Every traveler has them – those items they’d never be caught dead without. And, mostly likely, another traveler would consider those very things useless. It’s an interesting thing, this travel idea.
With that in mind, a bunch of us family travel bloggers are all posting today with our lists of essential/useless items. I can’t wait to see how many of my gotta-have items are on others’ throw-away list.
Essentials
Bikes – OK, this one is pretty basic. I’ve already written enough about why I prefer traveling on bikes.
Beads – John would vehemently disagree with me on this one, but I think every traveler should have some kind of craft or something to occupy the time when you’re stuck in your tent in the pouring rain.
Chapstick – dry lips are so lame!
Kindle (or other e-reader) – we used to have a whole pannier dedicated to books. Not anymore – and we can carry more books!
Fanny pack – quick and easy for when I leave my bike.
Useless
Day pack – big and bulky and a pain to strap on a bike.
Towel – it just gets wet and then we have to dry it somehow. We just use our t-shirts and then wear them dry. That being said, when it was cold a towel was nice to have.
Jeans – but then, I don’t get jeans even at home. They just seem so uncomfortable and hard to wash. Get tights instead – much more comfy and easier to wash/dry.
Camelback – I know some cyclists prefer the Camelback, but I hate having that thing on my back. I’ll use water bottles.
Cell phone – I mean, who am I gonna call when I don’t know anyone? I carried one for a little while – should have kept it just as an alarm clock.
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Here are lists from other travelers – love how we all have such different opinions!
When cycling across Russia, I would trade beads for a cell phone (though my craft equivalent was small computer related).
Why? When outfitted with a local SIM card, this made it easy to send short SMS text messages to a twitter account. What this let us do was in some spots remote enough to have few internet cafes, we would post a very brief update.
A secondary reason it would have helped is when two of us got separated from each other, it would have made it easier to send a text message and find each other again.
There is lots of places without cell service, but still seemed like this was more frequent than finding a public available internet point.
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It is funny the way one family’s essential is another family’s luxury. After we nearly ran out of water on a hike, we went straight to the shops to buy camel baks and absolutely love them. I wouldn’t do another hike without them, particularly with a 5 and 2 yo who want to stop constantly to have just one sip of water.
Couldn’t agree more about the kindle, though. It has been such a great device for us travelling in an RV.
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I´m still missing ont he kinddle, but I read loads on my net book. E-books are a traveler savior for space and entertainment. But I still always carry one hard book.
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this is SO smart – i don’t bike so i had no idea about some of these!
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The kindle is great for anyone that likes to read. We also have had a great time with the games on it and the free 3G internet connection.
My jeans have been keeping the bottom of my pack sturdy so far and I cant even imagine wearing them right now.
Fanny pack, camelbacks…I dont even know what you are talking about
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I agree with the cell phone – we’re thinking the same on that one. I also agree with the jeans but my husband brought a pair and said they were worth their weight. e-books would have been a lighter alternative but I’m still not ready to give up on books.
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As Lisa over me, I’m not ready to give up the books, but even if I prefer to read in French, when I travel I only take a book in English that I’ll be able to exchange.
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I prefer paper books at home, but see the benefit of an e-reader for travel.
I’m with you on the chapstick – I stash some in every bag and pocket, since I seem to lose it constantly, and get desperate without.
I am a camelback lover, but I see why they are not for everyone. I think they are actually more useful when on foot with a pack on your back than on a bike moving relatively smoothly, with a water bottle in arm’s reach.
I do believe strongly in towels, since I’ve never had a shirt that quite works as nicely. I don’t do large body towels though – tiny and multipurpose only.
This is my current favourite towel (<1oz):
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/camp-towels/packtowl-nano/product
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