Gear and Books for Nomad Life

Picking the right gear for nomad life is important. You’ll need portable, durable, and flexible clothing and shoes to make your life as nomads easier. The clothes and gear you’ve used in the past won’t work for nomad life. Nomad gear must be flexible; the goal is for each piece of clothing to do two jobs. It’s the best way to lighten your luggage and save your sanity on your laundry chores. In addition, there are loads of great books for nomads about travel, travel writing, and nomad life. We make our recommendations for the gear we love and the books we adore. We only recommend gear that we use and wear, and we only recommend books we’ve read. Let’s start with shoes.

Shoes for Nomad Life

Shoes for nomad life can be a challenge. You need versatility, comfort, durability and lightweightness. Afterall, if we can bring 4 pairs of shoes, we would. But we limit our shoes to two pair a piece. Here is a brief sampling of the shoes we’ve worn during our nomad life. We haven’t found the perfect pair, but all of these have achieved our criteria above. And, whenever possible, we only get our shoes from REI due to their outstanding return policy. If we can’t get to an REI, we often buy directly from Keen. Click on each shoe for a direct link to its specs.

Nomad Life Complete Packing List

Our entire packing list for nomad life and everything we use is available in our Amazon store.

packing list for nomad life

Nomad Life Carry-On Bags

Both Steve and Chris use the same carry-on bag, which we review in the video below. We use the Osprey Transporter 40 Wheeled. Click on the image for a direct link to the bag’s specs. Here is my review after two years of using the Osprey.

The Osprey Transporter 40 Wheeled is our recommended bag.

Packing Light for Nomad Life

Need tips on how to pack light? We use a technique called bundling, and it’s the best way to pack your carry on bag for nomad life. Watch this video of our bundling technique.

We review our luggage and share our secrets for how we pack light.

Nomad Life Books Written by Experts

Chris has written three number one best sellers including the bible for nomad life, Two Carry-Ons and a Plan. Get your copy on Amazon.

list of books by chris englert
Here are all of Chris’ books for sale
Our recommendations are trail tested, worn, and loved.