Packing cubes & dry bags, pillows & neck-rests, Hydration packs & water bottles, Backpacks & luggage. There are SO many options out there, so how exactly do you choose what you need and cut through everything else?

This is a really quick, compacted informational video on various types of gear. If you’re looking for more information, I have my sources linked in the description box below, and if I missed anything or if you would like a video on a specific type of gear let me know in the comments below.

To get started, the first thing you need to figure out if you’re starting from zero is what your budget is. If you’re looking to buy all new stuff, you will likely need a higher budget, however looking into second-hand stores, as well as resale sites like eBay, Kijiji, Craigslist or even Facebook.

So, what is the use of different gear? Let’s start with the most important, luggage. It’s what all of your stuff goes in. Personally, I will not travel with luggage like this. *shows roller bag* I exclusively travel with backpacks. Both for carry-on only and for checked baggage, however, this doesn’t work for everyone. I like backpacks because I know I won’t have issues with staircases or with wheels getting stuck or falling off, and I also have much more practice with backpacks.

If you’re bringing a more traditional suitcase you have two choices, hard sided and soft sided. Hard luggage can be more difficult because while the hard-outer shell is more likely to keep water, mud and other potential spills like coffee, for example, compared to soft shell that will absorb these liquids and may affect the items inside.

In the past, the hard shells have been known to crack and break, however with advances in technology that seems to happen less often, but does still occur. Another issue with hard shells is that because of the hard plastic or polycarbonate, they do not stretch. Soft shells have a bit of ‘give’ and will simply stretch out to accommodate a small amount of extra space, however when pushed to the limit they can rip, so don’t overfill your baggage. For the same reason, the soft-shell bags are a little bit better when being put in overhead compartments because they’ll have more give if they get compacted in.

Once you have the baggage, something that many people swear by are packing cubes. I have a few here, but I have never used them. I have tried them while doing dry runs when packing, but they have never come on a trip with me. For those who bring a hard- or soft-shell suitcase I can see why these work but with my current and previous backpacks, they just don’t work for me, personally.

The point of packing cubes it to put your different items into them to compress them and keep them in place. There are a bunch of different brands and types, shapes and sizes.

I would recommend these more for people who may not be as comfortable with packing, or who may want to get as much in as possible, maybe those who want an easy way to separate and code their items like a clean/dirty kind of separation.

Items there is a bit of debate on are Hydration packs & water bottles. Staying hydrated is integral to our daily lives, but some people swear by hydration packs. Personally, I don’t have one, though my backpack would support one. The bottles that I travelled around with in the past were plastic, but they became hard to clean, but I still have them as backups, but I now travel with dual insulated bottles like this on from Manna, and I love it because it does have a plastic mouthpiece so you won’t get stuck to the metal if you’re anywhere cold.

Much of the other stuff is extras. Dry packs are fantastic for when you’ll be on or near the water but aren’t for everyone. Having pillows or any kind have been temporarily useful to me, as have mini blankets, but they also take up quite a bit of space that I could have used for other items or lower my pack weight overall.

Two things that I do recommend for everyone are day bags and RFID gear. Day bags are pretty standard, they’re the bags you bring with you on tours or excursions, sometimes hikes as well. They make life easy because you can grab it and go. Many women bring some form of handbag, I prefer to have a small backpack, like a school bag. I currently have two, both have laptop sleeves and zippers that can be locked if I go anywhere with high levels of pickpocketing.
Speaking of pickpocketing, I strongly recommend buying exclusively RFID wallets in general, or at least RFID sleeves like these that I got for free from a company as a promo at some event or conference. They keep people from swiping your card digitally, without you knowing it.