As we’re almost five months into our adventure by now, I think it’s safe to say that we know exactly what of our travel gear has become our favourite. Here’s a list to inspire you of what to pack for your own adventures:

This post is not sponsored and does not contain affiliate links – we have bought everything ourselves and I’m just adding links for your convenience.

Our primary suicase

We went back and forth between a backpack and a roll-away suitcase and ended with the Dakine Split Roller bag. It is THE best suitcase we have ever owned (and let’s face it; we’re not adventure travellers so a backpack would have been unnecessary). It is super resistant, fits tons of things, gives a great overview, folds almost flat when not in use and the wheels are incredible durable. We chose the model with a water resistant material (it’s called Squall). It was definitely the right choice for us for this trip as we are switching between flights, buses and transfer by car and the many handles on the bag makes it super easy to manage. Find it here.

Our cabin backpacks

So, for the cabin luggage we chose the maximum size backpack instead of a trolley. We wanted to be sure that one of us could always have hands free to take care of Julian when at bus stations and other crowded places. So Lasse will usually take care of the suitcase and Julian’s stroller (if folded) and I will have the cabin backpack and Julian. It works perfect on busy travel days.

We bought the Setout Travel Backpack + the Setout Packable Daypack from Tortuga backpacks, which is a brand made by Digital Nomads for Digital Nomads. They don’t ship to Europe yet, so I had a colleague from work buying it for me before we left.

For regular weekends away I would always chose a trolley (because why would you harm your back when you can easily roll your luggage next to you, right?), but for this kind of travel those backpacks are great.

Find them here.

water bottles

After months of buying water in plastic bottles each day (I feel so bad about it now!), we bought two SWELL stainless steel bottles. Wauw, we love them! We bought the ones with a wide opening so we can use ice cubes and better clean them. They can also be used for hot beverages and promises to keep your coffee warm for up to 12 hours. We have only used them for cold beverages so far (because we’re in Mexico and it’s insanely hot here…) and they really keeps the water fresh for hours even in the burning sun by the pool. The model is called Traveler.

They take up quite some space, but they are among our absolute favourite travel gear and we never leave the house without them. Oh, and the design? I found it hard to chose between the many beautiful designs! Find them here.

Headset

I believe that a proper headset is one of those things where a real investment is worth it. We have one good headset from Sony and then the regular ones from our phones. And we always fight about who should have the proper one when going to the gym, when travelling etc. It makes a world of difference to have a headset that cancels background noise (especially in noisy Mexico!) and it’s a real joy to have great sound on your podcast, music or whatever you’re listening too. The one we have is nothing special, so I won’t link to it, but I am dreaming of a killer headset from Bose some day!

Mesh bags

We have around 15 mesh bags in a slightly transparent material from Cocoon. We use them for organising clothes, Julian’s toys, electronics, shoes and so on. Basically everything. They are washable and very resistant. The only thing I regret we didn’t do from home, was to make a little check list for each bag containing electronic gear. For example a list saying: Camera charger, SIM cards and external harddisk. We have forgotten both our camera charger and our external harddisk somewhere during the trip and I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t have happened with a check list. They are sold at sets and I believe we have four sets in total of the Mesh Stuff Sacks.

Find them here

Loudspeaker

We purchased a loudspeaker one month ago. What an amazing difference it has made for our daily life! We should have bought it from the start. Music coming out of a real loud speaker just adds a homey and magical feeling to the day. We have the JBL Flip 4, which is water resistant (= sticky baby fingers resistant).

Find it here.

Travel blanket

We used our travel blanket daily the first couple of months of the trip. We used it for Julian in the stroller, folded as a scarf, during flights, as a blanket at home and so on. After we arrived to Puerto Escondido where is was hotter than hot and have been in tropical climate since then, we haven’t used it. But now that we’re going to Guatemala next month where it’s cold in the mountains, I’m pretty sure it will be used again.

We have a thin blanket which is a mix of silk and wool in a navy color. It’s super comfortable and takes up very little space when folded into the travel bag that comes along. The model is called Merino Wool/Silk Travel Blanket from Cocoon.

Find it here

Current wishlist

Travel yoga mat

It’s not too late for this, so we might buy one soon. It would have been nice to have it from the start as we both like doing some stretching exercises each day and a thin yoga mat will definitely be better than the towel we often use. I really like this one.

Same chargers for more gear

When we purchased new phones, laptops etc, we should of course have thought of buying products with the same chargers! Right now we drag around with: a camera charger, two different chargers for our phones (both are Huawei but different models), two different chargers for our laptops (MacBook and Lenovo), a charger for the headset (luckily the same as for the loud speaker) and a charger for the babyalarms. Would have been heaven to share chargers for our laptops and phones. Just a tip!

A smaller camera

We have a DSLR, but honestly: I hate carrying it around. We’re looking into spoiling ourselves with a smaller camera that more easily fits into my purse. As it is quite expensive, we haven’t bought a new one yet, but we’ll most likely do it before our upcoming trip to Guatemala next month. We’re looking into a Fujifilm X-T20, but argh, it’s expensive…