For those who have had the opportunity to travel, you know first hand that packing can be a little stressful. Here are a few tips to help you pack quickly and efficiently.
Start packing early
The first mistake most travellers make before even taking off from their home country, is when they leave packing to the very last few days. Packing early is by far one of the best recommendations I can give you. While you’re packing you will realize that you have things missing and you forgot to print out some important documents, maybe even forgot to set up your Travel Insurance or you’ve misplaced your passport. You may also realize that the mechanism to your luggage zips’ interlocking teeth has deteriorated and your combination lock requires a new battery to function. Unfortunately these are things that happen frequently, so it is wise to start packing as early as possible to avoid any of these mishaps.
Luggage or Backpack?
In my opinion this choice should be based on where you are travelling to. If you had to ask me what I would take with me to Japan, I would suggest to pack everything in one large luggage case. For a place like Thailand or Vietnam, I would suggest a backpack. Again, planning out your trip will help you with this choice also. For example if you’re not the type of person to spend a couple of days in the jungle and you prefer the city life, then it would make sense to travel with rolling-luggage.
Although carrying a backpack is a little more convenient, there are a few downsides to travelling with one. As the name implies, you will be carrying it on your back when travelling between towns or cities so I suggest you buy a decent backpack with good back support. Something which worries me a bit and I’ve witnessed it first hand is that a backpack’s space is a little limited. You will have little space to get back some form of souvenirs for your family and friends, so keep this in mind. Many people who travel to places with very hot climates tend to take up a lot of shorts and t-shirts, in return saving space in the backpack. If you plan on taking up a couple of jackets and more than a pair of shoes, then I suggest opting for luggage.
Either way, if you are aware of any laundry services close to the place you will be staying in, I suggest you limit the amount of clothes you take with you. You do not need to take up five jeans if you can wash and reuse two through the entire trip. Clothes take up a load of space, so plan this well.
Packing cubes
Packing cubes are basically designed to work as small containers for your clothes. There are a number of benefits to having these in your luggage or backpack and their aim is simply to allow more space through organization.
These cubes also come in handy to store dirty clothes in, separating the clean clothes from the dirty ones. Always go for the lightweight version which are also usually well constructed and durable.
Moreover a good quality packing cube controls odour and repels moisture.
Compression bags
These bags work similarly to the packing cubes. The aim behind these storage packs is to stuff your clothes in and then suck out the air, further compressing the clothes together. Unfortunately this method tends to crease your clothes, so unless you are certain that you will have an iron to sort out those creases, I would personally stay away from this method and use packing cubes.
Rucksack
The rucksack is probably the most important piece of equipment you will carry with you throughout your trip. Also called ‘carry-on-luggage’, the rucksack is the one item which you will carry with you the whole time. When I travel I keep all the important and expensive stuff within this bag. I keep items like my camera, my passport, my wallet and any other documents which are very important with me all the time. For this reason alone, don’t go for a cheap rucksack. A good rucksack generally has multiple pockets inside it with zippers, making the bag extremely difficult for pick pockets. I currently have a good sized-20 litre rucksack, which is quite good to store most of my important items when I travel.
