patagonia storm front sling bag Atom 8L The Patagonia Atom Sling 8L is a great choice for travel or everyday use and has all of the comforts of a backpack combined with the convenience of a shoulder bag Patagonia Atom Sling Bag 8L

The waist straps have pockets for your passport or phone, and detach for when you dont want to use them

For such an extensive journey, you might see me pack the following: lightweight tripod canister of bear spray several refillable bottles of water or a water bladder snack bar or food gel handheld GPS rugged LED headlamp backcountry geolocator camera lens wipes waterproof pens Write-in-the-Rain notebooks lightweight poncho collapsible snake hook rechargeable solar lantern small first aid kit toilet paper (see my CBC story where I had no toilet paper ) extra batteries Does this plethora of gear seem like overkill

Back-to-school season hits, everyone suddenly has the same kind of backpack, and you start wondering if its actually worth it or if its just a everyone has it moment

Indeed, my beloved blue tent still looks brand new