Quote:
Originally Posted by brocoli
I couldn't find any other thread with this info, but if i'm wrong, please point me in the wrong direction.
I put it out to the CP Brain trust who travels all the time. As someone who is starting to travel more, i'm trying to move to carry-on only. Any tips/tricks that help you with carry on for week long vacations would be appreciated. I'm also looking at getting a new suitcase and have been looking at the Briggs & Riley. Does it make that much of a difference to pay the price or are the cheaper options just as good?
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Buying a good bag that compartmentalizes well is nice. But honestly you can get around it if it doesn't have those features. Just make sure your bag is durable and maneuvers well. Don't blow crazy money on a set up.
At first, budget $20-30 a trip to replace things (ie: shavers etc.) and just consider it half the cost of the check in luggage savings. Do this for the first half a dozen trips until you get the hang of it or find alternatives that can pass through security without major headaches.
Some people swear by luggage cubes, but don't feel like you have to spend a lot because you can DIY for cheap. DIY cheaper version is just grabbing a bunch of L size freezer bags and compartmentalizing things by category (ie: under garments, medication, cables, documents etc.) so you can quickly pull things out and put things back in case of a security check and not have snags or require refolding stuff etc. Superstore also has a PC brand XL freezer bag that is bigger than the L sized can fit things up to the size of a binder with room to spare. I think L size freezer bags max out at tablet sized items, so for letter sized docs, you always have to fold. You can even buy storage bags that you can vacuum out the air, but that's overkill and pointless IMO. I always bring extra L and XL freezer bags in case a bag explodes, or I want to compartmentalize further or my travel companions need some. It's also useful for water proofing certain things internally/externally.
The liquids and gels in those freezer bags is extremely useful. Even if one explodes, then it's limited inside that bag (usually) vs ruining everything else in the bag.
Charging cables/wires etc. in a freezer bag make it so much easier for organizing, less snagging and pulling out the wrong stuff when you want one item.
Use both the carry on and personal bag allotment you have. Also add on a fanny pack to quick load all important documents at certain stages.
It's always easier to reach to a fanny pack for the travel documents/money vs spinning bags around and digging into compartments IMO. A fanny pack also allows you that extra bag and I often empty my pockets in the security line into the fanny pack and I can quick unload all my pockets into the tub and then quick grab all my pocket contents (fanny pack) and slowly rearrange them back into my pockets away from the crowded security area.
Jackets/sweaters, pay the premium and get ones that are durable and easy to compress. Down vests that you can compress to the size of a water bottle are more space efficient than certain jackets and sweaters taking 2-5x the space.
I use small carabiners or S clips on the zippers to keep the zippers from opening on their own when moving about or squashed under the seat/overhead bin. I keep a couple extras in case they break or another travel companion has a bag that keeps opening on its own. S clips are more durable than small spring carabiners in my experience. I also have 2-3 full sized carabiners that I can clip to the outside of my personal bag (backpack) that I can use to clip bigger jackets or even plastic bags (ie: duty free bags) to increase my hands free or avoid the extra things sliding all over the place. I used to keep a match boxed sized reusable bag inside that I could clip, but I never found I used it often enough for it to make sense to keep bringing. I don't always like putting what I purchased into a cramped bag in case the item is fragile, which is why having it outside is a nice option to have.