I’ll start by saying that Rose is perhaps one of the best backpack packers I’ve ever seen. Every item is either in a stuff sack, a travel case, or some other handy form of compartmentalization. While I dump my bag all over the floor of our quaint guesthouse room and have to search for every item I need at the time, Rose always knows exactly where everything she brought is, and can quickly retrieve it – it’s sick. In her fancy Gregory Deva backpack you’ll find a sleeping bag, thermarest, half a tent (of which I carry the other half), the smallest bag of clothes, basic toiletries, a full-size pair of Mammut hiking boots, and a small zip bag containing 22 panties – yes, 22.

Rose had a slight debate in picking a specific item to be featured in the blog; between her Canon Rebel SL1 and her trusty hacky sack. But of course the hacky sack won the battle. When asked about why she loves travelling with her hacky sack she calmly replied “Because it’s the best…anyone can play regardless of skill, and who doesn’t love joining a hacky sack circle?” It’s a simple design, it’s portable, it can take a beating, it has no language barriers, and it can pass hours upon hours of time, it also provides a decent exercise – plus, you look pretty badass. You can find a hacky sack almost anywhere in North America, however, they’re strangely difficult to locate in most of Africa and Asia.

As any hacky sack pro will tell you, the key to a good sack is its volume of beads. Too many beads and you’ll be kicking it to high, too little and you’ve got to put in the extra umph. A steady balance between the two, about just over half full is prime.