All set for a 10-day trip in Portugal

When I travel these days, I’m doing it one of two ways: with my family for up to three weeks, or on a writing trip for a week to 10 days. I sometimes check a bag for the former (especially if I need to backpack with a real backpack), but usually get by with a carry-on for the latter. You get a free checked bag for international flights on all but the stingiest airlines (like Spirit Air), but if you’re leaving the airport city upon arrival, the last thing you want to deal with is lost luggage.

As the editor of Practical Travel Gear, I get loads of apparel, footwear, and gadgets to try out. I personally review close to 100 items a year and the three others who write for me there check out even more. So after all that, what are the best items to pack? Which ones really pull their weight and bulk?

Quick-dry clothing
This is the key factor in packing light. Sure, take a few cotton t-shirts if you want, but the bulk of what you carry needs to be items you can wash in a sink and have dry by morning. I’m a big fan of ExOfficio clothing as it holds up to a crazy number of washings and still looks good. But if you’re put off by the price, try similar alternatives from Colombia Sportswear or just browse the clearance racks, physically or at sites like Sierra Trading Post. A few companies are making polo shirts with built-in odor suppression, something you’ll also find in many wicking t-shirts meant for exercise. These are a nice alternative to the button-up ones.

For pants the usual lightweight tough nylon ones are great for warm places, but companies like ExOfficio, Craghoppers, and Sherpa Adventure are making “trekking pants” that are stretchier and thicker. They still dry fast though and resist a drizzle and stains. I’ve often worn these a week straight without washing them–like I did with the ones in that photo above.

If you’ll be someplace like Delhi, Rome, or Barcelona though that’s notorious for pickpockets, it’s good to invest in a pair of Pickpocket Proof Pants (also known as P^Cubed Pants) from Clothing Arts. They also make shorts and just released some nice lightweight travel shirts as well. It would take an incredibly determined thief and you being passed out for someone to get into these and steal your valuables.

Double-duty shoes
Shoes are the adversary of the carry-on bag. Footwear takes up an inordinate amount of room and if not chosen carefully, can add a lot of weight. Fortunately shoes are getting lighter in general—even hiking boots—and more companies are making ones that pack down flat or close to it in your bag. Scroll through a few pages of travel shoes that the four of us at PTG have reviewed. We go through a lot of them looking for ones that can be worn in multiple travel situations.

Wear the heaviest, clunkiest pair on travel days to lighten your packing load.

Quick-dry underwear and socks
Cotton is not your friend in this area. Underwear and socks are the things you want to replace most often in your wardrobe, so bring at least a few pairs of travel underwear that use merino wool or synthetics. You can sink wash them anywhere and they’ll dry more quickly than cotton. Well-made hiking or running socks usually avoid cotton and will last for years of heavy usage.

Small toiletries
To carry on a bag, stay with small sizes. Hit the trial size aisle at your local drugstore or Target, save the little bottles from hotels, or buy small refillable bottles you can reuse. You can buy cool dry tabs from Sea to Summit that start working when you get them wet and I like shaving cream that comes in a tube as it takes up less space. I use a hanging toiletry kit for when counter space is tight.

Pack-away jacket and bag
One of my secret weapons in getting by with a carry-on bag is to pack things that stuff down into a little pouch. I love my Eagle Creek packable daypack, for instance, and if I need a jacket where I’m going but sporadically, I’ll bring one that stuffs into a pouch when I’m not using it, like this Helium II windbreaker one from Outdoor Research or this warmer Powerfly Down one from Colombia.

SteriPen Water Purfier
If I’m going anywhere with dodgy water, which is most of the world, the SteriPen is an essential item. It saves the world from your personal mountain of disposable single-use plastic, but keeps you from getting sick from any bad drinking water.

Gadget chargers
I’m past telling anyone what gadgets to bring and how much to use them, but a lot of them have batteries that don’t last very long. I’ve used a Callpod Chargepod for six years now to avoid bringing along a bunch of cords. Then I carry a small charger from Innergie or Eton for times I can’t access an outlet. If I’m going off the grid for a while I might bring some kind of solar charger.

And then…
One belt, usually worn the day of travel.
One or two hats, including a sun hat for sunny places, a beanie for cold ones. Tilley ones are expensive but have a lifetime warranty.
A pair of good sunglasses, usually worn the day of travel.
A loaded Kindle or good book.
Magazines I can throw away or pass on as I read them, lightening the load as I go.

Many women carry some kind of shawl or multi-use scarf to change up their outfits.

Keep an eye on the colors you’re packing. Ideally most every bottom can go with most every top. You don’t want to have pieces that can only go with one other thing.

What about you? What carry-on items or tricks have you found worked best?

Do you want to routinely get 30 to 50 percent off of name brand travel gear and clothing? It’s not all that hard. You just need to understand the seasonal cycle at retail and take advantage of it.

It’s mid-December and ski gear is already discounted 50%!

Even if you don’t shop much in clothing stores, you’re probably vaguely aware of the silly practice of putting swimsuits on the racks in February and putting sweaters and down ski jackets on the shelves when it’s still baking hot outside. That’s because manufacturers and wholesales really care more about the push (big order wholesale numbers) than they do about the pull (individual consumer purchases.) Sure, they want what they ship to sell through, but the whole industry is built around “What’s new for spring?” and “What’s new for fall?” This is as true for Patagonia as it is for Prada.

Over at Practical Travel Gear, where I’m editor, this sometimes leads to some strange conversations with PR people representing these brands. Last week one told me it didn’t do her any good to have ski clothing reviewed in January, even though that’s when the ski season really kicks off in earnest. “We’re only promoting the spring lines then,” she said. In other words, don’t review the things people are actually buying in stores, review the things we’re trying to get the big chain wholesale buyers to buy.

It’s bass-ackwards, but that’s the mentality. The travel gear companies are pumping out new shirts and jackets as fast as the companies you see advertising in Vogue, even though the differences from year to year are too insignificant for the average consumer to even notice.

So how do you act on this? It’s quite easy once you know how the game is played.

1) Buy things at the last minute.

Sure, this feels very uncomfortable for people who plan ahead and shop often, which is why the silly retail cycle works the way it does. But if you buy ski clothing right before your February (peak season) ski trip, you will probably find what you need already marked down or on the clearance rank. Same goes for a bathing suit in July.

2) Buy things off season (which may be your on season).

If you want to really rake in the deals, but winter clothes in the spring and summer clothing/gear in the fall. Sure, this could mean hanging onto them a while before using them, but maybe not. If you’re going to the Southern Hemisphere in your travels, the seasons are backwards anyway. If you’re going to the tropics, you need summer clothing no matter what time of year it is. If you’re going somewhere high altitude, you need layers whenever.

If you visit the markdown sites of the big online gear retailers, you don’t even have to keep any of this straight. Just click on their clearance section and you’ll often see items everyone coveted two months ago going for 50% off—or more. Follow these links to see what I mean and bookmark them (or subscribe to their RSS stream) to return. The selection changes quite a lot from month to month.

Backcountry.com
REI Outlet
Summit Hut Sale Gear page
Campmor Sale Items
Sierra Trading Post Clearance
Rock Creek Clearance
Altrec Deals of the Day

Happy hunting, and remember that if you’re not finding a price you can live with on the item you really want, just wait a while and you’ll almost surely see it reduced. For people who hate paying list price for anything, procrastination and being a contrarian are the paths to big savings.

In December I spent two weeks traveling around Costa Rica, from Guanacaste to the Osa Peninsula and places in between. Except for the Kelty Station daypack holding my laptop, camera, pens, etc., I did it all out of a 22-inch wheelie carry-0n.

I’m getting ready to get on a plane and head to the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City to check out all the new gear coming down the pike we may want to review over at Practical Travel Gear. So it seems like an appropriate time to run down what helps me pack in such a compact and light manner for a two-week trip.

Take a Lightweight Bag

First the bag. Normally I bring something without wheels, like a backpack, but this was a work trip where I knew I would be mostly in airports, taxis, and hotels. So I used the Eagle Creek ORV 22 wheelie suitcase pictured here. It’s not super-light at 7.5 pounds, but light enough. It holds 43 liters (2,600 cubic inches). You can cram more than this into a carry-on if you ditch the wheels, but keep in mind some airlines also restrict the weight. That includes Nature Air where I was in Costa Rica, but also many budget airlines in Europe and Asia. The heavier your bag, the more you’ll pay.

Go Easy on the Shoes

Speaking of weight, shoes are the big killer, so I usually only travel with two pairs of travel shoes, wearing the heaviest pair on the flights and bus rides. Sometimes I’ll break down and bring a third if I need water sandals or dress shoes for some reason, but at least one pair has to be really flat. If you must carry sneakers for a workout, these New Balance WT100 travel sneakers pack down to nothing and are wispy light: they’re all mesh at the top and have a thin footbed.

Leave the Jeans at Home

The weight of your clothing can add up surprisingly fast as well, especially if you’re packing blue jeans, normal corduroys, or khakis. I’m a huge fan of lightweight, quick-dry travel clothing from the likes of ExOfficio and Columbia Sportswear. I find life so much easier on the road with a wardrobe of this stuff in my bag: the clothing weighs very little, it stays relatively wrinkle-free, and it looks nice enough that you can look respectable at a restaurant or meeting. Sure, it’s not all that cheap, but I’ve got ExOfficio shirts I’ve been wearing for years that still look like new. And hung in the sun, they dry in 15 minutes. Heck, I even pack their travel underwear for the same reason.

Carry Only the Cosmetics You Need for That Period

Too many travelers play the “what if” and “just in case” games when packing their toiletries and end up bringing half the medicine cabinet. With reusable plastic bottles and sample sizes you can bring enough for two weeks and still stay under the TSA carry-on requirements. Plus you can buy whatever you really end up needing locally—usually for the same price or less. Sure, there are exceptions that are a bit tougher, like sunscreen, but not many.

Pack Double-duty Travel Gear

If an item you’re packing only does one thing, it had better do it really well—like a SteriPen or a solar gadget charger. Part of the way I pack lighter is to carry double-duty gear that can perform multiple functions. A belt that holds money, pants that can also be shorts, long-sleeve shirts with button-up sleeves, a coat that converts to a neck pillow, a keychain that’s a corkscrew or bottle cap opener, or a watch that’s also an altimeter and compass.

I love to rag on the Apple hype machine, but I have to admit the iPod Touch is the ultimate double-duty item. The electronic equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife. Carry one of those tiny packages and you’ve got all kinds of apps and e-mail access, yes, but you also have more mundane helpers travelers needed even before the Internet Age, things like a calculator, currency converter, language translator, alarm clock, music player, and (Skype) phone. Put SugarSync on there and you’ve got all your home files with you at all times as well.

Do you travel two weeks or more with a carry-on? Put your tips in the comments!

Get Free Shipping No Minimum at Columbia.com with promo code A1P1F1S!

There are a few windows throughout the year where travel gear goes on sale bigtime and the kickoff to summer period is one of those. Everyone wants you through their virtual door so you’ll buy multiple items in their shop.

Since I review lots of travel apparel and gadgets at Practical Travel Gear, I belong to the affiliate programs of a lot of gear retailers. I don’t normally put links to them on this blog, but there are a heap of sales going on right now that offer good opportunities to stock up. So I’m passing them on. If you’re getting ready to gear up for extended travel or just an adventurous vacation, one of these could save you a bundle.

Backcountry.com says It’s Go Time. Save Up to 40%

RockCreek.com is running a big Patagonia Sale and Road Trip Sale with up to 50% off on other brands.

There are lots of good discounts now for the REI Anniversary Sale through the 31st.

20% off $100 orders at Sierra Trading Post. Use code: ALMAY2KX Offer valid through June 6.

Columbia Sportswear is giving free Shipping with Promo Code: COL210APFS

Coupon Code “tenoff” gives you 10% off your order at PlanetShoes.com. Plus free Shipping on orders over $49. Great selection!

Teva is discounting select products 50% to 80% for a limited time. Go to Teva.com

ExOfficio has lots of products on sale right now and there’s fFree Shipping On Orders Over $50

This isn’t gear, but it sure helps you pack light. 3 months for the price of 2 on all 3 or 12 month calling subscriptions from Skype until the 1st of June.