What to pack for an around the world trip?

So the adventure begins…

We touched down in Iceland on March 30th at 5:00am and a shuttle bus picked us up at Keflavik International Airport and took us to our Happy Camper (https://happycampers.is/), which is our home for this week.

When making the decision to embark on this journey, one of the biggest concerns was how on earth we were supposed to pack everything we would need in only 2 carry-on bags!?  Here’s the thought process we went through:

First, we had to consider that we will potentially be living in every type of climate you could possibly think of, from cold and snowy (Iceland) to hot, humid, and rainy (southeast Asia during wet season). Next, we had to think of comfort, durability, as well as quick drying. Given these characteristics, we began extensive research, and if anyone knows Nolan, you know he produced a few excel spread sheets during this process.

Here is what we packed:

KIRBY

Bags-

• Backpack (Venturesafe EXP45 Anti-theft 45L carry-on travel pack)
• Daypack/Camera bag (Camsafe V17 anti-theft camera backpack)
• Toiletry bag (Eagle Creek)
• Etools Organizer Pro (Eagle Creek)
• Shoe sac (Eagle Creek)
• Compression cubes (Eagle Creek Pack It Spector)

Clothing/Accessories-  

• Sunglasses (Oakley Moonlighter)
• Watch (Timex Weekender)
• Gloves (Northface e-tip)
• Scarf (American Apparel infinity scarf)
• 3 Hats (Love Your Melon beanie, Lululemon ball cap, Tilley LTM6 Airflo hat)
• 10 socks (4 Bombas ankle, 4 Bombas merino wool and 2 SmartWool)
• 15 Underwear
• 2-4 bras (Gap, Lululemon sports bra)
• 1 cold weather jacket (Patagonia Nano Puff jacket)
• 1 rain jacket (Patagonia Triolet jacket)
• 1 rain pants (Patagonia Torrentshell pants)
• 5 casual pants (7 For All Mankind Highwaist Skinny jeans, Columbia Saturday Trail Stretch Pant, Athleta Chelsea Cargo pant, Lululemon Wunder Under Crop, Patagonia Ahnya pants)
• 2 shorts (Athleta Hudson Shortie, Lululemon Speed Short)
• 2 Dresses/1 Skirt (Caslon drawstring waist maxi dress, Billabong Wrap Me up Print midi dress, Patagonia Kamala skirt)
•  shirts (Lululmeon Love Tee IV x4, 1 Lululemon Love Tank, 2 Target tank tops)
• 3 long sleeve shirts (2 Patagonia, Athleta Bootjack Chambray)
• 1 lightweight sweatshirt (Kirby- Athleta Criss Cross)
• 2 pajama pants/1 pajama shorts (Gap Pure Body modal joggers, Pure Body print joggers, Pure Body modal shorts)
• 3 pajama shirts (Gap short sleeve sleep shirt, Gap Pure Body modal short-sleeve tee)
• Bathing suit (Lululemon bikini)
• Walking shoes (Northface Ultra Fastpack II GTX)
• Sandals (Luna)
• Casual shoes (Tieks ballet flats)

Toiletries-

• Shampoo (Sea To Summit Trek & Travel Pocket conditioning shampoo)
• Body Wash (Sea To Summit Trek & Travel Pocket body wash)
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental Floss
• Band-Aids
• Neosporin spray
• Hand lotion
• Wet Brush Squirt detangler hair brush
• Mascara
• Tweezer
• Nail Clipper
• Nail file
• Face lotion
• Body lotion
• Tampons
• Razor
• Tissues
• Chapstick

Electronics (not pictured due to Nolan accidentally reformatting his memory card before saving the photo)-

• Camera (Nikon D5500)
• Lenses for Camera (prime, telephoto, wide angle, macro)
• Tripods (JOBY GorillaPod Focus)
• Laptop (13” MacBook Pro)
• Kindle Paperwhite
• GoTenna
• Headphones (Bose QuietComfort 35 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Bluetooth)
• Earphones (Apple)
• Headlamp (Petzl- TIKKA 100 lumens)
• Universal Adaptor
• Chargers for devices

Other gear-

• Money belt (Pacsafe Coversafe x100 Anti-Theft RFID Blocking Waist Wallet)
• Portable Laundry System (Scrubba wash bag)
• Laundry Soap (Sea To Summit Trek & Travel Pocket Laundry Wash)
• Water bottle (Platypus soft bottle)
• Portable utensils (Humangear GoBites Trio)
• Portable dishes/cups (Sea To Summit)
• Travel sheet (Brave Era)
• Travel Towel (Sea To Summit DryLite towel XL)
• Travel Pillow (Cocoon Air-Core Hyperlite)
• 1 Journal (Moleskine soft cover)
• 2 pens/1 pencil

NOLAN

Bags-

• Backpack (Venturesafe EXP45 Anti-theft 45L carry-on travel pack)
• Daypack/Camera bag (Camsafe V25 anti-theft camera backpack)
• Toiletry bag (Eagle Creek)
• Etools Organizer Pro (Eagle Creek)
• Shoe sac (Eagle Creek)
• Compression cubes (Eagle Creek Pack-It Spector)

Clothing/Accessories-  

• Sunglasses (Oakley Holbrook Polarized)
• Watch (Timex Expedition)
• Gloves (Bontrager)
• Scarf (Rothco Shemagh tactical desert scarf)
• Hats (Under Armour winter beanie, Patagonia ball cap, Tilly Hemp)
• Socks (4 Bombas Ankle, 2 Bombas Merino, 1 Columbia Hiking)
• 7 Underwear (UnderArmour)
• Insulated Jacket (Patagonia Nano-Air)
• Jacket Shell (Patagonia Triolet jacket)
• Rain Pant (Nike Golf rain pants)
• Pants (Columbia PFG converts to shorts, Patagonia Quandary, 1 Jeans)
• Shorts (Patagonia Stretch Wavefarer)
• Shirts  (2 button down, 2 Ably t-shirts, 3 merino wool t-shirts)
• Pajamas (Free airplane pants...really)
• Bathing suit (J Crew)
• Walking shoes (Northface Ultra Fastpack II GTX)
• Sandals (Luna)
• Casual shoes (Frye Phillip Chukka)

Toiletries-

• Shampoo (Sea To Summit Trek & Travel Pocket conditioning shampoo)
• Body Wash (Sea To Summit Trek & Travel Pocket body wash)
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental Floss
• Band-Aids & minor first aid
• Neosporin & Cortizone
• Hand/face lotion
• Razor
• Hair brush

Electronics-

• Camera (Nikon D750)
• Lenses for Camera (Nikon 50mm f1.4; Nikon 16-35mm f4, Nikon 70-200mm f4)
• Tripods (Sirui Carbon Fiber)
• Drone (DJI Mavic Pro and accessories)
• GoPro (Hero 4 and accessories)
• Laptop (Lenova Yoga)
• Kindle Paperwhite
• Portable Bluetooth Speaker (UE Roll 2 Volcano- waterproof)
• Headphones (Bose QuietComfort 35)
• Earbuds (Beats)
• Headlamp (Petzl- TIKKA 100 lumens)
• Universal Adaptor
• Chargers for devices

Other gear-

• Money belt (Pacsafe Coversafe x100 Anti-Theft RFID Blocking Waist Wallet)
• Clothesline (Kiva Designs)
• GoTenna
• Water bottle (Platypus soft bottle)
• Portable utensils (Humangear GoBites Trio)
• Portable dishes/cups (Sea To Summit)
• Travel sheet (Brave Era)
• Travel Towel (Sea To Summit DryLite towel XL)
• Travel Pillow (Cocoon Air-Core Hyperlite)
• Travel Journal & Pens

So as you can see, this was quite a challenge. We don’t know if we got it right or not, in fact we already are complaining about how bulky and heavy our packs are (particularly the camera bags) after our first flight! We will likely be shedding some things as we go so stay tuned because we will post updates along the way: what was useful, what we needed more of, what we could have done without, etc.

Welcome to Iceland! Cheers!