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Post by triple5funk on Jun 26, 2003 11:14:28 GMT -5
hrmm..i laid everything out last night and canceled out all the 'unnecessary' stuff so it's down to this:
-5 t-shirts, 1 lightweight long sleeve
-3 capris
-boxers to sleep in
-5 pairs socks
-underwear
-shoes and sandals
-toiletries (tooth brush, lotion, shampoo, sunscreen, cotton pads, some sanitary napkins, laundry kit, etc.)
-sleep sheet
-3 phrase books (french, spanish, italian) -- all small
-copies of my personal info.
-electric adapter
-charger for my digi-cam
in my daypack:
-digital camera plus accessories
-mp3 player - very small and compact
-PDA
-makeup kit - just lipstick, chapstick and powder plus immodium and a couple sanitary napkins.
and it still feels too heavy..in fact i'm at work right now and my back hurts from trying the bag on last night. i have one of those eagle creek compressor bags and i think that i'm not flattening my clothes out enough when i put them in the bag so it feels like a ball of dead weight.
my backpack is a north face galileo m4100.
what do you experts think i can do without?
i will go home this afternoon and look at all my stuff again to get rid of more things.
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Post by Kim on Jun 26, 2003 11:18:07 GMT -5
How long is your trip again, triple5funk?
Also, where and at what hostels are you staying at - you may not need the sleep sheet. Let me know and I can tell you whether you need it or not.
Kim
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Post by triple5funk on Jun 26, 2003 11:43:24 GMT -5
hi kim..the trip is 4 weeks. we've only booked 4 places so far -picadilly hotel in london, cinque terra holidays, friend's hostel in paris, and a cheapo hotel in barcelona called del mar. so far i know that the picadilly doesn't require a sleep sheet. but since we haven't confirmed the other places...do u think it's best to have it anyway?
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Post by LHR02 on Jun 26, 2003 12:08:24 GMT -5
couple of things jump out at me.....
shoes and sandals.....1 pair of each or more? You wear one, carry one....you really don't need more than that
toiletries.....here is one of the biggest weight factors IMO..are you taking just small travel size refillable bottles or full size bottles of everything? If full size, go buy some of those little plastic refill things at Target. Anything and everything you will need can be bought over there anyway, and if there are more than one of you you can share the full size bottles between yourselves. Even going it alone as I did, I bought and left behind more half filled bottles of this and that! The cost was worth it to keep the weight out of my pack.....which was grossly overweight at the time! ;D
Your clothes look fine....swim suit?.....and your personal stuff is within reason I think. As I said, shoes and toiletries are the only thing I see that could be a problem.
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Post by Kim on Jun 26, 2003 13:06:13 GMT -5
For 4 weeks, I don't know if I would take a sleep sheet. You can alway rent sheets, and for the times you will need them in 4 weeks, it will probably add up to $10 or so. Probably worth not having that weight. I would probably only bring 3 pairs of socks, you will be wearing sandals most of the time due to the heat anyway. Phrase books.. If you are bringing a guidebook, they have all the phrases you will pretty much need in there. If you are bringing a journal, you might be better off writing down the phrases you think you will need. We had phrase books and rarely used them. I had written down the main things and found that people appreciate the effort but will 99% of the time, just start speaking to you in English anyway. Friends Hostel.. are you set on staying there? I haven't heard very good things about it, to be honest. In fact, all the reviews I've read have been terrible. You can email the hostel and cancel it, but see if you can book somewhere else first. Ones that usually get good reviews: MIJE Hostels www.mije.com/Hotel Caulaincourt (it's a hostel, not a hotel) www.caulaincourt.comKim |
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Post by triple5funk on Jun 26, 2003 14:40:56 GMT -5
all my toiletries, with exception to my lotion and sunscreen (larger tubes) are all the compact travel size...and i'm only bringing one of the shampoo and soap because i know i can get more over there. even my little loofa (scrubber thingy) is the tiny facial kind to save space. i've even separated stuff into ziploc bags. as for the sleep sheet - we will be movin' around quite a bit and i'd much rather have my own. the shoes and sandals - yep one pair of each. i'm thinking that i'm not just compressing everything properly...i'm going to be working on this when i go home.
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Post by LHR02 on Jun 26, 2003 16:12:53 GMT -5
I'm sure you know this...  .....but all the compressing in the world won't change the weight one iota....only give you more room in your pack. ;D |
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Post by triple5funk on Jun 26, 2003 19:04:26 GMT -5
hehhe yes you're right...what i should have said was adjusting the weight distribution of the pack - i think that because my clothes looked like a big compressed ball - the weight wasn't spread out evenly. SOOo...i went home today and attacked my bag yet again and took out some more things that i know i can buy there and distributed the weight more evenly by reorganizing my clothes in my compressor so that they lay flatter..and now my back doesn't hurt when i put it on. i also attached the daypack to be sure. oh and i got rid of the language guides - just made copies of basic sentences from the guidebook and i also just copied the areas we're visiting from the guidebook - getting rid of that bulk helped a lot! whoever noted that ziplocks are a backpacker's best friend is a genius.
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Post by LHR02 on Jun 26, 2003 19:23:45 GMT -5
God I am so envious! Wish I was fighting your battles tonight as well. ;D Have a wonderful trip! The night before I left that first time I had butterfly's the size of bluejays! But once that plane started it's taxing....ah, all was right with my world.
Have fun, be safe, post if you can.
ging
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Post by Kim on Jun 26, 2003 21:49:22 GMT -5
Have a fabulous time.. we can't wait to hear all about it! If you need any help while on the road finding accommodations or whatever, just send me an email: kimineurope@hotmail.com You can use that same address for sending any "Updates From Travellers On the Road" reports you want me to post as well. See you in a month..!!  Kim |
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Post by triple5funk on Jun 26, 2003 23:59:34 GMT -5
i just wanted to thank everybody..kim...mom...and the rest of the veterans for all your advice. it has been very helpful these past few months, especially with the reassurance and the anxiety of trying to plan a trip! i will keep in touch..via the updates from abroad - kim - i will include ur address in my europe updates list...so feel free to post my rants and raves when you have the chance!
take care and chat with ya in four weeks!
--triple5funk aka yvette.
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.....but all the compressing in the world won't change the weight one iota....only give you more room in your pack. ;D