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[whereshegoes]

What is the basic wardrobe needed for a one year trip?

I want to know what the very minimum amount of clothes and shoes you would need for a long backpacking trip. As well, are there certain colors or fabrics that work better than others?

[Chris]

Assuming you will be doing both hot and cold climates

Covered walking shoes
Strapped sandals - eg Teva's
Maybe a pair of jandals/flip-flops for showers also
Thermal top + bottoms + woolly hat + thin gloves
Light rain jacket
Polar fleece or warm jacket
Heaps of t-shirts
Couple of light long-sleeve shirts - drip dry, no iron
Swimming suit
Pair of pants (2 pairs if heading somewhere continually cold)
Pair of shorts/sarong
A few pairs of socks, underpants
Sunhat
Something unique for inevitable parties.
Thread, needles & patches to fix it all on the run.

You need a lot less in hot climates. You can survive a week on Thailand beaches with a pair of swimming togs and 2 t-shirts...

Light coloured pants are asking for trouble. Preferably everything is fairly dark. Fabrics should be drip dry, non-iron type stuff. Polyprop is good for thermals. Jeans seem to be more popular than they should be - hot, hard to walk in, hard to dry, not enough pockets...

You should be able to wear any combination of pants and tops without looking too much like a fashion victim - no point having redundant stuff in your bag because you're wearing the blue pants today. Also good to have a set that can let you into fancy restaurants / clubs/ bars etc without looking like a poor backpacker.

And don't take anything that you can't handle if it gets nicked or ruined.

[ger]

Less is best! You can always buy it when your there if you need it. This is what I take when I go:
one pair of pants
one sweatshirt or sweater
shorts or long thin skirts works well for us girls
tank tops or tishirts (depending on the country)
one long sleeved thin shirt (to wear on those hot days when you don't want the sun beating on you)
one bathing suit
a sarong (very necessary works well as a bed sheet, blanket, towel etc..)
small bottle of shampoo and conditioner
razor
a pair of flipflops and running shoes
a small rope (to hang dry clothes)
small bottle of sunscreen
Last but not least tampons for us girls. They're unfortunately not available in most countries I have travelled to. That's what I take and I find I wear pretty much the same clothes all the time anyways which comes in very handy. Remember you can always buy it there if you need it.

[uncle_davros]

Leave the running shoes at home and take a proper paır of walking boots as you will end up walking somewhere and they will last longer.
Thermals for the cold climates and they do pack up small
Both thongs and sandals, and as I am an Aussıe, thongs are flip flops to the uninitiated
Fleece jacket for when you are up a mountain at 04:00 to watch the sun come up. Trust me, it gets cold

[uncle_davros]

I forgot one thing

A teaspoon for when you are in Iran

[whereshegoes]

I forgot one thing

A teaspoon for when you are in Iran

Dare I ask why?

[lucky]

This is going to sound weird but... the best ( hands down ) peice of travel clothes I bring is a sarong from Myanmar (Burma). All of the locals where them in Myanmar and I just picked one up to try it out... and have been using it ever since.

Yes, it's basically a dress, I jokingly call it my man-dress actually...

So, it's basically a tube of cloth which folds up so small it can almost fit in your pocket. It comes in VERY handy.. here are some uses:

- pillow on long bus rides
- make shift picnic blanket
- blanket for cold nights/bus rides
- Good to hang out in at night in your room/hostel. Very comfy... it's basically my pijama on the road
- Good for going to take a shower in nasty hostels. Because it's a tube, you just slip it off above your head... no need to risk having your pants slosh around on a cruddy floors.
- Make shift curtain
- Make shift sleep sack... keep the bed bugs out.

the list goes on...

I highly suggest picking one up if you are find one in a shop...

[meercatvinny]

I know this is not clothing but it's still an essential.

A pen-knife with an interchangeable screwdriver/allen key is your only man on some long train journeys. Its great for unlocking that which should not be locked. For example:

-To be used when theres no air con and the windows in your stuffy 6 berth have been locked and you really need to air the place out. Just unlock it yourself. (just don't do it when you're coming in or out of Datong, China by train as you'll get a face full of black soot from the coal mines!)

-When the carriage attendant locks the bathroom at night and 'falls asleep' and won't open it until the morning, even if you ask them. Just unlock it yourself, they're all locked with those triangular allen keys from the outside.

-When the carriage attendant insists on playing their favourite music over the loudspeaker and yours is the only berth in which the volume adjuster knob is broken - just do it yourself!!!

And best of all, after your done you can just put it back the way it was and no-one is any wiser.

Brilliant.

[whereshegoes]

LOL!!!! I can totally picture that...nice one! Where were you on all my uncomfortable overnight rides?

[meercatvinny]

Thank God this has happened to someone else!! I was beginning to think that wierd stuff only happened to me on train journeys!! You should get yourself a penknife for a bit of train DIY. It doesn't have to be a fancy pancey one, just as long as it has the interchangeable thingy.

I've lost count of the amount of times its come in handy, and what amazes me is that people will sit there and do nothing and suffer through a sauna/6 berth or a locked bathroom for hours!! They seem to be afraid to do it in case someone says something to them, but I can vouch for the appreciation they show when you take it upon yourself to do it. You're a hero for the entire journey. There were times when I had people from other berths come and knock on mine to ask for the penknife so they could take a leak!!

Actually, this might make its own good forum. "Wierdest moment on a train journey". I'm sure lots of people will have some funny stories. I don't think I've ever had a journey without some sort of off the wall incident.

[fyrelizard]

convertable trousers are great- the ones you can zip off to be 3/4 length or shorts. Perfect for saving space- and providing instant comfort during interchangeable weather Get the ones with zips on the legs so you don't need to keep taking off your boots.

As for colours- I find gunmetal very practical, goes with most things and doesn't show the trail muck too much!

Agree about penknives.... Mine hasn't been used for train DIY, but gets heavily utilised for slicing cheese, uncorking bottles of wine and many other mundane but essential things. Another essential is duct tape- I've used it for mending ripped trousers, protecting blister pads, holding together shoes, reassembling falling-apart guidebooks and as an impromtu plug. So it can kind of be classed as clothing!

[uncle_davros]

A teaspoon is needed in Iran because the locals put sugar cubes on their tongues. A great way to get used to black tea with no sugar. Lucinate is finding the lack of spoons hard, so she is doing it Iranian style

[Hils]

I know all about needing to unlock what shouldn't be unlocked. On the Trans Sib the attendants lock the toilet doors whenever you are in a station. Not so good when you're waiting hours at the border (we waited 6), can't get off the train and it's so hot the sweat's dripping off you. You have to drink a gallon of water and then nature calls. Luckily one of our group had read up and brought a radiator key which worked a treat.

Carmella, I just wanted to ask what kind of backpack you have (make & model) and how do you fit everything you need in? I'm travelling with a 55L at the mo, but would love to have something small enough to carry on. Also, do you travel with scissors/penknife and if so how do you get round not being able to take them on as hand luggage?

Thanks
Hils

[whereshegoes]

Hi Hils

I have a wicked backpack made by Eagle Creek. Its the Bhatah Sab and its 45 liters. I am not sure if they make it anymore but I love it to pieces. It even has a small daypack.
I fit everything in it pretty easy. I use a packing cube (also eagle creek) and zip lock bags and deflate the air. Compression bags are also helpful and you can get heavy duty ones. I use a Hostel International towel...it folds so small and works really well and its quite soft too. Otherwise, I guess I just travel light. Most of my clothes are thin and wrinkle free.

I don't take anything you can't carry on. Not worth the trouble to me so if I really need something like that, I borrow it. I do ok without it.

Does that help?

[lucinate]

45 litres!! Where do you find room for the headscarf?!

[whereshegoes]

Truth is that if I didn't really need it, I lost it. So my pack always contained just what I needed. Kept me from getting greedy.

The head scarf stayed on my head, silly !

[Hils]

That's a great help. I'm heading off in 5 days and I'm just trying to pack everything up at the moment, I do use packing cubes and a sarong instead of a towel, I guess I never thought of borrowing stuff, duh! I've got a list a mile long of stuff I've lost so I might take a leaf out of your book, try and see if I can find a smaller bag before I go and ditch some of my clothes.
Thanks
Hils

[whereshegoes]

Good luck Hil!

The thing about backpacking is the spirit of sharing. I can't tell you how many times someone needed something I had and they had something that would help me out. It was almost creepy about the timing! But I wouldn't go with out anything you will NEED because you don't want to be stuck. Just nice to be able to help each other out.

I have even exchanged clothes with people because we were both sick of what we had. Clothes are the one thing people always bring too much of. Think about it...where in the world can you NOT get clothes if you need them.

There is a brand of shampoo from a place called Lush. Its in a solid bar form and I used it to double for soap too. Its nice and natural for the most part. I would also take small travel sizes of stuff like toothpaste.

Have fun!

[incrediblelife]

Hey Carm -

Checked out the Eagle Creek site for your pack you mentioned you have but couldn't find it. Instead, I found this great one - can't wait to get it! It is the Subcontinental by Eagle Creek (42.2L). It is bigger than my current one (mine is 35L), but it has the hip belt which mine doesn't (and that has been my ONLY complaint with mine!). And I agree - I can't leave home without my packing cube and ziplocs!!! I use a few ziplocs - not only does it shrink everything down when you squeeze the air out, but it keeps things organized, and then I have one for dirty laundry. And yes - I don't bring anything I could live without - except for my travel pillow by Tempurpedic - it rolls up and I clip it onto the outside of my pack. It's amazing how that one luxury item makes such a huge difference! Between dodgy pillows in hostels and long flights, it is such a saviour! And I always manage to get a fantastic sleep because of it. Other than that - not a single item gets into my pack that is not used all the time. Oh, and I'm big on using my sarong and bandana for multiple uses!

Jenn

[katieontherun]

I started out with A LOT more than this, but this is what I narrowed it down to. All of it is fairly thin and light-weight and my pack was half-empty except in times when I was carrying a tent:

1 fleece jacket with hood
1 warm sweater
1 rain jacket
1 beanie
1 pair of trail runners (waterproof)
1 pair of tevas
1 pair of comfy fleece sweat pants for long haul rides, flights, cold nights...
1 pair of jeans
1 pair of shorts
1 sarong
1 bikini
1 sleeping bag (just 700g and small and YES, and I was damn glad I had it)
3 t-shirts
2 long sleeve shirts
3 tank tops
6 undies
1 bra, 1 sportsbra
6 pairs/socks
1 trek towel
1 baseball hat
----
malaria pills (5-day emergency treatment, NOT prophylaxis)
small bottle sunblock
bar of soap (for laundry & shower)
tiny shampoo bottle
swiss army knife
a book I'm going to trade for another book when I'm done reading
condoms, tampons etc.
flash light
laundry line


For a while, I was carrying a tent and an inflatable mattress. That was in New Zealand and I was camping there for a while and later on, it was good to have a tent in OZ. My boyfriend relieved me of that burden when he came to see me in Thailand and the stuff is back in New Zealand now.