The Global Test: One Gear List for Two Years and Five Continents

[Addie Bedford]

Companion forum thread to:

The Global Test: One Gear List for Two Years and Five Continents

[Danny Milks]

Lucas – For both of us, we budgeted $50/day (= $1500/month or $18000/year). This includes food, ALL transportation, gear replacement, and travel insurance.

We were able to meet this goal by using local transportation as much as possible, finding very good deals online for a few key one-way flights, cooking our own meals, avoiding costly guided tours, and very basic accommodations. We spent roughly one third of the nights at hostels, one third camping, and one third with friends. You can see a more detailed break down on our travel stats page.

[Danny Milks]

Bigfoot – Kristin tried to protect my image, but I did use the sarong on several different occasion. It is very comfortable and was sometimes necessary to wear so I could hand-wash my clothes.

Worse yet was in Costa Rica: I was forced to run my errands wearing my not-so-modest running shorts and Kristin's tank top. I garnered more than a few curious looks. (We had gotten bed bugs in Guatemala and the only way to get rid of them is high heat, the most common source being a clothes dryer)

[Danny Milks]

Daryl – Thanks for the words of encouragement. There are a few books and people that have inspired me along the way too. I get a little sentimental thinking back now, as I am living my dream.

Matt – We needed a purifier, not a filter, and there just aren't as many choices. Despite it's weight, we are completely satisfied with our decision. In addition to using the purifier in the backcountry, we used it in kitchen and bathroom sinks throughout countries with unsafe municipal water (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia). We only bought 5 bottles of water in our entire journey. It was a much more environmentally responsible way to travel.

Julien – Not sure if we'll make it to Oz, which seems silly to say. We'll PM you if we do head your way. Now that we've opened ourselves to the BPL community, it'd be great to meet many of you in person!

[John Carter]

Excellent article! Thank you for the detailed gear descriptions alongside other options you considered.

I'm curious: did you find the Double Rainbow liner useful? Did it significantly increase comfort during rainy/sunny spells? I am currently debating whether to get the liner or just use a small tarp above the Rainbow. I would prefer to use the liner, but it seems like the tarp above might offer more protection – but for more weight and fuss, and it is more likely to be blown down/away.

[Danny Milks]

Hi John,
We did not find the Double Rainbow liner useful enough. I did not notice any difference in condensation level or warmth. The liner could also keep your tarptent cooler during the day, but we never spent time in it during the hottest (and therefore, most useful) time of the day. Because the liner hangs down so low, it really makes the DR feel smaller.

We eventually sent the liner home with a friend who was visiting. I just didn't see the benefits of the DR liner, nor did it have other uses.

For about the same weight, we could use a sil-nylon tarp over the tent for extra rain protection or under as a ground tarp. We even used it independently a few times as a sun shade during hot mid-day lunch breaks. If your tarptent becomes a green house during the day, try putting your sleeping bag ON the tent – it makes a great insulated sunshade!

[John Carter]

Thank you for the helpful reply. I had also thought about using a sleeping bag as shade – glad to know it works! Seems like it would do a better job of keeping the interior cool than a liner while keeping interior space free, assuming no shade could be found. I may still get the liner for wet season trips here in the PNW, but for 3 season use I'll rely on the sleeping bag trick if I feel shade is necessary.

[Tom Bender]

My overseas experiences were not bad but fear of robbery and officious customs officials have me cowering in the civilized world. You give me reason to laugh at myself and courage to reach out. Thanks

[Zach Williams]

Danny/Kristin,

I'm getting ready to head to Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina for 4 months. Will be doing a mix of camping, hostelling and packrafting. Perfect timing to read your article…THANKS!

I'm still making a decision about a stove. How often were you able to find canisters for the Superfly? Would a "regular" canister stove have worked just as well (ie: one without the special Superfly mount, a la SP Giga, etc.)? And the Whisperlight Int'l is just too much of a hassle, huh?

Thanks for your input.

[Bob Gross]

Zach, the best choice of stove might depend on a bunch of details. For example, are you going to be traveling around South America on foot, by auto, or by air? Stove fuels obviously create problems at the airports. In some cases, used liquid gasoline stoves cause concerns also. At the last time that I was down there, we knew exactly where to go to find white gasoline in one large city, but as soon as we were out in the boonies, it was nearly impossible.

A butane canister stove is a lot more convenient. If you are in civilized areas, towns, or hostels, they make a lot of sense.

–B.G.–

[Danny Milks]

Zach – You should be able to use your Snow Peak without any trouble. Canister fuel is typically only available in the mountain towns and really big cities. Having just gone down the Andes, I know that you'll be able to buy canisters in Quito, Huaraz, Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, La Paz, Santiago, Mendoza, Bariloche, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, and the Lakes District in Chile. You will be unlikely to find the fuel in many other cities.

Expect to pay $5-9 for a 220 gram canister. Doite is a Chilean brand and is the most common throughout South America. It's also cheaper to buy in Chile than in other countries.

Puncture-type canisters were surprisingly prevalent. Denatured alcohol could be bought at most hardware stores, according to other backpackers. However, sometimes it took opening a few bottles of liquid chemicals to find the right one.

Buses are absolutely the best way to travel through South America. It also allows you to carry your canister stoves onward to your next destination, unlike flying. Hitching rides for shorter commutes is really common, easy, and fairly safe.

PM if you want other suggestions or hints.

[Danny Milks]

Tom – sorry for the late reply, but I think we all need a push once in a while. For me it was losing my job. That was my last excuse for not traveling like this.

As far as fears go, I have been anxious prior to a few places only to get there and realize that my anxieties were unfounded. The world is significantly safer than we think of it.

In South America, we never had a worry in Chile or Argentina. Colombia is much safer than we see in the news, especially for travelers. As a continent, the only times we worried were in the capital cities, where there was the most money, people, and homeless/jobless.

[Manuel Espejo]

Daniel can you tell me more about your experience in Colombia, did you hike in the Paramo Ecosystem?

[Guy Bouchard]

i may be late for asking this one.

Would an alcohol/wood stove be a workable solution backpacking in South America? I like alcohol stove but prefer a backup plan. I saw you were using cartridge stove. I have one but it would not take South American cartridge i think. I would have to buy one like yours. Still i prefer alcohol.

Thanks!

[Cynthia FAUBION]

So many people talk and dream of taking the plunge to do something like this but it takes special courage and guts to actually do it. Congratulations! I am sure your gear will evolve as the time goes on and I look forward to reading about it. Tell us more about Brasil? The culture there is not particularly conducive to backpacking. I look forward to more articles.

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