Equipment |
Other |
Equipment other
What else I'm taking for a trip? Here is a list of other things, not all are necessary, however, it depends on the type of travel.
Documents. Protected against being wet, hidden from thieves. Passport, credit card, photo ID and cash should be hidden (together with online backup). The best place for me is the hip belt 
worn under the pants. Such a synthetic hip belt is not pleasant, it can rub the skin and doesn’t smell nice. However, it is a good protection against thieves. I carry cash at least in two places - in the event of theft or robbery, a smaller amount is easier to find, and the main amount is hidden well elsewhere.
Health prevention and its treatment in case of sickness.
Sunglasses. Should be with good quality filter. If you buy cheap sunglasses without filter protection, the harm of UV radiation will increase. This is due to the fact that the dark glasses make our eyes “bigger and more open” to "see better" in darker condition. This means that eyes absorb more radiation if the glasses does not contain a filter to stop the harmful UV. Invest in health. If you are planning trekking on the glacier, glasses should have special side protections. Keep it in a hard case with special cloths to clean the filter. I have excellent
Julbo glasses (price from €70).
In the malaria areas mosquito repellent is a must, but it is helpful in others trips too. Ideally if it contains about 30% DEET (in Alaska I had one with 100% DEET - yellow oil, keeps mosquitoes away for 12 hours). Mosquitonet might be also useful. In some parts of the world insects are so annoying that you can’t get rid of them from your face – I don’t like it, but headnet gives me relief in the desert, otherwise flies won’t allow me to relax.
Sunscreen is useful – it may protect against sun burns. Important on high altitude and in areas with bigger ozone hole (greater UV radiation), such as Australia. Stay far away from the skin cancer.
First aid kit - there is no reason to carry too much, as most of it we can buy on the spot in local pharmacies. However the basics should be on hand at any time, especially if you go for trekking:
painkillers - aspirin, paracetomol or ibruprofen
Anti-histamine - for allergies
antibiotics
Imodium – for upset stomach (gastric problems, diarrhea)
Strepsils – for throat
antiseptic alcohol wipes or hand sanitizer to clean hands (to prevent disease such as hepatitis).
sharp blade to cut blisters
waterproof plasters
elastic bandage
earplugs - for a comfortable night bus ride
whistle - to call for help (with flashlight)
Toilet kit. Very limited to a small soap (liquid), a small toothpaste and toothbrush, disposable razor, a quarter of toilet paper.
Repair kit. Sewing kit can be useful (strong thread, needle, scissors and safety pin), duct tape, mini Swiss army knife with a series of mini-tools.
Padlock and steel rope to secure the luggage. It might prevent stealing your backpack from the hostel dormitory room. If the backpack has two zip handles, it can be fastened together by a padlock too. During the overnight trips I secure my big backpack with the steel rope to fixed metal part inside a bus or train. My small daypack with the most important things (eg camera) I always keep under my feet with locked handle zips. Don’t keep the daypack under your seat (where the thief sitting behind you has easier task), but under the seat in front of you.
Depending on the type of travel and transportation we might need special equipment .
In case of cycling trip we need bike spare parts (tubes, tires), specific items (for example bike bags, lamp, mirror, bell, etc) and repair kit (tools).
Sometimes it may be useful to carry "packraft", which is a small rubber packable boat. In some areas carrying a bear resistant food container is a must, and in turn to wildlife watching the binoculars might be worth taking.
Trekking in high altitude might means to bring a rope, harness, crampons and ice ax.
But if I don't plan to cross a glacier I take the trekking poles. They relieve knee and ankle joints (wrist and elbow joints taking the pressure) and improving the balance in the rough terrain. I use them during ascent and descent, but I rather don’t use them on the flat terrain. It’s important to use poles properly as they should help in the hike, not disturb. The appropriate length of the pole is the key (often you can change its length). In practice shorter pole should be while going up the hill and extend one while descent – to keep the right angle between the arm and upper arm when pole stick on the ground.
We need to use the strap attached to the handle to lift the body on the pole. This strap should create a loop - the thumb located separately from the other fingers. Pair of poles weight 400-600 grams and cost from
€50.
A few additional comments on the pole purchase. I don’t recommend buying fixed length, although they are lighter (length should be constantly changed). The most common adjustable poles are the telescopic ones, aluminium or carbon.
Some poles are equipped with shock absorbers. I think it's unnecessary, just another mechanism that gives us extra weight and a potential thing to be broken.
Walking in the soft ground (snow, mud), poles should have rings in the lower part. They prevent the pole to sink deep into the ground. On hard surfaces is good to use rubbers on the bottom of the pole (it is not necessary), just to avoid a noisy metal-rock sound. Poles also might be very useful if we have a tarp instead of tent. I wrote more in
tents page.
Gift. Travelling by hitchhiking or trekking in rural non-touristy areas might bring us the opportunity to be invited by locals. On such an occasion, I normally take some food on me to be able to contribute to my host’s meals (I mean in less developed countries). Besides that I try to make friendship with family and their kids. To break the ice, Ewelina usually does soap bubbles - in Africa it was a show off with fun and screams. I learned a few “magic tricks” - some can be done using rubber bands, cards, pens etc, and for these more complex ones I have my little magic set. Often our hosts have a lot of joy and fun with these tricks. A good backup might be also small souvenirs such as: fridge magnets, postcards, key rings etc.