Travelling Light. What to pack when backpacking

Hi! Normally my friends and family find it funny when I tell them the things that I pack (or not pack) on my backpacking trips, as I tend to go as minimal as I can.

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For me, to reduce the weight that I’ll be carrying on my shoulders for a few days is an important part of the little planning that I tend to do.

I have not always taken travel insurance, but for my year of adventures I decided to go on the safer side, here you can check my honest post on travel insurance while backpacking.

Every destination is different and the weather conditions will also influence on what I pack, whether is a camping trip or staying in hostels, etc. so there’s not a simple formula.

Tips for backpacking light

Some “fix” rules that I do have are:

-For trips shorter than 20 days I take only 3 t-shirts (quick-dry), 3 pairs of socks and 3 Boxers and do my laundry every time I take a shower.

-If food is not available at my destination, sometimes I prefer to take self heating meal packs than carrying a stove, cooking implements and ingredients, you save a lot of weight, cooking time and washing-up time when you’re tired. The packs are also surprisingly tasty! but if you want to cook then take a look at my post about camping food ideas.

-For hiking days I take 2-3 energy bars or snickers per day, one every two hours.

-If I’m staying in hostels or camping in the same place for more than a night, I add a small day-pack for the hikes.

Again, each trip is different, but as a reference, this is what I packed for a 3-day hiking/camping trip in the Lake District in (The British) summertime:

What to pack when backpacking

This will obviously depend on your destination and activities you plan to do but here are some of the main items I carry with me almost no matter where I go in the world.

Equipment/Accessories:
-Rucksack: Osprey Kestrel 68l
-Tent: MSR Elixir 2
-Sleeping bag: Haglof Tarius -5
-Head torch
-Walking poles
-Anti-blister kit
-x1 Roll of toilet paper
-Sunglasses: Oakley EvZero
-Book, I always take one book with me which I then swap at hostels.
-Quick dry towel
-Toiletries (tooth brush/paste, deodorant…)
-x2 Plastic bags, one for rubbish and one for wet clothes.

Clothing:

You can save on carrying lots of clothes by washing them by hand, I do this most of the time when I shower at a hostel, at first it takes time but you get used to it quickly and will have fresh clothes all the time.
-x2 Quick dry T-shirts
-x2 Boxers
-x2 Pairs of socks
-Hiking trousers (zippable to shorts)
-Base layer top and bottom
-Mid Layer top
-Waterproof shell jacket
-Hat/Beanie
-Glove liners
-Flip flops
-Hiking boots

Food/Drinks:

I have an article about easy camping meal ideas but if you can’t be bothered with carrying coooking equipment and ingredients then you can always rely on self-heating packs

-x5 Self heating meal packs
-x2 Water bottles
-Camelback Reservoir
-Snacks (snickers, nuts, dried fruit)

Is there anything that you normally carry that you don’t use? leave it at home and stop carrying useless weight!

If you have any suggestions or questions into what to pack for backpacking leave a comment!

Check out all my adventures around the world for inspiration on where to take your rucksack!