La Quaintrelle » The Carry On Conundrum

The Carry On Conundrum

[February 27th, 2010]

luggage

For someone in my position (read: below the poverty line) I do a lot of traveling. I’m thinking this is mainly because I don’t go out drinking, which is not really the norm for my age group…or grad students in general.

Consequently I am always trying to master TSA and airline regulations for luggage and carry ons. Sometimes I am extremely successful and even impress myself – for instance, I packed for 2 weeks in Costa Ricca in one 25lb carry on. Other times not so much – I figured my epic 30 hour flight to New Zealand meant that I needed to bring loads of entertainment in my carry on. Not true. By my second layover I was really regretting hauling around multiple purses, backpacks, etc.

However, I think I have finally manage to pare a carry on down to the basic essentials. No more carrying around 3 books I never get to or a million useless knick knacks I MIGHT get to. Here’s the list:

An iPod (or some other music listening device) to help block out annoying seat mates. The most important accessory might be my own headphones, because I have yet to meet a comfortable pair provided by the airline.
Thick socks, I like to kick my shoes off and thick wool socks take up less room than a pair of slippers
A big ass scarf, which can double as a blanket or pillow
1 book. If I actually get through it (which I hardly ever do) I can pick another one up on a layover.
Various medications
Baby wipes + deodorant + a few cosmetics – this is especially true if I am landing and immediately off
A change of shirt + underwear – again, more true if I am taking off right after landing + don’t feel like starting my day smelly
SNACKS. omg so so so important. Unless you’re going trans-Atlantic (or Pacific if you prefer) they pretty much give you no food and you have to beg for a second bag of peanuts. Not only that, but a lot of the times the only food available is not very vegetarian friendly. That is why I cannot stress enough that you should bring your own snacks. Nothing sucks more than being on a 7 hour flight with no access to munchies. Things may start to get kind of violent.

And that is ALL YOU REALLY NEED. If you’re going on an extra long flight you might want to pick up one of those neck pillows. I think I have found them effective approximately once, but hey, that one time I did get a good long sleep. People often recommend you bring a whole change of clothes, but I stand by my statement of a shirt and underwear, especially if you are wearing jeans. No one cares about pants. And if you’re going to a warm climate I wouldn’t even bother with the clothing change – I’d just throw in my bikini and consider myself good to go.