Piques of the Week - Volume 13
In preparation for my upcoming trip, I wanted to make sure I had the right stuff for travel. Being that travel preparation is so important, I wanted to make sure I had the right stuff. I wanted to travel light, small, and better than I have previously ever done. In my research, I found these items:
Dash Hardside Carry-on by Brookstone
I've wanted a piece hardside luggage for a while. From what others have shared with me, it can allow you to pack more while using less space. And while there are many travel professionals out there with their ultra-fancy suitcases, I didn't need that much for travel. I ended up finding the Dash Hardside Carry-on by Brookstone as a perfect carry-on bag.
Why a carry-on? A couple of reasons. First, I tend to overpack.1 But I need to travel extremely light for the trip I'm undertaking. I can also do laundry when I'm there, so I'll be good. Second, I wanted a bag not only for this trip, but for future family trips where that can be our carry-on bag. The Dash is designed to fit into any overhead bin. With the 360° spinning wheels (which I love so much), it's going to be great for going through the airport.
This bag is light-weight at 7lbs thanks to the polycarbonate shell, and I've been able to pack a lot of things in there thanks to the expansion zipper and some other travel accessories which I'll get into below. I'm all packed and ready to go for this trip, and I'm thankful I'll have this bag with me.
Eagle Creek Garment Folder
Packing a lot of clothes in your suitcase can be tricky. And even though some bags allow you to compress the items within, there are some other options to help minimize the space certain garments take up. Enter the Eagle Creek Garment Folder.
This folder comes with a helpful folding board with instructions. The two wings on the sides offer compression of the clothes to help minimize wrinkles and save space in your bag. And at 12" x 18", it fits perfectly inside my 20" carry-on.
Packing Cubes
I've never really thought of using packing cubes. But for one reason or another,2 I ended up finding some to try out. First, there are a lot of options. But I ended up going with the Mossio Packing Cubes: there are 3 cubes, 3 laundry bags, and 1 shoe bag. And for $15, this seemed like the best deal for me to try.
While they are inexpensive, these bags are hardly cheap in feel. They use YKK zippers stitching, and have a thicker nylon fabric. The bags and cubes come in small, medium, and large sizes. The cubes fit nicely in the bottom of my bag, arranged neatly. Next to them are the laundry bags that also contained some items. I was able to place the garment sleeve on top of these, and the entire other side of my suitcase was left open.
I'm so happy with these, that I've ordered 3 additional sets: one for each member of our family, each in a different color. This will be very helpful for longer family trips: we can cut down on the number of bags we take, and use the packing cubes to distinguish which close belong to which person. For $60 total, we will be more organized as a family. I'm all for this.
I'm traveling for 2 weeks straight. And while there will be an opportunity for me to do laundry, I'm going to be happy that I'm able to pack everything I could need into my new suitcase and my backpack. Bon voyage!