Every traveler struggles with the eternal problem what to pack, before he strikes out on his next journey. The task is especially complicated for those travelers who choose backpacking instead of a regular vacation.

It is important for them that they travel light, but still take with all the necessary essentials on their journey. A very clever thing to do, before you start packing, is to make a list of all the essentials you will need on your journey. 

To help you out and get you started, here are eight must have items for backpacking!

CLOTHING

The most important and also the biggest part of your backpack are of course clothes and footwear, therefore it is crucial that you pack clothes that are easy to wash and to dry. The essential item of clothing is a windstopper jacket, which keeps you warm on windy days and doesn’t make you sweat on sunny days. Clothing can take a lot of space in your backpack, so you should definitely use compression bags to store them.    

When it comes to shoes it is important that you take along very comfortable walking footwear. The most recommendable shoes are mountaineering boots, trainers or any other lace-ups because they are airy and they breathe and dry very fast. It is important that your walking shoes have laces so you can tie them up together and hang them over your shoulder or backpack when you switch your footwear.

HYGIENE

The very important part of your backpack is a toiletry kit. I should contain the next items:

A multi-purpose curd soap

A multi-purpose curd soap is a brilliant solution for backpacking. It is very cheap and can be used to wash your body, hair and even your clothes without taking any space in your backpack. It comes in handy when you don’t find small shampoo or shower gel packages in the store. It also saves you the trouble of the shampoo flowing out all over your clothes and items in your backpack. You can simply leave it to dry after usage and then keep it in a plastic bag. You can find a multi-purpose curd soap in every cosmetic shop or a pharmacy. 

Anti odor spray

As mentioned, as a backpacker you move around all day long on different temperatures so the foul odors are unavoidable. They can be caused by sweat, re-used clothes, the backpack or places you come across on your journey (like restaurants, hostels, air moisture, traffic). Sometimes you simply can’t avoid the foul odors, therefore you should definitely consider taking a small anti odor spray with you. You can use it for your shoes, clothes and backpack or you can simply use it to refresh your hostel room.

An extra towel 

As you never really know where you will spend your night as a backpacker it is crucial that you have an extra small towel in your backpack in case you need it. As you will wash it yourself you will always know that it is clean and used only by you. To save space in your backpack, you can put it in a compression sack with your clothes. 

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

This item is maybe a bit unusual for a backpacker to take with, but you can not imagine how baking soda can come in handy for various purposes. 

–          It absorbs moisture and odors 

You can put a bit of baking soda in a sock and put it in your walking shoes. Your shoes will dry over night and the baking soda will remove al the foul odors from them. 

–          Personal hygiene

You can clean your toothbrush or any other item you would like to disinfect with baking soda every time before you use it. You can also prepare yourself a simple mouthwash for a fresh breath. It may not taste good, but it will do the trick. Baking soda is also good for facial and body pilling and it will remove all the impurities of your skin in a moment without the need to carry all the products that have the same function.

–          Washing clothes

If you decide you want to quickly wash your shirt, underwear or anything else in a sink, baking soda will take care for every greasy stain on your clothes and make them soft.  

–          Health 

Baking soda is great when you need to ease the burns, sunburns, insect bites and irritated skin. You can prepare a paste by yourself using baking soda and a bit of water and apply it on the affected area of your skin. It is also amazing if a heartburn is troubling your stomach or you have digestive problems, because it neutralizes the gastric acid and it affects beneficently on your stomach and digestion. You simply mix a pinch of baking soda with water and drink it.

PROTECTION

A very important part of your essential items are of course the protection items. You never now what weather may surprise you during your journey, so you need to be prepared for everything. For summer weather conditions you will need sun protection and anti bug protection. Make sure that you bring along a bug spray repellent that you can apply on your skin and your clothes. For the sun light protection take a hat or a bandana with you and pack a bottle of sunscreen, just to be safe.

For protection from the rain you can simply bring along trash bags. They are useful for making yourself a disposable rain coat in case of changeable weather and they don’t take a lot of space. They are also useful for protecting your feet getting wet. You simply cut a trash bag, put it over your feet in the shoes and you will avoid walking around in wet socks all day. It is maybe a little uncomfortable, but it is very useful.  

TECHNOLOGY

On your journey you will need a few technology items as well. First you will need a flashlight. You might need it to find your ways in the dark on a street, a tent or in a hostel where you don’t want to wake everybody up. It will come in handy also at night to find items in your backpack. The second important item you will need is a worldwide plug adapter to be sure that you can plug in all your electronics everywhere. You will also need your phone of course to contact your friends and family, for navigation and for taking pictures. It is recommendable that you take an extra memory card with you, so that you don’t have to worry about your phone memory being full. A great idea is also to purchase a portable phone charger, which you can charge in a hostel, camping side or in a restaurant in case that your phone’s battery is empty in a worst possible moment. A portable charger will solve your empty battery problems because you can charge your phone while you walk around. 

MAPS

The easiest way to have all the maps in one place is downloading the navigation technology on your phone. It is a simple way to locate your current position and to plan further destinations. But of course you can’t rely only on your phone, you must have other options as well.

It is recommended that you take along a notebook and a pencil where you can store al the cart maps you have collected on your journey and write down all the suggestions and tips you have gathered from the locals or other travelers. You can find all different kinds of cart maps in a tourist agency in every city (city maps and public transportation maps), which you can simply store it in your notebook and mark all the sights that you want to explore.

SAFETY

Even though the people you meet on your journey are mostly very friendly and helpful, thieves never lose an opportunity to quickly grab unsecured items. So you should protect you belongings as a precaution and avoid the inconveniences. The smartest thing to do is to have your money and document close to your body so you know that they are still there. You can also buy a safety lock for your backpack and keep it locked when you are in a hostel room or in a tent. 

MEDICINE

On every journey the essential item of your backpack should be a small first aid kit. You can also add separate items to the kit for example disinfectant gel to clean your hands when you don’t have an option to wash them, aloe vera gel for possible wounds or burns, painkillers and maybe some active charcoal in case of digestive problems. 

EXTRAS

Emergency shelter

You never know what might suprise you on your journey, so you should definitely make sure that you bring along an emergency shelter, just to be safe. The emergency shelter depends on the destination and the season that you choose. You can take with a small tent or simply a sleeping bag, which you can use practically everywhere.

Paper folding lunch box and water bottle

As you never know when and where you can get hungry, it is very clever to bring along a disposable paper folding lunch box with wooden cutlery. You can buy a package of paper folding lunch boxes in almost every store that offers kitchen utensils. It will come in handy when you are eating out and you need to store your leftovers for later. You should also have a water bottle with you at all times. 

Ear plugs

Ear plugs are a very useful item that will help you get a good night sleep in a hostel room or at the camping side, where people might get loud sometimes. 

A book

When you travel abroad you always have some extra time while waiting for public transportation, sitting in a cafe or waiting for an afternoon rain shower to pass bye, therefore a good book will help you kill time. The characters from the book will also keep your mind busy if you get bored or fell lonely, especially if you travel alone. 

Every traveler strikes out on his own direction, with his own wishes and needs, therefore he knows best what to take along with him on his journey, especially if it is not the first time that he experiences backpacking. But sometimes we all need some creative ideas for items that we might forget to pack, but can really come in handy.