Four recommendations

[DowtyCamino]

I'm reviewing my packing list from 2014 Camino (in prep for 2017) and I thought I'd add some thoughts and four recommendations for the newbies out there. Of my list, I used almost everything. But the bolded items below were never used.

When I originally posted this in 2014, some folks asked about First Aid. It should definitely be included, but my wife carried the First Aid while I carried the Camera (my one luxury). Our first aid included 1 prescription medication, compeed (just enough for a few days since it is available all along the CF), Vitamin I (ibuprofen), a small tube of Vaseline, and 2 regular bandaids. Some of the other items in my pack were multifunction first-aide items (tie wraps, silk sheet, plastic ziploc bags), for larger injuries that we were fortunate to have never needed.

Someone also mentioned water - I had estimated 2L of water as a worst case. I only carried that much water a day or two. Most of the time 1L was sufficient. I just bought one bottle of water and refilled it all along the Way.
Not on the list were safety pins. I had several pinned to my pack and just forgot to itemize them. I did however bring small/med sized ones. When I go in 2017 I'll bring bigger ones.
The sleeping liner was perfect for 95% of the trip. The first few days (we started in SJPP in late May 2014) I was surprised how cool it was at night. I had to wear my fleece to bed to be comfortable. However for the 5% of days that was required I wouldn't bring a sleeping bag if I returned the same season (May 24 - July1)

Four recommendations:
1)Unless you prefer the Hydrapak's don't bother bringing a fancy waterbottle. They are typically heavy and buying and reusing a bottle of water is much lighter and works just as well.
2)We got a lot of use out of our mesh bag. It was an odd purchase because I was looking for the absolute lightest option for an already light object. I found that "Chum Bags" typically used in fishing were the lightest thing on the market and very very durable and of course washable. We both used our mesh bags - one to carry food (typically picnic lunch supplies and for use at the supermercado) and one for general use (drying clothes, dirty laundry, etc.).
3)The merino wool underwear didn't hold up under the scrub sinks and I replaced them with synthetic ones along the way. They weren't new when we left for Spain however so perhaps a new pair would have survived. I find the wool more comfortable but will probably go synthetic for 2017.
4) The sheet of silk as a pillowcase was superb. It was practically weightless. My wife was even more clever and used a silk sarong as a pillowcase and after-shower wrap.

By the way, item 11 below was very helpful to other pilgrims. It got borrowed quite a lot. Several pilgrims had either forgotten them or left them at an albergue along the way. Having a multiport USB outlet allowed a few others to charge up on my outlet simultaneously. For 2017 I'm considering leaving all electronics behind....but I doubt I will. I've lived off of my pictures and videos from 2104 and can't imagine not having those images to assuage the years between Caminos.

1. Deuter - 50L ACT-Lite Backpack
2. Clothesline
3. Toilet paper
4. Sleeping Liner (instead of a sleeping bag)
5. Sheet of silk (multi purpose) - pillowcase
6. 4 Clothes pins
7. Disc of rubber (sink stopper)
8. Microfiber towel - cut down in size
   
9. Pack cover
10. Camera Battery Charger
11. Duel USB outlet converter
12. iPhone5
13. Spare Battery phone/camera
14. iPhone charger cord
15. Spare Batter charge cord
16. Sony RX100ii Camera
17. 3 Half Gallon Zip Lock baggies
18. 4 Quart Zip Lock baggies
19. 2 Mini Bungee cords
20. DryLok Bag
21. 2 Rubber Bands
22. Passport
23. Credit Card
24. Debit Card
25. Microfiber Lens cleaner
26. Sandals
27. Merrell hiking boots
28. 1sq yd bubble wrap
29. Flashlight
30. Marmot Rainjacket
31. 2 pair quickdry shorts
32. 4 pair wool socks
33. 2 pair merino wool underwear
34. 1 Trekking pole
35. 2 Quickdry short sleeve shirts and 1 long sleeve shirt
36. Tilley Hat
37. Microfiber cloth
38. Toiletries (Toothbrush, toothpaste, antiperspirant, medicine)
39. Sunblock
40. MiniTripod
41. Pocketknife
42. S-hook
43. Spork
44. 4 Tiewraps and a strip of Velcro
45. Zip-off legs for shorts
46. Fleece jacket
47. Write-in-the rain journal w/Camino Credential inside
48. Mesh multipurpose bag for laundry, groceries, etc.

Total weight was 17.2lbs (7.8kg)
Add 2L of H2O (4lbs/2kg) and remove the min possible that I wore at any one time and you get the max I had on my back at any one time = 18.3lbs (8.29kg)

 

[Dren]

So would you recommend taking a sleeping bag or just a silk liner instead?

 

[Nanc]

what was the thought on the use of bubble wrap?

 

[DowtyCamino]

So would you recommend taking a sleeping bag or just a silk liner instead?

Dren, It really depends upon the time of year you are going. The liner was perfect for our trip. The few days I was cold, I just wore my fleece jacket to bed.

 

[DowtyCamino]

what was the thought on the use of bubble wrap?

Nanc, I'd read somewhere it was a great multipurpose item. You could use it to sit on if it was wet, you could stuff it in between your layers for extra warmth, you could use it to instead of shower shoes, mattress pad, emergency rain shield, packing padding for anything shipped home and for all sorts of First Aid purposes. Someone commented back in 2014 that you could also use it to annoy everyone as you were packing your bag at 6am at the albergue.
I kept it three days and then dumped it. It really added no weight, but it did take up space and did indeed make a lot of noise in the mornings.

 

[Nanc]

You missed another purpose. There was actually a study indicating that popping the bubbles was a de-stressor. Really!

 

[DowtyCamino]

You missed another purpose. There was actually a study indicating that popping the bubbles was a de-stressor. Really!

Bonus! But the whole Camino was a 4w de-stressor, so popping bubbles was not necessary!