How To Pack It > Useful Packing Tips

If you've done a good job of selecting what to pack, the task of actually packing it is mostly a straightforward one. Nonetheless, here are a few ideas that you might want to consider...

Organizer Pouches

An excellent item that has become difficult to find of late (since Outdoor Research ceased production of their fine versions) is the "organizer pouch", a flat, rectangular, often multi-compartmented, nylon bag with zipper closure(s). They sometimes incorporate see-through mesh panels, and are available in a variety of colours. These are terrific for avoiding what could otherwise be a cluttered mess in your bag. Use a little thought to organize your belongings into categories, and store them in the pouches; this approach also makes smaller items less likely to be lost or forgotten.

By way of example, one of my pouches (the blue one) contains all of my laundry-related items (i.e., sink stopper, detergent, spot remover, viscose towel, travel clothesline, inflatable hangers).

An appropriately-sized organizer pouch also makes an excellent core object for the bundle wrapping method of packing clothes. The best available one for this purpose that I know of at the moment is the large-sized "Deluxe Pocket" (made by On Sight Equipment, and pictured at left), which is about 10 × 14 inches (26 × 36cm) in size. A lesser (albeit more widely available) option is a large-sized Pack-It® Sac (made by Eagle Creek). Both of these pouches have tabs/clips in the top corners, which should be removed for use as a core object.

Packing Cubes

So-called "packing cubes" may be something of a misnomer (they are rarely cubes, but rather rectilinear zippered fabric containers, often with mesh panels to reduce weight and make the contents visible), but they, like the above pouches, can be very helpful to organize the contents of one's bag. Your choice of cubes will depend on how you choose to organize things; fortunately, they come in a wide variety of sizes. I normally carry two, adding a third for business trips.

The first, used for toiletries, is a Pack-It® Quarter Cube (made by Eagle Creek, and pictured at right). A mere 7.5 × 4.5 × 2.5 inches in size, it is dwarfed by the giant "Dopp kits" (and worse) that many people seem to consider necessary for this purpose. But mine quite handily holds all of my toiletries, plus vitamins, medicines, etc. with room to spare.

I also employ a Pack-It® Tube Cube (again by Eagle Creek) to carry miscellaneous items, things that don't logically group in other ways (such as my flashlight, Jakstrap, whistle, compass, alarm clock, sunglasses, eyeglass retainer, water cup, garbage bags, etc.). This bag is 13 × 4 × 3 inches in size, and fits neatly along one side of my carryon. Sort of my "junk drawer".

On business-related trips I additionally carry a small packing cube (one no longer on the market, but similar to Eagle Creek's Quarter Cube) to hold miscellaneous laptop gear: power supply & cord, mouse, network cables, flash memory card adaptor, earphones, and a remote control for presentations.

Coping with Shoes

If you're packing a pair of shoes (in addition to those you're wearing), consider the use of shoe bags: lightweight, inexpensive, drawstring bags designed to keep any residue of Parisian streets away from the rest of your belongings. Magellan's sells nice ones. Or you can save some money by using the plastic bags that newspapers (in many places) are delivered in: they're sturdy, long, and not too wide, ideal for the purpose. And when you're finished with them, you can simply dispose of them.

Shoes are perhaps the most difficult items to pack, given their typical weight, bulk, and awkward shape. Minimize the number you take, and try to wear (rather than pack) the bulkiest pair when reasonable. It is usually best to pack a pair of shoes tightly together, soles out, with the heels at opposite ends. Also, don't neglect the spaces inside your packed shoes; they're great for fragile items, or anything else that will fit, for that matter.

Buddy Packing

If you have an extremely compatible travelling partner, you might consider packing half of each person's things in the other's bag. That way, in case of a bag being lost (much less likely for the carryon traveller), each of you will still have half of his/her stuff. This method may have the downside of providing something in the way of a disincentive to pack minimally, however!

Whether or not you do buddy packing, it should be obvious that when two or more travel together, many of the packing list items (alarm clock, guidebooks, repair supplies, etc.) need not be replicated in multiple bags!

For the Travel Minimalist: Really Light Packing

Those willing to forego certain niceties (notably extra clothing), and adopt a devil-may-care adventurous spirit, can journey with considerably fewer items than I suggest on this site. Some people manage casual travel quite well with only a daypack (I have elsewhere mentioned that the bag I most frequently use is smaller than the majority of those I recommend). Ray Jardine's book addresses many of the issues associated with this form of travel.

Some people travel with no bags at all. Tackling this particular challenge from an engineering perspective that is not unlike my own (a frightening thought to some!) is Anders Ansar (pictured at right), who travels — in tropical areas anyway — with only the (significantly-modified) clothes on his back.

At the extreme end of the carry-everything-in-your-pockets spectrum is Guinness World Records notable Crazy Eric, who's neither light (his "packing list" currently numbers some 1300 items!) nor that much of a traveller (he's unlikely to pass airport security), but unquestionably interesting. And he does suggest what's possible, if you're sufficiently eccentric!