Travel guru Rick Steves never checks a bag. Here are the 25 things he always packs in his carry-on.

Thanks for the link. A bit of a long commercial for RS products but, hey, I think they sell good stuff, thoughtfully designed, tightly focused purpose. The article needed a valid feminine perspective to round it out, don’t you think? Women’s—and other guys’—toiletry needs go beyond mere soap and shampoo. Funny that he discovered merino wool so recently. Hemp has a terrible rep as a travel fabric. Like cotton, it tends to hold water forever. Has hemp changed? Laundry on the road: “65% clean is dang good, don’t stress out on laundry!” True, that. Covid safety: lots of N95s, common sense, surround yourself with science-minded vaxers, get lots of fresh air.

Don't forget his Kevin Murphy styling clay!

Does he wash his jeans in the bathroom sink? 🤔

It can certainly be done. I would never take jeans to Europe (too heavy and too slow to dry), but I use them on outdoor domestic trips to warm/dry destinations and hand wash them.

So what? Doesn’t make him right and others wrong. They are just different styles. There are far too many posts on this forum about packing! Most Europeans take a checked bag, so “live like a local”!

And he didn't discuss solid color t-shirts. They can go 4 times longer between washings because you can wear them;

Right-side out front
Right-side out backwards
Inside out front
Inside out backwards

A week each way gives you a month between washings. Same can be done with skivvies

James !!!!!!

Big surprise to me was the hair styling product. It is not on my list of must pack items, hee hee. My favorite Uncle Rick product is the hanging toiletry kit which goes on every trip with me. When I check in and am unpacking I hang it in the bathroom and all my necessary products are ready for me. Love it.

The article seemed more like a chance to sell items with the links for even shampoo than sharing valuable information. And this statement noted below has me mystified. I heard a lot of people coughing in Venice in June in a country with a great vaccination rate, so each museum and restaurant is only as “Covid safe” as the locals & visitors currently inside it.

“I want to keep my distance, and I don't want to be stuck in an enclosed area that's not ventilated with a lot of people who are unlikely to have embraced science and have their shots. I don't go to crowded interiors where you got a lot of people who culturally would be opposed to vaccinations. When I go to museums, and I go to the little restaurants I like to go to, and when I go to galleries and palaces in Europe, I'm surrounded by people who believe in science and love art, and they got their shots. ”

That article was just advertising. A plug for Rick's store, plus the kickback on sales to the author. Rick's packing list, and recommendations on bags has been freely available for years to anyone with access to a guidebook or the website.

I think the only thing on that list that I've bought was the moneybelt. OMG, however have I managed to travel these past 40+ years!

I love packing cubes, and RS turned me on to the concept. However, I have not found the RS ones to be durable. I have some from Lands End that are so much better.

I also have a money belt and the bag that goes around the neck. They are fine when I need something like that.

I have none of the other things, except, like Rick, I always bring my own shampoo.

I’ve found the RS packing cubes to be very durable. I’ve been using them for 16 years and they are still like new. I’m leaving in a couple of days for a 10 week trip and I bought some new compression cubes to try. I’m not sure about them yet.

Andrea, I wonder if they've changed. Mine are newer. There is a hole in one.

I've used my RS packing cubes since 2006 and haven't had any problems. I pack them full but not stuffed tight as they are not compression cubes.

@ jules m, that’s entirely possible. I know the first cubes we bought in 2006, that I still use, are a little different than the cubes I bought for my daughter a couple of years later. The newer cubes have rigid edges.