A mountain bike is Katie Holden’s ticket to travel the world. Between racing, coaching, and guiding trips, the 33-year-old champion downhiller and ambassador from Bellingham, Washington, has been to 50 countries and every state in the union. All told, she’s away from home more than 200 days a year. We caught up with Holden—who’s sponsored by , among other companies—to get the scoop on her essential travel gear.
Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Cube Set ($40)
“When you’re traveling all over, it’s easy for your bag to turn into a full tornado. tame the storm and make it easy to keep track of what’s clean and dirty. I also like the clear Specter cubes because they allow me to see exactly what’s inside.”
Sea to Summit Lite Line Clothesline ($10)
“One way to make traveling simpler is to bring less clothing and just wash it. I’ve been traveling with this for years. A small bottle of concentrated laundry soap usually lasts me an entire trip.”
Intelligent Change Five-Minute Journal ($23)
“When you’re waking up in different places all the time, on different people’s schedules, it’s easy to get scattered and out of sync. has a few prompts that literally take five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night to respond to. It helps me focus on my day and figure out what’s important to me personally and professionally.”
MSR TrailShot Pocket-Sized Water Filter ($50)
“Global travelers are often forced to buy bottled water, which is so wasteful and avoidable. I bring on any international trip. It’s such a small thing to pack and removes the dilemma of questionable tap water, saving you from using single-use plastic bottles—or the alternative: spending hours on the toilet.”
Moment Superfish Lens ($90), Macro ($90), Tele Portrait ($90), and Wide ($100)
“I love real cameras, but more often than not, I shoot with my iPhone when I’m traveling. Pair the technology in phones these days with and you can capture everything beautifully. Plus, you don’t have to lug around heavy gear.”
Anker PowerPort 6 ($30) and PowerCore 20100 ($50)
“I really like this for travel. It charges up to six different USB devices at once, and because it plugs in with a cord, it won’t weigh down international power adapters or pull them out of the wall. When outlets aren’t an option, this PowerCore is a great backup. It lasts a long time and lets you charge two devices at once.”
Patagonia Women’s Torrentshell Jacket ($129) and Pants ($99)
“This is a winning combo for any wet day. They’re light enough that you can use them for warm-weather rain, but you can also wear them over base layers for the cold. I bring the and with me on every trip.”
Thule RoundTrip Pro XT ($600)
“If you’re traveling with a bike, I can’t recommend this enough. It’s super easy to pack and roll through the airport or anywhere, and it fits upright in the back seat of all but the smallest cars, which is a huge convenience.”