10 essential items with entirely different budgets
The exercise here is what makes this worth keeping: two people going to the same place for the same length of time, one spending freely and one not, and the gap between the two kit lists turning out smaller and stranger than anyone predicted.
What has actually changed in twenty years is narrower than the gear industry would like you to think. Fabrics got lighter, packs carry weight a little better, and a phone absorbed the camera, the guidebook, the map, the torch, the alarm clock, the phrasebook and the music player. That last one is the real difference: it removed a couple of kilos and several hundred pounds from any packing list.
The rule that survives from both budgets: spend on the things that touch you and carry weight. Boots and a pack are worth real money because a bad fit ruins days. Almost everything else can be cheap first, replaced only when it actually annoys you.
Where the expensive list was wrong, then and now: both kits in this post were too heavy, and both men would say so afterwards. The most reliable predictor of a good long trip is a light bag, and nobody achieves that on the first attempt.
What belongs on the list now that was not on either: a single high-wattage USB-C charger, a power bank, a data eSIM bought before departure, and copies of your documents somewhere that is not your bag.
What has come off both lists: travellers' cheques, a money belt worn under clothing, a separate camera for most people, and the padlock everyone bought and never used.
The unchanged method: pack the bag, weigh it, take a third out, then go.
Part of the guide to backpacks and daypacks.