Packing light is packing right. Whether I’m flying for a weekend or preparing for a six month stay on a cargo ship I’m not carrying much more than the bare minimum. Like many travelers I’m hesitant to check a bag. I’d rather have the convenience and peace of mind that comes with keeping all my travel items in the cabin.
Most Internet packing lists include as many travel items as possible. Sorry but nobody is carrying 43 separate “essential” items on their trip. Some bloggers will swear you need to carry a $49 hydroflask or risk dying of thirst in the national parks. Nonsense. Spend $1.49 on a bottle of water and refill it as often as necessary.
The travel items listed here are what I actually bring along on every trip, no matter the destination. I know how important they are because I use them all the time. These are things that, if they were lost would have to be replaced immediately.
Where’s the Money? This site may contain affiliate links. Many travel sites include such links to earn a commission at no cost to readers.
A Good Suitcase
It should be obvious that everyone needs a good suitcase. Or perhaps I should say a good enough suitcase. I honestly don’t believe that a Tumi bag is ten times better than a bag that costs 1/10 of its price. Mostly I think you should just take a good look at a bag’s wheels to insure they’re substantial.
My suitcase is from the G.H. Bass & Co. Cumberland Collection. It looks like this. It’s discontinued and I’m not seeing any available online, which is unfortunate because I’m considering a second carry-on and would love to have a match. I believe these retailed for $275 brand new. Mine came from a secondary retailer for significantly less.
The closest match I can find online is the bag pictured above from Delsey Paris. It’s $329 on their site and $225 on Amazon. Similar to the Bass, it should be able to go around the world for years and barely show a scratch. If you like the style but the price is a little high consider the London Fog Chelsea at $139 or the Ben Sherman Heathrow Haul at $88.
A Personal Travel Item
I don’t go anywhere without my Jack Spade messenger bag (pictured). It’s ideal for air travel with a built in laptop pouch and an external pouch that really helps passing TSA easily. It has small zippered pouch at the front and smaller sewn-in internal pouches for organization. It was fairly expensive when I bought it about 10 years ago but it’s been worth every penny. It’s proven durable and aged well. I love that it’s a high quality bag with a casual look that doesn’t attract undue attention. You can still find the leather version on Amazon.
If you’re looking for similar functionality and durability at a modest price point the Carhartt Ripstop messenger bag comes in right around $50 and offers outstanding organization. For other types of personal bags there’s two brands that stand out: Herschel and Fjallraven. You can find my full review of Herschel’s product line here. When I say stand out, I mean literally. It’s easy to notice these bags whenever you see them in an airport or on a city street. Style, function, durability and value combine to make pieces like the Fjallraven Kanken and the Herschel Novel Duffel attainable classics.
Toiletries Kit for Travel Items
The kit I’ve been using for several years is the canvas version of the Original Penguin Shave Kit seen above. It holds several full sized products for a trip to sea. If it’s just a few days away somewhere this kit will sit almost flat in your carry-on. I often have it wedged between two stacks of clothing.
If I were buying today I’d keep it consistent with either the Herschel Chapter Toiletry Kit, the Fjallraven Kanken Gear Bag or the Carhartt Travel Kit which comes in at a handy $19.99.
Travel Items to Go Into the Kit
If you have a specific trip coming up it can be convenient to order a kit like the one seen above. They’re available in both mens and women’s varieties. But as someone who travels often my life got a lot easier when I started buying travel size items in bulk to keep in the closet. I’ve always got a stash of mini toothpaste and small cans of shaving cream ready to go. It’s less expensive and easier to buy these online than to make a trip to the nearest CVS.
Another inexpensive travel item that makes my life easier is re-usable 3 oz. bottles. A 4-pack comes color coded so you can fill them from large sizes at home and assign a color to each product to avoid confusion. These are great if you have specific products you love at home and want to use them in the hotel. Can’t forget the Shoe Goo.
A Lightweight Tote Bag
If you buy a high quality suitcase it will likely include some sort of light cotton bag for laundry. It’s convenient to be able to hang a laundry bag in your hotel room, and to use it to divide clean clothes from dirty ones on the go. You can find light mesh bags on Amazon for around $10. If you don’t want the world staring at your shorts on the way to the laundromat a solid canvas version is the way to go.
I strongly prefer a lightweight tote like the Little Fire Craft canvas bags pictured above. This is a travel item that does triple duty. It’s good for laundry and a lot less conspicuous when you’re walking to a laundromat. Being washable it can go in the machine with your clothes. It’s a grocery bag so naturally it works great for stocking your hotel room with drinks and snacks. But where it really shines is as a beach bag. With four internal pockets it’s easy to organize your wallet, phone and electronics. This bag will fold up pretty tight inside a suitcase or lay flat under your clothes.
Spare Phone and Device Chargers
Let’s face it, you’re not getting far without at least one. It’s much better to buy a six pack of mixed size chargers online for $10 than to be stuck paying $20 or more for a single cord at the airport. These can fail suddenly so when traveling I usually take two 3′ cords and a 6′ cord. Most hotels have USB ports integrated in the rooms now but I still like to have at least two of the double USB adapters for a wall socket.
I’ve never felt it was strictly necessary to carry a battery bank for extra power but at under $30 online I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to pick up one like this if I thought it might be necessary.
Zippered Pouches for Device Chargers
Having a number of cords to manage, I wanted a way to easily consolidate them in a bag. I only wanted one pouch but at $13.99 it made sense to get four. It only took about two minutes of having these in hand to realize they have almost unlimited utility. They can be a kit for toiletries. Pack makeup into them. They’ll hold certain travel essentials you won’t want spilling out at TSA. The smaller ones are great for holding cash and spare credit cards you don’t want to carry at all times.
These aren’t marketed specifically as travel items. If you’re looking on Amazon it’s easier to find them by searching for tool pouches. To call these tool pouches is really underselling them. They’re great for any small items you can group together.
Audio Travel Items
I get a lot of use from my Sony SRS-XB13 portable speaker. This was originally a gift for my parents to take to the beach. It’s so nice in person I ordered another one to replace a cheaper speaker. I love that it’s waterproof and designed for outdoor use. It’s roughly the size of a coffee mug but the sound quality is such that you can use it daily at home. It’s good enough to replace an Echo or a HomePod.
Most travel bloggers swear by one brand or another of noise-cancelling headphones. I own a pair of Sony Headphones. They’re a solid choice for value and quality when you don’t want to spend Bose bucks. If I’m being honest though I rarely travel with them. While they do fold flat they’re just a little big to be truly “packing light.” Given a choice between headphones and the speaker I’m packing the speaker.
For the plane ride it’s going to be earbuds. This is where my loyalty to Apple comes to an abrupt halt. Airpods and Beats don’t justify their expense. It’s impossible to find value with those products. For earbuds it really is fine to just order whatever from Amazon. With three separate pieces to lose or damage during travel I just can’t see paying more than is necessary.
I wear these $20 earbuds from Amazon daily and they’re great. For an extended flight/trip it can be worth buying a second pair as backup or to listen to while the other pair charges. It also never hurts to have a pair of corded headphones handy. Many planes still have audio jacks in the seats. Airlines usually give these out for free. If they don’t, you can avoid paying a fee.
Apple AirTags
Even if you don’t plan to check luggage AirTags can still be a lifesaver. The airline may compel you to gate-check a bag or you could accidentally leave a bag in the back of an Uber. Anything can happen. I like to have one AirTag in my carry-on and another in my personal bag.
At the moment AirTags are $28 each on Amazon or you can get a 4-pack for $89. The 4-pack is the real value. The battery doesn’t connect to the device until you remove a plastic strip. So you can put these in a drawer and keep them “new” until they’re ready for use. It’s worth noting that I’m also carrying a MacBook Air 13″ and an iPhone 13 mini to go along with these. If you’re an Android user consider shopping the line of Tile products for similar functionality.
Apple AirTag Holders
If you’re going the AirTags route these are a no-brainer. They’re usually less than $10 for a 4-pack and they keep the device from bouncing around loose in your bag. Connect them to an internal zipper to make the mesh divider easier to open and close. Keep one on your dog’s collar or keys when you’re not traveling and keep your keys in you bag when you are.
There’s about a million of these to choose from on Amazon. I’m carrying the ones pictured. They’re leather and go for $8.99 at the moment. Mostly because I like the colors. They also come in silicone and in fun shapes like fruits and ladybugs.
Old School Luggage Tags
As great as AirTags are at helping you find a lost bag, they’re not going to help anyone else. Tech is great but there’s nothing simpler than putting your number on your bag so someone can call you when it’s lost. Your suitcase may come with its own tags. Even if it does selecting a custom tag is a way to personalize and easily identify your bags for just a few dollars. Whether you like monograms, clean modern design, or even Disney characters, there’s something for everyone.
I ordered the Logical Leather tags seen above. I was genuinely surprised at the quality of the leather when they arrived. They appear much more expensive than they are. These come in 11 colors and mine are a more muted burnt orange than it seems in the product photos. They look sharp on my bag (photo) and I slid a business card into the pocket for some extra personalization.
A Glass to Replace Hotel Cups
This is usually the last thing I pack because if space is limited it’s the easiest to leave behind. If your hotel room has glassware in it it’s a sign that you’re in a very well-run property. If it doesn’t, I can’t stand drinking from flimsy plastic 8 oz. cups. I usually bring along something for drinking and if not a tumbler can always be picked up in a souvenir shop for a few dollars.
My go to is a 16 oz Tervis tumbler. That’s big enough to fill up on coffee in a hotel lobby but not so large it takes too much space in a bag. The double walled construction means coasters aren’t necessary. There’s a full range of travel products from Tervis online.
I also have one of the reusable “Red Solo Cups” that came from a Las Vegas souvenir shop. It has a lot of miles on it and is good for hotel highballs but not great for coffee. The Faux Paper To-Go Cup is ideal for trips by car and also for hotel room drinking with a similar feel to the Solo but featuring a resealable lid.
