My. Best purchase for my trip. What was yours?

Small Thermarest compressible memory foam travel pillow. I have issues with 90% of hotel pillows out there, and it really helps me sleep well while I'm out having adventures.

My Keen Presidio shoes!!! I've hiked through the Smoky Mtns. and run the streets of Philly in them and expect to put many more miles on them.

Carol, I just picked up a Euro Coin Dispenser to fit in my purse while I was in Brussels. It was similar to this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-SELLER-Premium-Euro-COIN-Wallet-Dispenser-Holder-Purse-Case-FREE-UK-postage-/221804946539?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item33a49ae46b

and it is my new favorite thing! Now when I go to pay I don't have to sort through all my coins to find the right ones. :)

Enjoy!

Stretchy clotheslines (at least 2) and little packages of Woolite. Wash before dinner, hang in shower to dry (be considerate and DO NOT just hang in the room), stuff is ready to go by morning.

Stretchy clothesline, too, and inflatable hangers.

Itty bitty book light. I have to bring my old e-reader on my trips so that at night I can settle with a few pages of my fav book before I go to sleep, no matter where I am. It's so handy, on the plane, bus , train and when laying in bed in a little dark B and B, where the one lamp isn't anywhere near my bed. Best thing ever and doesn't bother hubby passed out beside me from being dragged to many assorted sites.

My Eagle Creek Compression Cubes. Doesn't help with weight, but I love the space they save.

Good point, inflatable hangers are pretty cool too. And if something is not totally dry by morning, just hit it with the everpresent in-room hair dryer for a while. Or put it on slightly damp and your body heat should dry it.

And could you tell us where you found the itty bitty book light?

I always take my itty bitty night light, good for reading, great for getting up to bathroom, flexible neck, so can stand alone or clip on back of book. They are in Barnes and noble, I think, brookstone, maybe even Walmart or something similar

It's gotta be my Ahnu Montara boots (with Sockwell circulator knee high compression socks). Foot, knee, leg and back comfort all day in all kinds weather and on all kinds of terrain and walking/standing surfaces.

just go to the source for everything made by man - Amazon

Ear plugs!

Victorinox toiletries bag
Ecco trail shoes
noise-isolation earphones
iPhone
RS guide books
Ex-officio underwear
Smartwool socks

I know this is not one item but a list of items, but these are things that I would bring with me if I brought nothing else.

My merino wool cami's (3) & Sockwell merino wool compression socks (3). Followed by JAG capri's (3 different colors); 4 Pima cotton t-shirts (hot pink, grey, black & white); and 2 different adapter plug-ins! All from Amazon, except the t-shirts & JAG capris. Merino wool is the way to go!! :)

Costco clothing. Nylon convertible pants with zip-off legs. Dryfit golf and tee shirts. Short athletic socks and spandex boxer underear.. Speedo aqua athletic shoes in black. For our 19 day vacation, i had new clothes which were cool, comfortable,colourful, practical, wrinkle-free and easy to wash and dry every day. And they were very inexpensive.

A nightlight for the bathroom. Makes it easy to find your way around a new hotel room in the middle of the night without turning a light on. We bought ours in Sicily, so we don't have to deal with an adapter. There's usually an outlet for the hairdryer, but, if not, it can go in the outlet for shavers.

This Emme toiletry bag was a gift (but still technically a purchase) that eliminated the miscellaneous bags and pouches that filled my personal item. It is sturdily made of a high quality nylon, has zip-out sections that I can use for my liquids, comes with 12 TSA-approved containers with optional use pre-printed labels, zip closures on the see-thru pockets, and it hangs. I never would have bought it for myself for nearly $50 but I am grateful to my generous sister. I carry wet and dry toiletries, gadgets/chargers/SD cards, jewelry, clothesline, sleep mask/earplugs - all the stuff that I used to carry in separate, but nicely color-coordinated, little bags. I like that all of my miscellany is in one place that I can lay out in a drawer or hang on a door.

A one foot square, roll up, plastic cutting board. Critical for picnic lunches cutting hard cheese, breads and meats.

At the moment, as these things do change, the best investment I made for my most recent trip was my yellow Kelly Moore Posey bag, which is both a purse and a camera bag, and easy to spot for those meeting you.

For a trip about three years ago, black cashmere pullover from the thrift store for $15 -- light, warm, fits in a corner of a bag and goes everywhere... and on every trip since.

How many inflatable hangars did everyone take? I don't plan on doing laundry, but I'm assuming that there might not be hangars at the hotels?

Lulu, even the cheap hotels I like had a few hangers. I often throw in 3-4 plastic hangers for drip-drying since they don't weigh much or take up much space.

Some hotels have hangers that can't be hung outside the closet. I do sink laundry at the next hotel. Speaking of laundry, 2.5 gallon ziplock bag as a portable "washing machine".

The Lowepro Passport Sling Camera Bag is definitely my pick.
It's extremely versatile, can be worn on your front when you are wearing a larger pack on your back and holds up to 3 lenses + a camera body.

Zoe, I found a product that lets you use those "unusable" hangers anywhere. It's called ConvertAHanger. I have a set and really like them. They even weigh less than inflatable hangers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NET133W?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00NET133W&linkCode=xm2&tag=ibssupportgroupf

Thanks, Frank II!

This one is silly, but ziplock bags. Sandwich size and the larger, gallon ones. It's insane how many uses I find for these. Packing snacks to take with us. Keeping my kids crayons together. Storing all papers I want to save as souveneirs (tickets, museum pamphlets, hotel cards) in one big one. Keeping wet or dirty clothes away from everything else. Compressing clothes for packing, especially on the way home (can be wrinkly!), Storing small items, like plug adapters, jewelry, memory cards. And so on.

The best items I’ve purchased are,
1) Timex Helix watch; Time, alarm, temperature, barometer, altitude, timer & stopwatch.
2) Zip-lock compression bags.
3) Sketcher Workshire Corpus shoes; Sturdy, comfortable, rugged, dressy enough.
4) Shamwow; Go ahead; laugh, but it’s great wringing out wet clothes & works as a towel in a pinch.
5) Eagle Creek double sided half cube; Holds all my sock & underwear, separating the dirty from the clean.

I just used this Eddie Bauer travel wallet on a 2-week Road Trip to Colorado and really liked it. It is small enough it was comfortable to just wear in the car without having to bother with a purse. I was able to put my phone and a chapstick in there as well. I initially bought it to use on the overnight flight to Europe and with my experience on the RT I think this will work out well. Plus it was marked down at my local Eddie Bauer Outlet store to maybe $4.99 or so.

http://www.eddiebauer.com/product/travex-reg--connect-travel-wallet/82302314/_/A-ebSku_0232314126__82302314_catalog10002_en__US?showProducts=&backToCat=Travel%20Accessories&previousPage=SCAT&tab=gear&dcolor=032

Not bought for a trip, but ... zip-loc snack size bags are perfect to hold euros in a money belt so they don't get sweaty and damp. Sandwich size for passport, same reason.