The Gearhead's Guide to Overpacking for Tahiti

[theNJR]

As my wife will attest, I’m a bit of a gearhead. Getting equipped for a trip is half the fun in planning, so I thought I would share what I’ll be bringing for our seven night Society Islands trip. Yes, this is the opposite of the pack light mantra 🙂

Beach Pack:

North Face Face Camp Duffel - Medium. This bag is indestructable and converts from a duffle to a backpack. This will be checked in on the plane, and brought with us on most beach days and excursions. Inside we have -

• Snorkel gear (me and wife) - Bought at local dive shop to find what fit best
• First Aid Kit
• 100 feet paracord - You never know!
• Carabiners - Attach the North Face bag to excursion boats and other you never know scenarios 
• Keens hiking sandal - I did a lot of research on water sandals. I wanted something that I could wear the entire trip and be able to hike 5-8 miles in. These really fit the bill. I'll use them a lot after the trip, so spent the $150 on them (Depending on style you can get them for as low as $80). My wife got a pair as well, not pictured.
• Sand proof beach blanket I've read a lot of people suggesting to bring a shower curtain to put down on the sand. This blanket is the same price. It's 10 feet wide and made out of parachute material so it serves the same purpose as the shower curtain but packs down into a small 1lb pack (you can see it packed down in the above pictures, next to the blue dry bag)

• Bose bluetooth speaker 
• Dry bag
• O'Neal sun shirt
• Hat
• Water socks 
• Not pictured - Camelbak MULE  which will be stowed in the North Face baggings and used when hiking and biking on Moorea. 
• Not pictured - whichever flashlight I'll bring and a mini roll of duct tape 🙂
• Not pictured - All my wife's gear. She under packs gear and makes up for it in clothing! 

 

Camera pack

• Mountainsmith fanny pack - This stores all my camera gear. 
• I mostly shoot on my iPhone XS Max now but I'll also have my GoPro (mostly for underwater) and my old RX 100 (I like the image it produces but it's a bigger hassle to use). 
• Wide and telephoto Sandmarc lenses for iPhone with a polarizing filter 
• DJI Osmo II Gimbal - Super stable shots while moving. Yes, it's big (it actually will live in my carry on). I wish I waited for their Pocket and this is the one thing I may not end up bringing. 
• Manfrotto pocket tripod 

 

Carry On Back Pack 

• Tortuga Setout Backback - I love this Tortuga back pack, and use it every day. It's also my carry on. Tons of separate comportments so you can stay very organized. 
• Mophie Powerstation PD - Very small power brick that has a USB PD port for fast charging. 
• iPhone battery case - I use this on travel days so that my phone lasts the entire time without needing to charge. 
• iPad Pro
• Bose QC 30 noise canceling headphones (for use on plane)
• Waterproof Kindle - Read in the pool!
• Tahiti guide book
• The most important thing, the PG info kit!

 

And there you have it! Everything above packs down easily so I can bring the kitchen sink wherever I go 🙂

 

[sita]

This is an interesting post; as a super light packer, feel like I’m getting a glimpse of the other side. Worried for you if traveling atn economy for baggage fees but I’m sure you have that sorted. They will allow you an extra checkin for diving equipment but have been strict about it consisting of just that; also be aware they are serious about weight of your carryons.

 

have s wonderful time!

[yourSLCwoman]

This is awesome!  I love getting ideas from other people for things I need to bring on a cruise that I never thought of; some things have been super useful, others not so much.  I hope you'll come back and post after your cruise with a list of which things ended up making the useful list.

[theNJR]

6 hours ago, sita said:

This is an interesting post; as a super light packer, feel like I’m getting a glimpse of the other side. Worried for you if traveling atn economy for baggage fees but I’m sure you have that sorted. They will allow you an extra checkin for diving equipment but have been strict about it consisting of just that; also be aware they are serious about weight of your carryons.

 

have s wonderful time!

 

Indeed, I thought I could show what the other side looks like 🙂 Funny enough, many trips I am carry on only, so I tend to go between the extremes. 

 

We’re flying up front on United so no worries with the check in, although it’s less than 30lbs. Carry on with all that’s inside I use often on those small regional jets, so that’s fine too. 

 

Thanks! 

[theNJR]

4 hours ago, yourSLCwoman said:

This is awesome!  I love getting ideas from other people for things I need to bring on a cruise that I never thought of; some things have been super useful, others not so much.  I hope you'll come back and post after your cruise with a list of which things ended up making the useful list.

 

That was exactly my goal! And I will for sure report back on what was used and not used. I have a bet going with my wife if I use the rope or not. She make fun until those 10% possibilities occur! Plus its a fun way to practice knots. 

[DavidTheWonderer]

Different strokes for different folks. Our last couple of times on the PG, which included a couple of days pre-cruise on Moorea, we got by without any checked luggage on any flights.

[H20mac3]

Being a fellow Gearhead I have enjoyed your post!  We will be on the PG for the first time in September and will be packing similar items but split between our carry ons.  I have a Monkey Mat instead of the sand blanket.  We are leaving our fins home as DH's fins take up a lot of room in the suitcase but will bring masks & snorkels.  Ditto on the small roll of duct tape plus a roll velcro.  We will have two cameras both waterproof and have decided to leave the big camera home.  We will be sitting in the front of the plane as the other seats do not have room for DH's poor knees so we are ok on baggage fees.  We have a packable backpack that we use for excursions.  Well I pack it and DH wears it!  

 

I too will love to hear what worked, didn't work and wasn't used!  Thank you for sharing!

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

20 trips to Polynesia  …. from experience take half of what you think you will need as far as clothing. Your iPhone takes good pictures but even the best ones can't pull off some of the stuff a top end mirrorless can do but then again 90% of the time for the younger generation it doesn't matter as they ride the social media whereas I like to frame something and hang it on the wall, something big, like a 32X18 😉

,

Sony a7 iii, 24mm, 1/4 second handheld, f/8, ISO-12,800  …. did I say 12,800 😵

http://

 

Last few trips I've taken 30+lbs of photo equipment, this next trip I'm glad I'm cutting way back and going to take one quality bridge camera, a Sony RX10IV, plus a GoPro 7 and a few filters but the big boy camera/lenses will stay at home. 

 

Nice to see how others think and pack … enjoyed the post.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Wendy The Wanderer]

More power to you, and looking forward to hearing what you didn't use.

 

I must question your choice to use your Keen sandals as water shoes--the latter are cheap and they will spend the trip mostly wet and sandy--not something you want to put on your feet for a hike or stroll around port. And in my experience *any* kind of sports sandal does not work well as a water shoe--not snug enough and the holes cause drag in the water.

[theNJR]

On 5/22/2019 at 7:52 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

More power to you, and looking forward to hearing what you didn't use.

 

I must question your choice to use your Keen sandals as water shoes--the latter are cheap and they will spend the trip mostly wet and sandy--not something you want to put on your feet for a hike or stroll around port. And in my experience *any* kind of sports sandal does not work well as a water shoe--not snug enough and the holes cause drag in the water.

 

Thanks for this feedback! I’ll also bring my old simple water shoe too. 

[dolls123]

So I need to bring something from home to use as I sit in the sand?

[sita]

Beach towels provided on ship

[bitob]

I am taking very little gear

I am overpacking clothes.  LOL

I cannot help it.  All those "what ifs!"

We leave on the 5th for 13 night cruise Papeete to Fiji

My second cruise on PG

[dolls123]

15 hours ago, sita said:

Beach towels provided on ship

Thanks!

[theNJR]

17 hours ago, dolls123 said:

So I need to bring something from home to use as I sit in the sand?

 

I was really glad to have brought the tarp. You can see it in action in my review I posted here. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 8/11/2019 at 6:02 PM, dolls123 said:

So I need to bring something from home to use as I sit in the sand?

 

We're just talking about the Bora Bora motu here, which is just a lovely stretch of sand.  On Motu Mahana there are chairs and umbrellas.

 

On the BB motu, most just take a beach towel from the ship.