The grand style & traveling heavy

[Rathdown]

My business partner and I share a common loathing of traveling light, which is one of the reasons we keep a 1990 Buick as a company car; it will hold all of our luggage when heading out to a location, and Tim and I usually have a lot of luggage. On a recent flight to Los Angeles (arrive Friday evening, depart Sunday morning) I traveled with a Sampsonite Oyster two-suit suitcase and a carry on shoulder bag. In the suitcase was a two-piece suit, a summer weight blazer, two pair of trousers, four shirts, four ties, two pair of shoes, and enough socks and underwear for two changes daily, along with my shaving kit. The shoulder bag contained a shirt and tie, a pair of socks and underwear, two mystery novels, my script and cell phone charger.

So, my question is this: How many of you still travel in the grand style, with enough luggage to take care of all of your needs, or do you crush everything into a wad of wrinkles in one soft-sided bag?

 

[kamikat]

If I am traveling by car or train, I pack everything except the kitchen sink. Now that the airlines charge baggage fees, it all gets crammed into a sinlg bag for air travel.

 

[C-dot]

I don't crush everything into a wrinkled heap, but I like to think I travel light. First I make a list of everything I'll be wearing for each day I'm gone, plus a few extras in the event of mishaps, and pack it all in one medium sized suitcase that has plenty of pockets. All my toilette goes in a separate miniature case. I always make sure there's room left over in my suitcase in case I go shopping, and I make sure to fold my laundry flat so everything comes out as it came in.

 

[sheeplady]

I am trying to learn to pack light. I travel mainly by air, so I try to fit everything into a small backpack and a medium sized purse. Both items fit into the metal thing they use to determine the size of the allowed 1 carry on, which has saved me from having to check my things (and getting separated from them) more than once. I once made a two week trip this way, with two business conferences and a 4 day break between. On that particular trip, I ended up with 6 minutes to make my connecting flight- I originally had a 4 hour layover but the plane was seriously delayed landing. If I had a roller bag, I wouldn't have made it- as I had to switch terminals and take the train to do so. (I full out ran the entire way including down the stairs to the train screaming "I'm sorry! Excuse me! I'm sorry!" to everybody.)

My rule is I lay out everything on my bed that I want to take, and then I have to remove 5 items. I wash my clothes on site and hang to dry, as I try to underpack my clothing by at least a day if not more, depending upon how long I am gone (my last 9 day trip I packed 3 days of clothing, with the one I was wearing I had 4). I always used to worry- what happens if I don't have this or that? But in reality, I have always survived, and having a lighter bag has made my life so much easier.

I don't crush my clothes, although I do often use stuff sacks for my pajamas. I use packing folders and iron my things when I get there. If I don't have an iron where I staying, I steam them using hot steam from the shower after I bathe and the back of my hairbrush.

 

[rue]

It depends on how I'm traveling. If by train, car or ship I travel with my best suitcases and quite a few of them. Planes are different.... my parents had one when I was a kid, so I had to learn how to pack as much as I could into one or two small suitcases (rolling clothes so they wouldn't wrinkle, etc) Any more than that and the weight would throw the plane off. I didn't know it at the time, but learning how to pack that way came in handy after the new flying rules came into effect after 9/11.

 

[kaiser]

If I am traveling by car or train, I pack everything except the kitchen sink. Now that the airlines charge baggage fees, it all gets crammed into a sinlg bag for air travel.

This baggage fee thing has driven me more and more into smaller bags when traveling by plane. When I travel by car, I take a bigger bag.

 

[Rathdown]

I only fly when someone else is paying for it and, as a result, don't hesitate to pack two or three bags, as well as my carry-on. As long as airports have Sky Caps, I'll have bags.

 

[Yeps]

I prefer to travel with just my briefcase/laptop bag for weekends or a small leather weekend bag, and just a small rolling carry on for longer. For a couple of months, clearly I need to take a bit more. More situations arise in a long trip.

I did a lot of backpacking (the american, bsa, backwoods kind. Not the hitchhiking across Europe kind), and I got used to going without. Ultralight is fun. For civilization, I bring more than the backwoods, but only sort of, because you don't need camping gear and such.

 

[Gregg Axley]

We only travel by car. I won't say light, more like smart. We have a stacking routine that includes the dogs cage, luggage, a fan (in case we head to TX), pillows, an I-Mac, books, 2 pet porters (one for each dog), and a cooler. All in a Saturn Vue! :eeek: Oddly enough I can still see out the back window, and it doesn't squat like I thought it would. We've traveled like this for 2yrs and it's become routine. The luggage bends a bit as it's leather, promotional luggage from Farenheit years ago. We've learned we can wash clothes easier than taking several pieces of luggage full of them.

 

[MissLaurieMarie]

Great thread as I'm getting ready to head to New York on Friday
I usually roll up and try to pack light. I tend to under-pack since I know I will probably end up wearing the same things a few times in a row, and if I need to I can always launder clothes (I always pack extra underwear and nylons though). I also like to roll things, I find it saves a bit of room and it's not as wrinkled.
I always tend to over pack in the toiletries department. I have a make-up compact, a make-up brush bag and another bag for foundation PLUS a toiletriesbag for potions and lotions, so it gets to be a bit much, even in travel-sized allotments.

 

[george]

It doesn't sound to me like you "travelled heavy" on your recent trip to LA, Rathdown. If I was packing suits for a trip I would naturally want a suitcase myself. If I'm going away for two to four days and I don't need a suit, I can usually fit everything into my backpack. However, I would never ever try and stuff suits or other finer articles of clothing into my backpack. They'd get too wrinkled.

I probably wouldn't have packed four shirts and four ties for just Saturday and Sunday morning, but if it all fit into one suitcase, there's not a huge difference.

 

[dhermann1]

I'll be waving at MissLaurieMarie as I pass her going the opposite direction (she'll be house sitting for me and my cats next week). I tend to underpack, I'd say. My vacations tend to be one or two weeks, and I always wish I had brought one more pair of trousers and one or two more shirts. I'm hoping this time I haven't done that. And I tend to wish I had more footware, too.

 

[Rathdown]

It doesn't sound to me like you "travelled heavy" on your recent trip to LA, Rathdown. If I was packing suits for a trip I would naturally want a suitcase myself. If I'm going away for two to four days and I don't need a suit, I can usually fit everything into my backpack. However, I would never ever try and stuff suits or other finer articles of clothing into my backpack. They'd get too wrinkled.

I probably wouldn't have packed four shirts and four ties for just Saturday and Sunday morning, but if it all fit into one suitcase, there's not a huge difference.

To me, traveling heavy means that I will have absolutely everything I'm apt to need on my journey, even if I'm only going for overnight--

I arrived at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank Friday night at 10PM, hopped a taxi, and went straight to the Smoke House for drinks with friends. At midnight I collected my (delayed) luggage, picked up my rental, and drove to my hotel. Saturday at 8AM I was up and at 'em, dressed in a blazer and slacks and headed out to a 10AM breakfast in West Hollywood. Dropped my traveling suit off at the cleaners on my way to breakfast. 3PM, back at my hotel, changed into a navy two piece suit, drove to Malibu for my niece's wedding. 1AM, picked up my traveling suit from the cleaners on my way back to my hotel. Sunday, 9AM, in my freshly pressed traveling suit I boarded my plane at Bob Hope Airport for my flight back to Richmond, Va, arriving at my hotel in Richmond around midnight. I left my bag in the boot of my car and checked in to the hotel (The Linden Row Inn-- highly recommended) going straight to my room where...

The suitcase with the clothes I'd need for the next four days on location had been dropped of by my partner Tim when he checked in earlier that day.

 

[Tomasso]

I've always over-packed so even though the airline fees piss me off I continue the practice. But I'll use a luggage service if I'm really loaded down (skiing, golf, scuba, cycling, etc...) or if the trip has multiple legs requiring clothes for both winter and summer climes.