D-7 !!! It’s now time to reveal what will
be the content of our house that we will carry on our back during more than 18
months! OK, not like this man.
Principal house
The most difficult choice was for sure the trekking
bag. After reading many of our favorites blogs, a 60L bag for Flo and 70L for
Romain appeared to be the best compromise. However, by trying bags (full if
possible), we discover that the most important is not the volume but our back length.
Finally, Flo selected a 60L bag, specially made for women
morphology.
Romain will go with a model which has a volume of 88L.
Many of you could be afraid looking at this volume but some of tall travelers
(regarding back length) could prefer this type of bag more comfortable than a
smaller bag too small for their back. And a big trekking bag does not need to
be filled fully. It gives some margin to carry punctually more stuff (during a
trek in total autonomy for instance).
Ratios empty weight/volume are reasonable, 2.350kg
for Flo’s one, 2.620 for Romain’s one. Our bags are not completely filled
(fortunately), there is still approximately 10 liters for Flo and 20 liters for
Romain, which will allow us to accumulate many souvenirs and gifts for children ;-)
And in order to well organize our bag, we
bought stuff sacks. These sacks are
ultralight and allow us to unpack and repack our stuff faster than light (at
least almost J). These bags seem to be quite weak
and will only be used for clothes. Some Zip bags can also be useful, especially
to ensure impermeability of cameras and computer.
Secondary residence
and safe box
Beside these trekking bags, we will carry a
daypack for visits and excursions. We both selected an 25 liter bag....The sames! A real crush for
us ; the problem is that we will have to find a way to differentiate them
quickly as we both enjoyed the blue color ;-)
Finally, like every good travelers, we will
secure our official papers (passport, driving license) and cash in a skin chest
holder.
Clothes
Regarding clothes, we bring only clothes for
warm climate first, and we will buy warmer clothes during the trip if necessary
(and it will be ;-)). Choice was not so difficult as we leave during
spring season, and stores do not expose yet their collection for summer. We
therefore quickly selected our favorites at the “Au Vieux Campeur” in Paris. We
bring the minimum (let’s say almost, we can for sure eliminate more) because
the test in Thailand in 2012 has been successful and we were able to carry the
minimum by cleaning regularly. Here is the list for each of us:
- 1 pair of sunglasses
- 1 swimsuit (+ 1 pareo for Flo)
- 1 light pyjamas (can be useful to sleep at
local, Romain just bring the bottom and will manage with a classic T-shirt from
every day as top, Flo chose a sleeveless top that she can use during the day)
- 2 sport and 2 classic bras for Flo (sport
bras are much more comfortable for trekking or sport, for sure we will run a
lot in playgrounds ;-) ; Romain is taking the risk of bringing none
of them ;-))
- 4 underwear
- 4 pair of socks (2 pair lights and small, 1 pair
light but warmer and one pair of long socks)
- 1 Buff (useful to warm our ears, protect our neck or
tie hairs (not for Romain, he does not get enough yet ;-)) and many other
things)
- 1 short sleeve T-shirt & 1 sleeveless top
for Flo (+ eventually the one used as pyjamas), 2 short sleeve T-shirts for
Romain
- 1 short & 1 long sleeve shirt (useful to
wear over a T-shirt, or cover our body in sacred places, or aerate the torso
during trek (ok, Flo will avoid ;-))
- 1 canvas pants and one convertible pants to
pair of shorts
- 1 bermuda short for Romain, 1 skirt for Flo
- Technical underwear for cold nights at
camping (one pants + one shirt)
- 1 hat and one canvas belt
- 1 soft-shell, with flash colors to be visible
while hitchhiking ;-)
- 1 microfleece hooded jacket and full zipper
- 1 poncho (with which we can carry a trekking
bag)
- 1 pair of hiking shoes (short) and 1 pair of
hiking sandals (thanks Keen ;-))
Hygiene
Regarding hygiene, we bring two synthetic towels, the lightest you could
find for a proper size. Then, the toiletry bag is ultralight
as well, and can be suspended in dirty places; it includes as well many pockets
very useful. We can find in it really compact Lush products such as toothpaste
pellets, shampoo and soap blocks; everything really light and compact. One advice,
if you travel as a couple, prefer a deodorant that satisfy both women and men,
otherwise it takes place and it weights. We will try as well shampoo, soap and
washing soap presented as pocket of 50 leaves : it’s
light and ecologic, moreover with that we have to ration ;-).
Health
For more details about health, see here.
Camping
Amateur of camping, we hesitated a lot if yes
or not we should bring tent, mattress and kitchen kit…Finally, in order to save
a maximum of our budget in expensive countries, we decided to bring this stuff
with us, and in case we do not use it enough, we could still send it back to
France or let it in a country. Our choice then was to select very technical
stuff that are light but comfortable so that we really want to camp. After many
nights on the internet comparing models in order to do the right choice, we
selected the following items:
- one tent with many place inside to bring our
bags into the tent, and an incredible light weight, including footprint, of
2.1kgs
- two mattresses really good ratio comfort/weight,
640g each
- two sleeping bags that can be twinned, really lights and warm (limit
temperature 0°C)
- two silk travel liners, cutted on one side to
stick on girlfriend and warm her ;-)
- two convertible pillows for transports and in the tent. Ok,
a bit heavy but it’s much much better than any else…and finally, the best we
sleep, the lightest seems our bag… in conclusion, it’s better to sleep well and
carry 100g more than have trouble to sleep and visit nothing ;-)
- one kitchen kit including : one pan, ultralight
cutlery (thanks Katia), glasses, plastic plates, one ultralight and compact camping
stove, one small towel, some freeze-dried food. To that we add several gifts
from Light my Fire: one salt/pepper/spices shaker, one firestone to imitate Robinson
Crusoé. We also bring one kitchen sink that can be used as a basin.
Electronic stuff
And as a good tourist, but also to give you a
lot of news from our trip and envy us, it was essential to bring with us photo
and video camera, computer.
The choice was really difficult but we think we
found the best, at least meeting our criteria.
Concerning video, as we are not big movie
maker, we will only bring a GoPro which can be used really easily, compact and
very light with a video quality surprising. Amateur of extreme sensations, we
will as well be able to send you shiver during extra activities.
Regarding photography, the idea was first to
bring with us a reflex camera in order to get professional pictures of our
visit, but many reasons make us change our direction: first one is that having
this kind of camera is interesting when you know how to handle each option to
get the best picture and when you have a
good knowledge in this domain. Then, even if lenses range is full of choice,
this has a cost and particularly weight and volume increases a lot compared to
other type of camera. Finally, as many people noticed, you never have the right
lens mounted on the camera at the right moment. In conclusion, this type of camera is really
interesting when you are at home but not during such a trip, at least for us.
We then thought about hybrid cameras that are
lighter and smaller than reflex but disadvantages of lenses are still
applicable.
Bridges cameras then appear to be a really good
compromise, offering a big zoom and often a good aperture range for surprising
quality on the pictures. It fits also better in hands than compact cameras and
some hybrid ones, which means less risk to drop it on the floor and more
stability. One model was really over all others, Panasonic DMC-FZ200. Its price is really good and its
technical characteristics are incredible. A 25-600mm zoom (x24) with an
aperture of f=2.8 on all zoom range. Another point is that he is able to record
video in HD 1080p at 50f/s, useful if our GoPro battery is empty or if the
video camera is not accessible.
In parallel, we also bring a compact camera to
be more discreet in some countries and also be able to enter the camera in some
spectacles/monuments where big cameras are not allowed.
And to write many blog articles and share many
pictures, we need a computer. We orient our researches to tablets and netbooks
and found a good compromise, a Transformer Book Trio from Asus which combines both
tablet and netbook.
This model has the particularity to be composed
of one tablet that can be attached on a keyboard; you can then choose to use it
as a tablet or a netbook. Tablet has a bid advantage: it is much more intuitive
than a computer for the children we will meet. And in addition, the keyboard is
much more practical for documents and articles writing. And THE biggest
advantage of this model is to include two OS: Androïd on tablet that offers a
store full of interesting applications and games and which can be used quickly
and easily; and Windows 8 accessible, when the keyboard is connected to the
tablet, a TV or a computer screen, that is useful for Office suite using as
well as video and photo softwares. Androïd can also offers a really good autonomy
because it needs less ressources than windows OS. Finally, it will be
interesting, if we can use a TV or a computer screen, to work in parallel on
the tablet and on the keyboard connected to a screen. The only disadvantage of
this model is its weight: 1.8kg which is a bit more than a classic netbook.
And to quickly search something on the internet
or know where we are on an offline map of a city or country, we also bring a
smartphone. It could also be used to contact a friend or a local, and will
finally be used as MP3 player by Romain while Flo used her own MP3 player.
In terms of accessories and storage devices, the
list is as follows:
- two additional batteries for the GoPro camera
(incl. one Bacpac battery) and two additional batteries for the bridge camera. One
battery for the compact camera.
- 2 micro SD card (32Go) for the GoPro. 3 SD
cards (32Go) for the bridge camera. One SD
card (8Go) for the compact camera. One micro SD card (64 Go) for the tablet.
One micro SD (64 Go) for the smartphone for maps storage and music. One USB
reader for SD and micro SD cards. One external storage disk (1To) shockproof and waterproof.
- one extension cord, one three plugs adapter, one
4 USB charger to plug GoPro, smartphone, headlamps,
MP3 player, tablet, compact camera in the same time, and finally one universal
world adapter ;-)
OTHERS
We add to all this list the following items:
- sewing kit
- damping belts
- cable or code padlock
- one or two notebooks
- one document wallet
- one dictionary with pictures to be understood
in every countries
- one headlamp each and one dynamo lamp
- string and clothes line
- one water bag
- one small brush and washing soap
- one alarm whistle
- one watch each, incl. One with a pedometer
function to be proud of the distance walked each day
- one « opinel » knife and one swiss
knife, in case a lion attacks us ;-)
- one slate to do hitchhiking and interact with
children
- games
And finally the most important:
POMME-PIDOU !!!
Finally, regarding organization, we went for an
easy one, daypack bags are used to carry cameras and computer with us, as well
as warm clothes, microfleece jacket or soft-shell and many other things used in
the day. Trekking bags are organized as follows: all camping stuff in Romain’s
bag in order to open only one bag when we do not camp. Clothes are located in
each easy bottom pocket of trekking bags. Flo is carrying toiletry bag, cables,
sandals and many other things. At the end, each bag reflects our particularity,
a big mess in Flo’s one and organized for Romain ;-)….
The weights are 11,3kgs for Flo and 13.3kgs for
Romain, as well as 4.7kgs each in small bags. It seems that we can easily carry
it , let’s see after few days, and let’s see if we can remove any item we never
use…stay tuned !!!
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