At the beginning of March, I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to New Zealand's North Island to visit my son who has been working down there this past year. We did a lot of driving and exploring, starting with a cave tour through the glow worm caves in Waitomo and going all the way up to the Bay of Islands. Our plan was to incorporate a lot of hiking, including an overnight trip, so I packed as light as I could, keeping everything limited to a 45L Deuter backpack and a carry-on bag. 

I was truly grateful for the EagleCreek Pack-it bags and the the Sea to Summit dry compression bags which enabled me to keep organized and tightly packed. I took two pairs of convertible pants and fortunately managed to keep track of the bottom halves, which were needed the last two days as a cyclone brought in much cooler and wetter weather. By the end of the trip I had used everything I had packed at least once, with the exception of the first aid kit and I count that as a good thing. Our activities included abseiling, climbing, hiking, swimming, surfing, hot pools, tours, sailing, camping and lots of driving. So here is a list of the items from NAO that I took on this trip and what I liked or didn't like about them:

45L Deuter Pack - This was not this packs first overseas adventure and probably won't be its last. The pack has a very comfortable fit and is small enough that I can't over pack. The major problem with this pack is that it has a very small opening, so the compression bags have to be size small or medium as any larger sizes won't fit through the opening. Fortunately, I can fit my 30 degree sleeping bag into a medium compression bag.

Big Agnes Q-core SLX Sleeping pad and Pumphouse Ultra - Love this pad! A very comfortable sleep and I didn't have to worry about rolling off the pad or having it slip out from under me because the outer chambers inflate higher than the bottom chambers creating a hammock like effect. I would not have been able to inflate it with my own breath and I knew this from the get go, so I invested in the BA Pumphouse Ultra. The Pumphouse inflated the pad in three fills and doubled as a waterproof storage bag, and camp shower.

Big Agnes Deluxe Sleeping Pillow - I will never again go camping without this amazing pillow. You can easily adjust the firmness by filling it with more air or letting out a bit of air for a softer sleep. The memory foam topping made the pillow so comfortable, soft and quiet.

Icebreaker Oasis ½ zip Top and bottoms - I sleep cold, so I was a bit worried about having such a light weight sleeping bag. To combat a cold sleep I took wool tops and bottoms, which not only kept me at a comfortable temp every night but also have the added benefit of not getting stinky after multiple wears.

Knix and Exofficio underwear - Light weight, comfortable and easy to pack, the number one reason I was happy to have these along was their ability to dry quickly after a washing, so I didn't have to pack 14 pairs.

Wool socks and Oboz Hiking boots - I have tried a lot of different hiking boots over the years and have come to the conclusion that buying a pair of boots can make or break a trip. Everyone has different feet, so you really need to try on a lot of different brands before you find the right fit. The wrong boot can not only result in blisters which make a single trip miserable, it can also impact the way you walk which can lead to foot, ankle, knee and hip problems in the long run. Oboz is the boot for me! There is no "breaking in" period and their insole is the best on the market, giving me the arch support and cushion needed for long hikes. I took several pairs of wool socks which were harder to keep track of than my pant legs! They were too hot on some days, but provided the extra cushion, moisture absorption and odor control that I needed for our longer hikes and extra warmth on the colder nights.
 

Oofos - These were a last-minute impulse buy, thrown in when I realized I would need some kind of sandal for the beach trips. The temps were in the 60-70's most of the time, so the Oofos became my main footwear. I did a 6-mile day trip in my Oofos and was so glad that I had them with me! These are recovery sandals to be used when you have gone on a long run or have been standing all day and your feet hurt. Believe me my feet never hurt the entire trip!

Marmot Precip Jacket - The Precip Jacket was chosen not only because it costs under $100, but also because it is super lightweight and easy to pack. The Precip is one of the best waterproof/breathable jackets NAO has and I was able to put it to the test during the Cyclone days. The day time temps were still in the 60's, so anything heavier would have gotten sweaty. I was wearing short sleeve shirts, so I expected the fabric to stick to my arms, that didn't happen, but the cuffs eventually got wet from soaking up rain on the outside. Otherwise the jacket did its job.
 

PackTowl® Original Towel - I packed a large PackTowl® which I used for beach and showers. This one towel was used multiple times a day, so I wasn't too surprised when the fabric started to pill up. From the start, it was absorbent, and didn't start to smell even though I could only wash it out a couple of times. It did pick up leaves, sticks and lichen when it fell to the ground from the drying line and I had those little buddies stuck to it for the rest of the trip!
 

Sea2Summit pack soaps - I have raved about everything else, but I can't rave about the pack soaps. I was thinking - what a great way to pack shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent and body soap! These light weight packages are so easy to pack, taking up hardly any space and they are not liquids so they easily pass through TSA. That is all true, but when you are wet and trying to get out a single sleeve of soap, it doesn't work very well. I thought, okay no problem, it will probably take more than one sleeve to wash my long hair anyways... I ended up picking dried soap flakes out of my hair where they had dried and adhered themselves instead of rinsing out. It also took a lot more than one sleeve for a body wash too, more like one for each appendage and a couple for the core. The laundry ones actually worked really well, but I wasn't too impressed by the others.
 

I don't want to leave you on a negative note however, so the last item I took was the Luci EMRG solar lantern. My son thought my lantern was so cool that he kept it. It packs down to a disc that is about 4 inches diameter by less than an inch thick. The top has a solar panel that keeps the lantern charged as long as you remember to put it in a sunny place during the day. There are 4 light modes - low, high, red and flashing red. The flashing red spells out S.O.S, so you can signal help with it, if needed. The high power was strong enough to set up the tent and to read by.

Overall the trip was amazing! Here are some photos of some of the places we visited...

Glow Worm Cave  -Waitomo