Overlanding is the act of traveling long distances in a vehicle of choice with a focus on the journey, not the destination. We’ve have many years of experience with this type of traveling and created this list of bare necessities you should not forget to bring.
What Is Needed for Overlanding?
- Adventurers mindset
- Vehicle
- Passport
- Wallet
- Phone + charger
- First aid kit
- Satellite emergency beacon
- Map
- Water
This might not be the list you were expecting, but I’m gonna be honest with you. Those long lists of “what you really need overlanding” are full of overpriced gadgets and personal preferences of the author. What you actually require to be able to go on an overlanding adventure is the right mindset. All else will follow. Let me explain
Overlanding is not a luxury activity
In essence, overlanding is the traditional way of traveling. Before airplanes and before boats, humans used to travel overland wherever they went. And without cars it took year to make it to the other side of the planet. Overlanding gives you this ancient experience of getting to know the world we live in. Much more so than backpacking or any other type of traveling.
And in this old fashion way of traveling the need for specialised gear is low, after all we’ve been doing it for years and back in the day explorers didn’t have a water filter or a gas stove in their pockets.
What they did have was the desire to explore and the an adventurers mindset because without it they wouldn’t survive. Traveling without the right mindset in the twenty-first century is not as deadly as before but leaving it at home has major consequences for the way you experience your trip.
What is the adventurers mindset?
I’ve met many people on the road and they all have at least 3 of the following characteristics: Curious - Willingness to learn new things Smart - Ability to make a plan and adjust when plan A fails Interested - Desire to explore and experience new places and cultures Open - to listen to different perspectives or try things differently Patient - sometimes you just have to wait Gritty - try and fail until you succeed
It’s the mix of these characteristics you need to survive and enjoy an overland adventure. The one thing you can count on, on a long overland adventure is that things never go according to plan. So having a gritty mindset helps to switch tactics and being smart to come up with a new plan.
On long overland journeys, especially when visiting other continents, patience is a must. Where at home you can tick off a long list of errands in one day, in Africa completing one task a day is an achievement. Patience is key when leaving for a long overland adventure.
It took us 3 weeks to cross the border of Egypt with both motorcycles due to paperwork issues.
But most of all, curiosity and the willingness to learn are critical in overlanding. It doesn’t matter how old you are, actually learning new things keeps you young and with the internet at your fingertips you can learn practically everything. Never changed a tire in your life? When you are stuck with a flat on the side of the road in Nepal might be the perfect time to learn.
With the right mindset in hand, succes of an adventure is inevitable. That doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan, but otherwise it wouldn’t be an adventure, would it?
What else do you need?
Transportation
A vehicle! Overlanding isn’t strictly a car thing. You can travel on a bicycle, motorcycle, trike or truck. As long as it rocks your world, go for it! But overlanding is usually vehicle dependent otherwise we would call it backpacking. Read this article to find out more about overlanding vehicles.
What is an overlanding vehicle?
Universal travel basics
Wallet Passport Phone + charger These are the universal travel basics you need on any journey, but like my dad used to say to me. As long as you bring your wallet, you can forget about the rest. All of the other things you might forget you will be able to buy along the way.
And he has been right. Overlanding is a slow method of travel, so you won’t be far away from home in a different world in a matter of hours. So if you find out in your first night you forgot your down sleeping bag, you can either go home or drive to the closest camping shop and get yourself one. One night without it won’t kill you or you just take yourself and your wallet to the nearest hotel. You can fix almost anything with money.
As for a phone, I think the fact that refugees often arrive with little more than a bag of clothes and a smartphone says enough about how much we are dependent on the device and how useful the handheld computer is. So whether your phone is smart or not, it is a good safety backup device just in case. Especially while overlanding.
Safety kit
First aid kit Satellite emergency beacon, when you plan to go off the grid Map, digital or physical Water A bare minimum safety kit should have the items above.
First aid kit
It is one of those items you wish you’ll never need, but are great full that you brought when you do. Even if it is to help someone else. You can bring a standard kit, without having to think about what to put in. Especially when you are not medically trained. It is good practice to open the kit before leaving just to familiarise yourself with the content.
If you are planning a multi continental trip, you should contact a medical professional to ask about vaccinations and additional medications you could bring.
Satellite emergency beacon
When you plan to go off the grid, away from cell phone reception and into the wilderness, which is easier in some part of the world then other, make sure to bring a type of satellite tracker or communicator. There are so many variables at plan that you would have to be incredibly cocky to say that nothing bad can happen to you. And as much as I love to go off the radar, one thing that is most important to me is that I want to come home and be able to live to tell the tale.
So bring any type of satellite tracker or communicator. It can be a simple SPOT tracker that plots your location on a map and has a simple SOS button in case of emergency. This way you can give one of your relatives or close friends access in case you don’t return home they will know where to start looking for you. Or if you do press the SOS button the local authorities will be informed and a rescue mission will be arranged. Either way, you just increased your chance to get out alive.
The other option that sits in the middle is to get a satellite 2 way communicator like the Garmin Inreach. Where the SPOT is only able to track and send preprogrammed messages without receiving a response, the Garmin can. This way you can send sms messages over the satellite network to your mom when you are comfortably lying in your tent watching the stars.
Besides a happy mom, it might just save your life in an emergency situation like the SPOT can because it also has an SOS button. I personally prefer the Garmin Inreach because of the possibility to communicate and because it is cheaper and more compact than getting a satellite phone.
Bring a map
If you brought a smartphone you inevitably brought a map. Wether you prefer a paper or digital map is up to you. I rode my motorcycle across the world and never brought a paper map with me, but other can’t live without. It is not necessary for overlanding to bring a paper map as long as you prepare your digital devices to still work offline.
A good map app is google maps, maps.me and gaiagps. It depends on what type of overlanding you are planning which app you will use most.
Take enough water
The general rule of thumb is that you can survive without water for three days. It is crucial that you bring enough not only for drinking but also for cooking and cleaning. Especially traveling on a motorcycle or bicycle bringing enough water can be a challenge. There are no good places to store water and to keep it cool. It is heavy and takes up a lot of space.
My favourite way to bring water on a motorcycle is twofold
- in a camel bag
- in a dromedary bag
The camel bag is for during the day while riding or going for a hike. It is easily accessible which makes me drink more. The dromedary bag is mainly used for cooking and cleaning during breaks and at camp. It is practical because you can hang it from the bike or a tree and almost use it as a normal tap.
For 4 wheeled travellers a rotapax or collapsible jerry cans are the way to go. Many overlanders also install a watertank under their car to keep it as cool as possible. Just be careful to use up the water regularly and keep it clean with purification tablets.
In conclusion
Be willing to learn new things and skills when just starting overlanding, you are never too old for this. Otherwise bring your wallet and enough water so you live to tell the tale of adventure to your loved ones.