Here’s the stuff we’ve used to make our travels go smoothly.  Because we travel as light as possible, the things we do carry have to be exceptional.  These are those things.

Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel Backpacks

The rest of the world isn’t very accommodating towards huge suitcases.  Pull-behind suitcases are incredibly impractical in other countries.  Planes are downsizing their carry-on requirements (international requirements are smaller than US domestic), and international hotels don’t have any space.  Having a bag that allows you to carry-on rather than check (saving money!) as well as being easy to pack is important.  We tried out these Osprey bags and haven’t looked back. We bought them in 2014 and are still using the same bags!  They have several pouches to separate things like laptops and toiletries, and conform to international standards of carry-on luggage.
Alicia is traveling with the small/medium in grey  and John the medium/large in red.

GoPro HERO

We love our GoPro and use it for a lot of the pictures you see on this blog. It’s fantastic for taking scenery shots with the wide angle lens.  Extraordinary for taking action video while underwater(!) or sliding down sand dunes on boogie boards.  Extremely resilient, versatile, and small. Poor in very low light conditions, but this is a relatively small example.  For example, in caves it won’t even register a photo while our iPhone’s captured some clear shots.
We started out with a GoPro HERO3 Silver and upgraded to the GoPro HERO5 Black. However, I would recommend buying the latest model – GoPro HERO7 Black. Why pick the black over silver or white? Simple, the black version is the only one compatible with the Super Suit for Diving.

Small Hydration Pack for Hikes/Runs 

In addition to our travel backpacks we have smaller ones for day hikes or runs with hydration sleeves. We loved our Osprey travel backpacks so much we opted for Osprey hydration packs too. They also had some of the lightest weight, functional packs out there.  Weight of the bag empty is important, if your empty bag is 2lbs think about it now with water, lunch, and few other things.
Our Osprey Rev 6 Hydration packs have been discontinued but here are some other great lightweight options.

Mia 2 Clarisonic Face Cleanser

Traveling with creams and soaps is hard with the liquid restrictions.  Alicia swears by this device to keep her face clean and clear for all the travel selfies.

Travel Power Adapters

I don’t know why every country has to have its’ own plug-ins, but they do.  This has worked in all the countries we’ve come across, for less than $10!

Mini Surge Protector Power Strip with USB ports

With one adapter for each country a power strip is really handy. This one is small, easy to pack, has 2 AC outlets and 2 USB ports.

Icebreaker clothing

These are made of Merino wool.  Why is this important?  Because they need to be washed less often and don’t smell!  John’s underwear and T-shirts are all Icebreaker, and it’s been fantastic.  Usually his shirts would smell after one day, and this would be a problem in most countries where water is a scarce resource (and dryers are non-existent).

Kindle Paperwhite

We’ve grown attached to our little “paperweight”, as we call it, for the very simple reason that it keeps its’ battery life forever and it’s easy to reach on the beach.  Phones and Kindle Fires are very hard to read in bright sun and often suffer from low battery.  It’s truly a “first world problem”: we spend so much time in the sun that we need a special e-reader! Check out the new Kindle Paperwhite it’s waterproof.

DJI Phantom 2

This quadcopter is known as  “drone”.  It’s tremendous fun to fly and will go a mile in any direction while it sends live video back to you on its’ location.  The problem is that some countries don’t really appreciate them.  I got my quad confiscated in Peru, and while they did give it back to me I shipped it home before taking it to another country.  I highly recommend the DJI Phantom 2 for its’ ability, but you shouldn’t travel with one.

Books

People often ask us: “What do you do?”.  Here are some the books that helped us break free from the 9-5 and tour the world while working only 1-2 days per week.  YES it’s possible, because we did it.  And so can you.
4-Hour Work Week: Tim Ferris explains how we conform to society even though we could have so much more.  Filled with practical advice about how to achieve your dreams and travel the world while making money.  I cannot, cannot, cannot recommend this book enough.  A month after Alicia quit her job, she was earning more while working far less.
4-Hour Body: Tim Ferris is a leader in “lifestyle design”, which is how to create the life you want.  We stay fit on our trip and even lose weight thanks to the advice in this book.
Choose Yourself: Similar to the 4 Hour Work Week, James Altucher preaches building the life you want rather than live the life you think you have to live.  While James does stray into odd territory at times, he’s very convincing to get you moving towards your own goals.