/// Faris Mektem

Indefinite Backpack Travel

I'm partially using this page to evaluate every piece of equipment I have, and to really try to justify to myself if I really need, and really use that stuff. This has already helped me a lot to trim down some of the stuff on this list.

WIP

Packs

• 3F UL Gear Qidian Pro. I was honeslt quite worried that this was going to be too big for me before it arrived, but it turn out once correctly adjusted it fits fine. I have never used a proper framed pack but this pack is the most comfortable pack i've used.
• Patagonia Blackhole 1L. I keep most of my frequently accessed or vital equipment in a hip pack that I always take with me.
  • Clipper Lighter. I don't smoke, but a the ability to create fire is a very important thing to be able to do as a human!
  • Kaweco Sport Fountain Pen. With a converter and Noodler's Polar Blue Ink. Fountain pens are great as they can be reused by just filling it up with ink and the writing experience is unmatched, especially compared to a ballpoint.
  • A7 Rhodia Notepad. Very good quality paper, works very well with my fountain pen, no feathering, no bleeding.
  • Hankerchief. Changed out my paper tissues for a hankerchief instead it's reusuable, rewashable and it's more durable and will have more uses than a pack of tissues before It would need washing
  • Microfibre Cloth. Use this mainly for cleaning my glasses. Also comes in useful for cleaning the lenses on my iPhone before I take any pictures.
  • AirTag. I keep an AirTag in only my Hip pack at the moment, because I feel like i'm more likely to lose the Hip pack than a backpack, and it has my most important things. I should probably keep one in my main pack aswell though.
  • Lip Balm. Homemade lip balm using beeswax, coconut oil and sunflower oil, 33% of each and kept in an old 20g vaseline tin.
  • Titanium Toothpick. It's a reusable toothpick! But also useful as a general poking and proding tool. e.g. can be used to open phone sim card slot
  • Hand Sanitizer.
  • Plasters.
  • Anti-Diarrea Medicine.
  • Ibuprofen.
  • Titanium Tweezers.
  • Victorinox Nail Clippers.

Tech

• M2 Macbook Air. The best laptop ever made. Insane battery life, perfect screen, good hardware, no heat (and no fans). I really couldn't ask for more.
• iPhone 12 Pro Max. Amazing phone with an amazing camera. Have no reason to upgrade right now.
• Soundcore P2i. Sound quality is really quite good but the so called "noise cancellation" leaves a lot to be desired. Will upgrade to Airpods once they die.
• Anker Powercore 533. 10000mah. Mostly upgraded to this because it has 30W output and it's a small size and weight. For reference I used to have a larger 20000mah.

Chargers

• Anker 30W. Very compact and light weight compared to some of the other anker models, with still plenty of juice for charging my laptop.
• USB-C Cable. 2 of these. What can I say, USB-C is the best.
• Lightning Cable. Only thing I use this for is my phone. Want to get rid of it and upgrade to an iPhone 15 but doing it just for losing a cable is not good enough reason for me yet.
• USB-C to Micro-B adapter. I use this for converting my USB-C input power to Micro-B to use for charging my trimmer.
• IKEA phone stand. Not exactly tech, but it comes in very handy to use on my phone to be able to watch things while I am traveling.

Clothing

• Patagonia Torrenshell 3L. The best rain jacket i've ever had. Comes in at a decent price and seems very durable. For the rains we have in the UK it's very useful, and when wearing it I barely even feel the rain. Has a life time warranty too!
• Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket. Probably going to replace this with the Decathlon offering at some point, the cut is a little too low for my tastes. But nevertheless it is a great Jacket and keeps me toasty warm in the cold and not dying of sweat in more mild weather.
• Decathlon Travel 500 Merino Shirts. Four pairs. Affordable and very comfortable. They come in a range of different colors but they seem to only have a couple in stock at a time.
• Decathlon 500 Joggers. Very comfortable pair of joggers. Moved away from jeans to joggers recently because jeans get really nasty in the rain and they're not the most comfortable either. Once these joggers break or tear I'm likely going to switch to Lululemon ABC Pants or Western Rise AT Pants.
• Underarmor Running shorts. You can't go wrong with a pair of shorts. Usually use these for sleeping along with one of my shirts or in conditions where it's simply way too hot to wear trousers
• Uniqlo HEATTECH Thermal Trousers. Very nice for colder conditions.
• Decathlon MT500 Merino Boxers. Recently switches from the Uniqlo Airism boxers, and they are markedly better. I found that the Airism boxers had a cut that was too short and it would always rise up during walks and in my sleep. The MT500s thankfully have quite a long cut that makes them much more comfortable and fixes the aforementioned issues. That, along with the benefits that come with merino!
• Darn Tough Socks. Three pairs. Two Micro Crew and one Ankle. Very durable socks that will never smell and probably never get any holes. A good pair of socks is one of the most important pieces of clothing to me. I get cold feet very easily, partially due to their tendency to sweat all the time, back when I wore cotton socks they would constantly be soaking wet at the end of the day, and if it was cold my feet would suffer. These socks have fixed all these problems!
• New Balance Hierro v7. In a lovely beige color. These are honestly the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn, they give my walk a certain "bounce" that just makes walking effortless. Also very easy to clean by just throwing in the washer, and just generally very durable, I have been wearing them for a few months now and there is zero wear on the soles yet.
• Merino Buff. I love my buff, but I mostly reserve it for the coldest of conditions. I have a large head, but i've found that it's a little too tight for my liking to use for something like a beanie or face mask replacment.
• Uniqlo Beanie. Very comfy beanie. Not much more to say.

Misc.

• Card Holder. Custom made card holder that is simply just a single velcro cable tie. Can't get much more ultralight than this and it holds my cards quite securely.
• Cash Wallet. A lovely small leather wallet handmade by my wife. I don't like not being able to hold cash (like coins) but I also hate bulky wallets, so having the cards and cash seperate is the best solution in my eyes.
• Naturehike Microfibre. Not the softest or most comfortable towel to use, but it sure is compact. This naturehike one does seem to hold a lot of water and takes forever to dry out, I'm not sure if this is just the nature of these kind of towels but I for sure need to replace it with something like a Matador instead,
• Toiletries.
  • Bamboo toothbrush.
  • Generic toothpaste. Usually Colgate.
  • Generic floss.
  • Lord L6 Safety Razor With Blades.
  • Mineral Salt Crystal Deodorant.
  • Neutrogena Sunscreen.
  • 60ML Dr. Bronners Soap.
  • Bamboo Comb.
  • CucoClean Portable Bidet.
• Smidge Midge and Mosquito Net. I've had really bad experiences of getting mosquito bites all over my face while sleeping (and getting a terrible night's sleep because of all the biting), so I keep a net now to try to avoid this in the future.
• First Aid Kit. Kept in a bright red 1L drybag.
  • Alcohol Clensing Wipes.
  • Burn Gel.
  • Survival Blanket.
  • Q tips.
  • Oblas stick.
  • Finger dressing.
  • edical Tape.M
  • Medical Gloves.
  • Sudocrem.
  • Multi-vitamins.
  • Caffiene.
  • Vitamin D.
  • Antihistamine.
  • Paracetamol.

Hiking Gear

• 3F Ul Gear Lanshan 2 Pro. An excellent and surprisingly well built ultralight tent. While it is unfortnate that you have to seem-seal it yourself, I think it's still worth it for the price savings achieved.
• Paria Outdoors 15F Quilt. Went with a quilt for a few reasons, one is familarity, another is that if you use a higher temperature rating then it's not too much of a problem since you can open some ventilation gaps in them. Overall, is a very very warm quilt and seems comfy enough. It's an amazing value and I'd definetly recommend it. It's one of those hidden gem items, I haven't seen it talked about too much.
• Thermarest Ridgerest Classic. While it may not be as comfortable or as compact as an inflatable, it does make up for that in it's indestructability and utility. I use this matt in a more unconvential way than most, I use it as a frame in my backpack to give my frameless pack a frame. And hey, it also has a bunch of other useful ways you can use it, like as a yoga mat or a sitpad.
• Thermarest Compressible Pillow. While some go without a pillow, I simply can't, even with an inflatable one it's not easy for me, so even though it may be a bit heavier than I would like, I opt to take this very comfortable pillow.
• Sawyer Squeeze. Used with my water bottle and a CNOC bottle to filter water on hikes or in places where the tap water is more dodgy.
• 2L CNOC Water container. Used as a dirty water collection container.
• 1L ACTIPH Water bottle. While in the states they use a smart water bottle, here in the UK it's not really possible to find with the right sized thread. The thread is really important since this is what is used with the Sawyer squeeze to allow for a sealed gravity-fed water filtering system. These bottles are great though, they're exrtemely durable.
• Opinel No. 6. If I'm only travelling domestically or if the country permits it I'll bring a knife. More uses than I can count, I believe a knife is one of the most basic yet most essential of human tools.
• Generic Titanium Trowel. Leave no trace!
• Cooking kit.
  • BRS-3000T Stove.
  • Sea To Summit Titanium Spork.
  • 100g Fuel Canister.
• Cascade Mountain Tech Trekking Poles.
• Navigation.
  • Compass.
  • Local OS Map.

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