Figuring out what we needed to buy for this trip definitely involved thinking out every possible “what if?” situation that could come up. It also involved being rational and only buying things we thought we would 100% use, because the less shit in the car, the better. Those two sentiments are somewhat contradicting, because you want to be prepared for anything that could possibly go wrong, but at the same time you want to try and downsize as much as you can.

So, this is what we came up with. So far everything has been essential.

LifeSaver Jerry Can – It is a BPA/BPS free carbon based portable water filter that removes 99.99% of viruses, cysts, & bacterias. It also removes parasites. You can pretty much fill this thing up with river water and drink it within seconds. It’s truly amazing and has saved us SO much money & time. Living on the road and driving/camping through hot climates you end up needing your fair share of water, not only for drinking but for showering, brushing your teeth, washing your hands and doing dishes. It’s great for while we’re camping or driving, but it’s also been insanely useful when we’re unsure of the source of water in parts of Central America. It has definitely helped us avoid stomach problems.

LifeSaver Jerry Can Shower Attachment – We also purchased this shower attachment for the Jerry Can. It’s been very useful when we want to rinse off or when we want to do dishes while camping.

LifeSaver Jerry Can Activated Carbon Filters – We purchased a pack of carbon refills for the Jerry Can, but we honestly won’t need them for years probably as the filters are good for 2500 liters. To put this into perspective for you, the recommended daily intake of water is 8 cups/day/person. 8 cups is equivalent to 2 liters. So, if you had your recommended amount of water per day you’d be good for 1,250 days or around 3.4 years. Since we are two people we most likely won’t need to change the filter for 1.7 years and that’s only if this were to be our main source of water every single day for 1.7 years.

REI Co-op Member 60L Recycled Duffel – We bought two of these. A green one for me and a blue one for Keith. I have a 60L backpacking pack from Gregory that I LOVE and have taken around the world with me, but decided against bringing it since it made more sense packing wise to fit these two duffels in the Suba.

Nemo Forte 20 Sleeping Bag – Keith needed a new sleeping bag so we picked this one up for him. He’s 6’2″, so he needed something that was as long as he is. No complaints so far.

Black Diamond Icon700 Headlamp – We needed a headlamp for camping and in case we ever got stuck outside in the dark with the car. This one is really fucking bright and has a battery pack attached. I love it.