After 10 months of travelling it became clear which items we used frequently and what was just taking up space (and weight) in our bags! Here is a curated list of our favourite items that we have used whilst backpacking Asia and road-tripping Australia and New Zealand.
Shampoo & conditioner bars
There are so many great shampoo bar options there is no reason to be carrying 500ml (half a kilo!) of shampoo in your bag. Our personal favourites are the Ethique bars (available in UK, Australia & NZ). Other options available in Asia include those from Lush, The Body Shop and L’Occitane. Trial some before you travel to find the ideal product for your hair. Many of the mentioned companies have mini-bars for this purpose.
Soap/shampoo/conditioner bar pouches
The hassle of carrying a wet, slippery bar is no more. Soap pouches allow the bar to dry through the bag without making a mess. Drying your bars out is key to their longevity so these are definitely worth the investment. We prefer the Matador bags to a traditional tin as these dry the bar better.
Microfibre towels
These are compact and fast-drying making them ideal for a life on the move. We travel with 2 large towels (1 for the shower and 1 for the beach/picnics) but if you are planning to exclusively stay in accommodation that provide a towel such as hotels, this could be reduced to 1. We are huge fans of the Dock and Bay towels but any microfibre towel will do.
Compression packing cubes (zip)
Compression packing cubes are essential to maximising the amount of clothes you can squeeze into your bag. In my 65L backpack I use 4 cubes of different sizes (1 large, 1 medium, 2 small).
Ear plugs
There are plenty of options for all budgets but our personal favourite are the Loop Earplugs. Available in varying levels of noise-cancelling these are perfect for noisy flights, sleeper buses or hostel dorms.
Inflatable pillow
If you are a 2 pillow person an inflatable pillow is a worthy investment as 2 pillows are a rare provision in budget accommodation. These are also useful on sleeper buses or trains and planes.
Scrubba wash bag & travel detergent
Whilst not essential, our Scrubba wash bag has truly paid for itself during our trip. We often found we would run out of clean underwear before the rest of our clothes so being able to wash our underwear wherever we were in the world really reduced our laundry expenses. Travel detergent could also be used in a sink if there is a plug.
Worldwide plug adaptor
If you are travelling to multiple countries it is likely they will use different plug sockets. To save carrying multiple adaptors it is possible to get one adaptor that quite literally does it all.
Organiser pouch
A multi-purpose pouch is well-suited to organising and carrying all of your wires. We used the pouches from OneNine5 which also has a zippable pocket. This pocket meant I could store my home SIM card safely. To keep your wires tidy you could also consider purchasing Velcro zipties.