Trifter

1. Travel Towel. Possibly the MOST important item on this list. Forgetting to bring a travel towel is like forgetting to bring clothes. It’s small and saves the weight and bulkiness of bringing a full size towel. It dries quickly allowing you too shove it in your bag. They clean and dry great.  I’ve written a whole article on the benefits of this small piece of fabric. Read it here: http://www.trifter.com/Practical-Travel/Tips/One-Piece-of-Gear-No-Traveler-Should-Ever-Forget.410651

2. Ziploc Baggies. Ziploc baggies always come in handy. They’re great to store toiletries in. Use them to wrap up small belongings. Keep jewelry dry. Put wet socks in a ziploc. Keep electronics organized, or put tiny memory cards or card readers in one. Ziploc baggies take up almost no room in your bag and you can find hundreds of uses for them while traveling. Plus they’re dirt cheap!

3. Rubber bands. Bring a few different rubber bands of different sizes and widths. Rubber bands can be used to fix a broken zipper, hold a bag closed from the rain, keep your clothing bundled or hold your clothing up too dry. Rubber bands are easy ways to hold things together and the uses are endless.

4. Notebook. Always write when you travel. You may be a horrible writer, but keeping a log of what you do on what day will be a great way to relive your trip years down the road. Many times people forget small details and when they read what they wrote, the trip comes flooding back. Having a notebook or journal will also let you keep track of cities, phone numbers, exchange rates and other noteworthy places to go that you may not remember in the morning. Try and make it a habit to write for 15 minutes a day, once you get used to it, it will be second nature.

5. Day Bag. Having a day bag to keep you outfitted for your daily adventures is a must. Here you can keep your notebook, a camera, your passport, wallet, and a change of clothes. Having a day bag keeps you from dragging your bulky backpack around with you all day and regretting it. Day bags are also great to fill up as you leave with more trinkets and goods than you came with. I’ve written an article on finding the perfect day bag here http://www.trifter.com/Practical-Travel/Tips/Traveling-Lite-Finding-the-Perfect-Day-Bag.421087

6. Water Purification Tablets. These tablets are great because most countries have water that your body isn’t accustomed too. Water that is either full of bacteria or will leave you in the washroom all day. One bottle of these purification tablets is enough for 5-10 gallons of water. Most will leave tap water drinkable in about an hour. The tablets are small, easy to use and take the question out of questionable water.

7. Hand Sanitizer. Washing your hands in other countries is sometimes a challenge. You may be camping, sweaty, hiking or just out all day. Pocket hand sanitizer can be thrown in your day bag and help prevent unneeded bacteria from entering your body while your traveling. Exposure to new foods, new places and new people can affect your immune system.

8. Clothesline or Rope. Having a small clothes line, which you can fasten with your rubber bands will allow you to wash and dry your own clothes. Washing your own clothes is a good way to save quite a bit of money over the extent of a trip. Allowing clothes to dry hanging up also helps get the wrinkles out. A clothesline can come in handy when you need to tie something to your bag or compress your bag down as well.

9. Hand Warmers. These little miracles are great for travel. You never know when you’ll be out all night or stranded in a cold bus station. Hand warmers are small and they begin working in minutes. You may not be camping but if you’re traveling for any extended amount of time, chances are something will get cold.

10. Lock. Having a lock helps guard your belongings in hostels. All hostels have a place for you to secure your bags and luggage or your passport and camera. Most hostels don’t provide a way to lock your stuff up. Come prepared and buy yourself a cheap lock. Make sure to keep the keys in 2 different places, or if it’s a combination lock, to email the combination to yourself incase you forget.