🎒 One-bag packing list for 7 months across South and Central America (boy + girl)
- Calvin Chan
- Oct 21, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2024
Whether you pack your bags weeks in advance, keep a packing spreadsheet or pack your bags last minute - packing for any trip is no easy feat. Even more so if you’re choosing to one-bag it!
One-bagging is the challenge of going on a trip with just one bag - usually carry-on.
How many clothes should i pack? Do i really need those shoes? What if i cut my toothbrush in half? If you’ve asked yourselves these questions, you’re not alone. Packing everything you need for your trip into one-bag can be challenging, especially if it's your first time. Trust me though, the benefits are well worth it. Skipping the baggage claim, money saved on extra baggage costs and the cool factor of walking up stairs while people lug their suitcases up. You feel like a travel pro!
If you're looking for some one-bag inspiration, or just want to compare and critique, Kimmi and I are currently one-bagging around the world in 14 months. Here is what we packed for the second half of our trip, 7 months across South and Central America!
🌎 What we packed for 7 months: South and Central America
If you've read our blog post for what we packed in our first 7 months across Europe and Central Asia, you'll know we've decided to consolidate our clothes and tech. The biggest change however is that we are no longer trying to be carry-on compliant, and that's because we're bringing camping gear and trekking poles (not allowed as carry-on).
Weather: South American Spring & Summer and Central American Summer & Autumn (2 deg C to 40 deg C)
Bag size and weight: No more carry-on requirement as we are bringing camping gear, ideally still <14kg total each
Activities: City stairs, multi-day hiking and wild camping
❗Disclaimer: To help you in your research to put together your one bag, we've specified the brand and model of items we've packed in brackets. The items with links are affiliate links, which are a way to support us with no cost to you.
💁🏻♀️ Here's what Kimmi packed
🎒 Bag
Hiking backpack (Mystery Ranch Coulee 40L Womens)
Sling bag (Bellroy Venture Ready Sling 2.5L)
🥾 Shoes
Trail runners (Saucony Peregrine 12)
Adventure sandals (Teva Universal)
👕 Clothes
Hiking pants (Kathmandu)
Flowy pants (Linen pair bought from Turkey)
Long skirt (Bought in market in Hong Kong)
Shorts x2 (Kathmandu, Glassons)
Singlet x4 (Glassons, Kmart)
Merino T-shirt (Icebreaker Merino 125)
Bikini (Bought in market in Thailand)
Underwear (Uniqlo)
Ankle socks (Feetures Elite Light Quarter Crew)
Buff (Buff Coolnet UV)
Cap (Bought in Madeira, Portugal)
Thermal base layer top & bottom (Uniqlo)
Fleece mid layer (Patagonia R1 Fleece Zip)
Do everything jacket (Patagonia Nano Air Hooded Jacket)
Rain jacket (Patagonia Torrentshell 3L)
📱 Tech
Phone (iPhone 15 Pro)
Garmin watch (Forerunner 255)
Kindle (Kindle Paperwhite)
🪥 Toiletries
Toothbrush (N/A)
Face sunscreen (N/A)
Moisturiser (N/A)
Retinol (N/A)
Lip balm (N/A)
Concealer (N/A)
Eye liner (N/A)
Mascara (N/A)
Toiletry bag (Bellroy Toiletry Kit)
⛺ Camping
Ultralight Sleeping mat (Decathlon MT 500)
Ultralight Sleeping bag (Decathlon MT 500)
Trekking poles (Naturehike)
📦 Other
Packing cubes (Amazon)
Rain cover (Tatonka)
Head Torch (Black Diamond Astro 300)
🙆🏽♂️ Here's what Calvin packed
🎒 Bag
Hiking backpack (Mystery Ranch Coulee 40L Mens)
Sling bag (Bellroy Venture Ready Sling 2.5L)
Packable day pack (Matador Freefly 16L)
🥾 Shoes
Hiking shoes (Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX)
Adventure sandals (Teva Hurricane XLT-2)
👕 Clothes
Hiking pants x2 (Marmot Scree Hiking Pants)
Swim shorts x2 (Everlane and Barney Cools)
T-shirts x2 (Uniqlo various)
Workout shirts x3 (Lululemon various)
Singlet (Lululemon Metal Vent Tech)
Boxers (Uniqlo Trunks)
Merino wool socks x2 (Darn Tough Vermont)
Ankle socks x2 (Feetures Elite Light Quarter Crew)
Undies x7 (Uniqlo Boxer Briefs)
Buff (Buff Coolnet UV)
Cap (Macpac Hiker Cap)
Merino base layer top (Icebreaker Merino 200 Top)
Merino base layer bottom (Icebreaker Merino 200 Leggings)
Sweater (Bought in Mongolia)
Do everything jacket (Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody)
Rain jacket (Patagonia Torrentshell 3L)
Gloves (Bought in Nepal)
Beanie (Received in Nepal)
📱 Tech
Phone (iPhone 13 Pro)
Garmin watch (Forerunner 255)
Gan charger (Amazon)
Universal adapter (Amazon)
Cables (N/A)
Power bank (Anker 10K)
Universal dongle (Rolling Square)
Tech pouch (Thule Subterra)
Digital camera (Fujifilm XS-20)
35mm camera lens (Fuji XF 35mm f2.0)
16mm camera lens (Fuji XF 16mm f2.8)
SD cards x2 (Lexar)
🪥 Toiletries
Toothbrush (N/A)
Toothpaste (N/A)
Face wash (N/A)
Face sunscreen (N/A)
Shaver (N/A)
Hair wax (N/A)
Toiletry bag (Kathmandu)
⛺ Camping
Ultralight Two-person tent (Naturehike Cloud Up 2)
Ultralight Sleeping mat (Decathlon MT 500)
Ultralight Sleeping bag (Decathlon MT 500)
Trekking poles (Naturehike)
Water filter (Lifestraw Peak 1L Bottle)
Compass / Whistle / Thermometer (Decathlon)
Camping stove (Soto Amicus)
Camping cook-set (GSI Glacier Dualist)
📦 Other
Packing cubes (Peak design)
Rain cover (Tatonka)
Exercise band (Amazon)
Torch (Olight i3T)
Camera lens pen (N/A)
Camera sensor puffer (N/A)
Dry bag (SeatoSummit Ultra-sil 20L)
The biggest changes we made
As mentioned in our blog post for what we packed for 7 months across Europe and Central Asia, for this second half of our trip, we were planning to cut down a lot of things, and add camping gear. Here is a summary of what we removed, what we added and what we changed.
Removed
Added
Changed
For our favourite travel and backpacking gear, check out this post! (COMING SOON)
📔 Planning and budgeting your next adventure? Check out our FREE resources:
📕 Travel Adventure Planner ⬅️ This is how we planned our year+ adventure!
🧮 Travel Budget Tracker ⬅️ How we budget and track expenses on our trip!
🪨 More travel resources:
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