Lana’s Gear

I’m a little late to the gear party, but I’m finally buckling down and putting together a post of what I’m taking with me.  Brace yourself, this one is going to be a little lengthy. As David said in his post, when we were daydreaming about this trip for months, we read a lot of blogs that had posts about what people took:  their bags, their clothes, their electronics, etc. For some reason those posts are very popular. But they got me through the planning phase, and I took a lot of tips from various bloggers, so I thought I’d throw in my own two cents. We will probably make some changes down the road (this road trip portion of the journey is a perfect time to do that). I’ve already discovered one of my shirts is totally see-through, which prompted a quick trip to Target this morning. When you only have six shirts, and one is essentially sheer, you’ve got to do something about it, and quick.
So here we go. In looking at this picture I’m realizing I have a lot of black items with me, which is good because it goes with everything and generally hides dirt, but bad because we’re traveling through a perpetual summer as we drift from the southern to northern hemisphere. Imma gonna cook. So that, coupled with the see-through shirt, may have this looking a bit different by the time we take off for Ecuador in October, but here’s what I’ve got right now.
 
Starting from top left and going clockwise, spiraling to the center of the photo:
I’ve got a couple of packing cubes from Eagle Creek; the smallest one is filled with knickers (6 pairs);
The largest one is filled with my running kit: 2 pairs running shorts, 1 short sleeve shirt, 1 tank top, 2 running bras, 3 pairs of socks, headphones, RoadID, sunglasses, and running hat, GPS watch (unpictures because I forgot it at home) and charger;
Bottoms in 3 lengths:  1 pair shorts, 1 pair capris, 1 pair long pants that roll up;
A little black dress, a black skirt that can be longer (below knee) or shorter (above knee) if you roll the waistband over, and even a short swim cover-up that ties around your neck. It’s from Patagonia.
A little black cardigan.
Travel towel in pouch.
Cotton hoodie.
3 bras (one black, one white, one nude)
The medium packing cube on the left is filled with shirts (4 short sleeve and 2 now 3 tank tops—that purple striped one is the one you can see straight through. Fun for the whole family!). I have found the Gap Body line of shirts to be easy to wash and quick to dry, and I’ve got a couple of other Old Navy shirts that have a little stretch. Cotton shirts don’t dry as well and they don’t re-shape as well as some with a little lycra
Two long and narrow packing cubes, the one on the left including swimsuits (2), pareo, large brimmed hat (I love the Wallaroo ones made in Boulder), and the one on the right including cold/wet weather gear, including a North Face rain jacket, Lululemon leggings, a pair of lightweight gloves, and a long sleeved hooded running tech tee from REI, good for running in cold weather, or as an additional layer
And in the center, a pair of capri sweats from C9 Target and a racerback Nike tanktop to use as pajama/cover-up when tramping to and from the bathroom in campgrounds and hostels where we have to share a shower. See regular sleepwear below
Cheap Kenneth Cole Reaction sunglasses (unpictured)
Next, the shoes. Starting from the top left and going clockwise:

Running shoes: for our road trip portion, I just bought my regular running shoes (Mizuno Wave Inspire 8), but I’ve got a pair of Salomon trail running shoes that I’ll be taking on the around the world portion.
Toms (love my Toms—they’re so comfy. I’m using my current gray pair on the road trip, but I’m saving a red pair for the RTW leg.)
Keens for hiking, water shoes, etc.
Pair of cheap highly squishable black flats
Flip-flops for showers, hostels, and beaches
I realize this is 2-3 more pairs of shoes than most people take, and I may get rid of the black flats, but they pack so flat it doesn’t make much difference to throw them in.
Next up, toiletries, again clockwise:

Babyliss travel blowdryer. In my normal travels, I often don’t bring a blowdryer because most hotels have them. This one is teeny tiny but it works really well.  And I defy you to find a campground with a blow dryer.
Tom’s toothpaste (using up the big tube)
Folding toothbrush
Brush (this one is huge, but I haven’t found a good small brush)
Suave dry shampoo
Bumble & bumble shampoo and conditioner
Face wipes
Makeup—tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, lipgloss, lip balm
Sunscreens—50 spf, 100 spf, 30 spf for my face
antiobiotic cream, razors, deodorant and soap
Bumble & bumble thickening spray, gel, comb
Two large hair clips, hairbands and bobby pins (in the small tin)
Clippers, tweezers, nail file
Unpictured:  separate kit of medications (benadryl, sudafed, immodium, petpo, maloxx, bandaids), aloe vera gel, bug wipes, sunscreen wipes (we’re big on sunscreen in the Bump household).
All of this fits in my Jansport toiletry kit, which I absolutely love and have had since about 2005. I weep for the day it fails, but for now I always use it when I travel. I’ve tried other similar toiletry kits, but none come close. I can hang it anywhere, there is a separate zipper pocket, a middle mesh pocked and a small top pocket that holds the hook and is great for small things that always fall to the bottom, like hair ties and your toothbrush.
Simple sleep kit:

Coolmax sleep sheet that zips together with David’s made by his seamstress genius of a mother (thanks Jean!)
Pillowcase made from the same material. The pillow will stay behind on the RTW portion, but we’ll stuff the pillowcase with clothes to use as a pillowcase if necessary.
Tank and boxers
And finally (and again clockwise), my gear. Although some of this stuff is really David’s gear, but I’ll be carrying it in my backpack per his backup strategy post. Have you read that one yet? And you’re still awake? I kid, but I’m grateful he thinks about this stuff so I don’t have to.

Secondary backup hard drive and SATA-USB adapter,
Outlet expander with 2 USB ports and 3 plugs
Network cable
Micro USB charger
Camera battery charger
Retractable auxiliary input cable
Lenovo laptop and power supply
Canon 310HS camera
Crappy LG cellphone
Samsung portable media player
Bubi bottle (see David’s post for what it looks like squished down and rolled up)
Headphones
Travel journal and pen
Petzl headlamp
Micro USB charger (yes, another one—one in each bag. Almost everything charges on micro.)
Kindle fire for games, books, magazines, internet backup, etc.
Our bags:
David’s already linked to these in his post, but we each have an eBags weekender bag (mine is the blue one you can see the top of below), which has lots of handles, backpack straps and a shoulder strap to boot. We’ve traveled with them a couple of times and they easily fit in the overhead space on flights. We also each have an Osprey Quasar backpack(the green one at the edge of the shot), which is sturdy but has lots of pockets and a chest and waist strap. I like the cinches on each side which cinch the sides down nicely. I currently have a lot of stuff in my eBag, and my backpack is actually kind of empty, aside from the laptop and my camera. I also picked up an inexpensive canvas/cotton messenger bag style purse at Target, which packs down to nothing but is a lot less conspicuous in cities rather than traipsing around with a backpack. It slings across my waist or can be cinched up under my arm like a regular purse, and it’s got good pockets for stashing various items.

And that’s it. It’s a lot of stuff, and it’s very heavy, so it’ll be interesting to see what we jettison by the time we leave for Ecuador in October. Right now since we’ve got lots of cargo space, it’s easy to just throw a couple of extra things in. But that’ll change.  I know we’ll let stuff go as we travel. So far the only thing I’ve added is a black tank top to camouflage the see-through one.  I know how disappointed you all are.
So I’m curious. You’ve seen and heard what we’re bringing—are we crazy? Is there anything we forgot that we should bring? Or what would you say to donate to the nearest Goodwill and godspeed?  Let us know!