Anyone who travels long-term relishes in saying how little you really need to carry with you on a rtw, but I've yet to meet anyone who never carried something that wasn't completely superfluous by the standards of other people. Met a woman in SE Asia who was doing the continent with a 20L daypack, but had a tennis racket-shaped bug zapper strapped to the side of said pack for example.

Note: This isn't a "why the heck did I bring...?" type thread nor am I advertising never thinning out packs mid-trip, as anyone who doesn't is probably not right in the head. Just want to hear about other peoples' must-needs even when others might not classify them as such.

Got to thinking about this topic when I responded to another post here mentioning I had a pair of shoes others would surely find superfluous- my Birkenstocks. Sure there were a few rationalizations- for nightwear, they don't take up much space, etc- but really it's because I find them comfortable to wear and just plain really like them. Take that, packing efficiency!

I also kept every sort of ticket stub I got and placed them in a journal, which was cool until the damn thing started weighing a serious amount towards the end. And I had a Soduku book I never really used but never got rid of as it was too light to be much of a hassle... Books, on the other hand, I was always more slow to let go of than I should have been because I kept hoping to find the mythical hostel book exchange where there was actually something good to trade. Never found it though.

Hmm....

I'd have to say my ziploc bag of various antibiotics and medicines collected across multiple continents. When I finally stopped traveling after 15 months, I realized how I never used (more than once) the exotic medications I bought, yet carried around with me for months.

I also bought a book in Bali that after reading 1/4 of it, tucked it at the bottom of my backpack and didn't really touch it again for another year. But carrying it with me gave some odd sense of comfort. And no, I won't tell you the name of the book.

I carried a baseball around with me for a year. In hindsight, that seems like a pretty heavy luxury item...

I read very quickly and because of that I carry around a lot of books. There have been times that I have had 10 books in my pack. I would rather read then listen to music on bus rides, so for me it is well worth the weight.

I'm also guilty of carrying around a lot of books because I love to read so much. Though I don't think I reached the 10 mark, I did have 7 at one point - boy was that heavy!

I also kept a scrap-bookie journal with me which meant my mini colored pencils, gel pens, safety scissors and glue stick were all there the whole time too! But I loved 'em

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I always carry a jar of instant coffee. In the States I would cringe at the idea of instant, but having that on me has saved many a difficult morning on the road. And I always spring for the "gold" premium stuff too. But that's just to impress the girls...

I havn't travelled yet but after reading about all the books, I'm glad I will have my Kindle with me on my trip. Thousands of books on one little gadget! I love that thing.