Once we had purchased our Osprey backpacks our next task was to maximise the amount of space inside.

We actually decided before our bags what kind of items we needed. We ended up purchasing most of our items online (mainly via Amazon and eBay) as it worked out much cheaper.

Here’s the following items we purchased –

•Packing cubes – great for organising items in backpacks. I recommend Exped. A set of these waterproof compressions bags come in a variety of colours and sizes so our backpacks are organised by colour.

•Backpack rain cover – we invested in a couple of black waterproof rain covers which not only protect our bags from the weather but also act as a deterrent for would be thieves.

•Sleeping liner – a good investment as we’re likely to be staying in simple accommodation where bed linen may not be provided. We bought 2 silk sleeping liners (1 large and 1 single) from eBay which cost less than £10 (inc. delivery).

•Microfibre towel – we purchased 2 large towels which can be rolled pretty tight and of course fast drying.

•Worldwide travel adaptors – we’ll be travelling around Asia and will need to be able to have the right adaptors. We bought a Wonpro universal adaptor kit from Amazon for around £10.

•Mini first aid kit – we both invested in a Lifesystems mini first aid kit which is surprisingly small but compact for minor emergencies.

•Eagle Creek money belt – for personal security I bought this money belt to carry emergency money and keep personal documents safe.

•Gadgets – I didn’t want to buy any fancy tech with me so kept my electronics simple. Due to its versatility I purchased a Google Nexus 7 tablet which I’m hoping will be useful for blogging. For a camera I purchased a Sony DSCWX200 camera – a small but compact 18 megapixel camera. Both the Nexus and camera can be charged with the same USB cable as my phone which is very helpful. For music we conveniently bought each other an Apple Ipod Nano 16gb – plenty of storage to keep us entertained!

It’s best to always shop around to get the best deal – it just so happened to be online where all our items worked out cheaper to buy. It can also work out cheaper if you buy in ‘bulk’ as there are savings on delivery costs.