Type A travelers are your classic shoulder bag, under seat, minimalist packers. These fliers can pack for a week in a Tom Bihn Aeronaut or even a Tri-Star. They're the guys on FlyerTalk who think you should just take a RedOxx Air Boss for two weeks in Europe!
Type B travelers -- my tribe -- take a rollaboard. In contrast to Type A, many of us also take the "personal item" the airlines allow. My drug of choice is the TravelPro Crew 7 20". I use Eagle Creek packing cubes and a packing folder, so that suitcase can go for four days. (In spite of this I paid something like $500 in luggage fees in 2009. But I had a lot of really long trips with a lot of luggage.) I take with me either my handy Booq Boa Case or Tumi Slim Laptop Brief.
Type C travelers like my girlfriend, C., are totally incapable of traveling without bringing the kitchen sink along with them. They can jam-pack a 27" expanding suitcase (like my Briggs and Riley Baseline) for a three-day conference without breaking a sweat. (I've seen it!) They take a giant duffel bag for two days at the beach. The airlines love passengers like them.
I don't know how the Type A passengers pack. And if I tried to even pretend to know what Type C travelers put in their suitcases, my head would explode. (I caught C. packing a hair dryer on an overnight trip to the beach where we were staying at a Hilton. Seriously.)
But I can tell you what I bring. This example is from a recent five-day business trip to Washington. I have a relatively casual job — dark jeans, dress shirt, blazer — so take with the usual salt. Also, it was unseasonably warm, in the 40s. If it had been more typical Washington-in-January weather, in the 15-30F range, I might have checked a bag, as I did for Chicago in December.
- Dress shirts, 4
- Light-weight sweater, 1
- Jeans, 1 pair
- Underwear, 5 pairs
- Casual shoes
- Socks, 5 pairs
- Athletic shirts, 2
- Athletic shorts, 2
- Athletic socks, 2
- Athletic shoes
- Wrinkle-free blazer
- Dress shoes
- Light-weight overcoat
This is how it all comes together:
Right: Pack-It folder with shirts, jeans, sweater
Middle: Eagle Creek packing cubes with underwear, socks, athletic wear
Right: Toiletries and airplane comfort gear (inflatable pillow, earplugs, eyeshades, slippers) inside black pillow
Add 3-1-1 bag. I use a standard Ziploc quart bag... not interested in rolling the dice on what the TSA might not accept.
You're done!
Note that this approach is a little light on, in particular, shirts, underwear and socks. I always plan to wear some variation on whatever I wore to work when I go out to dinner on a business trip, and the company will reimburse laundering expenses on trips over 4 days in length. For a leisure trip, I might have needed an extra sweater instead of a blazer, and I would've packed only casual shoes.
Add 3-1-1 bag. I use a standard Ziploc quart bag... not interested in rolling the dice on what the TSA might not accept.
You're done!
Note that this approach is a little light on, in particular, shirts, underwear and socks. I always plan to wear some variation on whatever I wore to work when I go out to dinner on a business trip, and the company will reimburse laundering expenses on trips over 4 days in length. For a leisure trip, I might have needed an extra sweater instead of a blazer, and I would've packed only casual shoes.
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