En
español Always a good backpack 
 Second pack for 1day trips. Backpack or across a shoulder    Crocs, chacos or flipflops  Travel towel 'viscose' , ultraabsorbent and quick dry  microfiber travel towel  traditional hiking trousers 
 Belt and cap  Fleece  Andean cap, the best one!   mummy or rectangular sleeping bags   dynamo buit-in light. Head light, both LEDs  Good bye tampons and pads  quick dry sponge  Perfect container to use for our gel  Conditioner to repair long hair  ultrlight camping gear, 2 seconds autobuilt in  7 megapixeles, CarlZeiss lens. Traditional dessign, OK!!!  The most successful tripod  submergible plastic bags  Cloth bag for shopping, put your food into the hostel fridge or use for dirty clothes  Keyless padlock  Bike lock, keyless lock, a must for train travellers  light, aluminium, strong Snap  Swiss army knife  Water tube for direct water suply  Aluminium water bottle  compressor bag for clothes  Clips like this one are useful  Strap , 3 meters, a must if you are travelling by car   Earplugs and airpillow for bus and train travellers.  PSP is an emergency computer, 4 inches screen |
BACKPACK: Comfortable
and resistant. Metal structure, ventilated mesh back. Wrist loops. Adjustable back, top tensioners, chest strap. Minimum 3 big pockets, expandible. Good European option is Quechua in Decathlon, otherwise Ebay. For 3 months in winter 65 L is enough, only too well for summer. For one year trip better 90 L but never fill it up! Between 15 and 17 kg is OK (about 35 Pounds), more than 44 pounds (20 kg) will be problematic for flights and for your back too. Better with waterproof cover, you will not use it frequently but you will be grateful those days. Get a plastic label and write your name and address in permanent marker.  Take
a picture of your backpack...some airlines will loose it.
:-)... Some people writes name and address with permanent marker also
ON
the bag. It is better to write initials, country, email and passport
number (nobody have to know it is your passport number).SECOND BAG: One day Backpack: The most comfortable but you cannot control it so well. For the last travel I tested to bring a on a shoulder bag, very practical to have everything on hand. But you have to check it is not easy to open for thiefs and also check if the strap is wide and comfortable enough. SHOES: One or two? summer or winter? beach or mountain? sport shoes or hiking boots? It depends a lot on your destination weather and the kind of trips you are going to do. If you are a walking backpacker ensure a comfortable sole...and use them at home 2 weeks before leaving! 1A) Sport shoes, prefferably running shoes with a sole dessigned for a good traction and shock absorving. Specially for city walkers. 1B) Mountaneering boots or trekking boots are the best for those who are going to be more on the national park paths. Wet feet are very bad so specially in winter this is a must instead of sport shoes (sport shoes are made with leather or syntetic leather which is not the best for the feet to breath). 2) To avoid fungus infections bring flipflops for the shower area. In summer maybe better crocs or chacos sandals as you may need them as an auxiliary pair of shoes for short promenades. The
fungus called 'athlete feet' it is very itchy, it rots your nails one
by one after several years. Finally it attacks our phalangx bones...Do
not touch barefoot wet surfaces, other people's sandals or other
people's towelsTOWEL Definitely 'travel towels'. Ultraabsorbent, ultralight, compression rate up to a handsize. Easy to wash after your shower, super quick dry. There are two kind of them: Some are microfiber and seems the usual towels. Others are viscose and have a weird feel but they are the best once you get used to them. Some people buy the XXL size so they can use it as a blanket. I usually bring a second (little) normal towel for personal use, specially the face. NO NO NO Do not buy disposable wet napkins, they are not recicling stuff. Just wash yourself as homo sapiens use to do, dip your material towel in water and rub! CLOTHES: Buy your clothes in arriving country when: - The currency there is weaker than yours. - There are cheap air markets with Asian or African origin clothes. - There are 'op shops', second hand shops. This is common in UK USA NZ and AU. There are ONG shops also like: Salvation Army, Red Cross or church op shop. A pair of trousers for 3 dollars! DO NOT bring famous brand clothes or cut the label off. Thiefs will target you easy as well as toll control security police can suspect. Outside
the western culture they think we are rich enough to pay for a flight,
then it is non sense to them so see us looking for cheap hostels with a
backpack like a camel instead of a troley bag...bargaining while
travelling and wearing expensive clothes.Underwear Fill up your pockets, about 4 items. Put them in a external, easy access pocket. Socks should be wool, thermal wool if winter. More clothes: Taking into account that you can wash your clothes once per week and that you can wear them for 2 days minimum, then 3 changes are enough, one already using, two in the backpack. Some obsesed about weight just take two and wash them almost every day before going to bed. Bring 1 long sleeve item even in summer. Bring 1 short sleeve Tshirt even in winter. Ideal trousers are the hiking ones, those you can convert in shorts. Think twice about brining jeans, too heavy, too difficult to dry. DO NOT bring white clothes, it is too easy to get dirty. Forget expensive clothes, this is nto a fashion catwalk. Get good stuff but those ones you are not regreted to loose (and you will loose something) . Thermal wool or polyester are the best in winter. Lynus in summer. Microfiber in warm seasons. Bring any good looking combination as some times you will go into a celebration or party. The
best is to put your heavy things UP in the backpack, CLOSE TO your back.Use
the external pockets for the dayly use: underwear and socks, towel and
toilet bag.Belt: ideal those without holes, those clasp to pull in when pressing...It is usual to loose or gain weight while travelling and avoid having nuisances in the crotch. Cap: VERY IMPORTANT on sunny countries. The round cap 'fishing cup' is the best but some backpackers will never wear other than the baseball cup. JACKET: windproof, beathable, waterproof. Typical hiking jacket. Ideal for summer or winter to bring also a fleece. In summer you can bring only a waterproof jacket, easy to fold in a pocket. Some people prefers the 'complete' solution, a GoreTex jacket with removable fleece. But this is maybe not light enough to bring all day long in your hands. GLOVES, CAP AND SCARF. In winter always ski gloves unless you are going to stay in cities only. The cap better doublelayer wool (or poliester). The Andean cup is the practical, colourful, protective,...easy to tie somewhere. Neck gator (polyester) is better than a scarf, but here you decide. PIJAMA: NOT necessary: In winter use a jogging suit, almost any tshirt is good for summer. SLEEPING BAG: Ultralight ones, about 1 kg (2 Pounds) and compress until a miniball. Even for those who are going to travel hostel by hostel. (In the very luxury backpacker lodge in Australian red centre, the heaters are for decoration purposes. The ultralight models in Europe unfortunately are only 'mummy' shape, so you cannot move very well inside. Insulator mattresses: Only a must when camping frequently. Foam or inflating ones, the quality is very important. If you haven't, use cardboards, it is very important. LIGHT: Headlight: Not so powerful as a handlight but enough to read or to pack in the darkness, and last for months. It must have LEDs, rechargeable battery or three AAA batteries maximum. The professionals use Petzl o la Black Diamond. It depends on the kind of travel you are...maybe a handlight is enough. Handlight: The ideal one is a dynamo, no batteries, model. not a superpowerful light but the most practical, lasting for years. Otherwise, any aluminium, light with 2 AAA batteries. But check out if you have at home any bike light, they are LED into two AAA batteries so they are perfect. The professionals invest in a PhotonMicroLight, MiniMaglite or PrincetonTec, with spare light bulbs. BATTERIES: DO NOT use disposable batteries. Most of countries never recycle, just bury and poison land and water for centuries. I have always 6 rechargable batteries plus a charger. It is the cheapest way, always are ready. I use the same batteries for handlight and camera. I mark symbols in pair so I always use the right pair of batteries. Some people never use batteries as they have dynamo light and rechargable battery in the camera. TOILET BAG: A must. Do not forget a mirror, better double side. Depilatory cream: A must for women, a consideration for men in summer, as they will sweat less and smell less. Some men replace shaving gel for soap and use disposable razors, it depends on your skin type. However, the Schick Xtreme 3 seems very recommended. Deodorant: VERY IMPORTANT, but do not use antitranspirant as they are suspect to cause cancer. The ideal one is this one who may be leave your armpit wet but will neutralise smells. NO AXE please guys, it is disgusting, both the TV Sports plus the smell. And forget sprays. Better a little plastic roll-on or vaporisateur ones. For women I used a NIVEA COMPACT vaporisateur 50 ml and lasted for 3 months. Bath soap: Better a neutral soap both for body and hair. For women we can use a conditioner. The soap must be ALWAYS ecological, biodegradable and Neutral PH. It does not mean we can take a bath into the river....Use it far from watersources. It is toxical the same, you willl not llike to drink it, so the fishes as well. Biodegradable and ecological means it has the capability of decomposting itself with time.  Conditioner: The
best I ever found is Absolut Repair
L'Oreal Expert, 200 ml container. But leave it for 7 minutes
and not 3 as the instructions says. Moisturising or peeling?
Peeling is useless without hot water Tampons: The Divacup
reusables are the champions: Up to 12 hours, sylicon flexible ones,
lasts for years. (How it works)Use a container of 200 ml for your bath soap, screw-on-cap I use a sponge , syntetic for quick dry. Some people do not use, but in summer the sweat and dust ad to your skin and the sponge will help you to feel relax after a shower.
¿Soap for all use?,
body, clothes and dishes. Now the 'camping soap' is very popular. You
can find Vermont
in USA (biodegradable, neutral ph, hypoallergenic and 100%
natural). If you can find 'Dr Bronner' in the fair trade
markets that's better. In Europe ask in the mountainneering shops. Some
people use as toothpaste :-P I prefer to buy my toothpaste, little tube. Paor the tropical areas or the poles, you MUST use sun cream, the most protective is +30. Do not forget your neck and ears. A BOOK: good travelmate for trains and bus stations. ...be ready to leave it as soon and you finish it, donot be sentimental. Leave it in a library or an a backpacker hostel or check the bookcrossing clubs. A book is a treasure. GUIDE A good guide starts for the last page: check out the edition year, more than two years is not trustworthy. For backpackers the number 1 is LONELY PLANET, specially the ON A SHOESTRING editions where the 5 stars restaurants and hotels are removed. Some people re sell it to the hostel when they are leaving. TENT YES in summer, for two persons, if it is ultralight minimal tent. Models like 123 Decathlon are basic and enough. You cannot camp any where, it is not legal, but if you take care to camp at night and pick up early nobody will find you. Try to camp seeking for protection of bushes. NEVER light fire, it is dangerous and of course the fees are very high. Do not forget the insulation martress. Use cardboads as emergency martress. MAYBE in winter, It is not good if you haven't a winter sleepingbag. MOSQUITO NET: Only for summer or very wet areas. Bring it. It is light and it can safe you not only from mosqutos, not only to sleep well.. but for protecting from lots of deseases as malaria. SCISSORS Good scisors, always inthe big bag, never int he personal bag.Some people with swiss army knife has enough. SWISS ARMY KNIFE A good swiss army knife has more than just a knife. Try to find one with the gadgets you can use, you are not McGiver. Probably you will only need the scissors, knife, can opener and nail clippers. FIRST AID KIT Always use coth wound pads, so you can cut it in several sizes. Some aspirins or better NEBUPROFEN, which is stronger and you can use it for backtoothache too. Iodus is the best for wounds, it helps to heal faster. If you are able to buy in an Asian supermarket, do nto hesitate to buy Aloe Vera healing Cream, super fast healing, antiinflama...almost a miracle. Antidiarrheic if ou are going to a conutries where the food is too diferent or the drinking water maybe is not reaching the western standart you are used to. Bring some pills in the backpack but do not forget some pills in your personal bag, so you do not need to ask the driver to sto a bus if you need one... some times there is no time... Amoxicilin pills are a strong antibiotic. Any cold or fllu can be reduced. The traveller cannot have sometimes a rich diet in fruit and vegatables to prevent this. A little bit of cotton in a little zip plastic bag Antimosquito lotion: You will need it for sure. Usually they are oilbased or stiky and does nt last many hours...the most successful seems to be 3M Ultrathon, lasting for 12 hours and it is not uncomfortable. If you are going to a certain countries where epidemic diseases are common, take the vaccines before going there, call your public health number to know which hospitals have traveller's services. For Europeans: It is a cheap service but not free. When you are entering to a county you will be asked in the border for your medecines. Do not lie, just show them, the commom medicines for personal use will give you no problems. CAMERA: If you do not want to be worry, just take a compact 7 megapixels, with rechargable batery (or two rechageable AA bateries ). Better for you to avoid eyecatching dessigns, just choose a silver or black traditional dessign. The best are SONY cibershot, CANON Ixus, PENTAX Optio o PANASONIC Lumix. A traditional brand will grant you a good lens, and a good lens is half the worth of the camera. A non traditional brand is it only trustworthy if the lens are bought to CARL ZEISS o to other famous lens company. A Pentax camera with pentax lens and 6 megapixels is much better than a 8 megapixels BENQ camera with unknown lens. TIPS: Leave the bateries out of the camera during the night. Swicht off the screen while you are taking pics and look through the viewfinder. Do not use automatic flash, just switch it off and use it when: The person is against the light; there is no sunlight enough; it is inside a building. Remember: the flash is up to 3 meters, do not use to take pictures of landscapes, sunsets, facades of buildings, ... nor through glass or windows, fish tanks,...(DO NOT use flash inside museums or churches: shot holding your breath and lean you against the wall or with a minitrypod). It is better to have 2 memory cards of 2 GB, write on A and B to diferentiate them. You can burn DVDs and send them home. Some people prefers to send the images to the web like Picasa or compressed to Rapidshare, where a friend can access and download at home. Take minitripod to take pics of yourself with timer, or to take photos in those places where flash is forbidden. If you are going to the beach, there are plastic bags suitable for several models waterproof up to 10 meters. A big pocket is the best for your camero, or the camera case hanging from your neck or belt (with a snap). A
good SLR camera is heavy and fragil. Use a snap to hang the camera to
the bag handle so it will not hang directly from your neck. like in hereFOOD: A plastic box like TUPPERWARE that you can use in the microwave, pefect to put there not only food your your day trip, but also bread or fruit can be transported in your backpack without damage. A cup , some prefer plastic, some prefers aluminium or titaniium, it depends if ou are use it in huts or hostels. Cutlery (be careful to leave them in the big backpack when check in) Some people preffers them from tytanium or lexaninstead of aluminum , they are lighter, but also very expensive. I use short cutlery into a long plastic box. Barritas energeticas te salvan de una mala noche en que no has podido cenar y los concentrados van bien para no sufrir en las subidas montañosas cuando llevas un año trabajando sentadita... Si no encuentras, compra una bolsa de frutos secos variados (sin salar) y alguna pieza de chocolate, ya que por el sudor se pierden sales minerales y se necesitan responer, asi como azucar. Si vas a caminar 7 horas al día, por ejemplo en parques naturales, DEBES llevar concentrados energeticos para añadir al agua, en liquido o polvo. Hay bebidas energeticas más poderosas que gatorade: E.mer'gen-C va en sobres de 5 gramos y te procupa un litro de tonificante. Unos sobres de cafe instantaneo o te para emergencias. Si vas a ir de albergues el desayuno suele ir incluido, pero no va mal llevar unos 10 sobres en una bolsita de plastico para ciertos dias. Si vas de refugios de montaña, pues obligatorio. Un minimantel o una servilleta para picnics. De verdad es muy util para comer sentada en cualquier lado sin temer por llevar la ropa manchada. Además puedes envolver comida o bocadillos en él. Has comprado demásiado? Lo que no te vayas a comer dejalo en el albergue con la etiqueta SPARE FOOD o FREE FOOD y la fecha de hoy. Aprovecha tambien para comer lo que otros te han dejado. Si vas de excursion de un dia a la montaña, lleva comida y agua para dos dias!
Recuerda la piramide de la alimentacion sana:
Base diaria arroz o pasta, pan, cereales. Base abundante en la semana:
frutas,
verduras. Días alternos: Leche, yogur, queso.
Días alternos: Carne o pescado o huevos. Una vez a la
semana: dulces, helados y grasas. El café es muy
tóxico para el cuerpo, si puedes cámbialo por el
té. AGUA: si vas a hacer muchas excursiones de horas y horas por la montaña (trekking, tramping, bushing, hiking), mejor un tubo conectado a una botella de aluminio. Si solo paseas, una botella de medio litro al dia es suficiente. Si vas a beber del albergue de montaña, mejor hiervela 10 minutos o usa pastillas de purificacion. OTROS, a elegir: Una bolsa compresora de ropa. Indispensable. Es como una bolsa de saco de dormir que se puede comprimir mucho. La ropa ocupará mucho menos espacio, palabra. Una bolsa de tela. Para ir a comprar, dejar los alimentos o llevar la ropa sucia. Las venden en cualquier supermercado. Unos 200 gramos de jabon de lavar ropa, si no has podido conseguir el 'jabon de camping' Un par de mosquetones no profesionales, de aluminio y que no pesen Un par de candados medianos, ideales los que van sin llave, con combinacion de 4 cifras mejor, ya que de tres cifras se encuentra la combinacionn en menos de una hora. Para acordarte puedes escribir en el candado una pista en letras, por ejemplo si la combinacion es 1723 la pista es PV, pues la lera P es la 17 y la V la 23 del abecedario. Un pendrive flash de 2 o 3 GB colgado del cuello. Adenas hay multitud de 'programás portables' con los que puedes trabajar en cualquier ordenador como en casa, consulta softonic Un telefono barato y aprueba de golpes, tipo Nokia sencillo, desbloqueado para usar con cualquier tarjeta del mundo. Con buena alarma (recuerda que aunque lo apagues por la noche, la alarma suena) Un IPOD o similar con musica y podcasts (podcasts gratuitos en iTunes). Mejor llevar un adaptador para auriculares que sea Yjacket, para poder conectar a un compañero. Un carnet de conducir internacional te cuesta 10 euros tramitarlo, te lo dan al momento y es valido por un año, te ahorrara problemás si vas a alquilar un coche, o te ves obligado a conducir, nunca se sabe. Una almohadilla hinchable para los desplazamientos largos, ideal para los que viajan en coche o autobus Unas 5 o 6 fotos carnet Libretilla y boli siempre a mano Un rollito de celo Unos rollitos de hilo y una aguja. Sobre todo para arreglar mochila o bolsa rajada. Un par de tapones para los oidos, algunos trenes nocturnos son muy ruidosos (si tienes el oido MUY delicado puedes coger infeccion, mejor usa papel higienico) Gafas de sol para el verano y para la nieve, que es muchomás peligrosa para tus ojos y te puede dejar la retina dañada para el resto de tu vida. Unas postales de tu ciudad y unas fotos de tu familia: si vas a paises donde la cultura es muy diferente es importante presentarse como miembro de una comunidad y que no te perciban como un desraizado vagabundo. Reiros pero es muy importante en Asia y Africa. Sacas las fotos y salen amigos por todas partes. "La curiosidad mató al gato pero salvó al mochilero", refrán mochilero. Un paquete de clips. Unos 10 clips caben en una recipiente de carrete de fotos y se sirven tanto para arreglar un pantalon como para colgar ropa o fijar la tela mosquitera. Un rotulador permanente negro. Un mechero, aunque no fumes. Un rollo de papel higienico en una minibolsa de plastico y /o unos paquetes de pañuelos para llevar encima Un MP3 o iPod. No pesan nada, te hacen más ameno un trayecto de bus o tren y es más que música. Tienes decenas de sitos con audiolibros gratis en MP3 (Gutenberg, LibriVox, Audiobooksforfree, freeclassicaudiobooks) y en iTunes tienes programás de radio de todo el mundo para descargar gratis (podcast). Si vas a pasear por parques naturales es básico además del mechero, un silbato: consigues atraer la atencion con minimo esfuerzo en caso de emergencia. Los de metal son peligrosos para tus labios en invierno, mejor lleva de plastico o con boquilla de plástico o goma. Recuerda que tres silbidos largos, tres cortos y tres largos son la señal de socorro SOS EN COCHE: Una cinta extra fuerte de nylon con ganchos y carraca. Puede ser muy útil para fijar el equipaje y se usa tambien para cinta de tender la ropa. EN TREN: Una cadena seguridad de bici, ligera, para atar la mochila al tren y dormir mejor, no impide pero dificulta mucho al ladrón, que buscará algo más facil. Mejor si va con combinación y no con llave. Ordenador portatil pequeño. Hay que no puede ir sin él, hay quien lo odia. Merece un capítulo a parte. Depende mucho porqué país y zonas vas a pasar. El peso no es excusa, un kilo. El precio tampoco, unos 350 euros para un minilaptop, y bajando. Descargar fotos, intercambiar fotos, musica, docus, peliculas, cargar el iPod, meterse a internet gratis en WIFIs gratuitos (FON), preparar los largos mails que luegos mandas en los cibers en dos segundos (con un pendrive). Pero hay quien prefiere no preocuparse de cosas caras. Todo depende de tus necesidades, por más dinero tienes UMPC que pesan 500 gramos y caben en tu bolso. Por menos tienes PSP, lo justo para descargar las fotos de tu cámara y matar las horas muertas. 
 UMPC computer, 7-10 inches screen // Mini laptop, not expensive, 10-12 inches screen, 1 kg (half a Pound) . More detailed info and reasons here |
| Be ECO
be cool |
| Evita productos de
PVC,
es toxico! Take showers, no baths Jabones solo biodegradables. Pilas de un solo uso son veneno, usa reciclables es lo más barato, y no duran mucho menos que las alcalinas.... eso es leyenda urbana. Most of countries never recycle, just buy an area in underdeveloped countries to download, burn and bury our trash Di no al plástico, lleva tu propia bolsa de tela para comprar No compres productos donde el embalaje es desproporcional al contenido. No compres tetrabricks: causan gran contaminacion al fabricarse y son dificilmente reciclables: Seguro que encuentras algo en lata o cristal No alquiles 4x4, son supercontaminantes, si te gusta la montaña ve en mountain bike. Las excursiones en 4x4 son para SNOBS No uses toallitas humedas, no son reciclables, lleva tu propia toalla pequeña para asearte. Haz un consumo responsable, no compres bebidas como cocacola si hay cola del pais. Ayuda a no importar y exportar tontamente, no ayudas al país donde estas, lo contaminas y además solo beneficia a los peces gordos de siempre. Evita los centros comerciales extranjeros, compra local! |