The Weekend Warrior’s Packing List – Pack Light for 3 Days of Adventure
Packing for a 3-day overlanding trip doesn’t have to be chaos. On Friday at 5:15 p.m., our family’s move with purpose routine gets us from driveway to dirt road in under an hour. The rig sits in the driveway, doors open, ready to swallow up the essentials for a weekend away.
Luke and Ben run gear to the tailgate like they’re on a covert mission. Shauna and I pass each other in the driveway, arms full, mentally checking off the list. It’s not frantic — more like a pit crew that knows exactly what each person needs to do. By the time the sun bleeds behind the rooftops, we’re rolling with the windows down, road dust in the air, and coffee from the Thermos still hot enough to burn your lip.
This isn’t some minimalist philosophy exercise — it’s just the way we make the most out of a weekend. Here’s how we keep our load tight, our camp dialed, and our sanity intact.
1. The Golden Rule: One Bin, One Bag, One Bed
One bin for the kitchen. One bag for clothing. One bed system per person. That’s it. Anything else is dead weight — and dead weight costs time, the one thing weekend warriors can’t spare.
For clothing, we keep it simple with two North Face duffel bags — one for the kids, one for us. They’re tough, weather-resistant, and perfect for strapping to the roof rack. Bonus: when loaded, they help pin our gear bins in place up top. Whatever’s in those duffels is what we wear for the trip. No last-minute “just in case” piles, no laundry panic.
💬 Your turn: How do you keep clothing under control on short trips? Drop your tip in the comments.
2. Kitchen Essentials That Actually Get Used
Some people swear by titanium cookware and ultralight utensils. We go the opposite. For us, camp cooking starts with cast iron — a skillet and a flat griddle. They’re heavy, yes. Worth it? Every time. They hold heat like they’re settling a score, sear meat perfectly, and somehow make pancakes taste better.
Cleaning? No soap, no waste — just a chainmail scrubber, a little water, and if we’re by a river, a few smooth pebbles.
And then there’s coffee. Essential. Always. We pack for our mood:
French press when we’ve got time to linger
Drip filter when we want it easy
Instant when we’re breaking camp at first light
We’ve been spoiled — years in Laos with small-batch local roasters, and now Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and the best in the world. Here, coffee isn’t just a drink. It’s a ceremony. It’s your neighbor roasting beans that morning.
Gear in Our Kitchen Bin: Cast iron skillet, flat griddle, Jetboil Genesis Stove, collapsible sink, 1 set of silverware per person, chainmail scrubber, biodegradable soap, knife, spatula, tongs, pre-measured spices, and a three-option coffee setup.
💬 Your turn: What’s your go-to camp coffee method?
3. Clothing & Sleeping: Comfort by Design
No rooftop tent. Not yet, anyway. Back in Laos, we had an Ironman RTT to escape the jungle’s creepy-crawlies. It worked for most of them — not the ants. They used the ladder like an expressway and bit us in our sleep.
These days, the boys carry their own setups: lightweight down mummy bags and ultralight inflatable pads. Shauna and I have the “luxury suite” — a Nemo self-inflating double mattress and queen-size bedding kit. It’s not home, but it’s close enough to make sunrise coffee a pleasure instead of a necessity.
Our Sleep Kit:
Kids: Down mummy bags + inflatable sleeping pads
Adults: Nemo double mattress + queen bedding kit
Shelter: East to set-up tent. Large enough to stand in or play games on a drizzly day when the weather gets undesirable.
4. The Always Bag & Quick-Prep System
Speed is the secret weapon. First aid kit, lighting, comms, chuck box, and bedding have permanent homes in the garage. We repack and restock them the same day we get home. That way, when the itch hits — or a friend texts “you in?” — we’re ready.
The only thing we pack last is food. Dry goods go in their bin. Fresh stuff goes in the ICECO APL55 fridge as the engine’s warming up.
💬 Your turn: What’s in your “always bag” that’s saved your bacon?
5. Leave Room for the Good Stuff
Packing light isn’t about discipline. It’s about leaving room for what you don’t know yet. A case of beer from a mountain-town brewery. Peaches from a roadside stand. Driftwood that ends up by your backyard fire pit.
If you fill every cubic inch before you leave the driveway, you’ve already said no to half the trip.
