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Travel pack is ideal for SE Asia. For the trek I mentioned I parked my travel pack at the tour agents place and took a bookbag I'd bought in town on the hike with me. Of course, that isn't an option if you're hiking to get somewhere instead of eventually ending up back at your point of origin. I needed the guide, it was off trail along the Burmese border and the guide even had to modify his route a few times thanks to a fire making his normal path an impassable mess of fallen/burnt bamboo. In a while here I'll get to the "right way to pack" entry in the third post which will tell you how I roll. I don't, however, have much hardcore hiking experience. Can you give us a guess as to what your hiking time will be on the trip (days, week, weeks?) as well as how many cities you plan to visit and stuff like that -- a basic itinerary. raton fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Jun 4, 2011 |
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Jun 4, 2011 03:47
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Sheep-Goats posted:Travel pack is ideal for SE Asia. Honestly, a lot of this is just in the pre-planning stages. I haven't figured out an itinerary at all , save for a few places that are famous to check out. But to give you an idea of what I'm looking at doing: http://www.roopkund.com/ In addition, checking out more touristy places, like Agra and such. A significant part of me thinks the travel pack is probably a safe bet -- or at least a panel loading backpack. Especially if the trekking idea is put on the backburner and it just ends up being cities with walking. Mainly because there's a balance; the actual hiking, vs the normal travel. And something like the Tristar looks WAY more ideal for public transport. Seems like travelling within cities, the hiking pack isn't really that much better. I assume for walking (Ie when you went place to place in SE Asia) the travel pack was perfectly fine? (How much walking till it became annoying?) So In your experience, you find that most people leave their stuff somewhere and take a cheap-o bag for dayhikes and the like? I suppose some part of me was imagining taking ALL my stuff with me if I was packing light (even for those kinds of trips).
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Jun 4, 2011 05:22
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I was at my local big supermarket yesterday (I live in Korea) and when looking at the camping section, I found myself one of those fold-up backpacks. What an awesome piece of kit for ten bucks! I ended up using that same day to bring some groceries home. It's not all that comfortable, but it's roomy and light, exactly what you need out of a day-pack.
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Jun 6, 2011 06:32
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Underwear and swimwear is up. I'm appalled at how far I still have to go!Kalix posted:So In your experience, you find that most people leave their stuff somewhere and take a cheap-o bag for dayhikes and the like? Yes, but that experience varies by location. Also keep in mind that I'm not really a hardcore hiker guy. It's really hard for me to say whether you should go travel pack or hiking pack, but one thing I will say is that often times your hardest decisions are the ones that matter the least (because there's so little end-difference between them to begin with). I can walk for probably four or five hours with my normal travel pack on before I start to get annoyed at it. Mostly at it making my back sweaty. The weight isn't a big issue for me -- maybe I'm carrying twenty or thirty pounds around, maybe less, I've never really measured it. That on two backpack straps isn't ever going to fatigue me. I am a fairly big guy though, 6'3" and around 200 pounds, so maybe that's why. raton fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jun 6, 2011 |
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Jun 6, 2011 19:40
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The underwear/socks section reminded me of my favorite piece of travel gear - a packing cell. Not really because packing cells are all that important to have for separating stuff out (although they're handy for that), but because packing cell + clean socks and underwear = awesome travel pillow. Get one that's sized so it will fit all your clean stuff fairly tightly, so it's still good when half of it is dirty (or toss a t-shirt in with it). Sheep-Goats, are you planning on including a section on camping gear at all? I know it's useless in many parts of the world, but if you're in southern Africa a tent can save you tons of money, and also pretty much guarantee you can find a place to stay at night since hostels rarely fill up their camping areas.
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Jun 6, 2011 20:12
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I've been camping twice in my adult life so I'm in no way qualified to write some kind of camping section. If goons make suggestions I'll of course link to them somewhere in the second or third posts, or incorporate them if it isn't too much work to do so. I don't use packing cells myself any more (though I did in the past) as bundle packing eliminates the need for cells. Bundle packing will be described (if you don't know about it already) at the beginning of the third post, or you can just google for "bundle packing" and get good guides for it. Also because I don't do much camping I've never needed a pillow, on the few multi-day hikes I've been on I've just made one out of shirts wound around eachother / my water bottle (I only bring a water bottle if hiking, I never have on one me for normal travel as I've never been anywhere where getting bottled water was an issue). In general I hope this post helps illustrate how poorly equipped I am to answer hiking / camping questions, and it's in those cases where gear is probably at its most important (aside from bona fide expeditions or survivalism or something like that). I'm certainly open to suggestions! raton fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Jun 6, 2011 |
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Jun 6, 2011 21:24
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Mradyfist posted:Sheep-Goats, are you planning on including a section on camping gear at all? I know it's useless in many parts of the world, but if you're in southern Africa a tent can save you tons of money, and also pretty much guarantee you can find a place to stay at night since hostels rarely fill up their camping areas. If you go camping in southern Africa rather than spending $40 a night on a hotel room, you get an award for the world's most miserly person. (Particularly after spending $1500+ on your plane ticket there.) What you said is -more useful- for Europe. Plus you can get a night's sleep in a tent instead of having a bunch of drunk Brits throw up all around you. But yeah, that'd be a great section to add on. I can't say I know enough to write about it either, though. Saladman fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jun 6, 2011 |
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Jun 6, 2011 21:37
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There's a good hiking/backpacking thread in Watch & Weight.
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Jun 6, 2011 21:52
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qirex posted:There's a good hiking/backpacking thread in Watch & Weight. Well hey that solves that!
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Jun 6, 2011 22:03
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Saladman posted:If you go camping in southern Africa rather than spending $40 a night on a hotel room, you get an award for the world's most miserly person. (Particularly after spending $1500+ on your plane ticket there.) What you said is -more useful- for Europe. Plus you can get a night's sleep in a tent instead of having a bunch of drunk Brits throw up all around you. I'm not talking about bush camping, I'm talking about camping on the grounds of a hostel. Many hostels do this in Africa (especially SA, Zambia, Zimbabwe), you pay a lot less than even a dorm bed but you still get to use all the facilities. Whether it's worth the money or not depends entirely on the length of your trip - if you're in Africa for a week, $40 a night isn't much. If you flew from NYC to Cape Town and stayed in SA for a month, that $40 a night will cost the same as your round-trip ticket. Most hostels charge upwards of about $5 per person for camping, so the difference between camping and staying at a hotel is the equivalent of three meals per day at decent restaurants. I think the key differences between hiking-camping and travel-camping is that when you're traveling, you really should be bringing just a tent (and maybe a very lightweight sleeping bag, if you're in a climate that gets cold at night). I wouldn't even bother bringing cooking supplies, unless you're planning on camping out at actual campsites as a major portion of your trip, and if you are you probably want to look at the hiking/backpacking thread instead. Lightweight tents are generally sized for 1-4 people, and I think the sweet spot for travel camping is 2 people because you can have one person carry the poles and the other carry the body of the tent, and each person is carrying less than if they had a 1-person tent to themselves. I've been using the Sierra Designs Lightning XT2, which is awesome and roomy and light (a little over 4 pounds) for the price. If you have more money to spend there are some that get lighter, like the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2, but keep in mind that your tent should fall under than "Everything can be stolen" rule; especially since there's always the possibility that some drunk rear end in a top hat will fall on it in the night and break it. These models are available in 1-person and 3-person as well, also 4-person with the Sierra Designs one. Even if you're fairly small and traveling with your SO, don't think that you can squeeze into that larger 1-person tent because you tried it in REI and it seemed to work fine; they aren't designed with enough airflow to exhaust two people breathing in them, and you'll end up getting tons of condensation on the inside of the tent. If you buy a new tent with the intention of taking it traveling with you, take it out when you get it and set it up a few times to learn how to do it, even if you have to do it out on the lawn in front of all the neighbors. That's still less embarrassing than getting to a hostel in the dark and not being able to read the directions, so you sleep with your tent half-erected and you get rained on. Speaking of rain, these tents should be seam-sealed at the factory and can handle moderate rain out-of-the-box, but I would go a little further and seal the spots where the fly attaches to the extra lines just in case you get caught in a major storm. For sleeping bags, I'd avoid them if at all possible. If you're taking something like a sleep-sack you can probably just use that in tropical climates, but some places are less tropical than you'd expect at night. This Deuter Dreamlite 500 is the smallest-packed and lightest sleeping bag I've ever seen, and probably warm enough for most of Africa. It compresses down to the equivalent of probably a pair of khakis in your bag.
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Jun 6, 2011 23:46
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Shirts is up -- it's also a lot more wordy than I was expecting it to be. Despite my various wall-o-text posts on SA would you believe the second post was the first time I've ever hit the character limit? Edit: I stuck sarongs / travel towels up too. raton fucked around with this message at 04:09 on Jun 9, 2011 |
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Jun 9, 2011 03:45
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Luggage is way too expensive. Use this pack. It is the exact same design as the ones in the OP. It costs $30. Buy 5 of them to make up for the slightly reduced quality, and use the money you save to buy a sharpie and color in the hideous logo they've inexplicably added since I bought mine.
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Jun 9, 2011 08:27
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dylar posted:Luggage is way too expensive. Use this pack. It is the exact same design as the ones in the OP. It costs $30. Buy 5 of them to make up for the slightly reduced quality, and use the money you save to buy a sharpie and color in the hideous logo they've inexplicably added since I bought mine. Looks pretty good! The quality isn't appalling, right? Stitching holds up, zippers don't poo poo on themselves?
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Jun 9, 2011 16:22
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I don't know if this is the best place to ask, but I didn't want to start a whole thread. I'll be driving across Canada (Ottawa to Vancouver) soon. I've got our route planned out and it'll take five days barring any problems. Here's what we're packing: -GPS and paper maps, printed directions and addresses and phone numbers of our hotels -Cell phones -Clothes/toileteries -First Aid Kit -Roadside Emergency Kit (jumper cables, flashlight, tools, etc) -Gas Can, replacement fluids for car (oil, transmission fluid) -Cooler with food and water -Power Inverter for the cigarette lighter to plug in a laptop or anything else -CAA Membership I think I'm prepared for everything, is there anything else that might come in handy?
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Jun 9, 2011 16:55
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For pants, I have a few pairs of an earlier version of these things: http://www.rei.com/product/787861/the-north-face-paramount-peak-convertible-pants-mens-34-inseam I have climbed mount Kilimanjaro in these things, motorbiked across Vietnam, swam in the Aegean Sea, and done just about everything else in these pants and they hold up extremely well. You may look like kind of an idiot because they are convertible (I honestly have never used that feature of these pants), but they are extremely cool in hot climates, dry very quickly, and have big pockets on the front of it which comes very much in handy. I literally wore these things for a week straight on numerous trips and they never got too disgusting. And again, I love the front pockets because they give you a more secure place to put valuable items (like a passport).
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Jun 9, 2011 17:36
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Sheep-Goats posted:Looks pretty good! The quality isn't appalling, right? Stitching holds up, zippers don't poo poo on themselves? It's perfectly fine. I think they use lighter weight nylon than something like the red oxx and I'm sure the zippers aren't as good, but I have no complaints about mine. Here's a review from an OCD travel guy.
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Jun 9, 2011 17:54
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Some other bags you may want to include: GoLite Travelite Convertible Eagle Creek Overland Timbuk2 Wingman Also I seriously don't believe you can actually hike in those waiter shoes you love so much and I feel like you're doing a disservice to people by recommending flimsy slip-on junk as the canonical "this is the best travel shoe".
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Jun 9, 2011 18:07
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Well, I can.  What shoe say you?Also how many people even go on hikes when they travel? raton fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Jun 9, 2011 |
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Jun 9, 2011 18:32
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Sheep-Goats posted:Well, I can. I would say I travel PRIMARILY to hike. For me, nature is far, far more interesting than old churches or markets or nightclubs or whatever it is other people do when travelling. But I am a goon. Footwear wise at home I hike in my vibrams, but while travelling I have a pair of fairly compact Lowa hiking boots. But footwear is such a personal preference I won't make any recommendations. ilovepy fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Jun 9, 2011 |
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Jun 9, 2011 19:08
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I don't see why would you need hiking shoes unless you really spend lots of hours every day hiking on mildly difficult tracks. Just bring a pair of comfortable and decent looking sneakers and you're good to go. I usually travel with one pair of Puma Rio Racer (the cloth version) and one pair of Camper Asia Taipei. Both are snug, light, comfortable and good looking, so I wear the Pumas for walking/hiking and the Campers when travelling or going out. Nowadays I'm starting to bring just the Pumas because they are good enough for everything I do when I travel, even long hikes. Admittedly it's not a good idea bringing just one pair of shoes when you wear a 46-47, but so far so good.
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Jun 9, 2011 21:59
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Does anyone know about the ebags weekender etech convertible? http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/weekender-etech-convertible/15026?productid=1266982 I was at REI checking out the Osprey 46L Porter mentioned in the first post and decided to google for other options. I found this one and it appears to be the same size as the osprey but set up better with the organized front pocket and everything. The price is awesome as well and it has good reviews. It would be for a extended trip to central america and southern mexico if that matters. I also plan on bringing a small daypack. I am probably going to order it since I can return it if I need to, but I just want to make sure no one has anything terrible to say about it first.
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Jun 12, 2011 22:24
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Ribsauce posted:Does anyone know about the ebags weekender etech convertible? edit: apparently it doesn't come with a shoulder strap, make sure you get one. qirex fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 03:43
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I ordered it, I can return it for free so if it sucks I will just take it back. I still have my REI backpack I took to Asia but it is kinda large, however if the eBags one doesn't work I can always use it again. The REI bag worked in Asia so I know it is fine for an extended backpacking trip. I had a few problems with it and it is too big to carry on, so I wouldn't mind replacing it, but I can use it again without being upset about it. I will post my thoughts on this eBags weekender when I get it.
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Jun 13, 2011 04:46
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Pants and shorts is up. NO JEANS FUCKERS! /ducks
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Jun 13, 2011 19:20
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Sheep-Goats posted:Pants and shorts is up. NO JEANS FUCKERS! Also have you bought any REI adventures pants since they changed them a couple years ago? Recent reviews are full of people complaining about lovely construction and busted zippers. My pants picks: - The aforementioned Nike Golf Dri-FIT Flat Front Tech pants - Kuhl Kuhl Jeans [definitely more technical than styley] - Prana Stretch Zion Pants - Coolmax jeans. There's a bunch now from Royal Robbins, Quiksilver, Prana, etc. qirex fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 19:23
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qirex posted:You just don't know about Coolmax jeans. I don't know when the last time I got some was. Maybe a year or so ago? I'm really easy on all of my gear though, so I almost never have problems like that and am not a good one to judge. Do you know of any other pants that have that REI style vertical zipper along the thigh seam for the extra pocket? You know what I'm talking about, right? That's really what makes those pants so great. raton fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 19:26
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Those REI pants don't fit me right so I never bought any. And you're right there's a dearth of pants with that extra pocket that aren't like HERE'S SOME BULGY POCKETS. I'm pretty sure I saw some Columbia ones recently. I'm going to get some Nau S Cargos if I see my size on sale, I'll report on them if I get them.
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Jun 13, 2011 19:31
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I like the shirts section, but recommending one pair of dress pants and one pair of cargo shorts is for someone who's clubbing. Jeans are popular not just because people like the look, but because they're much more durable than dress pants, something that's important when you might end up sitting on rough concrete to wait for a bus. And honestly, I don't really see the point in ever taking a pair of shorts traveling. Dress pants, khakis, jeans - they all can be worn in almost any situation, even if one is less appropriate than the other in some cases. Shorts have plenty of situations where you really can't wear them, and if it's hot enough that you think shorts will be more comfortable, it's probably also sunny enough that you'd be more comfortable keeping the sun off your legs.
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Jun 13, 2011 19:43
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I agree with most of your points, Mrady, and will modify some of my language in the section to reflect that. However, if you want durable what you want is nylon. Nothing is as tough as nylon, denim doesn't even come close, especially when you're talking about abrasion rather than tears. The most common blend for wool pants is polyester, but you can often find wool/nylon pants as well and those wear really well. The dressier pants I recommend don't look nearly as dressy when worn with a T-shirt or an untucked dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and I feel like I get more range out of that option (dressing down slacks) than I do going at it the other way (dressing up jeans) with the added benefit of not dealing with the bulkiness/irrwashability (unless I get those Coolmax things, I guess) of jeans. My recommendations might have to do with what I usually do when I travel, though, too -- I might go on a hike, but I'll certainly go into a museum or gallery or two, probably attend a show sponsored by some local consulate to try to get a profile of the local expat / traveled locals, that kind of stuff. raton fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 19:49
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Rockzilla posted:I don't know if this is the best place to ask, but I didn't want to start a whole thread. I'll be driving across Canada (Ottawa to Vancouver) soon. I've got our route planned out and it'll take five days barring any problems. Here's what we're packing: Rope, duct tape and a tube of superglue. And make sure your spare tire doesn't mysteriously have a gaping hole in it.
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Jun 13, 2011 20:19
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How effective are water bottles with filtration devices in less-developed countries? I'm planning on traveling to SE Asia and India, and I figured it might be worth looking into something like the Camelbak water bottle instead of buying bottled water everywhere I go. Obviously Camelbak probably had American mountain backpackers in mind when they designed the bottle, but are these bottles (ANY compact water bottle with a filtration device) effective in areas where there's all sorts of nasty stuff is in the water? EDIT: or am I completely stupid, and are these filtration devices purely for taste and not keeping you healthy? xcdude24 fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Jun 15, 2011 |
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Jun 15, 2011 06:07
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Water filters [real ones, not a Brita or PUR] work well for giardia and other parasites but they won't make totally undrinkable water due to pollution or other chemical contaminants tolerable. If you're not heading into the wilderness bottled water should be pretty easy to come by most places. Whichever way you decide you'll probably want to pack some polarpure tablets for backup though. The couple people I know who have tried a SteriPEN haven't been impressed.
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Jun 15, 2011 06:15
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I think 'for people who take traveling a bit too seriously or are gypsies' should be added onto the thread title. The OP has strong tone of "if you dont travel light and do what i say, YOU'RE WRONG!!"... but then people are talking about taking water filters? and buying specific pairs of pants for traveling? by the time you've bought all this poo poo you wont be able to afford the trip. Some people want to travel and just be comfortable, look good and not get hot/cold. I know tons of people to who go away every year without any problems, including myself, and basically just chuck their warddrobe into a suitcase and off they go. But guys, dont bring shorts, the SUN might get on your legs!
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Jun 16, 2011 04:09
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Windmill Hut posted:I think 'for people who take traveling a bit too seriously or are gypsies' should be added onto the thread title. The OP has strong tone of "if you dont travel light and do what i say, YOU'RE WRONG!!"... but then people are talking about taking water filters? and buying specific pairs of pants for traveling? by the time you've bought all this poo poo you wont be able to afford the trip. Thanks for reading the OP!
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Jun 16, 2011 04:12
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Sheep-Goats posted:Thanks for reading the OP!
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Jun 16, 2011 04:54
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Windmill Hut posted:Some people want to travel and just be comfortable, look good and not get hot/cold. I know tons of people to who go away every year without any problems, including myself, and basically just chuck their warddrobe into a suitcase and off they go. Suitcase? Would it be better if the title of the thread was "The travel (BACKPACKING) gear thread"? Maybe it is just a type of travel many shorts-wearing Americans don't understand. I like the OP. ilovepy fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jun 16, 2011 |
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Jun 16, 2011 05:06
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The OP has some useful ideas, you don't have to treat it like a bible, just discount what you don't agree with. Hell, I know I think some of the suggestions are dumb, namely the shoes section, so I will ignore what I disagree with. Although to be fair, you have to look at the advice as meant for traveling for at least a month and changing locations every few days. If you are flying to a single hotel at the beach for a week then going home it doesn't apply
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Jun 16, 2011 05:50
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Part of the problem with making a thread with a lot if info in it is that if you start analyzing that info for people you can only do it with your own brain. There's a lot of text in the first few posts, way more that I was anticipating, and I don't really have the energy to keep it in a neutral voice, especially since it's not neutral info anyway. I had similar complaints initially when I posted my TEFL thread except they were a lot more vitriolic (the China thread people came out in force...) and eventually just scrapped a whole section of the OP in favor of the community involvement thing you see there now, which the community usually isn't much involved in. I'm sorry if I have a poo poo tone of voice or occasionally odd seeming opinions but its what I have the energy for. Ribsauce, do you have shoe recommendations? You're a pro sandal guy, right? I've modified the OP a little to avoid flustering the weekend in the Keys people in the future. quote:Maybe it is just a type of travel many shorts-wearing Americans don't understand. There's something to this as well. Even here in New York City when I tell people I recently got back from Thailand for a month or whatever I think the picture in their mind is me in a baseball hat with two giant hardsided suitcases checking into a three story treehouse made of bamboo. Very few Americans probably see travel in the same way I do, though, of course, plenty of people in this subforum know exactly what I'm talking about. raton fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jun 16, 2011 |
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Jun 16, 2011 17:20
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Windmill Hut posted:But guys, dont bring shorts, the SUN might get on your legs! Uh, or you might not be allowed in to many of the places that you'd want to visit, because it's incredibly rude to wear shorts there? A large part of the world operates on a scale that ranges from "shorts look stupid" to "shorts are blatantly offensive". Honestly, if your method of travel is just to pack all of the stuff you want from home into a suitcase and show up somewhere else, then why would you need a travel gear thread? As for water filters, another (very inexpensive) option is to bring a metal camping mug, which is pretty light and can have things packed into it, and an immersion heater. There's a good chance you don't even need to take the immersion heater with you, I was able to find one pretty easily at markets in India and Morocco. Fill it up with non-potable tap water from your hostel, bring to a boil, and let cool. It's not going to replace bottled water entirely, but you'll have an option for when you can't get any more for some reason. Also, if you're like me and have trouble going out in public without having some coffee first, you can make a cup in your room with some instant.
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Jun 16, 2011 19:10
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I don't bother with shorts unless I'm going to the beach, there's plenty of lightweight pants out there and if you're white like me the yellow face can be a deadly enemy. Basically there's a million more places where shorts are inappropriate and packing light is all about taking things that are versatile.
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Jun 16, 2011 20:33
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