Our Ultimate Backpacking Packing List
Backpacking is more than just a mode of travel - it's a journey of exploration, discovery, resilience, and connection with the world around you. Whether you’re setting off into the wild for a week or traversing new cultures for months on end, what you pack can make or break your experience. Packing efficiently means balancing necessity and comfort while keeping the weight manageable – Seriously: Every Gram Counts.
We have all done this a few times: In our Teens, 20’s, early and late 30’s. So here’s our ultimate backpacking packing list, curated for both new and seasoned adventurers, to ensure you’re prepared for whatever the open road (or trail) has in store.
But these trips set you up with an enduring love of travel & exploring. We have split this into key sections that you can access below:
General Backpacking Packing Tips
So we cover a lot in each of the individual sections above, so these are our General Tips for packing for a Backpacking trip that we have refined over several years.
Baggage Weight:
- EVERY GRAM COUNTS! - Avoid the unconscious urge to overpack trying to cover every scenario, as you are going to be carrying all of your belongings on you for an extended period of time.
- You are going to spend a LOT of time walking and rushing through train stations, bust stations and airports, so make sure it is a comfortable weight on your back!
- Always remember you can buy things you need as you go. Just make sure you have your every day needs covered from the outset.
- Avoid taking Physical Books - We all love them, but an eReader or Tablet will become your best friend for the weight and space savings they allow!
- Don't be the douche that carries a guitar with them. They are bulky, heavy, and in most instances unnecessary, as these are usually available in most Hostels. Remember - You will have to carry this with you for your while trip along with the rest of your bags.
Space:
- Again, as stated above, avoid taking physical books to save space in your bags. You will likely spend a reasonable amount of time travelling between each location, and reading is a great way to pass the time. But books take up a lot of space as well as adding unnecessary weight.
- Avoid taking packaging and boxes to minimise the amount of space. For example, you can pack 3 sleeves of Ibuprofen for the space 1 box of a single sleeve takes up.
- Read the section on 'Packing your Bags', as we share lots of tips on maximising the space in your Rucksack through tried and tested packing approaches.
Electronics:
- We generally advise against taking a laptop with you unless you are planning to work while you are travelling, mainly due to the additional weight and space they take up, as well as the additional cables and accessories involved.
- For accommodation and transport research and booking, your smartphone or tablet will serve you just as well. Similarly, a Tablet is far superior to Smartphone for watching Netflix / Amazon Prime Video / Crunchy Roll /Paramount Plus / Disney Plus etc.
- If you are taking a proper camera, you may opt to take a laptop (the smaller the better - eg: Web Book or Chrome Book) so that you can back up your photos as you go. And with this, we recommend backing them up directly to DropBox or OneDrive in case something happens to your laptop.
- Avoid Travel Appliances (Eg: Hairdryer etc), as these are usually always available in Hostels and hotels, and usually stated as an amenity on the booking site.