I’ve just completed a 4-month onebag trip in Latin America (Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize) from August to December, covering a wide range of climates.
This post is not a bag request. The purpose is to share my real-world packing list, what worked / didn’t work, and get feedback on what to cut, replace, or optimize for an upcoming 6-month trip to Southeast & East Asia (hot, humid, monsoon conditions).
Travel style included:
Large cities, beaches, lots of hiking and nature, frequent weather changes
Bags Cotopaxi Allpa 42L and Deuter Lite 25L (day hikes + personal item)
Clothing
Patagonia Micro Puff Patagonia R1 Patagonia 3L rain jacket
2× waffle shirts (not necessary in hindsight) Patagonia Dry Cool / Capilene shirt 3× sports T-shirts 2× merino T-shirts 2× cotton T-shirts (bought one during the trip) tank top (bought during the trip) 2× button-up shirts (1 “nice”, 1 Columbia hiking)
1× swim & dive shorts 1× everyday / hiking shorts 2× everyday / hiking zip-off pants 1× linen pants (bought during the trip)
10× underwear 4× merino socks
Teva sandals Salomon shoes (hiking + everyday) Havaianas (bought during the trip)
Micro towel Hat Gloves Buff Cap Inflatable neck pillow (replaced a bulky one) Travel fork & spoon LifeStraw 700 ml insulated bottle Basic meds Toiletries incl. OneBlade shaver
Lessons learned Some redundancy in tops (waffle shirts, too many T-shirts)
Buying clothes on the road worked well
Layers were useful in LATAM but may be overkill for SEA
Feedback I’m looking for
What would you cut or swap for Southeast / East Asia?
Any clothing or systems that work especially well in hot, humid, monsoon climates
Thanks — this sub has been a huge help.
I travelled 2 1/2 month throug South America (Galapagos, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Rio) August to Oct. and then crossed to SEA from Oct-Dez. (Bangkok, China, Southkorea, Taiwan, Phillipines). Nature and big cities. I needed some layers in South America/ Peru at night, but def. not in SEA. China and Southkorea were a bit more chilly at night in autumn. Then went to Taiwan and Phillipines and all i needed: Boardshorts, Flip Flops, 2 Tshirts lol If you go to hot areas, you won‘t need a hoodie or layers. I used the osprey 40litres, left half of the stuff in Latam, and at the end in SEA I didn‘t even need half of the other stuff… male 30 yo, with my partner
oh and bring a small umbrella/ rain jacket. That helped in Taiwan and Philippines during typhoon/rain seasons! Bought one in Taiwan and needed it a lot of times, so i even brought it home.
Thanks, nice information!
But do not buy a small umbrella / rain jacket, if you do not have them. Buy them when you get there.
I’m finishing up a 10 week SEA trip, I’d recommend a 5L dry bag (I have a sea to summit one, i remove the strap from my sling and throw it on there when I’m having a beach/water heavy day). It’s been heavily used for boat tours and beach trips and also just for packing up a swimsuit or clothes that haven’t dried out yet. Weighs little and rolls up well.
I’ve also used my nanobag sling numerous times, it’s great for impromptu grocery shopping and lve also used it as a beach/pool bag. Weighs nothing, tiny, dries fast and doesn’t collect sand.
Clothing wise, depending how sensitive you are to sun burn, it’s easier, cheaper and more effective to have a long sleeve linen shirt than constantly slather on sunscreen. In the Philippines I watched many folk diligently reapply sunbloc during boat tours and still get sun burned. The long sleeves also help with bug bites on beaches when you’re out of the water and grabbing a drink or bite at the beach side bar.
Thanks. Forgot to mention we brought a 1,5L, which was helpful at beaches or boat tours. But a bigger one would be nice!
Hope you have had a nice trip!
It’s been great! The only bad surprise has been the nik niks on some of the beaches that seem impervious to DEET. I look like I have chicken pox haha.
Seconding the long sleeve linen, as one who gets sun burn from a desk lamp and has travelled SEA 3x now. So key. Perfect for boats, occasional layering etc.
Good LATAM setup, thank you for sharing.
I recommend preparing your SEA packlist, and bag(s), 'from scratch', rather than as an incremental change from your LATAM setup.
And your SEA setup should factor in the relevant airline cabin baggage allowances, which may be small in terms of both capacity (eg 24L) and weight (eg 7kg). Good luck.
Additional context:
I’m not looking for bag recommendations. This post is meant to share my real-world packing list after 4 months of travel in LATAM and to get feedback on what to cut or change for an upcoming 6-month trip in Southeast & East Asia (hot, humid, monsoon conditions).
I guess the one thing I’d say is unless you are tall or large, or unless you are in the jungle most of the time, don’t bother trying to pack everything you need. Large sizes are hard to find in SE Asia but you can find pretty much else for cheap.
I find merino does better than synthetics. You won’t need a jacket unless you are at elevation—a vest and a sweater will be a lot more flexible. I’m mixed on the rain jacket. It’s usually too humid for me to put it on.
I was in Thailand in October 2025 and normally wear a 28-30/4 in pants in the US and I had to grab underwear. The only size that fit me at the mall was their largest size granny underwear of 3XL
are you going to share what worked and what didn't??
All went great, would bring a little less t-shirts/shirts but other than that I’ve used everything with joy
not very insightful but ok
Following. Planning a 3-4 month in South America (Peru, Chile, Colombia and equador from feb through early may) wondering if it’s practical to plan with one bag
For flights a smaller bag is nice. But we was on a lot of busses so 40L or 60L doesn’t really matter. However. I feel like our 42L had all the space we needed - and not to heavy when walking or between transportation
Uniqlo in vietnam kicks ass. It's surprisingly, not that much cheaper than the US, but the cuts are slimmer. The Airism mesh is basically the only undershirt I can wear in SEA.
OP is happy, but no you don’t need sooo many shirts, shorts, socks, turkish hand towel works much better than microfiber. Many people lug around way more than this, so this is quite lite!
Generally speaking, it is easy to buy things in Asia, so if you aren't sure about something it is safer to err on the side of not bringing it.
BTW, how useful was the Lifestraw bottle for LATAM? I am the type that always buys bottle water, but your post has me a bit curious.
Hmm well, it’s surely has been useful. My girlfriend don’t “trust” water dispensers and other clean water sources. So we used it a lot - and for hiking it’s nice. But you “can’t” use it for tap water - so the use is a little limited. But we liked it and will continue to bring it with us
10 pairs of underwear? Good lord, I only bring 3. It take 30 seconds to hand wash and line dries in 3-4 hours. Could fit a pair of jeans or 2 shirts or something else with the space the other 7 pairs take up.
Agree, might be a lot - but we like the freedom of not having to wash every other day
I currently have a 48l kestrel backpack but I’m considering getting a 25l daypack as well for extra space. How did you manage carrying 2 packs?
No problem at all, tbh
I would cut a few of the shirts. Wash more frequently and get some space back.
Quick question - 4 socks?? Were you washing socks every 4 days and then underwear 10 or?
I’m someone who sometimes needs 2 pairs per day on a heavy steps day so not having at least as many socks as underwear seems bizarre to me
Using sandals quite a lot also, so no need for more socks. Also, they are merino, so I can get more than 1 wear out of them
Ah gotcha. I find myself doing 20k steps as a minimum everyday when I am away so trainers are a must
I’ve got merino socks but more than one wear is not happening hahaha.