For both the experienced and novice traveller, getting prepared for a long trip is an exciting process. The first time traveller will spend a long time trying to decide what they will need to take, whereas the more experienced tends to focus on what they do not want to take. After your first trip you very quickly realise that half the things you thought were essential never even made it out of you backpack. Experience and your own personal requirements are really the only real judge of how much to take. One thing is for sure, before you know it you will be competing with other travellers over how 'hardcore' you are by comparing the sizes of you backpacks..

This list has only just been started so feel free to submit your own top tips at submissions@backpacklife.com

• Passport, tickets, money - your mantra for your entire trip - you ain't going far without them
• Backpack
• Daybag
• Resealable plastic food bags (invaluable for keeping things dry or even free from sand and dust)
• Moneybelt - try and find a waterproof one (I once nearly trashed my passport by wading out to a boat only to realise I was still wearing my belt)
• Journal/diary & pen
• Camera
• Film
• Batteries
• Plasters (various)
• Antiseptic cream
• Iodine - for cleaning cuts, watered down and gargled for sore throats and can be used to purify water
• Painkillers
• Wash gear - nothing worse than being a smelly traveller on a 12 hr bus journey
• Condoms (bring the ones you prefer from home)
• Sarong - even for the guys, lighter and packs smaller than a towel - dries quicker too.
• Book and pack of cards - you never know when you're going to be stuck around somewhere boring. You can either read or make new friends playing cards (the backpacker favourite being “sh*t-head”, of course)
• Torch
• Pocket torch, invariably when you NEED a torch it's not with you
• Penkife - preferably with scissors (remember not to have in your hand luggage when boarding a plane)

Rob adds:
Apart from the most useful piece of advice which Steve has already mentioned (Sarongs not towels) I found investing in a silk sleeping liner is a great idea. They are about £30 so about 3 times the price of a cotton one, however, they are a third the size, keep you cool in hot weather and warmer in cold, don't get so dirty or smelly and are really comfortable to sleep in and feel fresher than cotton even when it's been a while since it last had a wash.  Other useful items are cable ties, gaffa and insulating tape, universal plug adaptors and everyone says a plug but personally i've never needed one, maybe I should wash more.