My Top 10 Travel Kit Mistakes
- Electric toothbrush – I love my ultrasonic toothbrush. My dentist loves my ultrasonic toothbrush. But the charger didn’t fit in my new “global” adaptor, and so I was stuck carrying a dead toothbrush for 5 weeks. Take a small normal toothbrush.
- Silk sleep sack – A useful piece of kit for couchsurfing or backpacking, but if you are planning to AirBnB, leave it behind.
- Towel – Only take the micro size. Like the sleep sack, most places have towels, but i did use the micro towel once or twice.
- Travel money – If you don’t take much cash with you, which can be safer, be prepared to be stung at the cash machines. Even my sensible Post Office travel card was charging me on transactions and didn’t work so well. You need a good travel money card.
- Shoes – I love Vivo Barefoot shoes. They’re basically the only shoes I wear at home. But my summer slip-ons were never designed to be sturdy travel shoes, and they lasted two weeks of travel. I’d like to try their cross trainer model next time.
- Long sleeve shirt – Pack one. It was exactly what I needed for mosquito season in the Pantanal. Except I decided to leave mine at home
- Bottle opener – I didn’t use it! I don’t buy beer bottles enough.
- First aid kit – Thankfully I didn’t use it. Next time it will be smaller.
- PacSafe secure locking mini-bag – Tricky one. I’m all for travel security, and travel with loads of locks, but you never know if it’s been useful or not. The only time I know for sure is was useful, is when I used the padlock to lock helmets to a motorbike in Salvador.
- Beard trimmer – Broke it. Again. They’re just not tough enough for travel.
What To Take Top 5:
- Rohan and Ex-officio clothes – Excellent clothes travel brands. Recommended.
- Osprey travel backpack with wheels – Nice to travel with wheels. I’m getting soft.
- 15% space – Essential. For the inevitable extras picked up along the way. For me that includes freeze dried acai, guarana, and a big bag of Brazil nuts.
- Your nice camera – Share what you see and do.
- Your laptop – Essential for the digital nomad.
Good tips. I recently went backpacking around southwestern China and forgot to bring dental floss. Fortunately, I met a guy from Australia who let me borrow some of his. But I was a little worried there for a while.
Jimmy
Floss is a good tip too – it’s light, and probably better than a toothbrush..
My longest trip is not long than a week (usually 3-4 days), so I have no problem with electric toothbrush and beard trimmer (mine are rechargeable and it can use up to a week).