After 9 months of full time nomadic living I’ve found my packing list has been pretty spot on. All my travel gear so far fits easily into two carry-on bags with room to spare.
But there have been a few things I saw fit to pick up along the way. A baton style umbrella, for instance, was a crucial addition. While none of the things on this list are strictly needs I have found them more useful than I initially thought they would be.
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The Yeti Rambler Mug
Initially I was carrying a Tervis tumbler, which is a good choice for both coffee and cold beverages. But the 14 oz Yeti rambler is a definite upgrade. The weight difference is negligible and the Rambler fits easily in my backpack.
It cleans up very easily and crucially, you can enjoy cereal, oatmeal, instant noodles, ice cream or any number of foods while relaxing in your hotel room. I like it so much I own two of them now: one for seagoing and one for recreational travel.
Sectional Prescription Bottle
Initially I was carrying a large prescription bottle from a pharmacy with four different pills just jumbled together in there. Once I refilled al those scripts I found myself packing the backpack with five separate bottles falling all over the place.
There are tons of types of prescription carriers on Amazon but this style is my favorite. It’s about half the size of a soda can and has four quadrants. Best of all, it fits inside the Yeti Rambler which goes inside the backpack. Pills never end up in a checked bag with the potential to be lost. Altogether a great piece of travel gear.
Passport Wallet
I was always skeptical about the actual utility of a passport wallet. Passports are pretty hearty documents and you can carry them around in a bag or pocket without any real worry or difficulty.
The need for a passport wallet became apparent when I tried to enter Colombia from Brazil and was turned away by the airline because I couldn’t prove I had a Yellow Fever vaccine (required only when entering from Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda).
I’m now carrying my international vaccination records and Covid vaccine records on every trip just in case, and a way to house and protect them is important. A passport wallet is perfect for that and if it holds a passport as well, so much the better. Mine also holds seldom-used hotel credit cards which I typically only reach for at check-in, when presenting a passport is often required. So it’s very convenient. Having one as a spare wallet to keep in the safe is practical for anyone.
A Cigarette Bag
I don’t know what these bags are actually called. I’ve been calling it a cigarette bag because it’s got the same shape as the little purse your aunt Dot used to keep her Winston Light 100’s when she was on her way down to get a perm in her 1985 Buick Skylark.
These bags come in a wide range of sizes. The one I’m using is even smaller than what’s pictured here. It packs flat when not in use and is a perfect solution for keeping all manner of travel gear handy poolside or at the beach.
If you’re walking around exploring a city all day and need more than your pockets can carry this is also a perfect solution for carrying a spare phone battery/charger, your passport if necessary, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc. It also looks slightly (very slightly) less touristy than a cross body sling as you can wear it on your belt without a strap.
An S-Biner
I believe that not everything has to be “travel gear.” Products like this or the Hero Clip are aimed more toward backpackers and people hiking and being outdoorsy in their travels. As a hotel traveler I don’t get a ton of use out of this.
But it’s smaller than a credit card and costs $4 at Bass Pro. With those specs why not carry one? Most of the time it’s just clipping my keys to the inside of my bag but on the occasions where you want to bring it out to attach something to the outside of a bag, hang something inside your room, or dry a wet swimsuit on a balcony it can be a very handy item to have.
