Anne's Packing List

The Stuff in my Black Bag

	Kipling U.S.A. Gilian Tote My Rating: My Recommendation: love it! Find it on: zappos.com Why I Carry It: My messenger bag was heavy and it wasn’t really the right shape for the things i needed to carry. Aside from a zipper that slides like butter, this bag has a zipper compartment on the bottom that fits my folded up travel yoga mat, chacos, and sun hat perfectly. Usage details: this bag works perfectly as a carry-on. It fits in the overhead bin and under the seat. Other bonus – the mesh pockets on the outside are great for jamming undies that are still-damp from the previous night’s washing.
	Timbuk 2 Hidden Messenger Bag My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it! Find it on: timbuk2.com Why I Packed It: This bag is super light weight, so I use it as a packing cube within my backpack when traveling. Then when we’re established, I can use it to fill with groceries, purse type stuff (in theory–i don’t actually carry purse type stuff), beer, hiking supplies, or anything else useful and temporary, such as other bags…
	Flip & Tumble 24-7 Shopping Bag My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it! Bring 3! Find it on: flipandtumble.com Why I Packed It: Grocery shopping. It packs into the size of a small fist but it can carry a basket full of heavy groceries. It’s pretty durned durable too. It washes easily and line dries very quickly.
	Nook eReader My Rating: My Recommendation: buy it Find it on: barnesandnoble.com Why I Packed It: It’s a whole library of books. I like books (so yes, I have internal turmoil over going electronic). But in addition to liking books, sometimes I need them. For example Spanish text books or health reference guides are available as epub. BTW, you library buffs should know that most libraries offer epub and adobe pdfs as ebook options, so you don’t have to buy all of your books to read them on a Nook. I like this model because it is small (maybe smallest) and the usability is very simple. I also got the glow light version, and it works very well for reading at night. The only downside is that it does attract insects. I have switched to using the red setting on my headlamp for buggy places.
	Point It My Rating: My Recommendation: If you have room, pack it Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: This is a tiny book full of photos of things and concepts that will help you to navigate communication in a language you don’t know. If you don’t know the word for bicycle, flip to the page and point at it.The idea is great, the execution isn’t perfect.
	Collins Spanish Dictionary and Easy Learning Phrasebook My Rating: My Recommendation: These books are for Spain, I haven’t used them much Find it on: collinslanguage.com Why I Packed It: Well, my Spanish isn’t my first language and it’s a feeble second one, so yeah pocket size word books. Make note that this is Spain Spanish, not Central American Spanish. There are as many Spanish dialects as there are countries, so you’ll have to make do and learn as you go.
	Old School iPod My Rating: My Recommendation: if you have room, bring it Find it on apple.com Why I Packed It: Sadly, Pandora is not available outside of the US. It is also greatly useful for movies on a plane or for language audio books. Be a good travel companion and bring a splitter. :)
	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Camera My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it! Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: Though I have a Canon Rebel XTi DSLR, it’s way too bulky. I wanted a camera that I would be willing to carry. As you know, if you don’t carry it, you won’t take photos. I asked my friends Geoff and Scott who both know quite a bit about cameras, and independently of each other, they both said the same thing: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 or 5. It’s the award winning camera known as the photographer’s point-and-shoot.
	San Disk Card Reader My Rating: My Recommendation: You could probably find something smaller, or just use the camera cord. Find it on: sandisk.com Why I Packed It: I already had it and it works for several different card sizes. It’s extremely fast — much faster than using the camera cable and it doesn’t try to install any software on your computer.
	Unlocked Motorola Atrix My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it! Find it on: motorola.com Why I Packed It: If you have a smart phone, the thought of giving it up can be a little sad. You might start to realize though that it’s not the phone you’d miss, but rather the tiny awesome computer/email/camera/calendar/translator thing that you always have with you. This phone is unlocked, GSM, quad band – so it should work all over the Americas and most of Europe with a local SIM card. I had trouble with T-Mobile in the US, but I’ve been fine with TelCel in Mexico.
	Light My Fire Spork My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring one, but not this one Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: Sometimes you just need a dang fork. Or spoon. And sometimes when you buy a crappy fork at the Super Monetzuma for 500c, you can’t ever get the price sticker off and you begrudgingly use it knowing full well that you coud have a spork in your life. Plus using plastic forks at the airport is crazy wasteful. In short, reusable sporks make me happy. This spork, however, laste only about 5 light uses in 1 year. It must have been deteriorating in my bag when I wasn’t using it. It broke to bits. Lame.
	Laptop Stand My Rating: My Recommendation: Good functionality, I wish it were a little lighter Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: Laptops get hot.
	MacBook Pro 15″ Retina My Rating: My Recommendation: If you can get by with a netbook or ipad, do it. Find it on: apple.com Why I Packed It: I had a 15″ MacBook Pro (2010) and it died twice in the past year. Moving a laptop around a lot isn’t a good long term plan – even though they are designed to be portable?? Anyway, I didn’t want to plunk down the big cha-ching for this new computer, but I was in a tight spot. The upside is that the hard drive is not discs. They’re little boards instead. This means (in theory) it’s as resilient with movement as an ipad or iphone. This also means this computer is a little thinner and lighter than the non-retina version. Macs are pretty great at some of the things you run into while traveling: easily connecting to wifi 5+ hour batter life sturdy aluminum body general non-bugginess But note with this model you no longer have: cable jack to connect directly to internet in case of no wifi cd drive portal for a laptop lock If you can use a netbook or ipad, you might be happier. Also, if you work basically in the cloud (i do not, as i have big software), you can get a cheap computer and not have to worry about it. Generally, not worrying about it is a better way to go.
	Kodak Sport C135 14MP Waterproof Digital camera Red with 5x optical zoom and 14 Mega Pixel My Rating: My Recommendation: strongly consider it Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: I have a nice Lumix, so I never take it places where it could get wet or sandy. I looked for a waterproof case for the Lumix (because I love that camera) but they had pretty crappy fail ratings and it wasn’t worth the risk to me. This camera cost $20 more than a good waterproof case. It works pretty darned well too. Not good in low light, but otherwise I’m happy.
	MasterLock Personal Safe My Rating: My Recommendation: Absolutely bring it Find it on: masterlock.com Why I Packed It: Believe it or not, carrying around a bunch of cash and document with important personal information on them isn’t the best idea, but it is impossible to avoid when you are traveling. Lots of rooms and apartments do not have room safes, but they do have some kind of fixture that you can wrap a cord around. Additionally, this safe fits inside a room safe. Why the double safe? Why not? You’re already carrying the thing. You might as well get extra safey.
	eKO SuperLite® Travel Yoga Mat My Rating: My Recommendation: consider it Find it on: manduka.com Why I Packed It: I tried the yoga towel. It was too stretchy to be used alone. I tried yoga paws. They were awesome, but not so good when dealing with dirty floors (all the time). I couldn’t pack both. So I chose this mat instead. It is thin, but it’s pretty darned good about not stretching during poses and it folds nicely into the bottom of my black bag. Since this mat is super thin, it offers NO padding.
	Keyboard Cover My Rating: My Recommendation: I could go either way on this one Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: It’s a great way to keep crap from getting into your laptop via the keyboard. It slows down my typing, so I only use it when there’s a lot of dust in the air or food/drink around.
	Solar Charger My Rating: My Recommendation: I could go either way on this Find it on: gonongreen.com Why I Packed It: Is this the best solar charger? No. Is it something additional to carry? Yes. Is it worth having when you just need a little extra juice before you can get your phone to an outlet? Absolutely. Check out goneongreen.com because they have a number of clever products that have another function as well as solar charging. For example, they have backpacks with solar panels. Pretty clever use of sun-exposed real estate, eh?
	Clips My Rating: My Recommendation: Absolutely bring them, about 5 Find it: in your house Why I Packed It: this is where we get into MacGyer territory. You can use these to clip your handwashed underwear to a fan or use it to keep food bags closed. Sooo many uses. Only trouble is that they’re metal, so they can rust and scratch your electronics. Just be mindful about that and they’ll be one of your most-used tools.
	Resealable bags My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring them. Find it: in your house Why I Packed It: because they’re very useful and extremely packable containers for food, electronics, or anything you need to keep wet or dry. Recommend 3 gallon size and 3 quart size. Freezer quality with a sliding zipper. You can also find tiny daily pill size bags to fill with your travel pharmacy (ibuprofen, immodium, pepto, dramamine, etc.). The tiny ones also work well for earrings, ear plugs, headphones, etc.
	Bamboo Create Pen Tablet My Rating: My Recommendation: I wish i could find something smaller that works as well Find it on: wacom.com Why I Packed It: because I draw stuff to print on big things like billboards. It works really well. Of course, I wish it were smaller. I also wish I didn’t need to carry a laptop.
	Petzel Zipka LED Headlamp My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it!!!! Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: I used to carry this model, but I recently upgraded for brightness. It’s arguably the most useful thing in my bag. Plus, its got a retractable headband, so it takes up almost no space. It also uses AAA batteries, which are easy to find. AND there is a rechargeable battery option shown below. When have I used my headlamp? Walking to and from dinner, looking for things in the room safe, finding my way to the bathroom without stepping on the millipedes, reading, looking under the bed while packing, looking for a thing in my bag while on a plane, making myself seen by cars, making that lurking critter noise seen by me… the list goes on.
	Petzel Core Rechargeable Battery My Rating: buy it My Rating: Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: We go through batteries like crazy because we use our headlamps every day. This rechargeable pack has a life span of 900 batteries.
	Internet Stick My Rating: My Recommendation: Yes! Go find yourself one. Find it: at the airport or somewhere in town where you’re traveling Why I Packed It: I need mobile internets, dawg! You can find these things in various places. They work as a cell modem and function relatively well. You can’t get one in advance easily because it is hard to know what service will be available in any given country. Do a little research or just plan to find one when you arrive.
	USB Hub My Rating: TBA My Recommendation: TBA Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: Unfortunately, when I use my internet stick, it blocks both of my USB ports. I got this hub to free up my ports while I’m online.
	Sennheiser CX300B MK II Bass Earbuds My Rating: My Recommendation: Good enough. Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: These headphones have great quality for listening to music. The surprising side note is that though they do not have a microphone, they also work for phone conversations either with our phones or our computers. That’s pretty good news because I had been carrying this pair in addition and they’re terrible!
	Headphone Splitter My Rating: My Recommendation: Meh, we could go either way. Find it on: radioshack.com Why I Packed It: It’s nice to be able share when listening to music or watching a movie on our iPod on a plane. This way we both get to have both ear buds in our ears allowing for much better noise cancellation. It’s a luxury. If I were really looking to reduce weight, I’d eliminate it.
	The Core Headphone Cord Wrapper My Rating: TBA My Recommendation: TBA Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: We’ve got a lot of cords floating around. Having headphones all over the place makes me crazy. I got this to keep the cord clutter under control.
	Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger My Rating: TBA My Recommendation: good to have Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: There are daily power surges in Costa Rica. First a surge (the lights get brighter, the fridge gets louder), then the power goes out. I’ve gotten good at yanking my poer cord out of my laptop as soon as the lights start to get brighter, but a surge protector is a much better solution. Since getting this protector I have not experienced a surge, so I guess it’s worth it just for its magical ability to scare away surges.
	Outlet Adapter My Rating: My Recommendation: Bring it! Find it on: acehardware.com Why I Packed It: In Central and South America, the outlets are either like the US or just the 2-prong. Instead of carrying a big adapter kit, we’re got these little guys.
	Other Items Not Pictured Pens, pencils Twist ties Notebooks Carabiners Business Cards

The Stuff in my Backpack

	Surge Backpack (Women’s) My Rating: My Recommendation: I would buy this bag again, but it feels a little cumbersome Find it on: thenorthface.com Why I Carry It: This bag packs a lot of stuff into a small space. Convenient zippers and pockets and excellent padding all around. It also has a well-padded laptop sleeve. I’m a fan. I don’t love the North Face logo. It will be covered with a patch or something soon enough.
	Give N Go Cross Over Bra My Rating: My Recommendation: Buy it. Find it on: exofficio.com Why I Packed It: It packs small, it’s light, comfortable, easy to wash, dries quickly, and is made to last. Buy a size down to get better support.
	Give N Go String Bikini Underwear My Rating: My Recommendation: Absolutely buy this underwear. Find it on: exoficcio.com Why I Packed It: They’re the smartest underpants in the whole world. I carry 3 pairs. Like the bra, they pack small, they’re light, comfortable, easy to wash, dry quickly, and rugged. After 5 months, they’re starting to show a little wear in that the fine elastic strands are starting to pop out, but I’m not concerned yet.
	Fox River Women’s Wick Dry Ultra Lightweight Velocity Running Quarter Sock My Rating: My Recommendation: buy it. Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: It’s thin, wicks, and dries quickly after being handwashed.
	Cotton Cami My Rating: My Recommendation: I wear this nearly every day Find it: wherever Why I Packed It: Hello extremely versatile clothing. You take the place of a bra, an undershirt, and a tank top, and yet you take the space of a simple, stretchy, fast-drying cami. You are kind of brilliant.
	REI Long Sleeve Snap Shirt My Rating: My Recommendation: bring it! Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: Sun protection in the day, mosquitoes in the evening. Also lightweight, packs small, has a super secret pocket, and has a flattering fit while still being stretchy and breathable. It’s pretty much anything I could ever ask for in such a shirt. I had a Mountain Hard Wear version, and it wasn’t nearly as good.
	A Few T-Shirts My Rating: My Recommendation: carry them Find it: wherever Why I Packed It: Because it was on sale. Naw, that’s just silly. But seriously, it was on sale. This shirt is awesome because it is super lightweight, but not see-through. This means it wicks in humid climates, packs super small, washes easily in the sink, and dries pretty quickly. In addition, it has a flattering cut for a girl with both a waist and hips. Yay for non-boxy t-shirts! However, this is one of those shirts that picks up a weird armpit smell. Eau de Wet Dog, I believe. Over the past 5 months, the smell has faded. It must have been some initial chemical in the fabric that has worn away. Ew? But that is bothersome given the initial sticker price for this shirt.
	NorthFace Apex Casey Skort My Rating: My Recommendation: consider it Find it on: backcountry.com Why I Packed It: I love skorts because you can look cute and climb trees without exposing your butt to the bark. I have yet to find one that I love, but this one has some nice features. For example, it is stretchy and maintains its shape – always looking good. It has deep mesh pockets and a back pocket with a zipper. I’m not a fan of the drawstring (why does it exist????) and I’m not usually a pin skirt kind of girl. I’d like something a little more flowy or with a A line.
	A Couple of Handkerchiefs My Rating: My Recommendation: consider it Find it: wherever Why I Packed It: Because paper tissues are pretty wasteful. Plus, if you’re in countries where they don’t flush the TP, you’re going to have a hard time finding unscented TP. This means you’ll have to seek out and buy “facial tissue” instead of just grabbing a square of TP when you need to blow your nose. And if you’re sick (which happens when you travel), you’ll totally want a cloth version instead of the rough paper verson.
	A Couple of Sun Dresses My Rating: My Recommendation: pretty versatile in warm weather Find it: wherever Why I Packed It: Because sometimes a girl needs a dress. “Yes, but why did you pack it?” I hear you… I hear you… Beach coverup, evening out.
	Body Bark Lounge Short My Rating: My Recommendation: I wear them every day Find it on: bodybark.com Why I Packed It: I work from home–wherever that may be. I like being comfortable. This shorts are small, light, and super soft. After 5 months of regular wear, they were getting shabby. After a year, they’re about the same level of shabby. The color has held, but the shape has gotten sloppy. It’s not a big deal for me for fashion purposes; it’s just the facts.
	Champion Synthetic Athletic Pants My Rating: My Recommendation: buy it. Find it on: sportsauthority.com Why I Packed It: If you have ever traveled and forgotten your comfy pants, you already know the answer to “why”. These pants function as: comfy pants yoga pants mosquito blockers Plus my usual mantra: packs small, dries fast.
	Fleece Jacket My Rating: My Recommendation: bring it Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: Because sometimes it gets cold. Okay, so this pic is a little more stylish than my actual fleece, but it’s similar in cut. But it’s still got zip pockets and meshy venty pits.
	Kelty Rain Jacket My Rating: My Recommendation: bring a rain jacket. maybe not this one. Find it on: target.com Why I Packed It: This rain jacket is super thin so it packs small. It is the greatest rain jacket? No. I wore it while riding my bike during the 2011 epic monsoon season in Denver (yes this actually happened) and I got pretty wet on my shoulders and extended arms where the rain was hitting directly. I am sure you can find a better jacket than this, but it’s really not bad. This one was $8 and worth every penny. Sooooo, I’m just sayin…
	Chacos My Rating: My Recommendation: bring them! Find it on: chacos.com Why I Packed It: Because I love my Chacos. Barring snow, I wear them every day in Colorado. They’re a serious sandal that loves tromping through rivers or the city. The webbing doesn’t dry quickly in the tropical environment and they tore my feet apart in the sand. SO – stick to streets, hikes, and rivers, and avoid salt water and sand and this shoe will be your best friend.
	Cheap Flip Flops My Rating: My Recommendation: bring cheap flip flops from the US Find it on: havaianas.com Why I Packed It: For walking in sand & ocean. Also, they’re going to get stolen. I could go cheaper and lighter than the ones I am carrying. I had to buy mine in a pinch, and they were expensive and not ideal. Get ones made of plastic, not cloth, so that they dry easily.
	Merrell Moab Ventilator Boots My Rating: My Recommendation: buy them Find it on: merrell.com Why I Packed It: I’ve had these hiking boots for years. They’re extremely comfortable (and were so right out of the box), light as boots go, breathable, and make my feet happy. On travel days, I wear them instead of trying to pack them. I wear them during the mosquito hours and will wear them on hikes where Chacos are not appropriate.
	Solestrom Sun Dry Waterproof Bathing Suit My Rating: My Recommendation: do not buy Find it on solestrom.com Why I Packed It: This bathing suit is made from water resistant fabrics. This means it repels water with ferocious veracity. You get wet, you get out of the water, the water beads off. No more putting on a wet bathing suit! No more mildewy bathing suit! Awesome, right? Well not really. The reality: it’s a pile of BS and I feel duped. It’s expensive, it took forever to ship, and it’s hanging up wet in my shower right now. It beaded water once in the sink when I first got it. I even skipped washing it before wearing (as it came straight from the warehouse, never worn), but it doesn’t repel water at all when I wear it in the ocean. The fit is so-so on top, but decent on the bottom. However, I am considering just wearing my ExOficcio underwear instead. Jeeze.
	Bison Designs Belt (sneakily converted into a money belt) My Rating: My Recommendation: wear it. Find it on: bisondesigns.com Why I Packed It: My pants were falling down? But for real, Bison Designs is made in Colorado. I live in Colorado. Local First! Also, since the belt is made of light fabric on top of webbing, it was easy for me to sew a zipper into the underside–making a money belt. Bison Designs also makes a money belt, but they’re not as stylish as this one. Yeah sneaky, stylish money belt! Now you can make one too.
	Timex Women’s T5K187 Water Resistent Watch My Rating: My Recommendation: bring a watch with these features, I can’t say this is a better model than lots of others Find it on: amazon.com Why I Packed It: I haven’t worn a watch in years. I switched to carrying a cell phone. Then a smart phone. Then I didn’t use an alarm clock anymore. Then I went to a third world country. I discovered my fancy technology didn’t work so well without: power, internet, or phone service. Also as you know, electronics don’t like water. Now I’m kickin’ it old school with a WATCH. So watch out! If you ask me the time, I’ll know it. If I have to get up early for a flight, I don’t have to worry about my phone deciding to change the time zone on me at midnight. Just note that after about 3 months of light water use (ocean & pool water aerobics), the backlight function has stopped working.
	Sea to Summit See Pouch My Rating: My Recommendation: pack it Find it on: seatosummit.com Why I Packed It: This is my toiletry bag. It’s a super light, but clear and flexible bag. It gets the job done. It’s also TSA approved… I think. Well, I haven’t had a problem yet. Toiletries not shown: sunscreen, calamine lotion, toothpaste, insect repellent, bandages, loratadine, Dramamine, and ibuprofen
	Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink My Rating: My Recommendation: consider it Find it on: seatosummit.com Why I Packed It: This is my laundry bucket and (potential) farmers’ market tote. It’s the right size for kale, chard, and underpants… Instead of doing laundry in the sink, I can put this on any surface and scrub away. It’s not an ideal way to to laundry, but it works. I also carry a bar of Zote and a soap holder.
	Travel Electric Toothbrush My Rating: My Recommendation: pack it! Find it on: violite.com Why I Packed It: Because I love having an electric toothbrush. I was fussing over having to use a regular one and not have my teeth be as clean – then my mom recommended this one. Yessss.
	GoTube Travel Tubes My Rating: My Recommendation: skip it. Find it on: humangear.com Why I Packed It: These tubes are pretty great. They’re easy to fill, easy to clean, and have a suction cup so you can stick it up in the shower. In addition, they have a dial with labels so that you know what’s in there. Nice. I only use them for the hard to find toiletries like hippie sunscreen and hippie toothpaste. The rest of my stuff I buy locally where I am. I believe, in the end this kind of product is better suited for short term travel when you use your big bottle of shampoo to refill this little one. I think they might just become extra (and expensive) weight if they’re empty and I don’t have something useful to fill them with.
	Diva Cup and GladRags Cloth Pads My Rating: My Recommendation: pack them! Find them on: gladrags.com and divacup.com Why I Packed It: Because disposable feminine hygiene products are wasteful. In countries where you can’t flush toilet paper and there is no trash pickup system, disposable products seem ridiculously gross on top of wasteful. Plus, 3 cloth pads (which hand wash and dry easily) and 1 silicon cup pack way smaller than just one month’s supply of the disposable kind. It’s kind of the awesomest thing for managing old Aunt Flo since Ibuprofen and chocolate.
	A bandana My Rating: My Recommendation: pack it! Find it anywhere Why I Packed It: This is an endlessly useful tool. It will cover you head from too much sun or your nose and mouth from too much dust from the dirt roads (really, this is important) and it can also cover your vinyl seat so your bare legs don’t have to stick to it. Girls, you know what I mean. Everyone hates peeling their legs off of a chair. Ehhhh. Obviously, the list can go on.
	Katadyn MyBottle Water Purifier My Rating: My Recommendation: I have not used it much yet, but it’s hard drinking with the filter in Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: Sometimes the water isn’t good. This bottle works as a regular water bottle and then doubles as a filter/purifier. It even filters viruses. It’s good for fresh water (lakes, rivers, and dirty tap), not salt water.
	Sea-to-Summit Dry Lite Towel My Rating: My Recommendation: bring it! Find it on: seatosummit.com Why I Packed It: Don’t Panic! and “don’t forget to bring a Towel!“ Wise words indeed. But the medium size towel is soft, and rectangular. It makes a great workout towel or surface for pushups. It’s also a great beach towel for keeping your hair and butt out of the sand. But the real win here is that it’s an awesome shammy for doing laundry. I roll my clothes in this towel to wring them nearly every day and it’s a real workhorse. It’s thirsty and a quick dry towel. It’s easily one of my best buys.
	MSR PackTowl Nano Small Towel My Rating: My Recommendation: a lovely luxury Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: It’s an awesome towel to dry your hands before handling electronics while at the beach or river. It’s also a great yoga sweat mop.
	Sea-to-Summit Lite Line Clothesline My Rating: My Recommendation: yes. yes. yes. I use it every day. Find it on: seatosummit.com Why I Packed It: With all of this talk about hand washing and sink washing, I’d have to have a clothesline. This baby’s super small, but long. It also has some clips to help hang it and keep clothes from blowing away. I use it daily. Love it. I also carry suction cups so that i can hang the line on tiled walls when necessary.
	Eagle Creek Silk Undercover Bra Stash Wallet My Rating: My Recommendation: Meh. It’s your call. Find it on: rei.com Why I Packed It: I am forever seeking a very clever and sleek wallet option for just a little cash and a few cards. I thought this one would be great because I could clip it to my bra or underwear. I think it was designed by a man. If I clip it to my bra strap, I have a big old rectangle popping our over my breast. If I clip it to the band under my armpit, I get soggy money. And the loop isn’t big enough to clip it to the space between my breasts. So I don’t get it. However, it is a small, sleek wallet. I don’t love it though.
	ExOfficio Floating Pocket My Rating: My Recommendation: Meh. It’s your call. Find it on: exofficio.com Why I Packed It: Again, looking for a wallet solution, I turned here. It’s an awkward size for both cards and money. I liked the idea of having a wallet solution for when I’m wearing a dress, but I don’t think this is the one. I’ve used it by clipping it around my underwear band as an extra pocket with a skirt or shorty shorts, but I don’t love it.


	Wooden Spoon from Africa My Rating: My Recommendation: Carry it or always be wishing you were carrying one. Find it: at any US grocery store, kind of. Mine came from Africa. Why I Packed It: Because I am tired of buying a new one everywhere I go. It’s just silly. If TSA would allow my to carry a chef’s knife, I’d have that too. But my friend Mickki brought me a wooden spoon from her adventures in Kenya, so that’s the one I carry.
	Combo Lock & Cable My Rating: My Recommendation: Get them. Find it on: Ace Hardware Why I Packed It: Our transportation or choice is bicycles. Locks are hard to come by. We chose a separate cable and padlock instead of a standard bike lock because we’d be able to use both items for different purposes. This padlock also allows you to set your own combo–which is huge. One less new thing to remember. The cable we’re carrying is actually a smaller gauge than what’s shown and it coils up quite nicely into about a 4″ diameter.
	Other Items Not Pictured Hat Headband – used as a dust/bug mask Earrings Hair ties Sun Hat Underpants with pockets Go Girl FUD some RAM A travel hair brush a cheap phone with removable sim