The easiest way to figure out what you need is to go out for a few days and see what you can get away without using. This is figuring you are going out at the same time of the year and under the same kind of weather conditions as when you will be doing a longer trip. Sure if it's nice and sun when your out then you are still going to want to plan for rain, unless you are planning on going to the desert...then again it does rain on occasion in the desert doesn't it.

First thing you need to decide though is what kind of trip are you going to go on...supported, unsupported, hotels, camping(campground...or stealth sites only). Each different style of trip differs on what you need to bring with you. If I were to do a credit card tour it would radically change what I carry with me to probably only bringing a change of clothes for when doing laundry and bring along the laptop. Everything else I would leave at home. No reason to take anything else with me. Basically the same scenario as to when doing supported trips...they will pretty much tell you what to bring with you.

The trick is it all depends on when and where you are going and even to that extent what you bring with you will change depending on the time of the year you are going to be going there. If you are coming to New England this time of the year and you are going to be camping(stealth only this time of the year) you better bring a much lower temperature rated sleeping bag then if you are going to be coming up here in July.

Trying to tell someone what they might want to consider bringing with them when they aren't even suggesting when or where they are thinking of going is completely foolish. You haven't even hinted at where or when you are thinking of going on a trip. Hence why I started this post out the way I did. The simplest way to find out is to go out in a similar situation, even for just an overnighter and see how it goes. What did you wish you had on you, what didn't you need and why didn't you need it. Was it too warm out, even though it wouldn't be the norm when you are planning on going on the longer trip. Education is typically the best experience you will ever find. Find out what you need by getting out there and seeing how much extra crap you have brought with you that you don't use, and can't find a reason why you would ever use it.

Normally I bring the normal stuff with me and don't bring the extra stuff most people bring along simply because I know I won't have the time to read the book or play the guitar, etc that some people bring with them. Camping gear, change of clothes, laptop, bike tools/equipment, recharge cords to charge up the headlight and gopro camera. This year I left the cell phone at home. It's not a necessity so I left it at home and would continue to leave it at home. Mankind use to live just fine and jimdandy without cell phones and he can still do so today...he just doesn't realize how much he is getting ripped off by being brainwashed into thinking he can't live without the cell phone. Pretty much once I get 100 miles from home, part way through the first day of any trip, I'm on my own and anything that happens I have to get myself out the mess and can't rely on anyone else to help me out...so why carry the cell phone. Just extra weight that serves no beneficial purpose.