyboard off EBay to expand the functionality of the tablet.

I’ve got USB charging leads for all my electronic stuff, and I got a double outlet USB car plug adaptor to use in rides cars, so I can keep my stuff charged up.If you have a smartphone or tablet, load it up with apps to make your travel experience easier and cheaper.  Check out my travel app top 5!

You have to have water handy when you hitch.  You can dehydrate fast in hot weather.  Refill your bottle whenever you get a chance, using only clean water (beware of streams and rivers – and taps in most countries) and always leave a small amount in reserve in case you get stranded.  Water purification tabs are available from camping stores, and are great to have, so you can make use of natural water sources in an emergency.

The ‘Energizer’ head torch (flashlight) is cheap, widely available, and awesome value for money.  I’ve had mine for 4 years, and its still going strong.  It has a red light feature too, which is fantastic, because it doesnt affect your night vision, and it saves power!  The red light is also good when you are in stealth mode, urban camping.

Some days you are gonna need to take a dump in a bush.  That’s just a fact of tramping.  Keep a stash of pocket tissues for this purpose.

I’ve rarely traveled with a mess kit (compact aluminium frying pan / plate, spork, cup).  Its very nice to have if you want to cook over a camp fire, but its very bulky and heavy.  Theres plenty of food you can cook without a pan.  I only carry a plastic spork now.

The shemagh head scarf is the product of thousands of years of design refinement.  It is amazingly comfortable, versatile, and compact. It’s a towel, a hat, a mozzie veil, a napkin, a rope, etc.  It looks trendy, and feels soft on your face when you are sleeping on the ground.  They are also very cheap and widely available on Ebay etc.  Standing beside the road in inland Australia I’ve draped it over my head to keep the flies out of my mouth, and because its transparent I could still see cars approaching, and whip it off before they got close so i didn’t look like a terrorist.  ;-)

Utility gloves can keep your hands warm, but mostly they are fantastic for climbing, getting through brambles, breaking up firewood and handling hot cooking stuff.  They are hiking boots for your hands.  Very useful.  The tight fitting ones with rubberised palms are the best.   Very comfortable and don’t make you clumsy.  Showa make the best ones.

I used to always have a pair of sandals or flip-flops with me.  They are good for the beach, and for showering if you think there might be a good chance of infection (think Bangkok hostel showers).  Recently I got a pair of  ZEM canyoning shoes instead.   They hug your feet really tightly, so they are perfect for swimming and boating.  Some places I’ve swum, there was broken glass, really sharp sticks and stuff like that.   When you do as much walking as I do, you really can’t afford foot injuries.   Wearing the canyoning shoes, I can wade into water confidently, even if I can’t see the bottom.

Don’t forget deodorant!  When you hitch remember that you want your ride to pick up hitchers again, so leave them with a nice impression, not a stinky car seat!

:-)

What are your “must have” items of gear?  Post ’em in the comments and let me know!

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