Hi all

I'd like some advice on traveling gear.
I'm going on a trip around the world and will most likely experience all kinds of weather and temperatures. I really don't know anything about backpacking, but i've wanted to go for a long time. I'd like to go as light as possible, obviously, but still be able to have all i need for the trip.

What kind of tent, sleeping bag, clothes and boots would i need to be able to withstand -30 to +40 degrees Celsius (-22 to 104 Fahrenheit), snow, rain, wind, sand and mud. The bag needs to be strong enough to handle bus trips and go to the luggage in planes.
I will probably be away for 1½ year so everything should also have some durability for that duration.

So far i've been looking at these things:
Backpack – GoLite Jam
Tent – MSR Hubba Hubba
Sleeping Bag – Mountain Equipment Xero 350

But i don't know if it is warm and strong enough.

When it comes to clothes i don't really know what would be good choices.
I have some thick long underwear which is quite good for when it's really cold. So i imagine it will do, although it isn't exactly lightweight. If i add an outer layer. 3 solid layers should be enough to keep warm in -30c/-22f i suspect?
And then an ultralight wind and rain resistant layer for when its still too warm for winter pants.

If i could get some pants with zippers to convert to shorts i figure i would be well covered.

So i would use:
Pants/shorts and t-shirt for normal travel.
Add long underwear when it gets too cold.
Add ultralight wind and rain resistant layer when windy, cold and rainy. (Perhaps CAMP Magic jacket and pants?)
Add some kind of warm outer layer for when it's freezing.

What kind of foot gear would be good all round?
Traveling foot gear – Inov-8 Roclite 400 GTX?
Traveling sandals – ?
Winter boots – Western Mountaineering Expedition Bootie GWS?


Any advice and suggestions is much appreciated.

this is a really good site

http://trektogether.blogspot.com/

he has written some really good articles for this site with gear lists and photos,but you must be a member to read those

http://trektogether.blogspot.com/p/publications.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/global_test_main_page.html

Thank you, i will check it out.

I think a Golite Jam is too small for the cold extreme. My -20F down sleeping bag won't fit into mine with any space left for other gear and clothes.

You could make a sturdy pack cover or bring a duffel bag for carrying your pack on planes, trains and buses. Hippy tourists in Peru used to use burlap potato sacks with cutours for the pack straps. A very plain cheap looking cover also helps with theft.

Your best bet is to narrow down the range of conditions or come up with a strategy for managing the cold weather extreme. It should be easy in most parts of the world to buy hot weather clothing unless you're a lot larger than the local people.

Ben did a world trip and can give some advice I'm sure.

You might approach it like thru-hikers do and have stuff sent to you at strategic locations, rather than try to take it all in one load, or buy it as you go. I would have a core kit that includes basic clothing and accessories like gloves, hat, hygiene, cook kit, water purification and the like, with sleeping bag and shelter that will cover the "3-season" parts of the trip and add the big heavy stuff only when needed. A lot of pack designs will compress to smaller capacity, so you can have the pack part squared away.

Sounds like a great opportunity!