Hear me breathe a long sigh of relief as I finish zipping up the last pocket of my backpack, thus ending a two-day marathon of packing frenzy: I am DONE, and – miracle of miracles – IT ALL FITS (just)!

It has been a puzzle figuring out what to cram into my 65-80L pack and small day bag, a challenge which is best summed up by this diabolical equation:

Given C, a 27-year-old girl, B, a 65 litres backpack, T, an 8-month long trip around the world, A-Z, a variety of countries, climates and activities ranging from glacier trekking in Patagonia and skiing in New Zealand to scuba diving in Malaysia, and Y, a need for camping gear including voluminous sleeping bag, sleeping mat and travel pillow: what does X, the unknown contents of B, equal?

In solving this problem, I was very grateful for the many travelers’ packing lists I could consult online and I now want to share my own with a view to helping prospective (and confused) round-the-worlders like me decide what to take.

So here’s what I’m bringing to my wonderlands:

Technology

– 1 Asus EEE Netbook + charger

– 1 Kindle + charger

– 1 Fujifilm Finepix camera + charger

– 1 universal adapter

Clothes

 – 1 3-in-1 waterproof North Ridge jacket (purple) with zipped fleece jacket integrated

– 1 black Lafuma fleece jacket

– 1 technical winter shirt

– 1 long-sleeved trekking shirt

– 1 short-sleeved trekking shirt

– 1 polo shirt

– 2 short-sleeved tops

– 2 long-sleeved tops

– 1 thermal top

– 1 pair of technical jeans

– 1 pair of black trekking trousers

– 1 pair of grey convertible trekking trousers

– 1 pair of thermal leggings

– 1 pair of waterproof over-trousers

– 1 black skirt

– 2 summer dresses

– 1 pair of pajama bottoms

– 1 pair of shorts

– 1 pair of board shorts

– 1 bikini

– 1 multi-functional ‘chute’ (serving as scarf, bandana, wristband etc)

– 1 winter hat

– 1 brim sun hat

– 1 light scarf

– 1 pair of gloves

– 6 pairs of socks

– 7 X underwear

– 2 pairs of glasses

– 1 pair of prescription sunglasses

– 1 pair of walking sandals

– 1 pair of hiking trainers

(I ended up getting rid of the second pair of sandals in the photo. I’m aware that I might be carrying too many clothes – see my post about this and my pre-trip costs here), but having bought them I didn’t have the heart not to bring them. I’ll be giving some away or posting them back home if needs be…)

This is what my clothes look like all rolled up:

And now, reduced to a compact bundle by my Kathmandu compression sack:

Camping gear

These are the main culprits for filling my bag up to the brim, but unfortunately they are needed for my South American tour. I should be able to get rid of them after that though (and can’t imagine how much lighter I’ll feel then)!

1 4-season sleeping bag

1 inflatable sleeping mat

1 travel pillow

Travel accessories and everything else!

1 toiletry bag

Small make-up, jewellery and hair clips bag

1 first aid and medicine bag

1 travel towel

1 silk sheet

1 mosquito spray (with 50+ DEET)

Sun cream

1 pocket mirror

1 headlamp

1 Swiss pocket knife

Earplugs

1 clothes line

1 universal sink plug

2 locks (one big, one small)

1 travel pouch for money and important documents

Photocopies of all important documents

1 raincover for my backpack

1 bag to wrap my backpack in during flights

1 (pocket) Spanish dictionary

A couple of small guidebooks

What do you think of this list? Anything I’ve missed out? Let me know in the comments below!