As I highlighted in this post here, I am going on a Trek America trek in 30 days now, OMG. And whilst i’m going to share ALL the tips afterwards I thought I would also share a few posts before I go of what I plan to take etc, then when I return I can do a post about what I actually think are essentials, what I would do differently etc! SO here goes, today’s post is about luggage and bags etc.
Now I quite heavily researched into the whole backpack vs suitcase luggage sitch and nearly every person who’s been on a Trek America trek has said SUITCASE/holdall. Mainly because a) you don’t actually lug your case around with you all day everyday (that I am aware of) and b) in a tent, trying to find what you actually need in one of those backpacks is a mare, you bet the thing you really need is right at the bottom of your lovely folded clothes and items etc. So because of this I decided to buy myself a squishy Roxy wheeled suitcase that has a handle on the front, wheels, and opens in half so you have 2 compartments. Now I opted for the In The Clouds Wheeled Suitcase because it was on sale for a great price, and the next size up, the long haul, just looked a little too big. Now the case I went for is a 76L, 26”Hx 15”Wx 11.8D case which seemed like a great size as it ensures I don’t overpack, as I might if I had the long haul version, and at the end of the day i’m skint and it was on sale for £57.50, down from £115 AND I found a 10% off sale code (VIPSALE) which brought it down to just £51.75. I then also thought I would need a day backpack for my water, layers, camera, phone etc, so I went for the (yes matching..) Sugar Baby backpack for about £11! I also can’t praise the Roxy customer service team ENOUGH. They use DPD to deliver items, and apparently they had been having a few issues with them, and I emailed the team to say my delivery had now been 7 days and not arrived and they gave me ANOTHER 10% off of my total order. So my suitcase and backpack were bargains of the year.
Aside from my main luggage and hand luggage, I also will be taking my grey Zip Around Flap Across Body Bag from Accessorize that I am obsessed with! It is such a handy size, super secure and the fact that the straps detach off to turn it into an easy clutch, is SO GOOD. I think a cross body or satchel bag will be super handy for mooching about towns, on nights out, meals etc, where I don’t need my backpack to store lots of bits and bobs. Now as soon as my main Roxy case arrived, I was a woman gone mad and basically packed asap (lol). These aren’t bags as such, but storage bags, so sorta similar! I picked up some cute mesh organiser things from Kiko in the sale a while back, and i’m using these to store medicines and the other for my electricals and gadgets etc. I then also rediscovered a Victoria Green hanging washbag organiser which has been PERFECT for organising my toiletries and makeup. I had actually read online that these hanging bags are super handy for showering on trek as you don’t really want to put anything on the floor, so I was chuffed to remember I had this buried away!
Now i’m an organisational freak and within 24 hours of deciding I was going on a trek, had written a full ‘what to pack list’, and i’m going to share the rest of what I plan to pack in another post soon.
If you have any tips, please let me know!
Sophie xx