Pack Like a Champ

Okay. A quick and fun little post as I sit at ORD waiting for my very early morning flight to SFO.

I’ve traveled two MILLION miles with carry-ons. It’s not as difficult as you think, though I did kind of bend the rules a bit in the old days.

When I used to need to “dress up” (thankfully, with my work now, I wear whatever I want, whenever I want) I had several home bases around the world. So I’d store clothes there. When I arrived in Beijing, for example, my hotel room closet would magically have my freshly-pressed suits and clean shirts, dress shoes shiny as a pretty penny.

That was pretty cool.

And on those trips, I’d really have only my brief bag and dopp kit. That’s it.

But I also did a 70 day business trip carry-on only. Lessons from that trip resonate today:

- You can replenish things (including, say, socks) when you’re on the road.

- Not everything that left with you needs to come home.

- Quick-dry clothes (Nike’s dri-fit totally rules) save the day.

- Your carry-on needs to be the perfect balance of light and indestructible. Err on the side of indestructible.

- While wheeled luggage is great, hard-sided cases are not the way to go. You need soft ballistic nylon (I use a no-longer made Timbuk2) that accommodates jamming in extra stuff.

Here’s the issue: Assuming that you’re staying places where laundry isn’t an issue, how much do you REALLY need to bring?

I can go a couple of months on the road with:

- 3 pair of pants. Quick drying is best, but I don’t follow that rule. I like jeans and khakis as soft as puppy fur.

- A variety of 5 shirts.

- Quick drying personal garments. Tilley Endurables make stuff that dries in minutes.

- Layers for warmth. Again, I swear by Nike Dri-fit. Their full- and half-zip tops take no room, cut the cold and wind and can dry in an hour.

- Workout gear. I’m partial to Ralph Lauren’s quick-drying RLX line. Great gym shorts.

If you DO need a business jacket, the aforementioned Tilley Endurables make a great travel blazer. I had one and beat the crap out of it. You can roll it into a ball, use it as a pillow on your flight, hang it in your bathroom, turn on the hot water and, voila, no wrinkles. Amazing. And it looks like a real blazer – it has structure and style.

Sometimes it’s best to wash your own stuff rather than send it to the laundry, especially when what they charge to wash your pants is more than the pants cost. Here’s my how-to:

You take what needs to be washed into the shower with you. After you’re clean, You pulverize the clothes with liquid soap and very hot water. Don’t be shy. Ring it all out well. Place on the floor in a thick towel. Roll up with towel with a piece of clothing in it. Walk all over said towel (jumping is cool too, as is doing the Mambo), thereby extracting water from the garment. Hang or lay the garment. You’re soon good to go, friend.

Never put damp clothes in your bag. Even after a short flight, the stench is amazing. It will ruin your bag (R.I.P. lovely old Tumi).

As for shoes, I’m a sneakerhound, as you know. And I work out a lot. So, I wear one pair and pack another.

And that’s all. It’s totally do-able and you can have a variety of clothes. Just remember that very thin is always better than thick. Always err on the side of bringing a bit too little. You can always pick up something you need when you’re there.

And enjoy your trip