WARNING:
I removed this page a while ago and received many complaints ... so I brought it back but the links have not been updated in several years! I am very open to suggestions and help with the links; email me (below).
This is a list that I have developed to remind myself of items that I need or want to take on fieldwork trips. It is pretty exhaustive and I only take a subset of these items on each trip. Feel free to use it, and if you think of something I have omitted please email me.
- Portable Computer, recommend IBM Thinkpads
- *keyboard resists dust*
- good international warranties
- brightest screens
- most robust construction
- excellent technical support
- Batteries for the computer
- Quick charger (external charger) for the computer batteries
- Universal AC adapter
- Appropriate telephone adapters, if you want to use the internet
- Universal surge protection
- For power specifications see www.travelstuff.com in the "connections" page
- Portable printer, recommend HP Deskjet Portable
- reliable in my experience
- excellent technical support
- can use with rechargeable batteries
- Batteries for the printer
- Quick charger for the printer batteries
- An extension cord
- A good strong, water-tight, dust-proof case for all this stuff
- recommend a Pelican camera case model # 1550 - can be found at any good camera or dive shop
- Power source, recommend Honda EX350A portable generator
- 300W 110V 60Hz output is more than sufficient
- New four-stroke engine uses regular petrol instead of the messy petrol/oil mixture
- built in circuit breaker and power conditioning circuitry
- Extremely reliable Honda engineering
- 19.5lb weight is very easy to handle
- a little bigger than a shoebox makes it easy to store and carry
- quiet for comfortable use
- recharges car batteries if you forget to turn off your lights 300 km from home!
- Honda Power Equipment phone: (770) 497-6400 / (800) 426-7701
- If you prefer, solar power
- quiet
- no fuel necessary
- new solar cells are smaller and efficient
- don't work well in rainy season
- don't work well in cold, dark environments
- are usually fragile and require special care in transportation
- A halogen flood light to run off of the generator and light the work area at night
- Spare halogen bulbs for the flood light
- MSDOS text editor on floppy disk
- Installation disks for all essential software
- Installation disks for essential operating systems
- Write-protected boot disks
- Late version virus protection program
- WordPerfect Suite
- Microsoft Suite
- dBASE
- Stata
- Quicken (for expense tracking)
- EpiInfo
- Extra floppy disks (recommend spending money on high quality disks)
- Essential manuals
- Calculator
- Pens
- Colored pens
- magic markers
- paper
- note books
- If you're on a really nice budget, an Iridium satellite phone to check your email and hob knob with your colleagues in a different time zone!
Penn-Based & Ruggedized Computers
- 3Com Palm Pilot pen-based PDA running the Palm OS (A very simple, useful palmtop computer)
- Check out the GPS capabilities by searching the 3Com web page for "GPS"
- Check out all the Freeware & Shareware software available by searching the net - start at Palm Pilot Gear H.Q.
- It prints through its IR serial port - on the 3Com site
- Pilot Island has some interesting stuff too.
- The wireless Internet-capable Palm VII
- TealPoint Software for the Palm
- Palm for the Mac
- Quicken for the Palm
- Palm Pilot Software for Field Work
- A good spreadsheet (with charting & graphing capabilities due to be available in December 1998) for the Palm: QuickSheet -- review by Pilot.org
- Suped-Up Palm III with 8MB memory
- Excellent expense and time tracking software from Zoskware that interfaces with Quickbooks (and others) and produces nice reports.
- Nice scientific calculator and graphing package by Hexdump
- A nice RPN calculator for the Palm.
- This one is interesting! A brewer's bitterness calculator for the Palm.
- Evolutionary Systems software: scalable maps with real-time GPS support, games, dictionary, worldtime etc.
- Trekware maps
- Ruggedized IBM Thinkpads from IBM
- A full line of ruggedized portables by Panasonic: "Toughbooks"!
- Amrel rugged portables running Windows 95/98 (These look really sturdy!)
- Hammerhead field workstation from WalkAbout Computers running Windows 95/98 (Another very competent looking outdoor machine, and from my reading the one that appears to be most suited to trekking around the field for social science/health-type surveys)
- Microslate rugged portables running Windows 95/98 (although I have no direct experience with these, they look good)
- Cross/IBM notepad
- Symbol SPT 1500 - a Palm Pilot III with integrated barcode scanner - very nice!
- Also have a look at Symbol's wireless LAN technology
- Psion palmtop running the Psion EPOC32 OS
- Aironet wireless LANS
- Miscellaneous PDA sites:
- Windows CE Machines
- Phillips Nino palmtop running Windows CE
- HP Palmtop PCs running Windows CE
- Everex palmtop computer/PDA running Windows CE (appears to be an excellent small Windows CE palmtop)
- Compaq Aero - most recommended so far
- Fieldwork Software
- Fieldworker Windows CE (and many other OSs) software with GPS support
- Palm Pilot Software for Field Work
- Communications
- Iridium satellite telephone
- Motorola portable two-way radios
- Motorola portable wireless connected computers
- Telxon mobile workstations & wireless LAN -- check it out!
- Normal-sized bandages
- Gauze
- Large-sized bandages
- Cloth medical tape
- Insect allergy kit (if needed)
- Emergency food (power bars)
- Rubber gloves
- Sutures
- Surgical tools
- Needle holder
- Mosquito forceps
- Scissors
- Oral rehydration salts
- Band Aides
- Neosporin
- Ace bandage
- Iodine
- Codeine
- Mole skin
- syringes
- Aspirin
- Tinactin (anitfungal; best if used in conjunction with another different anitfungal)
- First Aide Book
- Space blanket
- Talc powder
- Q-tips
- Dental floss
- Blistex
- Diarrhea medication
- Sun screen
- Lotion
- Insect repellant
- Antibiotics
- Antihistamines (if needed)
- Thermometer
- Malaria prophylaxis
- Malaria treatment
- Second skin (or aqua-bandage) for burns
- Scalpel(s)
- CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN TO OBTAIN ALL OF THE NECESSARY VACCINATIONS AND PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS
- Check the Centers for Disease Control for travel advisories
- Malaria dip test by OptiMal
- Hat to protect from sun
- Anorak
- Glove liners
- Wool cap
- 1 long-sleeve shirt
- Synchilla (or sweater or equivalent)
- 3 tee-shirts
- 1 pair long pants
- 2 pair shorts
- Belt
- 4 pair socks
- Sturdy shoes
- Underwear
- 2 MSR Whisper Light International stoves (look here for a review: order from REI)
- Burns kerosene, diesel, petrol, and white gas
- Must be sure that they have "Kerosene" jets and be sure to take them
- Test them well before leaving
- 4 1-litter fuel bottles
- Catadyn or PUR water filter with 1 spare filter cartridge (search and order from REI)
- DO NOT take a cheap filter
- Months of discomfort and thousands of dollars result from a decent GI parasite infection
- Serious damage to liver etc. and months of disability result from a bout with hepatitis
- Cooking utensils (judge quantity necessary for your party)
- 1 cooking pot
- 1 pot holder
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 plastic bowl
- 1 good cup
- 1 fork
- 1 knife
- 1 spoon
- 2-4 water bottles
- 2-4 water bags
- 1 brillo pad
- 1 small dish towel
- 1 bottle of water purification tablets for emergencies
- Insulite pad
- Butt bag
- Four-Season tent, recommend North Face Expedition-25 (search their page for "North Face Expedition 25" to get the latest model and price quote)
- Very important to take a good tent!
- Stands up to wind and water
- Keeps dust out - important if you are using computer equipment inside
- Keeps snakes and insects out
- Is easy to pitch and pack
- Is light weight and easy to transport
- Snow pegs for use in sandy soil or snow
- Thin, hardened pegs for using in semi-arid areas with hard-packed dry soil - this is very important, do not ignore! Pegs that come with the tent are stunningly inadequate.
- Insecticide: used to treat ground under the tent and the ground sheet in order to repel termites. Termites will eat nylon tents, and in my unfortunate experience, one night is sufficient for them to completely destroy a tent! I suggest buying a small bottle of commercial insecticide used to treat fence posts etc. This material is concentrated and extremely toxic so handle with great care according to the instructions.
- 2-3 candle lamps
- Sleeping bag
- Day pack
- Seam seal
- Back pack
Miscellaneous & Recreational Items:
- Music machine and music
- Pictures of family and workplace, home etc.
- Small gifts for friends, acquaintances, and employees
- Short wave radio to listen to the news
- Recreational reading
- 35mm SLR camera w/ flash
- Film, slower film results in more vivid colors
- Binoculars
- Bird and animal guides
- Leather conditioner for shoes
- WD40 lubricant, miniature can
- Glasses repair kit
- Sewing awl and thread
- Zip Lock bags
- Sewing kit
- needles
- thread
- buttons
- heavy gauge upholstery needle
- heavy thread
- Miniature mag light with a couple spare bulbs
- batteries: D, C, AA, AAA, rechargable, solar recharger
- Head-holder for Mini Mag
- Head lamp?
- 3-4 disposable lighters for lighting stoves and candles
- Dettol or similar disinfectant to treat bathing water
- Alarm clock
- Patch material for all cloth items: clothes, tent, sleeping bat, back pack
- Watch
- A variety of small rope, cord, and string
- Elastic cord
- A couple small plastic bottles for odds and ends
- Garbage bags
- Super Glue Gel
- Safety pins
- Thin wire
- Compass
- Leatherman multi-tool
- Big-bladed knife
- X-acto knife
- Duct tape
- A variety of padlocks and their keys
- A duffel bag for carrying odd stuff
- International driver's license
- Passport
- Visa(s)
- List of in-country contacts' addresses and phone numbers for filling out the immigration entry card - very important and easy to neglect
- money
- an estimate of relevent exchange rates before you leave
- tickets
- business cards, with appropriate contact information
- evacuation insurance and evacuation insurance card
- Scholastic Overseas Services: (800) 523-8930
- Equipment insurance
- Safeware, The Insurance Agency: (800) 800-1492
- Check the State Department for travel advisories
- International calling card
- List of country access codes for your international calling card
- Portable rolodex with all of the contact names, addresses and phone numbers for the persons who you are likely to contact while abroad
- Register with the embassy when you arrive - it sounds silly but in many places it's actually a sound idea
- Nail clipper
- Short hair cut (if you don't want to wander around looking and smelling very grungy when water is in scarce supply, or alternatively when hot water is in scarce supply)
- Soap
- Tooth paste
- Tooth brush
- Razor and blades
- Small face towel
- Small mirror
- Sex-specific items (by this I mean that women in particular need to think about what they need to take with them - think carefully about what may not be available where you are going -- being a man I'm going to leave it at that!)
- Body towel
- Sun glasses - very important - recommend glass lenses to resist dust
- Spare glasses, recommend glass lenses to resist dust
- Contact lens materials (if necessary)
Since I usually have to buy these things as soon as I arrive in a state of serious jet lag, I've found it helpful to have a list.
- Tea
- Sugar
- Powdered milk
- Tuna
- Pasta
- Dry soup packets
- salt
- Bully beef
- Jam
- Crackers
- Cookies
- Bread
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Cabbage
- Corn meal
- Toilet paper
- Washing soap (dishes & clothes)
- Cooking oil
- Butter
- Cheese
- Powdered coffee
- Bottled water