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Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

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Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#31

Post by SoftTalker »

getfacl wrote: post #23

Used to travel for work 3 weeks a month and worked with a group of folks who took pride in traveling light. I learned to never pack for more than 6 days. After 5 days either do the laundry or use the hotel laundry service.

Hotel laundry service tends to be quite expensive, but many hotels have a coin-op (or maybe an app these days) laundry room where you can do your own. That's very handy for underwear, socks, and casual items.

And some people for whatever reason think that everything you wear once needs to be washed before you can wear it again. Break out of that mindset. You can usually wear pants and shirts several times if they aren't sweaty and don't have food spills or something like that. Hang them up or fold them at night, maybe touch up with an iron if they are wrinkled.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#32

Post by patcon »

Washing the days clothes as you shower is a game changer. Even Waring them into shower, soaping them while wearing, and rinsing out by hand.

Depends on climate, but if they dry in 2 days, you barely need anything

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#33

Post by nradov »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #13

I really don't understand what people are putting in the 2-3 large suitcases I see them struggling to shove in overhead. For one, rolling luggage is usually a mistake for anyone who's not flight crew. I bring a week's worth of thin clothes that layer. If I need more, I'm either washing by hand or using a service. Basic toiletries, an e-reader, phone, keys, charger bricks, a notebook/pens, daypack. It fits into an und…

No major commercial airline allows a passenger to put 3 large suitcases in the overhead bins: it's one carry-on bag in the bin plus a small personal item. If I'm going scuba diving, especially technical diving in a cold environment, then I need to fill my carry-on and personal item with the expensive or fragile dive gear plus check two large bags for the bulky dive gear plus whatever else I need for the trip.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#34

Post by jerlam »

ausbah wrote: post #19
reg_dunlop wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Buy local. Support the local economy and blend in.

if you’re visiting major cities and need basic clothing you’re probably shopping at the some of the same name brand outlets or lines

But you will have a much better idea what to buy, when you have first-hand experience with the weather and are surrounded by locals who are adequately prepared.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#35

Post by al_borland »

I usually travel with one 19-22L bag (the same one Tynan, mentioned in the article uses… or used a decade ago). I ran across one of his videos when looking for a bag, and everyone was recommending the same Tom Bihn bag at the time.

I found traveling light requires understanding and accepting 2 things:

1. You will do laundry while on vacation, how much you pack determines how often laundry is done.

2. Unless going to an uninhabited area, people live their whole life where you’re going. If you forget something, you can probably buy it at the destination. I almost always buy toiletries locally to avoid dealing with liquids and TSA. I’ve bought stuff a couple times, but it’s rare. I find that with 19L, I still over pack and have stuff I bring and don’t use.

On an overnight trip, I only brought a plastic shopping bag with me. We were going by bus and would arrive late in the evening. The next day we’d be out and about all day, before meeting up at the bus in the evening to head home. I knew I didn’t want to be saddled with luggage, so I wore cloths that were on the verge of being thrown out, and brought a change of clothes and a phone charger in the grocery bag. The next day, the other people on the trip who brought multiple bags, laptops, coolers, etc for 1 night, were stuck sitting in one place watching their bags. I was able to roam free like a local. No regrets.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#36

Post by SoftTalker »

jaggederest wrote: post #30
SoftTalker wrote: post #25

> I had my worst-ever packing experience in the late nineties, when I was a teen-ager. Is hyphenating a word like teenager a New Yorker idiosyncracy? Or is that a "soft" hyphen that crept into the final article copy? On the topic of packing, my advice is to roll your clothes instead of folding them. Rolling avoids wrinkles and allows more space-filling options. That plus the general advice of packing just a few unive…

It's a New Yorker style manual thing, just like diaresis on reëducate for example [1]. I think it's sensible in this specific instance (and others like it generally) because it allows the user to disambiguate [I had my worst] [ever packing experience] from [I had my worst ever] [packing experience]. I'm not sure what other punctuation or style you'd use there to clarify that, besides letting the user figure it out fr…

Actually my question was about teen-ager. Haven't seen that hyphenated since before e-mail stopped being hyphenated.

Worst-ever does make sense in that usage.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#37

Post by nradov »

patcon wrote: post #32

Washing the days clothes as you shower is a game changer. Even Waring them into shower, soaping them while wearing, and rinsing out by hand. Depends on climate, but if they dry in 2 days, you barely need anything

You've got to be kidding. I'm not going to waste time on a trip washing laundry by hand. Just pack another bag, and if you're staying longer then pick a hotel with coin-op washer / dryer machines available for guest use.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#38

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

coldtea wrote: post #24
AlotOfReading wrote: post #13

I really don't understand what people are putting in the 2-3 large suitcases I see them struggling to shove in overhead. For one, rolling luggage is usually a mistake for anyone who's not flight crew. I bring a week's worth of thin clothes that layer. If I need more, I'm either washing by hand or using a service. Basic toiletries, an e-reader, phone, keys, charger bricks, a notebook/pens, daypack. It fits into an und…

> For one, rolling luggage is usually a mistake for anyone who's not flight crew. Rolling luggage is amazing, especially that that goes into the overhead compartment. "I bring a week's worth of thin clothes that layer. If I need more, I'm either washing by hand or using a service. Basic toiletries, an e-reader, phone, keys, charger bricks, a notebook/pens, daypack. It fits into an underseat backpack with room to spar…

> If you slob it like a 19 year old backpacker, sure.

Had an interesting trip when I was 55. First 7 days: my niece's wedding, a cross-country + transatlantic trip away, with lots of occasions (or need, if you were so minded) for good looking semi-formal wear. Next 20 days: backpacking (like a 19 year old) for 280 miles across the Scottish Highlands.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#39

Post by bluedino »

SoftTalker wrote: post #31
getfacl wrote: post #23

Used to travel for work 3 weeks a month and worked with a group of folks who took pride in traveling light. I learned to never pack for more than 6 days. After 5 days either do the laundry or use the hotel laundry service.

Hotel laundry service tends to be quite expensive, but many hotels have a coin-op (or maybe an app these days) laundry room where you can do your own. That's very handy for underwear, socks, and casual items. And some people for whatever reason think that everything you wear once needs to be washed before you can wear it again. Break out of that mindset. You can usually wear pants and shirts several times if they are…

If it's a trip for work, who cares how much it costs.

Re: Why Can't You Pack a Bag? (2024)

#40

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

alistairSH wrote: post #8
all2 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The heaviness of your layering will depend directly upon the environment you will be in. The above is adequate for most temperate climates. If you plan on being at higher elevations during local fall/winter/spring, your base layer will likely be light (and moisture wicking, please do this), and your first layer will likely need to start heavier than a temperate climate base layer. Having spent a considerable amount o…

That's true, but doesn't really negate the principle... the set of layers is just different. If you're heading to that high elevation where it's mostly cold, you probably don't need to bring shorts on the off chance it's 85F one afternoon - you just wear your lightest pants that day. The other things I've found is it's pretty darn easy to wash a few items in the sink while traveling. A 14 day trips doesn't require 14…

> you probably don't need to bring shorts on the off chance it's 85F one afternoon - you just wear your lightest pants that day.

or even bring pants that can have the lower leg sections removed, so that even if it is 95F one day, you still have some lightweight shorts ...

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