Camping Gear

Whenever I travel, I have a reputation for bringing an abundance of gear. Can't apologize for it, I'd just rather be safe than sorry. However, I have to think carefully about gear to bring on the upcoming eight day sea kayak trip due to strict limitation of space. There is no support boat, so food, tents, water and everyone's gear are stowed in the kayaks. I must get all my gear in a 20"x12" duffel, including some gear for snorkeling.

Even with the space limitations, I don't want to be too separated from technology gear, so I am bringing a small folding 7 watt solar charger for power - folded, it is only about 9"x6". It can charge equipment directly and it will also charge a AA battery pack to store power. The batteries then can charge camera and Android phone (for blog posts, I hope). The battery pack can also be used with a small plug-in 1.5 watt light for about fours of reading or whatnot. The cables and connectors transfer photos from camera to phone. The solar panel, battery charger and light are all made by Goal Zero, one of my favorite travel gear companies. The camera is an Olympus TG-1 which will be all purpose, including being waterproof for snorkeling. It is full of features, with video and GPS tracking, and is only hampered by a limited 4X zoom. I recently took it Hawaii as my only camera and I liked it a lot.

This might seem like a lot of stuff, but if you know what I normally travel with, this is bare bones indeed.