Travel Gear
Below you can find gear that is useful when traveling.
- Watch – Bertucci A-4T Vintage 44 Aero. A simple tough analog watch.
- Wallet – The Ridge wallet. Its small, not flashy, blocks CCD, and highly portable.
- Belt – always carry a nice sturdy leather belt.
- Travel Journal – An amazing leather bound customized travel journal from Etsy.
- Passport with Global Entry – enough said
- Pixel 2 cell phone. It does what we want it to and is reliable. We reccomend useing google’s phone service called Project Fi . It basically allows us to use my phone almost anywhere in the world for one low price. For a comprehensive review read this article.
Trekking gear is very much up to you. Here are some of the items that we carry that have come in handy.
- Ospry backpack. It is very durable, functional, and attractive. We’ve taken this backpack all over the world from the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand, to the Inca Trail in Peru it has been very relaible. Read more about it here.
- Lowa hiking boots. These boots have held up to trekking in Colorado, Kilimanjaro, Nepal, Peru, and New Zealand.
- Black Diamond headlamp. Reliable, bright, doesn’t burn batteries, and not too expensive.
- Columbia Rain coat. Lightweight but duable
- Convertible hiking pants. Eddie Bower First Assent as well as Kuhl pants work well and are reasonably priced.
- Wicking shirts and underwear. We reccomend Champion gear because its inexpensive and still preforms well
- Smart Wool socks. These things are amazing. They wick, cushion and keep warm in the snow. If you have sore feet from trekking you might consider thicker socks, and these smart wool ones are durable and thick.
- Face mask
- Fins
- Snorkle
- Booties
- Underwater camera – Camera is a little out dated but it works great. Nikon J2 with underwater housing and Sea to Sea DS-Y2 flash on a tray.
IF YOU ARE SPENDING MONEY WITHOUT GETTING POINTS OF SOME SORT STOP IT RIGHT NOW!
Every purchase you make can help you get to your next trip. Our suggestion is get a travel card that gives you the most points in the area that you spend the most. For instance, some cards give you 2x points for gas station purchases while others give you 3x points for restraunts. Do some reasearch and fingure out which one gives you the most bennifit. If you need some suggestions head over the The Points Guy to find out more about each card and which ones might suit you the best. Here is an excellent article about the different travel cards.
Here are the rewards cards that I use and why:
Carry one credit card when traveling. It should cover all your needs and be widely accepted. Here are a few of the major benefits to the Sapphire Reserve:
- Travel Insurance Built in, as well as rescue insurance
- Primary Auto Insurance
- No exchange fees and 3x points for travel oriented purchases and 1.5x value when redeeming for travel.
- The ability to transfer your points to travel partners such as airlines and hotels.
- $300 travel credit
- Priority Pass lounge access (in airports) for you and your party.
Pairing that card with the Chase Freedom Unlimited card which gives 1.5 points on every purchase makes a lot of since. You can then combine the points from that card with the reserve card to get more benifits from it.
Carry one debit card and very little cash. There are a few major reasons carrying the Charles Schwab Debit Card is the best option:
- No exchange fees (normal exchange counters charge a fee of 1%-5% just to change your money!)
- No ATM fees charged by Schwab
- Reimbursement for ATM fees charged by other ATM owners
- No minimum balance (this means even if my card is stolen I don’t keep much money in there so there isn’t much to steal)
- Ospry Backpack – This thing has been reliable everywhere. Read more about it here.
- Small Backpack. Small enough to count as a personal item on most airlines.
- Jansport – medium sized bag that is extremely rugged with large roller wheels (they don’t make this anymore)
- Eagle Creek land trunk. Very rugged, over sized wheels, dry storage area, big enough for a long excursion (but too big for most trips)
Taking pictures is something is really enjoyable and many people look forward to it. It is like reliving your adventure over and over when you look at them, show them, and share them. When chosing a camera years ago it was about portability, durability, and expandability. A compact camera that would be durable and have the ability change lenses, this ruled out any DSLR cameras. Looking at mirrorless cameras and BINGO. At the time Nikon had just started the mirrorless compact camera market and the Nikon V1 was the camera to have. Since that time other companies have outdone Nikon in this market. Many people use a Sony A6000 which takes amazing pictures.
- Flipflops- Light weight and durable easy to carry. Even just for walking around in hotels/hostiles/ or a b&b
- light weight pants and shirts- light weight articles tend to be smaller and more packable
- Leather belt – they go with everything
- Hiking shoes – these shoes tend to be light weight and pack easier while still providing support on longer days. The pair we reccomend are made by merril, a brand we’ve had a lot of success with. And they barely have any metal in them so TSA is easier.