When travelling for months, investing in the correct backpack is really important due to the heavy use. Packing efficiently is very useful since you will be constantly doing this and you have a limited space on your bag.
1
Choosing a Backpack
What to consider:
1.- High Quality: This will ensure it doesn´t break appart.
2.- Size: It will depend on the destiny. In Southeast Asia for example you just use shorts and tshirts so a 50 Lts. bag will be fine. When travelling for months on multiple or cold weathers I would recommend a 70 Lts. bag or bigger.
3.- Comfort: When travelling for a long time as a backpacker, you will have to walk a lot so you will certainly want a bag that it´s easy and comfortable to carry.
4.- Zippers and Pockets: Having multiple zippers will let you easy access to everything inside but consider it my be harder to keep it locked with your stuff safe. Multiple pockets are good to separate things you want to access anytime.
5.- Small Backpack: Highly recommended to have an additional small backpack that never separates from you. In this bag you should keep your travell documents (Passport, tickets, etc), your essentials and your most valuable stuff (camera, sunglasses, etc) in case your big backpack gets lost.
2
Packing your Clothes
What to consider:
1.- Weather: Depending on the weather you must add extra clothes. If possible, try taking the lighter and smaller stuff. Waterproof windbreakers are a good example.
2.- Washing machines: If you have easy acces to washing your clothes, you will need to carry less things.
3.- Flip Flops: Even for cold weather, this footwear is very usefull, comfortable and doesn´t use much space.
4.- Roll, don´t fold: Roll your clothes instead of folding to save important space on your bag. You will appreciate once you start packing constantly.
5.- Order: Try repeating the way you ordered your things since it will be easier to remember and access later. Keep things you use more often such as underwear and t shirts on easy access parts. A good advice is packing jackets, and pants at the bottom and t shirts at the top. Underwear can be packed at external pockets.
