Ruined Adventures
Brenton Cooper
The title says it all...we started a similar discussion on our Facebook page and it was recommended by Lost World Expedition and ADVODNA that we continue the discussion here. Hopefully this thread helps those who are getting ready to hit the road for a while, or at least serves as a reminder the next time we head out overprepared and overloaded.
This thread was started by an Austin Vince quote that I had found in my 2011 Overland Expo notes:
'If you left with nothing, and bought what you needed as you went, you would finish with a definitive kit.' - Austin Vince, of Mondo Enduro
Sound advice indeed. After hearing it again it made me think about all of the unnecessary junk that we thought we'd need on our PanAm adventures, but we sadly ended up throwing away bits in our wake. It's funny, during the planning phase we spent 2/3 of our time playing the 'what if' game and worrying about what could go wrong and end up packing a bunch of unnecessary crap as a result. Just a matter of days after we left home, we got rid of a ridiculous amount of stuff when we reached my brother's house in Washington state. Since then, about every month or two we get rid of even more (more advice from veterans at Overland Expo). We still have unnecessary gear to purge, but it's all in the name of progress.
Vehicle size can be a large factor of course, along with the decision to sleep inside or near your vehicle, but space is a large premium that Shannon and I pay while sleeping inside the vehicle. For us, it's best to think like a backpacker but of course where there is space we will find more gear that we can't bear to live without.
So what do the overland veterans say?
What did you pack that was completely unnecessary?
What did you need instead?
What did you end up throwing or giving away while on the road?
Please try to provide reasoning for why you changed your mind about an item being necessary then unnecessary (and vice versa), along with what you discovered was easy-to-find or completely unavailable along the Pan-Am.
UPDATE: Landcruising Adventure made a great post about Stupidest Things Overlanders Brought On Their Journey. It also mentions some of their favorite items, along with what they should have brought, interviewing several of their campground neighbors in Peru.
If you read all this thread (and Landcruising Adventure's post), you will notice one common theme: all experienced overland travelers have completely different opinions and they often contradict each other. Eventually you will figure out what works best for you and "your mileage may vary".
This thread was started by an Austin Vince quote that I had found in my 2011 Overland Expo notes:
'If you left with nothing, and bought what you needed as you went, you would finish with a definitive kit.' - Austin Vince, of Mondo Enduro
Sound advice indeed. After hearing it again it made me think about all of the unnecessary junk that we thought we'd need on our PanAm adventures, but we sadly ended up throwing away bits in our wake. It's funny, during the planning phase we spent 2/3 of our time playing the 'what if' game and worrying about what could go wrong and end up packing a bunch of unnecessary crap as a result. Just a matter of days after we left home, we got rid of a ridiculous amount of stuff when we reached my brother's house in Washington state. Since then, about every month or two we get rid of even more (more advice from veterans at Overland Expo). We still have unnecessary gear to purge, but it's all in the name of progress.
Vehicle size can be a large factor of course, along with the decision to sleep inside or near your vehicle, but space is a large premium that Shannon and I pay while sleeping inside the vehicle. For us, it's best to think like a backpacker but of course where there is space we will find more gear that we can't bear to live without.
So what do the overland veterans say?
What did you pack that was completely unnecessary?
What did you need instead?
What did you end up throwing or giving away while on the road?
Please try to provide reasoning for why you changed your mind about an item being necessary then unnecessary (and vice versa), along with what you discovered was easy-to-find or completely unavailable along the Pan-Am.
UPDATE: Landcruising Adventure made a great post about Stupidest Things Overlanders Brought On Their Journey. It also mentions some of their favorite items, along with what they should have brought, interviewing several of their campground neighbors in Peru.
If you read all this thread (and Landcruising Adventure's post), you will notice one common theme: all experienced overland travelers have completely different opinions and they often contradict each other. Eventually you will figure out what works best for you and "your mileage may vary".
Last edited: