Packing One Bag: Round 1

Oh, the wonderful challenges of packing a single bag... I've been thinking about what to bring with me to the land of the kiwis for a while now. The ideas floating around vary between being super prepared to packing as little as possible. For example, I was thinking of packing my down jacket which would keep me warm during the winter months and double as a soft and very welcome pillow while camping or staying in hostels. Do I bring my heavy four-season tent or go buy the rediculously light Hubba Hubba tent (2.1kg) from MEC? Do I bring a tent at all? Should I use my 70-litre pack or my 50-litre pack? All in all, what I bring directly depends on what I plan to do while I am in New Zealand. Isn't there some mathematical equation I can use here? Instead of spending copious hours trying to identify the correct variables for an optimally packed bag, I will follow the advice of my friend, Greg, from Canmore, AB who suggested I look up a website about packing a single bag for travellers. The One Bag website written by Doug Dyment appears to be a useful tool in deciphering what's required, what to ditch, and what you can't afford to forget - oh, and trying to fit it all into one wee-bag. My specific situation is a bit different because I plan to camp and hike quite a bit while I am travelling, so I will use the online suggestions to assist in tayloring my own list of essential materials. Being a bit of a perfectionist and somewhat severely detail-oriented (yes, I totally admit it and actually am a bit proud of my meticulousness), I plan to write and revise my own list, then pack and re-pack until it appears to be perfect for me, and not too heavy. Heck, what else am I going to do for the next 29 days?