Thread: My Backpacking Setup

Hi!
I'm going to South East Asia (Cambodia and Vietnam) tonight and I've been looking for an acceptable way to pack my shaving gear.

Now, first. Let's get this out of the way
Q) Why take my straight razor stuff away with me?
A) Because I don't want to be shaving with **** for 16 months!

I wanted to take a double razor set, with two strops (one lightly pasted to maintain blades over a long period of time with no reliable way to get them honed.) So I've pasted my Renindler so I have linen AND pasted. This slips inside my Black Beauty (Australian made strop).

I found a pretty good shaving case - as I couldn't afford the Dovo one! - and it's all snug.
I've tested taking strops backpacking before and it works well if you simply lay the strop against the back of your pack and pack clothes around them. Mine didn't bend and stayed in good condition.

Here are some photos of the kit. Hope you enjoy em.

Unpacked shaving kit.
shave-setup on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Packed shaving kit.
packs-down-to on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

To protect my shaving brush, I've slipped it inside an empty toilet roll after shaking it out very well. Perfect!!!

Thanks to all who've given me advice on shaving kit, and if you want to check my travel blog, feel free to check it out at Rose and Sam’s Excellent Adventure
Adios!
Sam

very nice set up i will have to keep this in mind when i go camping

Very cool!

Seems lilke you've got it down. One thing I do when I spend my 2 weeks on the AT evey year is I pack my brush in a prescription pill bottle with a couple holes cut in the top to vent. In your case though I don't know what customs would make of that.

Also a tube made for packing toothbrushes holds a razor well.

Have a safe and fun trip.

Are you worried about sweat getting to your strops through your pack, or do you wrap them in plastic or something?

I would worry about the humidity! Better get some neatsfoot oil and keep that baby lubed or the jungle rot will set in and eat your strop. I would replace pasted strops with a barber hone. I hope you enjoy the trip!

Looks like a good kit to travel with, probably just the same as Stanley and Livingstone traveled with in their days
And by the way, you should try some local barbers down there, I first started thinking about str8's after an Indian barber gave me the shave of a lifetime.

But what are the two disposables doing in there.

Originally Posted by jigme

Hi!
I'm going to South East Asia (Cambodia and Vietnam) tonight and I've been looking for an acceptable way to pack my shaving gear.

Now, first. Let's get this out of the way
Q) Why take my straight razor stuff away with me?
A) Because I don't want to be shaving with **** for 16 months!

I wanted to take a double razor set, with two strops (one lightly pasted to maintain blades over a long period of time with no reliable way to get them honed.) ...

SE Asia for 16 months? You are going to love the rainy season over there...

One light and small honing solution is a barbers hone and a super-light 8000k DMT W4EE.

For rust, even Break-Free isn't 100% (in SE Asia's humidity). Ballistol might be worth a try and it is also an antiseptic you can use on any cuts.

Hey,
Thanks for all the replies! I'll try to answer what I can remember. I'm currently in KL airport on a 4 hour layover with no sleep so excuse me if I admit things I shouldn't.

I'm going to Cambodia then to Vietnam. Not just in Cambodia for 16 months. Going to be teaching in Hanoi after doing some traveling first. But that's not important right now!

I'm using Vaseline to keep my blades rust-free. Been working well in my experiments with it pre-departure.

I have stypic stick included inside that kit, and also a small mirror.
What's not viewable in that photo (cos I pack it elsewhere) is a big steel multi-purpose cup which I'm using for lather.

In regards to aftershave, the scented aftershave is a bit of a no-no in malaria danger zones (top gun music cue please) so I'm using the Proraso Pre-After care which makes my face feel fantastic and from what I've read, acts as a mossie repellent, as apposed to an attractant.

Regarding the stops. They're no hassle in my pack, but time will definitely tell on that front and I'll keep you posted. I plan (by plan, I mean I'm seriously looking forward to) getting hones and I'm going to do that when I move into a place in Hanoi. I had a local traditional barber who does all my honing at home and he's great. That's why I don't have a hone, before anyone asks :P

Thanks again for all the input. Muchly appreciated.
My boarding gate has now changed on me. Better shuffle off!
Sam

Sam--did I miss something? I didn't see a hone in there, and you did mention 16 months (are you military?)

Originally Posted by YesSheDoes!

Sam--did I miss something? I didn't see a hone in there, and you did mention 16 months (are you military?)

Not military, TESOL teacher.

I don't have a hone as my blades stay comfortably sharp from stropping with a clean strop. That's when I was using one blade, now I'm using two I figure having a pasted strop and my normal strop will keep them in line for the time I'm away fairly easily.

I've been in country a week and a bit now and the kit's going splendid. Hard to get hot water though. Even guesthouses advertising hot water only have luke warm water coming through the shower.
Rose, my partner just found out this morning how to get really really hot water through the electric hot water system for 4 seconds this morning. I'll use that later

Take it easy!
Sam