Packing For A Year

I’m nomading. Packing is fun and interesting. I don’t know what I’m doing, but here are some takes, mostly tepid in temperature.

High-level takeaways:

1. When choosing clothing, here’s what I’m optimizing by, in order:
   1. Space + weight - you gotta lug it everywhere broh
   2. Function - you really don’t need more than one of anything, other than socks and underwear. I’m consistently gonna be in pretty warm climates, so for shirts, I need one hiking / adventure shirt (moisture-wicking, tough), one (MAYBE two) going-out shirts, and one junk shirt (night time in shared spaces, going shopping, etc.).
   3. Drying - you’re gonna wash stuff in sinks, bathtubs, plastic tubs, and so on, and you need that stuff to dry quickly! For example, I’ve purchased some briefs that are good for this, because my normal sets of briefs are way damp for way long.
2. Renting cars is seeming more necessary than I’d hoped, but it’s very freeing.
3. Some things I didn’t initially think to bring that are looking necessary:
   1. Hand sanitizer - joins the crew of sunscreen, bug spray, toiletries, first aid, etc.
   2. Laundry line - washing things on the go is a must, and drying things is tricky in limited space. Having a laundry line to loop around a bedpost or something seems necessary. We’ll see how this pans out - I’m a little concerned about how much space this’ll take, and maybe washing machines are gonna be much easier to come by than I expect.
   3. Laundry detergent sheets - see above. I probably need travel soap.
   4. Quick-drying briefs - normal cotton-based briefs are not your friend, drying-wise.
   5. Collapsible Tub - again, we’ll see how this pans out, but I feel like it’ll be really handy to have your own tub to wash things in, especially in shared spaces like hostels. Commandeering a sink for 20 minutes to wash your briefs is not gonna make you friends.
4. I want to buy things locally - I’ll need little things like shampoo, dish detergent, new beach t-shirts, and so on. Why lug my New Jersey t-shirt to Hanoi, instead of buying some local stuff?
5. Eating out at restaurants is expensive, expectedly - I’m starting to get into the flow of supermarkets and shared cooking spaces. Gonna lean into that more.
   1. Hate to say it, but Huel is looking pretty attractive right now. TSA lets powders through too. Maybe I’ll POC it in Hawaii.
6. As an early-30s man who’s lived with roommates and alone for long periods, i suspect I’m gonna be pretty disappointed with the cohabitation skills of my future hostel / Airbnb friendos. I was a pretty meh roommate myself in my 20s, so it’s to be expected.

Here’s my stuff, brought to you by a motel floor in Panguitch, UT, where my stuff is covering a set of stains that was either wine or blood or both:

PACKING

• Osprey Fairview 55L w/ daypack (“for women”, unclear what that meant in practice)
  • I’m not sure that getting a pure backpack was a good idea, instead of something with wheels. I’m not camping or anything, so mostly I’m just transporting the whole thing between hotels / AirBnBs / hostels, or in airports. I know the allure of the backpack is strong, but wheels are nice.
• 3x packing cubes (thanks mom)
  • Valuable for organization and a little bit of space management. I think compressible packing cubes would be more valuable.
• 1x electronics pack (thanks again mom)
  • This is very nice to have. Especially for digital nomads - avoiding the mayhem of loose wires and plugs is great.
• 1x toiletries bag (yes it’s space-themed, thank you Jennette)
  • I also have a boat-load of prescription medications, mostly acne. Which is irritating, but unavoidable. Maybe I can get some of this stuff over the counter, or maybe in other countries you don’t even need a prescription?!
  • I brought my electric toothbrush. I want it. Whatever.

CLOTHES

• 1x waterproof hiking pants
  • They’re fairly presentable for every day hangs - the combo of function and aesthetics is really nice to have!
• 5x shirts
  • Two nice, two junk, one hiking. I might want another hiking / activity shirt, since this is getting a LOT of use.
• 3x shorts (1x athletic + 2x casual)
• 4x socks, 4x boxers, 2x Under Armour underwear
  • As mentioned, quick drying is key here, so my existing boxers might be a no-go. Too wet too long. The Under Armour underwear is great.
• 1x flip-flops (the ones with a bottle opener underneath 🤙)
  • These are VERY useful for evenings, or if my main shoes get wet or seem bulky.
• 1x all-purpose running shoes, Asics Gel-Kayano 29
  • These can and have gotten wet, but not gracefully. They take forever to dry and definitely smell. More to work on here.

MISC / TECH / INDULGENCES

• Cowen E7 Noise-Cancelling headphones
  • These take up so much space in my bag, and don’t get very much usage. TBD on if they make it.
• Nintendo Switch
  • Look. Zelda is great. It just came out. I will probably ditch this at some point, but not immediately.
• MacBook Air 2022 M2
• Kindle
  • This and the MacBook are so blissfully light. Really happy with those so far.
• LifeStraw collapsible water bottle
  • I’m banking on this being more useful in places where I might not be able to trust running water as much, but TBD if that’s anywhere. Worst case this is just a nice compressible water bottle.
• Some kinda quick-dry towel from REI
  • No use yet - again, this might’ve been overkill.
• Lots of earplugs, spare glasses, standard but minimal set of toiletries
  • This also includes a bunch of prescription medications that actually take a lot of space. I might ditch some of these and start seeing what OTC meds are available.
  • I brought my electric toothbrush. I want it. Whatever.

So far I’ve used almost all of my pack every day / stay, which I think is a good sign. If I’m not using things, it’s dubious whether I actually need them. Things like my towel and my headphones are the main suspects right now, and I’ve already marked some clothing for shipping home. We’ll see how this continues!