Your 3 Essentials and your 3 Useless Burdens

[Geodoc]

My essentials changed almost daily, but the three that stuck out:

1. My convertible tablet. It allowed me the opportunity to continue working while I completed my Caminos.
2. My increased knowledge and conversational abilities in Spanish. I could order food, make reservations at albergues, talk to the doctor in Estella about my reaction to bedbug bites, and carry on conversations with locals and Spanish speaking peregrinos
3. The last one is a toss up between my Pacer Poles, merino wool t-shirts, and my scrubba. All served me well.

The burden? Well, two of them I left at the cruz de ferro. The third one was my tablet, requiring I work when I would rather have spent time reading, relaxing, exploring, or time with other peregrinos.

 

[VNwalking]

Oh, yes...language. Good one. I never thought of that! It's an essential that weighs nothing and takes up no space.

My convertible tablet. It allowed me the opportunity to continue working while I completed my Caminos.

The burden? Well, [...] the third one was my tablet, requiring I work when I would rather have spent time reading, relaxing, exploring, or time with other peregrinos.

Thank you for the honesty of that. It's funny, in a way. But at the time it would definitely have been a drag.

And...what's a scrubba??

 

[Former member 35551]

And...what's a scrubba??

A heavy plastic bag with knobs on the inside, specifically for washing clothes. Australian, I believe.
Yes, I have one. Carried it for exactly one day on my first camino. Never used it.

 

[trecile]

A heavy plastic bag with knobs on the inside, specifically for washing clothes. Australian, I believe.
Yes, I have one. Carried it for exactly one day on my first camino. Never used it.

Instead of a Scrubba, which I thought was too heavy and expensive, I use a regular dry bag to wash my clothes in. Mine is a 12 liter Osprey and weighs 1.2 ounces. As I'm getting in the shower I put my clothes, a half of a laundry detergent sheet and some warm water to the dry bag, and let everything soak. After my shower I shake the bag around to agitate it, then dump it out in the laundry sink and rinse. My clothes come out cleaner with less effort than when I just hand washed them in the laundry sink.

 

[VNwalking]

Never used it.

Well, that's a good illustration of camino relativity. One person's essential is another's burden.
And the wonderful thing is that no-one's fighting about it.

 

[Former member 35551]

Instead of a Scrubba, which I thought was too heavy and expensive, I use a regular dry bag to wash my clothes in. Mine is a 12 liter Osprey and weighs 1.2 ounces. As I'm getting in the shower I put my clothes, a half of a laundry detergent sheet and some warm water to the dry bag, and let everything soak. After my shower I shake the bag around to agitate it, then dump it out in the laundry sink and rinse. My clothes come out cleaner with less effort than when I just hand washed them in the laundry sink.

I think this is a great idea. I absolutely hate hand washing and take extra clothes so I don't have to do so. But I'm going try your approach next year. Very few washer/dryers on one of the caminos I'm doing.

 

[trecile]

I think this is a great idea. I absolutely hate hand washing and take extra clothes so I don't have to do so. But I'm going try your approach next year. Very few washer/dryers on one of the caminos I'm doing.

These are the laundry detergent strips that I use. One is supposed to be enough for a whole washing machine load. I use half of a strip for my washing. They don't make a lot of suds, so they rinse put easily. I keep my sleep gear in the dry bag, so it has a dual purpose.
Which Camino are you planning to do?

 

[Former member 59618]

Essentials:
-battery bank! Invaluable. Didn’t have to rely on finding an outlet to charge my phone.
-phone pouch that clipped on one of my backpack front straps, easy access when I needed to take photos or l look at a map.
-Dr. Bronners bar soap. Multi-purpose soap for body and washing clothes (in fact excellent for washing clothes). I was very sad when I accidentally left it behind in an albergue.

Burdens:
-welp, I wish I had switched out my sleeping bag for a silk liner. Every place I stayed had blankets.
-didn’t need to bring a whole load of first aid crap. Farmacias are plentiful.
-I had a rain jacket that particularly sucked. Wish I left it behind because my poncho was sufficient.

 

[GlendaMac]

These are the laundry detergent strips that I use. One is supposed to be enough for a whole washing machine load. I use half of a strip for my washing. They don't make a lot of suds, so they rinse put easily. I keep my sleep gear in the dry bag, so it has a dual purpose.
Which Camino are you planning to do?

Hi trecile
That link for laundry strips goes to moulded earplugs.... can you have another try as I’m interested in these. Thanks, Glenda

 

[lovingkindness]

...my comment here began to weigh on my mind, so I've deleted it….piffff!

Hope you don't mind, @VNwalking

 

[Former member 35551]

These are the laundry detergent strips that I use. One is supposed to be enough for a whole washing machine load. I use half of a strip for my washing. They don't make a lot of suds, so they rinse put easily. I keep my sleep gear in the dry bag, so it has a dual purpose.
Which Camino are you planning to do?

The link went to ear plugs. Is this what you meant detergent strips?

VdlP and Latvia/Lithuania.

 

[trecile]

Hi trecile
That link for laundry strips goes to moulded earplugs.... can you have another try as I’m interested in these. Thanks, Glenda

How strange. I've fixed it in my post, and here's the correct link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075JMVPQ3/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[trecile]

The link went to ear plugs. Is this what you meant detergent strips?

VdlP and Latvia/Lithuania.

I fixed the link in my post. Those are similar, but a different brand. I'm sure that they would work fine too.

 

[Former member 60103]

Essentials.
1 a and b. Plastic mug and Spork. Light weight and as long as you have a microwave you can cook in it plus heat up water.
2. 2 litre hydration bladder. Sceptical at first but proved it's worth. Drink on the go. Good carrying capacity and weight is close to your back. Water is protected from sun so tends to stay cooler for longer. No leaks either.
3. Vango trekking ruck sack weighing in at around 1.3 K for 50 lt model.
4. because I want to buck the trend ! Mobile phone with OSM mapping,GPS and downloaded books.
Non essentials. Now none - if it has not been used it does not get packed so my kit now is as light and as limited as possible for me to get it and still be comfortable.
Don.

 

[VNwalking]

Non essentials. Now none

Ah, but burdens are not quite the same thing as non-essentials, right?
@lovingkindness just caused the penny to drop.
Sometimes things that we carry, and use, are actually burdens.
Such as @Geodoc's computer...

 

[Former member 60103]

Ah, but burdens are not quite the same thing as non-essentials, right?
just caused the penny to drop.
Sometimes things that we carry, and use, are actually burdens.
Such as computer...

Yep I get that but if we are going full on metaphysical I would say the weight on my back is the same at the end of my camino as it was at the start. But the weight on my mind is considerably less. On a more grounded level as the old quote goes anyone can be uncomfortable, getting lost is uncomfortable and on more than a few occasions that computer has got me out of a jam, allowed me to read Thoreau, book somewhere to sleep and unbelievably talk to my partner because sometimes she misses me.
Don.

 

[Geodoc]

And...what's a scrubba??

Others have already answered that, but I was a little wrong posting that - I actually used it's smaller, lighter version, the Allurette (https://thescrubba.com/collections/all/products/allurette-washer), which is also more suitable for merino wool and other delicates. I figured somebody would know the Scrubba

 

[Nana6]

Hi trecile
That link for laundry strips goes to moulded earplugs.... can you have another try as I’m interested in these. Thanks, Glenda

The link took me to soap

 

[trecile]

The link took me to soap

I changed the link after I was alertedyto it.

 

[David Tallan]

Essentials for me were:
1. Hiking poles. I started in 2016 without them and wouldn't have finished if I hadn't acquired them.
2. My hat (Tilley LTM8 AirFlo Mesh)
3. My credencial

Useless burdens (on my 2016 Camino - 2018 I knew better)
1. The Scrubba
2. My rain gear (never needed it, though it was probably smart to bring it)
3. The Baubax travel hoodie I brought for when it got colder. Hardly ever needed it and should have brought something much less heavy for the same purpose.