The Hostelgeeks shop is your gateway to smart travel gear.
We love traveling light, in a minimalist way.
We share our backpacks, day packs, gear and packing essentials. Find our hostel packing list here.
Everybody loves shortcuts:
Luggage – Travel Essentials – Electronic Gear – Photography Gear – Books
Luggage
When it comes to luggage, we recommend getting a backpack. Yet, not any backpack. A bulky, heavy backpack is not recommended. For traveling light, a backpack must accomplish certain criteria, such as lightness and functional. The chic-factor may also be something to take into account.
Here are our top recommended luggage – including Matt’s own #1 choice: Lowe Alpine Carry-On 40l
Minimal Traveler Backpack (Matt’s #1 choice)
Lowe Alpine Carry-On 40l – [amazon_link asins=’B00SHGU2NO’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2c9b41ea-ac21-11e7-97ff-1902ffe6d9d9′]
Backpacker Style
Osprey Porter 46 Gear Hauler Duffel – [amazon_link asins=’B06W55JCY9′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’519a89c4-ac21-11e7-aa39-c780813fac32′]
Day Back Digital Nomads
CoolBELL Laptop Backpack with USB Port – [amazon_link asins=’B06XRT1QBD’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7b6ecbc3-ac27-11e7-aa99-91990da58a2f’]
Day Backpack
Fjallraven Backpack – [amazon_link asins=’B00SVARXH4′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1a873d81-ac19-11e7-baa5-1b3504ccf705′]
Travel Essentials
The travel survival kit, the hostel starter kit. Here we list a bunch of travel essentials that you should bring. We made our experiences and recommend bringing certain items you most likely own already. Yet, a few things are worth it the extra investment such as light and quick-dry towels and dry-bag.
Here is our list of recommended travel essentials to bring on your adventure.
Quick-Dry Towel
Antibacterial Premium Microfiber Travel Towel – [amazon_link asins=’B01EA76A0C’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f6214da8-ac23-11e7-8bab-c162f51ab83e’]
Security Lock
Combination Lock with 4 Digit 3-inch Padlock – [amazon_link asins=’B01LYO2DDQ’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a3dc66de-ac24-11e7-930c-c5cca0b2d8f4′]
Re-Usable Water Bottle
Sagan Journey Water Bottle with Filter – [amazon_link asins=’B01N7U6PAU’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e0ffd7a9-ac25-11e7-9eed-21fc2e192e7b’]
Eye mask & Ear plugs
Dream well Kit with comfy eye mask and ear plugs – [amazon_link asins=’B013Q837A2′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5c0a8503-ac25-11e7-bef1-0b83a6162b7f’]
Backpack Rain Cover
Solid Backpack Rain Cover – [amazon_textlink asin=’B01ECAJMCK’ text=’AYAMAYA Waterproof’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4682dc74-ac28-11e7-969b-878d370b2be2′]
Sun Glasses
Loaal Sunglasses Design Fashion – [amazon_link asins=’B01MUNCOUY’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’9c7f57b8-ac28-11e7-803f-6bca0c3ab56c’]
Head Lamp
Bright LED Headlamp Flashlight – [amazon_link asins=’B00H26CGTI’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b6711420-ac29-11e7-b4f6-abeca20ac228′]
Dry Bag
KastKing Dry Bag Waterproof Roll Top Sack – [amazon_link asins=’B01ERK6RTQ’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’eaa52f57-ac29-11e7-bf45-bf42f97ac9f4′]
Sewing Kit
Travel-sited sewing kit – [amazon_link asins=’B01MRM8UMT’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a6755c55-ac36-11e7-8fe1-e3ce55630c63′]
Multiusage blanket
Beach Sarong for Women Bohemian Throw Bikini Cover up – [amazon_link asins=’B0722JKN5Y’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’82ecfc08-ac36-11e7-8623-b95d4a2d4345′]
Toiletry Bag
Hanging Travel Cosmetic Organizer Toiletry Bag – [amazon_link asins=’B06XQDQ351′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3d2cff71-ac36-11e7-b89b-8f0c0dbc4b79′]
USB Stick
Ultra Flair USB 3.0 with 32GB Flash Drive – [amazon_link asins=’B015CH1JIW’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2a190186-ac37-11e7-af56-9f99a156f18c’]
Electronic Gear
Welcome to the 21st century. We at Hostelgeeks travel with a bit of gear. Since we are working from the road, we carry laptops and cameras.
Here is our recommendations for camera gear and electronics.
Mac Book Pro 13”
Mac Book Pro Retina 13 Inches – [amazon_link asins=’B071WLXKB3′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e66b581b-ac38-11e7-a5eb-d16f06e2cb04′]
Mac Book Cover
Hard Rubberized Full Body Matte Cover for MacBook – [amazon_link asins=’B071XSF9J9′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’28f8da32-ac39-11e7-aa49-573f22ee08c0′]
iPhone 7 or 7S Plus
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 128 GB Unlocked, Jet Black – [amazon_link asins=’B01M1E74OC’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’96145e20-ac39-11e7-868b-a5373a240ead’]
iPhone Protective Case
Laser Engraved Wood iPhone 7S Plus Case – Nautical World Map – [amazon_link asins=’B01LZLE74W’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’43794132-ac3a-11e7-889b-e3376a8a263c’]
Headphones
Folding Lightweight Headset for traveling – [amazon_link asins=’B01EF5DBYM’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’28584c58-ac3c-11e7-bcba-6f7680b04a52′]
External Disk Lacie
4TB La Cie Rugged Mini USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive – [amazon_link asins=’B01789QMUW’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5b643b55-ac3c-11e7-899d-31214502b11b’]
Travel Ad Travel Adapter
Worldwide All in One Universal Travel Adaptor – [amazon_link asins=’B01DJ140LQ’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a5a5a15c-ac3c-11e7-8711-b5c4bae5211b’]
USB Multi Charger
Portable Travel Power Strip with 3 Smart USB Ports – [amazon_link asins=’B01IQUPRP8′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d04e0061-ac3b-11e7-b351-9d21aa3d072a’]
Kindl
Kindle Paperwhite E-reader – Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – [amazon_link asins=’B00OQVZDJM’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2c9efddc-ac44-11e7-a64f-aba4fa8036c5′]
Photography Gear
This section covers our camera gear.
Go Pro
GoPro HERO6 Black – [amazon_link asins=’B074X5WPC5′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ffd0ffc5-ac44-11e7-b5aa-0f3e4bc931a4′]
64 GB Disk Space
64GB Micro SDXC U3 Card Plus SD Adapter Pack – [amazon_link asins=’B01LZ76RWP’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3770ce9e-ac45-11e7-ac79-431c9fef5a06′]
Tripod
Bontend Flexible Tripod with Iphone and Smartphone Holder – [amazon_link asins=’B01AXYIYVE’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’hostelgeeks01-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7496cc11-ac45-11e7-9f9f-93f95e21b2bc’]
You can purchase all these items via Amazon.
Not sure how to buy on Amazon? For the Spanish speaker: read this guide on how to buy on Amazon.
Books
Life’s a good read. Here we recommend books we enjoy and that can help you travel longer, with more confidence and stay in cooler places.
Ultimate Resources
Shortcuts:
Flight Comparison – Travel Apps
Let us talk about powerful and smart resources to use when traveling.
The whole Hostelgeeks team has been travel a lot, using different apps and websites for budget traveling.
We were able to catch a flight from Barcelona to the Canary Islands for just 12€!
Not only that: we took a road trip across Central Europe, saving 70% of the transport costs thanks to an app.
Flight Comparison
The best websites to find cheap flights are:
Especially Kiwi is an incredible powerful website.
It comes with a radius feature.
Simply draw a circle on the map around your desired destination and find the cheapest connections.
You can search for cheap destinations only, and compare numerous days to fly from A to B.
Travel Apps
1. Maps.me
MapsMe is the perfect offline app for your phone. It works without internet connection.
Thanks to your GPS location you can find your way, wherever in the world you are. As an alternative you can use Google.Maps directly. It works as well offline.
2. TrailWallet
Traveling on a budget?
Then get TrailWallet to keep track of your budget.
It is so easy to use and gives you a full, up-to-date report. There is a free version which allows you to test it, but we loved it and invested 4,99€ in the full version.
3. FourSquare
This app is a gold mine!
FourSquare is an underrated app which has been used a lot, but nowa- days less people seem interested.
This is what makes it so awesome.
It helps you to find places around, such as
- cafés
- bars
- venues
- restaurants
With this app we found so many gems and design-led coffee shops. Go for it!
Packing List
Our ultimate hostel packing list covers 23 items you need to bring. From padlocks, to hostel games and the perfect backpack.
