Carry On only - how to pack
 

I happened upon this last year while preparing to pack for a 25 day, 4 country trip in spring when weather is so variable. It worked like a charm, and it is the only way I will pack and travel now.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/201...l?ref=business

I am definitely a rolling packer. I can pack a ton into my suitcase that way.

I've seen that article before. I still think she's packing too many clothes. Sure, there's room in the bag, but rolling the clothes do NOT make them weigh less. There are going to be times you actually have to lift the bag up somewhere. I wouldn't be able to put it up on an overhead rack in a plane or a bus. I probably wouldn't even be able to lift it high enough to get it into the back of a car.

Deb -- but how do you choose what to bring? That's the hard part for me. This time going to Cannes, Morocco (from really cold to really hot) and Rome. Figuring out what can be a layer in the desert and yet a chic top in Rome is rather daunting!

Tomorrow I'm taking a shot at packing by destination -- luckily that still means cold weather gear toward the bottom, but gonna keep the few nicer pieces on top. (And of course the jacket goes on the plane -- as a pillow, neck rest, blanket, etc.

Packing for different temperatures is tricky, but we have a slight advantage as where we live, the temps vary around 30 degrees from morning, through the day, to night which gives us a bit of practice.

Wear as much of the heavy stuff on the plane. You can take it off once you get to your seat. That means wear your heaviest shoes, jacket, jeans, sweater. etc to free up room for the bag.

I also try to pack/wear homogeneous colors so it is easy to mix and match. I am far from a fashion statement but not dowdy either. Toss in a lovely scarf for a punch of zing and I am good to go.

I really have learned to make due with 2-3 of each item and carrying Purex laundry sheets to do wash at night in bathroom sink.

Last year, I laid everything out on the bed, then rolled to see if it fit. I did a bit of deleting and it really worked well.

Good Luck!

If you can do without wheels, the same outside dimension non-wheeled bag will hold a lot more inside than a wheeled bag and saves considerable weight also. It's not just how and what to pack, it's what you pack it in.

I agree AJP, but since I cannot carry a bag of that size, nor wear it on my back, I have to make due with wheels.

I absolutely go with wheeled luggage. The wheels take a little space, but the convinience is worth it to me. I CAN carry a piece of luggage but prefer not to. Airports and train stations can be very large, I might have a decent walk to the hotel, if it is a business trip I am probably wearing heels, etc.

I can, however, always lift my bag over my head to put it in overhead compartments regardless of how tight I pack.

DebitNM- your packing tips are great. I'm a carry on only devotee and firmly believe anyone can do this if they try.

Personal pet peeve alert:
The idiom meaning to manage to get along with the means available is make do, not make due. Make do is essentially short for make [something] do well enough.

Happy travels!
Saige

I agree that she's packing too many clothes. I'd rather have less clothes in my bag and more room in case I fall in love with something that I need to haul home.

I wear one pair of pants and bring along 2 others. If it's going to be cold, a couple of sweaters and some wintersilks. If warm a couple of tops and a jacket or sweater for evenings.
I do like the luxury of extra shoes.

These are clothes for 10 days! Who needs that many clothes - 3 swimsuits, 3 nightgowns, all those pants and dresses. She packs more clothes than I have taken for a month and almost more than I own :)

I don't pack carry on, I don't see any real benefit as airlines I fly from Australia don't charge for my one standard smallish checked in bag, but I'm afraid I can't take this seriously.

Well I would have never gone with such a big bag. I always prefer keeping only needed things like brush, comb, paste etc and very few clothes as I have to obviously buy something specially in apparel every-time from the new place I visit.

Thanks for the link. I have been rolling cloths for some time now, but I roll 2 or 3 pants,or 5 or so tops, together to help lessen wrinkles. I'll try rolling items individually to see if that takes less space.


Husband and I just returned from 2 weeks in France. I kept asking him to pack only carryon, but he has to have a clean shirt and socks for each day. This is a man who does not EVER sweat and doesn't need deodorant. A few hours before we left, I took all his things out of his suitcase and repacked it all in a carryon, with his permission, of course, to prove my point. Except for a few tiny items, it all fit, but he refused to do it as he did not have 3 oz of his shaving cream or toothpaste for sensitive teeth. We could have stopped at a drugstore as the airport is over a 2 hour drive from home, but he just does not want to be bothered with taking a suitcase onboard, it's easier for him to check it and forget about it. To each his own, but I prefer knowing where all my things are. We didn't have a wait at baggage claim at CDG or back home at Newark so I couldn't use that to convince him carryon was better. Maybe he's right? (LOL)

Karen

<< This is a man who does not EVER sweat and doesn't need deodorant. >>

Are you sure he's a real person? That sounds like another species - nothing like my understanding of "husband." Although the fussiness and attachment to routine ring very true.

My secret to carryon is to just take very little, so I don't need special techniques for getting a lot of clothes into the bag. Of course, I wash in the sink every night, but that's not really a bother.

We are headed for 3 weeks in Spain and am packing and as with all trips to Europe, I pack black/gray/beige so to accessorize with only black shoes & silver jewelry. Caftan is my bathrobe as well as beach coverup. Trick is in the fabrics, I take only the thinnest nylon pants, modal/rayon tops so I can bring more. Also always pack pr of cuddleduds as pj's which can be layed under slacks in colder places. They dont look like pj's so can be worn as leggings under tunics, etc. As we have many hotels, I do not roll: I pack all tanks & shortsleeves together in plastic bag, all undies in another; this way I can grab them quickly without messing entire piles.

topping for summer travel~

What about the weight? I'm flying today on an airline that has a 7 kg carry on limit. I just weighed mine - it's just over 7 kg with only a fleece jacket, a shirt, a camera, a shawl, two books and a tiny bag of toiletries.

Mrs. Peabody and I just did 12 days with only 2 carry-ons. The weight limit problem was solved by using our lightest carry-on bags, filling them with clothing, topping up with heavier items only up to the weight limit, wearing the heavy shoes and jackets on the plane, and putting the heaviest items into the "personal item" bags. Mine computer carrier was able to carry the camera, chargers, batteries, cell phone, adapters, and the 1 quart liquid bags, while my wife's large purse had the water bottle (filled after security), food, guidebooks, and so on.

Another weight saver was using those flimsy dry-cleaner bags to make packing modules rather than the heavy zip-locks, good for about 1/2 pound per carry-on.

The real weight saving was in the empty bag weight. By foregoing multiple zippers and compartments and high-durability metal fittings, the crappy carry-ons we used saved about 2 pounds per bag, allowing a significant increase in clothing (all in compatible colors, mainly black). Had my back felt better, I would have switched out one of the roller bags for a 1 pound unstructured fabric "suitcase" and got another 1.5 pounds of clothes, but it wasn't necessary.

Coming home, we packed the carry-ons heavier and checked them, so we could take home our purchases despite the weight increase in our total baggage.

I guess I don't understand the obsession with carry on only anyway. We arrived in NZ a few days ago with two suitcases and two carry ons, the contents of one which is listed above. The suitcases were absolutely necessary for winter hiking. The space much needed for waterproof clothing, hiking boots and poles, down slippers, long underwear, backpacks...perhaps the carry on only crowd doesn't go winter hiking.

always have one extra bag with you in case you may want to buy souvenirs. A pouch where you can put all the important stuff like travel documents, money, medicine or even a map.

<i>the carry on only crowd doesn't go winter hiking</i>

When you have that much specialized gear, a carry-on only would be near impossible, no doubt about it.

For normal activities in cold climate, layering allows you to still pack on the lightweight side.

And finding THE lightest weight bag is also very important.

Have a great time in NZ!

Oh I remember this article, the 3 nightgown lady. All she has is CLOTHES. Where's her "stuff"? Plus I HATE rolled clothes. I have never found that to be a room saver myself. I'm a dedicated neat folder/stacker.

Unless I'm going traipsing around Europe by train, I just don't get the obsession with a carry-on only strategy. I pack light, but I check my bag, and take what I need. That said, there are no nightgowns in my bag -lol!

<<<I just don't get the obsession with a carry-on only strategy.>>>

I mainly aim for that when I know I have short connections or little space at my destination...

Greece/Istanbul had 45 minute connections and involved sprinting across two airports. My bag wouldn't have made it, I barely did.

Africa had plenty of time for connections, but we had very little space in the vehicle for bags. We were asked to please just bring a small, soft sided bag (such as a duffle or a carryon size backpack). Stacking our 3 small bags in the far back really emphasized why that request was made.

For Antarctica, I think I have a short'ish connection, but I'm sharing a cabin with 3 other women. There simply is no space for a larger bag.


Carryon only helps when there are delays and I get moved to another flight or another airline. There's no wondering if my bag will get there as I have it. The size restriction doesn't really limit me much because of the bag I use (you can fit a LOT more in than you'd ever expect) but the liquids restriction is a complete PitA. I pretty much always check my main bag on the way home and carry anything fragile with me.

Carryon isn't any "better" than checking a bag, it's simply easier for some situations. I get really frustrated by those who seem rabid that carryon only is the ONLY right way to go and anyone who checks a bag is being ridiculous.

Actually, you can easily do carryon only for winter hiking. We have done that, but we do wear our hiking boots on the plane. We do a lot of backcountry backpacking, so each piece of gear is carefully thought out, especially when purchasing it.

Anyway, for regular trips we also do carryon only. DH is in Germany this week and even with Lufthansas 7kg carryon limit, he managed just fine. His bag had 2 suits, 4 shirts, 4 ties, socks, underwear, tshirts, and belt. He put his toiletries in his laptop bag, along with his running gear. His bag came in at 17.9 pounds fully packed.

Even DD managed carryon only for all of last summer while doing a study abroad term. I laughed when she packed, as she had 28 pair of undies.

For us, we just prefer to not deal with checking bags. Plus, sometimes you just cannot chance having your bag lost or even just late. Like DH this week, he needed his suit on day of arrival and was not in the mood to wear it on the plane. Some people don't like to carryon though, like my mother. So whatever works for each of us as we all have our preferences.

I don't get the carry on only thing either. I don't want to wash out my clothes nor do I want to smell. I often slop things on my tops, so I need quite a few. I want to have fun. We take one suitcase each, 22" which we check and one backpack on the plane. We are leaving for Scotland 5/16 and are in BC, so we can check two each if we want. We have the ones which roll in any direction so moving around is easy. And I can pick up either of them and put them anywhere.

<<<I want to have fun. We take one suitcase each, 22" which we check and one backpack on the plane. >>>

Anita, a 22" roller *is* a carryon size bag (I think 22x14x9 is a standard size for carryons). You simply choose to check it instead of carrying it on and putting the backpack at your feet.

If you don't have tight connections then you're kind of hitting the best of both worlds... you don't have to futz with the bag in the airports, but you also don't have a large bag to futz with during your trip.

Ok, then I made a mistake. Ours must be 26". They are bigger than the carry on size.

If you've flown much in the States, you'll understand the need for carry-on only.
Between fees for checked bags, lost luggage, short connections, delayed flights that leave you stranded but keep your bag hostage... you'll quickly learn to carry-on everything you need/want at the other end.

Never mind being able to simply walk off the plane, into a cab and go. No waiting for the baggage carousel, jostling for position to grab, what you hope, is your bag.

I've never heard anyone come home from a trip and say they wished they taken MORE!

PS: a 'carry-on' in the US is 22", in most inter-European flights it's 21".