Travel Gear

The one quirky thing I really like is a container of paper-like soap sheets you can pick up at REI. I don't like packing bar soap or body wash when traveling.

A swiss army knife and plastic fork are my picnic set. I now have to buy the knife on arrival because I can't carry it on anymore.

Digital cameras are the greatest invention ever. I used to pack nearly a daypack full of spent film, now one or two tiny SD cards holds more pics than I used to bring home from a trip.

If you do your own laudry in sink, a really big zip-lock and a chamois are wonderful. The bag becomes your washing machine and the chamois will wring dry all your clothes and dry quickly to pack the next morning.

Most travel towels are overrated. I also bring a microfiber towel from a car-wash kit that works better than any travel towel I ever bought at a fraction of the cost.

A lot of things that I bought for personal travel have worked their way into my business travel. For example, I got packing squares. I got them initially as I needed to make it easy to find things and pack efficiently for train travel and even car travel because UK parking lots often don't work well with wheels. But I don't leave home without them now. I got a reading light for use in hotel rooms with bad bulbs and funky lampshades. This weekend I averted a nephew meltdown by loaning it to the nine-year old who wanted to read before sleeping, but his younger sister needed the light out. I do use the stretchy clothes line. The fast dry towel has been useful. I will also admit that I got the iPhone primarily to take to Europe last August and now it had become my most addictive toy at home. I do have some clothes from the travel clothing places, but they too get worn at home as well....

The travel first aid kit stays home now, but that may be because I'm walking with a group and not on my own. My Tilley hat got used for a while, but not lately. Although the $20 bill that i had tucked up inside it sure came in handy at home one day when I needed a fast $20! The electronic travel crossword puzzle game went to Europe once, was never used and has not been back since. ; )

Pam

I actually find anything that has to do with hand washing clothing overrated. Unless you spill something or you get extremely sweaty, most clothing (with the exception of underwear) can be worn more than once. A typical traveler plans at least 2 nights in a major city during their European vacation, there is almost always someplace nearby with a washer/dryer. In the time it takes to hand wash, wring out clothing and spread it all over the hotel room attempting to dry it overnight, I could find a coin-op laundromat where I can sit and let the machine do all the work. Why would I want to pretend I'm some circa 1905 washer woman beating my wet clothes against the tub when I can multi-task and write out postcards or plot out my itinerary for the following day? Even in more rural areas, I've been able to find sympathetic B&B owners who are willing to let me run a load of clothing through their washing machine, or I've popped into a hostel that I wasn't even staying at and asked them if I could use their coin-op laundry.

The other overrated travel gear is a sleep sack. Just about every hostel now provides sheets at no charge, and the ones that don't will rent sheets for generally no more than 2 Euro.

I always take an eyemask and ear plugs no matter where I travel - hotel walls can be thin and I've been in too many budget hotels with sheer curtains (or no curtains!). If I'm hostelling, I take flip flops for the shower and a small plastic soap caddy on a rope so I can keep my bare feet and my soap off the floor (hostel shower stalls never seem to have a shelf and the floors are generally gross).

I'm a big one for doing laundry in my room. Rather than waste a couple of hours sitting in a laundromat, or leaving my clothes unattended where someone could take them, I spend a whopping 10-15 minutes every other day rinsing out my stuff. Since everything I have is quick drying and wrinkle free, I tend to do a quick load before going out to dinner, and by the next morning, everything is dry.

I don't like the feel of wearing dirty clothing and would prefer to put something on that's clean.

My laundry kit consists of laundry soap (either a small bottle of liquid or laundry sheets), a sink stopper, two of the newer inflatable hangers that allow hanging more than one item on each one, and a clothesline (although with these new hangers, I'm thinking of leaving the clothesline home. I may occasionally take a large ziploc to wash the clothes in but that depends on where I'm going.

A couple of days ago, the Fodors website had an article about items people like to take:

Things to bring on your next trip

But it's really going to come down to personal preference. What is a necessity for one, may be seen as something ridiculous by another.

Love: tiny plastic bottles with the spill-proof squirt tops. Perfect for safely carrying TSA-approved amounts of face wash, shampoo, etc.

Love: the unlocked quad-band Motorola v190 phone I bought on eBay. It has fantastic battery life, good reception and sound quality, is old and beat up enough that nobody wants to steal it, and cost me all of $35 -- so if it does get lost or broken, I won't cry.

Hate: neck pillows. They aren't comfortable. They just aren't.

Hate: "intruder alarms." If you're that worried about someone breaking into your hotel room, maybe you should stay elsewhere.

Clearly do not understand: those travel vests and jackets with tons of pockets. Oh, how alluring they are, with their promise that I can carry everything with me invisibly. But I put one on, loaded it up, and looked...well, lumpy. It screamed, "Hello, I am a tourist, and my jacket is chock full of valuables."

I generally travel like I am going about my normal day at home, same shoes, clothes, purse etc but there are a few things I do bring specifically when I travel:

Eye mask and ear plugs, great for noisy hotels, and even better on the plane, I usually wear ear plugs when I fly because the hum of the plane gives me a headache.

Zip lock bags - great for storing pages ripped out of my guidebooks, saving ticket stubs etc, keeps my wet items contained if they leek , stores jewelry when I go through customs, keeps things organized without being hidden away in pockets in my purse. It's my version of duct tape

Converter - I straighten my hair

What do I bring that I couldn't live without?
1. Knit yoga pants - these go in my carry on - I change into them before sleeping on a long flight - much more comfortable than the heavier pants I usually wear.
2. Sarong - works as a bathing suit cover up, picnic blanket, sheet, towel, you name it.
3. small pillowcase - goes in the carry on - slip it over the airline pillow.
4. Small, foam earplugs - can't sleep on the plane without them.
5. Extra hand wipes - these feel great after a long plane ride.

4 sets of clothes.

2 pairs of shoes.

2 Rick Steves' travel clothes lines & 2 S hooks.

Rick Steves' x-large travel towel..plus one small one cut up for face clothes.

Movie & digital camera.

Laptop with an Iomega Portable Hard drive.

Canary WiFi finder.

Garmin GPS.

Travel power strip for charging batteries and laptop.

Small tablet, pens, tiny hi-liter & tiny black marker, travel compass & themometer, adapters, travel umbrella, rain poncho, 3 tiny fold up totes, travel Starbucks thermos, screwed carabiners, tiny sissors, safety pins, dual-voltage hair dryer and usual toiletries.

Fleece jacket even in summer....just in case.

Neck passport holder which also contains Rail Pass if needed and neck money belt.

Small travel combination locks on all openings. TSA locks on checked baggage.

Printed ininerary (with tabs) with copy of hotels, hostels web page and train schedules for travel days.

Black plastic garbage bag for the Roll Aboard in case stuck in rain.

Zip lock bags in various sizes. Spoon, fork and plastic knife if bag is checked.

Flip flops for showers in hostels.

Coffee lid, salt & pepper, sarong for picnics.

I only carry the Rick Steves' 21" Roll Aboard, a day back pack 15 x 19 x 10 expanded and a PacSafe Stash Safe 200.

Rick Steves' silk sleep sheet and a round oblong neck pillow.

LOL. Can't think of anything else at the moment that I take each trip.

There is some ridiculous travel gear out there, but some that seems ridiculous can actually be pretty useful. I got a Magellan's gift card last year and bought some packing cubes. They're the greatest things ever. You can roll your clothes up tight, and they actually stay rolled up. I usually share a suitcase with one of my kids, and with the cubes, we can keep our clothes separate so I don't have to dig through my daughter's clothes to find mine.

Packing cubes are fantastic! They are great for staying organized. I think that because you can get more clothes confined into the space of a cube you can use a smaller suitcase. When I arrive somewhere I just put the cubes into drawers (if provided) rather than unpack and repack. I have some fast drying pants that roll up into capris that I have taken with me when I know I will have to hand wash clothes. I agree that I would rather spend 10 or 15 minutes handwashing clothes every few days than spend a few hours in a laundromat. I have inflatable hangers that are great for hanging clothes to dry.

Just curious Jordan, what travel gear do you consider ridiculous?

I don't consider anything listed here ridiculous and I can't really think of anything specific right now. Whenever you read those lists of travel stuff usually from larger news organizations and the like. There are usually some good suggestions but some stuff that's just crazy in my opinion.

Thanks for your opinions. Like I've said I have read numerous packing lists but I thought I'd ask to see what people use and what common travel items you think are overrated.

I use contact lense cases for moisturizer, hair gel, antiseptic ointment, etc. They hold more than enough for me on a 2 week trip. And I always take a hand fan. Comes in handy in overheated museums, theaters and such.

What are PACKING CUBES? Where do you get them?

You can get packing cubes on this website at the Travel Store. You can also get them on other travel supply websites and at travel stores. Rei also carries them. I have some Rick Steves cubes and also some Eagle Creek cubes. The RS cubes come in 2 sizes and Eagle Creek makes many sizes and configurations.

Cheri, I see that you're from Portland. Both the AAA travel store and Fred Meyer carry packing cubes from Eagle Creek. I travel for a living and use mine all the time.

One of the most important things I left off my list was LED flashlights.

Of course everything I pack is "most important".

You can find some packing cubes from Eagle Creek at a discount at Sierra Trading Post online and also at the Container Store, which is having their annual travel sale right now. They ARE great for organization and quick unpacking/repacking.

I also like the cheapy travel containers with spouts from the Container Store (not the Nalgene ones--these are cheaper and have spouts--there's even one with a spray top). The 2 oz. one is 89 cents. I've been traveling with one of mine since 1994. (They're 10 cents more now than they were then, though ;-)). No leaks, and they come in 1 and 2 oz. sizes that are very handy when you just need a little of something. They also have small clear plastic snap-shut pill containers that are great for a small amount of face cream, ointment, etc. That's probably my most essential travel "gear"--being able to downsize toiletries. I use masking tape and a Sharpie to label my different bottles. I guess I think fancy toiletry sets are overrated :-).

LED flashlights are super--I especially like the tiny ones you can clip to a zipper tab. You forget they're there--until you find one convenient, like when you want to take a shower in a power outage :-). Or when find yourself on the streets of Florence when ALL of the lights go out--terrifying--I didn't have one then. I always now make sure I have a tiny light on me somewhere at all times. I take two or three of these on every trip and keep them in different bags or on a jacket so I always have one with me.

Good shoes, too. And something to read.

I guess if I had the above and could wash out my clothes, I could travel with just these items.

It's great to read what people bring with them. As for a flashlight, I keep a small one in my purse at all times, even at home. I use it to read menus in dimly lit restaurants usually, but you never know when it might come in handy. For traveling I keep it by the bed in a hotel so if I wake up at night I can use it to find my way into the bathroom without turning on a light.

I also like travel bottles with sprouts and the screw on lids. I fill the bottles about 2/3 to 3/4 full...squeeze then attach lid as bottles expand during flight.

I am a flashlight nut and especially like the 4" Coast Tatical light which is my main one. I have those tiny LED flashlights that I attach to my day pack and Stash Safe 200. They are there if you need them for whatever reason.

Excellent post and responses! Good reading.

Actually, I usually fill my little bottles nearly full (depending on how much of whatever it is I need for the trip). If there's no air, I don't think expansion is a problem. I've traveled on many, many flights with the translucent bottles with spouts from the Container Store and never had a leak that way. Maybe I've just been lucky :-).

Thanks for the replies! I've enjoyed reading about what you take with you.

I haven't traveled a lot with travel bottles but the couple times I have there weren't any leaks or spills. I just use no-name translucent travel bottles.

Instead of washclothes, I take enough of the premoistened facial cloths (Olay and lots of other brands out there) in a ziploc bag. If they dry out, they'll still "reconstitute" once you get them wet.