Here's what you need to take backpacking, where to get it from, how to pack it and how to keep size/weight down. Quite frankly, there's so much crap written on what to pack and a lot of scare mongering about taking this or that essential for fear that if left behind it could not be bought abroad. Many packing lists are aimed at mid-range travellers or are featured in travelogues as examples of 'I took this' whether or not it was useful/necessary. Stores that sell equipment, who of course want you to buy as much as possible (how often have you seen items like survival bivvi bag and stoves on their so-called travel packing lists) are also a big part of this problem. Anyone who has travelled before will feel nothing but disdain at short, ambiguous lists in travel mags, guidebooks and charlatan websites. For the record, you will have to think very hard of something not recommended on the list below that could not be bought abroad and normally much cheaper. Mosquito coils for instance appear on many lists: these are almost always available abroad and always at a fraction of the cost compared to Western countries, leaving aside that there are much better ways to tackle mosquitoes. 

This page may look like a very long list (comprehensive is a better word), but is well and truly meant to inspire travelling light; read on for why. You might have read that the happiest traveller will be one who can fit their bag/pack under the seat of a bus or take it as hand luggage on a flight. You may not believe this is possible, especially when first throwing a few things in a bag. However, after learning the hard way with 70-90 litre packs, every subsequent trip you always try to take less and less and still lament having too much. Then at last you manage to get everything (with a few secrets that are shared here) into a 30-40 litre pack that fits neatly under a bus seat or overhead bin and are truly a free and happy traveller who would never ever even consider taking a 'standard' backpack again to a developing country. A small portable backpack really is the difference when it comes to independent travel. The freedom it offers and hassle it removes is worth what you sacrifice in not taking ten times over.