What have you found works best for packing your bag or backpack? Do you roll your clothes, fold them? use all packing cubes? I leave in a week for a month to Europe and so far have all my clothes rolled and have one packing cube. Usually I have found rolling clothes leaves less wrinkles then folding does. Any advice?
Thanks
Lindsay, like you my wife rolls her clothes and also feels that it leaves less wrinkles than folding does.
I roll my clothes and arrange them between 4 different packing cubes. I find it easier to keep things neat in my bag if I split them up like that. I also have a toiletries bag with a hook and a plastic bag where I keep all my liquids.
I am a roller. My only problem is I can get so much in by rolling that it can bump the weight up.
I fold my shirts and since I'm too cheap to buy packing cubes, I buy lingerie laundry bags which are about $.99 each and fit about 5-8 shirts depending on how bulky the shirts are. Then I throw my underwear and socks in one together. I just put my pants in alone. I use a backpack and am able to pile the bags on top of each other vertically to the top of the backpack. But I don't bring a lot of items that wrinkle. Or better yet, I don't really care if they wrinkle! I dress super casual.
Hi Lindsay
I'm a folder and never had a problem wit wrinkles. I pack for both my wife and I and very few wrinkles appear unless the baggages folks are having a really bad day. I also don't use cubes. I'm very precise and think that may be why I usually don't have problems with wrinkles or the amount I can fit into a suitcase.
Keep the heavy stuff at the bottom and I also try for that nice tight but loose fit (hmmm, does that make sense?) with the amount in the bag so reduce shifting.
Lindsay,
I bundle pack. I think Red ox has a diagram.
Larry,
I am curious about the bundle packing. I was just reading about it on Onebag.com. http://www.onebag.com/pack.html. I have always used the rolling method but I am interested in hearing from people who use the bundle method. It seems like it would take up more space than rolling. I will be using a Samsonite Carry On suitcase (22x14x9) when I travel to Italy in June. Thanks
I use a combination of Eagle Creek cubes, folders and a folding technique similar to what they show here:
Travemsith packing video
Pete
Like most questions worth asking, "it depends" is the answer. Are you using a suitcase or a backpack? If a backpack, then a containment device like packing cubes will keep the heavy items from shifting to the bottom of the pack and making your back and shoulders ache. Bundle packing achieves the same end. The downside of bundle packing is that you have to completely undo the bundle to get things out of it, so you will have to re-bundle once or twice daily if you will be living out of your pack. Packing cubes provide better internal organization once you get where you're going.
I tend to bundle pack if I'm only going to one place and if I think that I will likely have drawers and closet space where I'm staying. I use packing cubes if I'm going to visit multiple places and (as in most European budget hotels) there won't be wardrobe storage in my room other than my pack.
If I'm bringing a wheeled suitcase, I don't worry about packing style as much. But I don't use wheelies more than once or twice a year.
Currently I am using a combination of bundle and roll and cube
Basically the pants in the bottom with them hanging over the edge of the bag.
Then I pack the cubes and I roll the stuff and put it in the cube. then fold the pant legs over the cube.
I also use a packing folder for my dress shirts.
I roll. Wrinkles easily hang out (depending on the material your clothes are made of), and I find it easy to get to things. But mostly, I don't take much. Even for a long stay. Worst case, you can almost always buy something. But lugging around something you aren't going to wear at least 3/5 times....I don't take it. : - )
Hi Lindsay. For people going on their first trip to Europe, the first standard advice is : put everything that you want to bring, on a pile on the floor. Bring half of those things to Europe. When my travel bag is fully loaded it weighs 15 pounds, or less. Thus, I do not need a bag that has wheels. My travel bag is the KELTY Base Camp Duffel (made of strong polyester cloth, and a good zipper the length of the bag). Its size is 24 inch x 14 inch x 13 inch. A bag of that size can be placed on the luggage rack that is above the seats in railroad trains in Europe (most trains). That would not be fun to do if the bag weighs 50 pounds. And my carry-on bag is a small shoulder bag. I like packing cubes. I use an old Columbia packing cube that is 3 inches thick. I can put 10 Men's undershirts (cotton, short sleeves) in it. Thus, if I am in Europe a total of 10 days, I do not need to wash clothes in Europe. (And I bring 10 undershorts, and more than 10 pairs of socks). Rolling clothes is an efficient use of space, but my "no iron" shirts were very wrinkled after being rolled in a Pack Mate. The wrinkles did not fall out. Shirts folded and put in a packing cube had fold lines, but the fold lines fell out over night when the shirts were on hangers in a hotel room. I usually put the socks in last : I poke the rolled pairs of socks into crevices and corners in the bag. I put only one pants in my bag. I wear each pants for 5 or six days. If pants become soiled in Europe, there are public laundries over there. When I buy accessories for travel, I search for small items. For example : I recently bought a journal book (for writing a diary during my trip): I bought a journal book that has a thickness of 1/4 of an inch. It has 80 pages to write on. My CASIO travel alarm clock's dimensions are : 2 and 1/2 inches x 1 and 3/4 inches x 1/2 inch.
Lindsay,
I use a "combination" of packing methods in my Backpack. I use two Packing Cubes (one padded) at the outer edges of the pack, and then used rolled clothing between them. If there are any "fragile" items, I roll these inside the clothes, so that some padding is provided.
I also have a small toiletries kit, which is placed at the top of the Pack so that it can be removed by just opening the top zippers of the pack slightly. That way I can remove it without disturbing anything else if necessary.
My packing method is very much a "work in progress" and it varies a bit with each trip depending on the circumstances.
Cheers!
Thanks so much! So far I have rolled my clothes and have one packing cube, I am using a REI grand tour backpack, so I think I would like to get another packing cube. Great idea to lay everything out on the floor! I mock packed my bag and it weighed 16 pounds, I think I am taking too many clothes. Also do you recommend a travel pillow? Or are these annoying and take up space? Thanks so much!
Hi Lindsay. You did a good job packing your bag. And the total weight is only 16 pounds : congratulations to you. You will appreciate the low weight when carrying the pack on your back. Shirts made of material that is not cotton do not become wrinkled. But I like the comfort of cotton shirts, and cotton pants. You asked about a travel pillow. If you are talking about a neck pillow, for use on airplane seats, I suggest that you experiment with it before flying to Europe. I thought using a neck pillow is a good idea, because it has a concave shape, preventing a person's head from moving to the left or right side (and preventing neck pain). But I did not like resting my head on a neck pillow when I was seated in an airplane. The seat back reclines back a short distance (in the coach section): thus when my head was on the pillow, my head was not in a reclined position, and sleeping was difficult for me. And carrying the neck pillow (filled with seed hulls or ...) in Europe was annoying. I attached the neck pillow to the outside of my carry-on bag, using a safety pin, but the cloth tab that the pin was attached to ripped off from the pillow. I gave the neck pillow away in Germany. In many airplanes, the tops of the seat backs have a curved shape, preventing much lateral movement of a person's head. Some travelers like bringing a neck pillow that is inflated with air. When not in use, it is deflated, it can be put in the carry-on bag. I think a neck pillow is not a necessary item. But some people like to have a small pillow at the wall of the airplane, (if they are at a seat by a window), they lean their head to the side, on a pillow.
As Rick Steves suggested, a small cloth bag (micro fiber) can be used as a pillow : put a sweater or other soft item in the bag.
What is the point of packing cubes? I'm just curious. Are they used for organizing stuff? It just seems like they would take up more room by keeping that square shape unless you absolutely pack them to the brim, in which case you'd probably get all sorts of wrinkling.
Anyone have experience with those vaccuum bags that you roll the air out of? Are they any good?
Vacuum bags wrinkle things more. If you pack the cubes correctly, they will actually lessen wrinkles, help you to be more organized and actually give you more space.
Lindsay - I use the roll method for putting clothes in my cubes. Last year on a week long trip to Chicago I was able to pack all the clothes I needed in my cubes and they fit nicely in my carry on. Like Amy, I could care less about wrinkles.
Ignas - I've had my carry on hand checked a couple of times and having the cubes was great, it made the inspection quick and easy.
Ignas, yes, Packing Cubes are used to "organize" items, especially smaller items. They're also great for keeping similar items in one spot, making things easier to find.
They're also very useful if you have to start removing things from your bag because security spotted something that required further checking. Using Packing Cubes, a Bag can be re-packed very quickly!
Cheers!
I'm with the packing cube users. I like the organization they provide. Shirts in one, pants in another, other items in yet another. I tend to wear travel clothes that don't wrinkle much or show the wrinkles. But just in case I carry a tiny spray bottle (holds a couple ounces of water) to spray the wrinkles, then let my body heat do the "ironing." I also use a Thermarest inflatable pillow. It takes up about as much space as a water bottle, weighs a couple ounces. I love it on the plane and use it in budget lodging with thin pillows.
Dwayne
I roll and rubber band my clothes (the rubber band keeps things from coming unrolled when I'm reaching into my bag for something). I use ziplock bags like spacebags for underwear and socks, squeezing out the extra air before they go in the bag.
I tried the technique of creating a bundle with all your clothes. I didn't like it because I couldn't get at the one item I wanted without unpacking and repacking the entire bag.
I roll and use packing cubes and ditty bags. When you live out of suitcase you want to be able to move thought it quickly and pack it quickly. I hate wasting time packing my suitcase in the AM. I always have a separate bag for laundry. I like to put underwear in one bag and always have a separate bag for socks. Since I take electronic devices so I always have a separate bag for stashing electronic stuff such as the charger, converter etc. I use these whenever I travel. You can get different colored bags or cubes which makes it even easier to find stuff and stow stuff. Pam
