I'm a gear head... but need to travel light. Oh the dilemma....
...UPDATED (Mar 7th).
- the top 15 best (i.e. most awesome-est) things so far we've brought/bought on the trip... I'd just read this part and skip the rest if you aren't too interested:
- Acer Aspire One - This thing rocks. And less than 400$ from Walmart, purchase the day of departure. I guess traveling with a laptop is the way to go. McDonald's has WiFi... got me to go through the Golden Arches for the first time in years. Oh, and it's pink. Nick named "manly"... for obvious reasons.
- Nokia MD-6 mini speakers - also amazing... works well with above product, or ipod or mp3 player.
- Keen SPD sandals. Awesome... don't know where we'd be without these. Probably with foot fungus in Sydney still.
- Z-pack. These bags are unbelievably awesome. Has already come in useful numerous times... kept our gear very light on the Overland Track, which let us enjoy the hike a lot more than the others who were much like mules. I was called "marathon boy" on the trail as I like to run up some of the peaks, but since I was carrying such a light bag, it was very easy to do... one thing I'd change is the breast strap... it's hard to undo... just got an e-mail from Joe Valesko... he said the problems have been fixed... awesome... it's great to be able to contact the person who makes the bag directly and get a response with in the hour... can't say enough good things about this bag... if you do ANY backpacking... this should be high on your X-mas list.
- IPA stove... I think I blogged about these... but this has been quite handy, and easy to travel with... I think mine is about done... and need to make another one soon...
- Thermos - Cam & Erika... I think this might be yours (we promise to buy you a new one when we get back...). When I asked Kimbo if the thermos was hers... she says she said "no"... but I heard "yes"... so sorry... but it's awesome. I get up in the morning earlier than Kimbo, boil water... eat breakky, and put the hot water in the thermos, and Kimbo can has hot water waiting for her.
- North Face Jacket & Sleeping bag... both down of high quality. The down jackets are 900 fill, and I think the sleeping bags are 800. So they pack REALLY small... we have a stuff sack for the sleeping bags, and another for the jackets (thanx Becca!)... both combined are smaller than most people's single sleeping bag. Down is the only way to go, yo!
- Laser Pointer/Sky Chart... the summers down under are not like the summers in the Sierra... where a clear night is almost expected... But we've had a few nice nights and the Southern Hemisphere sky chart with the laser pointer keeps my ADHD self preoccupied for a few hours when it's clear.
- Juggling balls... for the ADHD touring cyclist... i.e. me.
- BIG duffel bag... brought this as an after thought so that the airlines wouldn't charge us to check in multiple bags... but it's come handy in many places so far... it fits all four of our panniers, and when we have LOTs of gear, we put stuff in it and bungee it to the back rack.
- Salomon Waterproof Running shoes... amazing... but seriously the thing I like the most might be their lace system... which makes it easy to wear as a slipper as well as a shoe...
- SilNylon Ponchos... purchased from Campmor... these ponchos are amazing... very light, doubles as a tarp, and very waterproof.
- TarpTent...very light, and waterproof enough. Has come in handy many times on the trail so far.. but it's also very nice for hikes like the overland track where carrying a tent is required, even though you may not use it... (like us)... and end up forgetting it at the last hut... and have to run back 22 km... (like me)
- Swim goggles. With so many beaches, and so many fish, it'd be nice to bring the whole snorkel and fins, but these work well too.
- Olympus 1030SW. We've swam everyday so far... and so has the Olympus.(update... this has since broken... as far as cameras go... Canons still rule... as far as waterproofness goes... we'll see)
In broad categories.
General
- Camera (Canon SD870IS... and the Olympus 1030SW?)... actually both of these cameras died... the 870 had a shoddy repair job after I sent it back before the trip, and is being fixed now... and the 1030 also died... so we got the 830? in Melbourne.
- Batteries (2 spare.)
- Charger
- SD card (2 - 8gb SD, 2gb Xd)
- WD Passport (120GB to back up pics, music, movies...)
- Acer One mini laptop (THIS THING IS AWESOME)
- Travel Guidebooks (lonely planet Australia)
- Books for pleasure reading (The road that has no end, a year of living biblically, WWOOF)
- Pack Towel (1/person)
- Headlamp (1/person + spare batteries) + a spare by Petzl
- Sunglasses (1/person)
- flip flops for around town? (buy there if needed...cost 2$ AU)
- Toiletries
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Contacts (4 pairs)
- Sunscreen
- Drugs
- Cipro
- Immodium
- Aleve
- AlkaSeltzer
- Allergy Meds
- Running Shoes (with Gore-Tex... for WWOOF and Backpacking)
- Hat (warm... from Salvo... 2$)
- Socks (2 - 1 ininj, 1 double layer)
- Bandana (2 per person)
- Cut off pants (patagonia... nice doesn't have a waist strap that starts hurting after a while like all the other pants)
- Shirt (one polypro - from Salvo 2$AU)
- Long Sleeve Shirt (wicking - TNF)
- Bike Jacket (just windblock... great for going on trail runs, fits in your pocket)
- Down Jacket (NF 900 fill)
- Z-pack - they seem pretty cool... excited to try it out for this trip...I got the "blast" 26... weighing in at 108 grams!!! holy moly... THESE ARE DA BOMB!!!
- Gonna try out the Ortlieb carry system... it does weigh 2 times as much as my Z-pack at 270 grams... (Warning... consumer, DO NOT BUY...RETURNED... this thing sucks!!! Obviously has never been actually used by anyone with any sense)
- Sleeping Bag (40 deg down)
- Pad (Thermarest UL - Aquaseal for repair)
- Tent (UL 2 person - Tarptent)
- SilNylon Poncho from Campmor
- go alcohol stove... see IPA stove blog
- mini-titanium pot... works well enough for 2.
- 2 sporks (bambu... lost one on the Overland :(...)
- foldable plates (Orikaso)
- 1 mug (nope, got a thermos)
- Tiny nalgene container for Olive Oil
iPod mini - Sandisk MP3 player (30 $, runs on battery, so good for long hikes, etc... where there is not outlet for the ipod)
- Mini speakers (Nokia MD-6)
- Microphone/headphone for use with Skype...
- Cell Phone... (yup, got one... really nice to have especially if you are meeting up with WWOOF hosts, friends, Warmshowers, etc...)
- StarChart (of the Southern Hemisphere)
- Laser Pointer
- Aussie Wildlife foldout...
- Shoes (got some Keen Sandals SPDs... review here... I agree too narrow... don't know about durability... these rock...)
- Socks (use one of the two above)
- Cycling Shorts (2 ...one on, one drying after washing...)
- Shirt (1 - a hawiian)
- Legs (we already have...take... Tasmania high in Feb is 61, low is 45...)
- Arms (will get later... if needed)
- Gloves? (light)
- Helmet
- Helmet Cover (4 - Shower caps, 2 for seats, 2 for helmets...nice for seats... never really used for helmets)
- Hat... for when it's raining... a baseball cap is key.
- Poncho (we already have)
- Panniers (Ortlieb - Front Rack?)
- 3 water bottles
- Thermos - Nissan JMW-500 (why?... for coffee of course... kimbo doesn't function with out the black gold (we'll need to get Topeak Modula)
- Bike Parts
- 1 spare foldable tire (purchase there)
- 1 tube, and some patches
- Hand Cleaner?
- Repair tools
- Spoke Wrench
- Chain wrench
- pedal wrench
- Tire Lever
- Hex/multi-tool
- Cone Wrench
- Cables (brake/shifter)
- Spare bolts (film canister)
- Freewheel Tool
- Needle nose (leatherman?)
- Spokes
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