Men’s Packing List for the World Race

This is a blog about what I packed for the World Race. I only found one men’s packing list blog while I was preparing and that was from 2013 or something so I wanted to help the guys out with a more updated one. Also don’t just look at my list, the ones written by girls were still super helpful for me. I just ignored what they brought when it came to clothes and toiletries and stuff like that.

 So here is what I brought:

Gear

• Osprey Atmos AG 65L Men’s Pack

• Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated Air Sleeping Pad (Sleeping pads are very much based on personal preference. I’m a side sleeper and I love this one. A lot of my squadmates got Big Agnes sleeping pads. I tried one and I slept on it once before returning it to REI)

• Kelty Galactic 30°F Sleeping Bag (I personally haven’t even used mine on the field yet and a lot of people choose not to even bring them but I know I could be going to some cold countries in the future for my route)

• Thermarest Large Compressible Pillow

• Sea to Summit Silk-Cotton Blend Travel Liner

• 2 Large Packing Cubes for Clothes

• Daypack: Osprey Daylite Travel 24L

• Nemo Firefly 2-person tent (My tent got a massive hole in it during launch not sure if its a bad tent or it was my fault regardless it’s not the cheapest tent out there)

• Footprint – Some tents come with a footprint, some don’t, but make sure you get one to go under your tent if it doesn’t come with one

• Fanny Pack (useful for when you don’t want to carry a lot with you that day and for carrying documents on travel days) 

• Shoe Sack to put spare shoes in and not get other things dirty

• Osprey Ultralight Pack Raincover – Large

• Daypack Rain Cover

• REI Pack Duffel Bag (to put your bag in on travel days to keep it from getting ruined)

• Bag tags (in case your pack gets lost at the airport it isn’t lost forever. Someone on my squad already got their bag lost at the airport and it’s only month 1.)

• Laundry Bag

• Turkish Towel (they dry very fast which is nice on the race)

• Carabiners (useful to attach things to the outside of either one of your packs)

• Hummingbird Hammock and bug net for it (I wouldn’t have bought it myself it was given to me as a gift for the race, my teammate used it in place of a tent during training camp and launch and is planning on using it if we have a month we have to sleep in tents)

• 2 Compressions Sacks (I put my tent in one and my sleeping bag in the other)

• Water Bottle

• Sea to Summit Clothesline 

• Solar-powered lantern (useful for your tent)

• Headlamp (a few people, myself included thought this wouldn’t be helpful then we got to training camp and realized how important it was)

Clothes

• 1 pair of Tennis Shoes

• 1 pair of Birkenstocks

• 1 pair of cheap flip flops for shower shoes

• 2 washable masks

• 1 pair of Jeans

• 1 pair of hiking pants that can double as dress pants since they look sort of like Khakis

• 1 collared golf shirt to use as a dress shirt and for everyday use (not sure if these pants and shirt will be good for church yet I’m starting my race in quarantine but it was what one guy suggested to me so they could be used for more than just church)

• A belt

• 1 lightweight jacket

• 1 long-sleeve shirt

• 1 undershirt

• 5 short-sleeve shirts

• 3 athletic shirts

• 2 t-shirts

• 6 pairs of socks

• 5 pairs of shorts

• 10 pairs of underwear (when it comes to the race everyone says you’ll need less than you think except for underwear I’ve always been told to bring more than you think)

• Waterproof rain jacket

• Swimsuit

I made sure to keep one pair of clothes in my daypack while we are traveling also.

Toiletries

• Eagle Creek Toiletry Bag (I didn’t think about this when I got mine but make sure to have your liquids in a clear bag for airport security)

• Toothbrush

• Multiple toothbrush covers

• 2 tubes of travel toothpaste

• Travel Mouthwash

• Floss

• 3 oz shampoo

• 3 oz conditioner

• Body Soap and Soap Holder

• Electric Razor and Charger

• Comb

• Nail Clippers

• Tweezers

• Baby Wipes

• Roll of Toilet Paper (Always need TP with you on the race)

• A small pack of Tissues

Documents

• Passport!!!

• Covid Vaccine Card (if vaccinated)

• Yellow Fever Vaccine Card

• 8 Visa Photos (must be 2” x 2”)

• Driver’s License for photo id

• Charles Schwab Debit Card (no atm withdrawal fees from anywhere in the world)

• Personal Insurance Card 

•  I also have digital copies of all these documents saved to Google Drive as backups

Medications

• Year Supply of Prescription Medicine!

• First Aid Kit

• .5 oz Triple Antibiotic

• 25 Laxative Tablets

• 40 caplets of Pepto-Bismol

• Hydrocortisone Cream 

• 16 tablets of Advil

• Hand Sanitizer!

Electronics

• Laptop

• Kindle

• Portable Charger

• Point and Shoot Camera (I wanted to try and get into photography)

• Speaker

• Phone (Multiple people suggested having an iPhone for the race. It makes your life a little easier because of things like airdrop, but I don’t like Apple so I don’t have one. You obviously don’t have to either, unless you want to )

• Chargers for all these electronics

• Universal outlet adapter

• Power Strip (there is usually not enough outlets for you and your whole team)

• Wireless Earbuds

• 2 Spare Wired Earbuds

• Earbud Splitter so more than one person can listen at the same time

Others

• Uno

• Deck of Cards

• Journal

• Bible (some people like to bring a small Bible but most people on my squad opted to go with their study Bibles)

• Bible Cover to protect my Bible

• Pens

• Travel size sunscreen

• Travel size bug spray

• Eye Mask

• Cabeau Evolution S3 Neck Pillow (it was my first time using a neck pillow and this one straps around the seat so your head doesn’t fall forward and I don’t really like it so far, but my teammate has the same one and he loves it)

• Febreze Fabric To Go (helps make clothes smell better)

• 2 Pillow Cases (you can use one as a laundry bag instead of getting a laundry bag)

My total weight for all that I brought with me was 33lbs for my big pack and 19lbs for my day pack when I had everything packed up for travel. I went into this already being very much a minimalist. You should shoot for your big pack to be under 40lbs because for some airlines that is the limit and will charge you fees for going over that. For your day pack so far I’ve hadn’t had to worry about anything. When my day pack is full for travel it does fit as a personal item. What you pack for the World Race won’t be exactly the same as what I brought. It shouldn’t be. If you want to bring your guitar, bring it. If you want to bring your photography gear, go for it. There might be some added cost of travel depending on what you bring but God can use things like your guitar or camera for His glory. Using it for ministry in ways you never would have thought of.

If you’re worried about what to bring I completely understand. But remember that you are more equipped than you realize, regardless of what you bring. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two and to go with basically nothing.

“These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.’” Mark 6:8-9

You are being sent out with more than the disciples did and the Lord is with you as He was with them. Also, you aren’t going alone. You’ll have a whole squad of people to depend on. If you need something you don’t have, someone else will probably have it. And there are stores overseas. You won’t be in the middle of the desert, probably. God has called you to this and He has equipped you.