What to pack?

[jarsh]

atlas, cc, booze, smokes, bed roll, water, book, instrument, dog, dog food, sardines/ramen, sign making material, spike, friend. mix and enjoy.

 

[RandomRaccoon]

ever travelling and think to yourself, "boy i could use a cup of coffee"? never fear, if its the warmer months, you are in luck. dandellion roots have been used as a substitute for coffee for centuries. so now you have an early morning wake up.

Coffee coffee! next to roasted dandielion and chicory you can also scrape grain of the tracks, roast and grind that and it make a badass immitation coffee just remember not to scoop the pink tinted grain (treated) or you be fucked...

 

[finn]

Military surplus stores aren't that great, all the things they have are pretty heavy- sometimes very outdated stuff, a lot is alternate fashion oriented. Sometimes you can get good cheap stuff, but not often. It'll be better if you're looking for random stuff that you won't find elsewhere.

You can make cold-brew coffee and tea- just throw the grounds into a tea-bag type material (a thin, nonstretchy, fine-threaded fabric) and leave it in a bottle of water overnight where it won't freeze. It'll taste different than hot-brew coffee, but it's still coffee.

 

[TBone]

I have a percolator I carry for coffee. It's pretty light and I stuff all my coffee and spare shit inside it to save on space.

 

[Skies]

if your a female remember to bring some feminine wipes, pads, tampons, and more than one bra(if you wear em) because those fucking underwires break and piss me off when thats all i have and its fucking stabbing you everytime you move. a small music player is nice to have too.

You're the first person to remember pads and tampons, my god. That's gonna be the FIRST thing on my list! Well you know what I mean.

 

[Ravie]

very nice examples! you went out of your way to take all those pictures!? how kind of you

 

[BrokeWhiteBoy]

Widerstand = Obsessive Compulsive

I could tell by how organized your stuff it and all the sacks and bags you got going on.

My last trip, I ended up going without my zippo because I lost it in my pack. Had to settle for matchbooks to light cigarettes. I just kinda stack/layer everything and cram it down so I can attempt to zip pockets. Hopefully a new bag will help since I've been dealing with a school-style pack.

For people looking for new gear, I figured I would let you know:
Cabela's has the Terra 40 pack on sale right now for under $100 shipped
Sportsman's Guide has 10 Swedish Military stove packs (basically the beer can stove, only pro made with a windscreen/support) for $20 and 3 Swedish Military m59 jackets for $15
REI also has a 20% off of one full price item deal going for all members (ends 10/13)

 

[Benny]

Hi, I'm new to this site and I cant believe I just found it. On my first trip years ago, I made the mistake of packing too much crap. I got half way through Texas and started dumping gear. After that back breaking trip, I travel light (in warm weather).

 

[Benny]

I wasn't trainhopping though just hitching.

 

[Kraken]

Am I the only one who wears a toolbelt, along with my pack? You'd be shocked at how much you can fit in those things, and leave valuable room in your packs for the bigger shit you may need!

I don't have a toolbelt but my Belt Buckle has five holes drilled in it and ive attatched abunch of little gadget with keyrings to it including nailclippers, scissors, set of screwdrivers, pliers/wirecutters, can opener, compass, and a 2 GB memory stick. i use at least something on it everyday ill upload a picture soon.

 

[Kraken]

fuck i cant figure out how to put the picture on here

 

[Kraken]

my belt buckle

 

[finn]

my belt buckle

It looks really cool, but kinda noisy, but I am a woods squatter...

 

[zarathustra]

anyone got any got any good tips for packing instruments? I've just been wrapping them with blankets, putting them in a big soft case, then putting that all in a garbage bag. b carrying them is way more difficult that I'd normally want to deal with (makes catching on the fly near impossible), but I need my guitar/banjo/w.e to make money on the road...

 

[finn]

anyone got any got any good tips for packing instruments? I've just been wrapping them with blankets, putting them in a big soft case, then putting that all in a garbage bag. b carrying them is way more difficult that I'd normally want to deal with (makes catching on the fly near impossible), but I need my guitar/banjo/w.e to make money on the road...

A garbage bag? Why don't you make a soft case with a sling for it? One of my friends made one for her guitar so that she can sling it on her back with her stuff and travel. For smaller instruments, a hard case is pretty nice, since it means you can get off the train at higher speeds...

 

[skiptown]

I have really terrible eyesight and the first time I ever travelled I had a lot of problems/sore eyes/infections from my contacts. I have never since then considered bringing contacts since I feel they inevitably end up being much more trouble than they are worth and I concur with all the folks that said glasses are the way to go. In addition to bringing yer specs, I personally have found it invaluable to use one of those adjustable head straps that slip onto the arms of your glasses. I think they mostly either neoprene or really light rubber and are easily boosted or cheaply purchased from almost any sports store. I cannot tell you how many times this has saved me from being essentially blind because my glasses flew off my face while I was running or even worse because I dropped and then promptly stepped on them/someone else stepped on them/ they landed in the fire/ other very inconvenient or stupid accident that may befall them. And in the vein of stupid accidents, I try and bring a few light, basic first aid supplies and neosporine and stuff since my hands seem to get all cut up easily. I always make sure to bring a good book or two. Other than that I think everything else that I bring along with me when I'm on the road has already been covered in this thread.

 

[deshi_kicks]

I have a question, am I on the right track with this stuff? Of course its not everything I'm bringing, just some stuff I picked up yesterday. Everything on the top row is new, bottom row I already had (before I even got into hopping). The white thing on the bota bag is a poncho, and the black thing next to it is a compressor bag. Also, I will be carrying more water than just in the bota bags.

 

[zarathustra]

if you're going to be traveling in a time cold enough to need gloves you'll also need a warm hat. it makes a HUGE difference in warmth

 

[deshi_kicks]

if you're going to be traveling in a time cold enough to need gloves you'll also need a warm hat. it makes a HUGE difference in warmth

Nah those gloves weren't meant for the cold, but thanks for the tip though.

 

[BrokeWhiteBoy]

I woulda killed for some gloves last night. Not warm gloves, just something to keep the slight wind and dew off my hands.

I was in Berkeley. Didn't have a sleeping bag, blanket, or any shit like that since I was set up with three different places I had open to stay at indoors in a bed. Fuck if they all didn't fall through. Ended up drinking some and smoking a bit with these guys from Minnesota, their dog, and this guy/girl duo that I think are from Berkeley. Ended up squatting a roof, I was cold but fine in a second layer of socks/pants but the chick let me use her spare blanket. Woke up with numb, wet fingers and pissed off cause I couldn't light a smoke.

I need to get new gloves.