8 Packing Tips for the Traveling EDCer
There’s a lot to worry about when traveling: the long layovers in the airport, uncomfortable airplane seats, and the organized chaos of the trip itself. The last thing you want to be is unprepared for all the hustle and bustle of travel, and it starts even before you leave the house. Packing your luggage properly can save you a lot of trouble during your next trip, and luckily, plenty of what you know from gearing up your pockets every day applies to packing too. Before you pack for your next adventure, be sure to keep these 8 tips in mind:
Roll your clothes and maximize every inch of your luggage. Structured luggage leaves a lot of empty space in between your belongings, which can be streamlined with a bit of creative compression. Rolling your clothes and squeezing smaller garments into open spaces (like inside your shoes) or to pad up your dopp kit means more room and fewer things getting tossed around. We know you can’t show up to an interview or business meeting in a wrinkly shirt, so rolling your clothes isn’t always an option. That’s why our Werks Traveler 5.0 line of luggage features a Pack More divider and a removable suiter to pack your important clothes flat, keeping them pristine during your travels.
Divide and conquer. Look into organizers or packing cubes that help compartmentalize and consolidate your belongings, and make the most of your luggage's compartments for segregation. This makes it easier to pack everything before your trip, and to quickly repack when it’s time to head home. Also, most suitcases are just a big empty shell. This makes keeping your things organized and protected during baggage handling difficult. Compression straps, like the ones in our Pack More system, keep everything in place and cut down on wasted space.
Build a better base. If your suitcase stands up most of the time, make sure your heavier and boxed items sit at the bottom, below your clothes and loose items. This ensures that the weight is better distributed from top to bottom, preventing top-heavy luggage from tipping over. This also keeps softer belongings like your clothes from getting unnecessarily squashed. Just make sure that those boxes won't collapse under the weight of everything else!
Keep your essentials near the top. Think about how you organize your EDC: you want your gear to be handy the moment you need it: knives ready to deploy, illumination at the press of a button. The same mindset can be applied to your travel essentials. You want your situational gear—jacket, umbrella, gloves, etc.—at the ready, and essentials like maps and itinerary printouts in close reach. Keep these near the top of your bags or in easily-accessible outer pockets. If you use a go-bag to carry your essentials, our Werks Traveler 5.0 luggages feature a removable “attach-a-bag” strap to keep your hands free and your gear nearby.
Pack light, but have a backup. Moving around with a bulky suitcase is never fun and airline weight charges can eat into your travel and shopping budget. It pays to pack light, but as the saying goes: “two is one, one is none.” Make sure you have copies of everything, from your documents to your clothing, and keep those backups safe and dry! The last thing you want is to be stranded in a foreign country without a passport or a clean change of clothes.
Secure your liquids. Have you ever had a shampoo bottle explode in your bag? It's not pretty, and nearly impossible to clean completely. Here's an easy tip to keep your liquids secure: wrap your bottle openings in cellophane before screwing the tops on. For even more security, you can triple the seal with some masking tape and place them in spill-resistant pouches with antibacterial lining (so in the rare case something does leak, you won't have to worry about mildew building up with your toiletries!).
Keep things dry and odor-free. Nobody likes opening a suitcase at the end of a trip and having it be a swampy, smelly mess. Keep your wet/sweaty clothes in sealable bags to keep them away from the rest, and keep the whole bag moisture- and odor-free with some silica gel, cedar inserts (not just for your shoes!), or dryer sheets in between your clothes.
Carry Safer. If you’ve ever gone a day without your complete EDC on you, you’ve probably felt how strange it feels to not have your trusty tools handy in case you need them. Unfortunately, travel inevitably means airports and foreign laws, neither of which usually mix with EDC gear. That doesn't mean you have to be completely without your tools, it just means alternatives have to be considered when on the go. Ditch the blades — a knifeless, travel-friendly multitool like our Jetsetter, or a one-piece multitool like a prybar can handle plenty of tasks without attracting unwanted attention.
View the Victorinox Werks Traveler 5.0 series for more efficient suitcases and bags to pack your most important essentials your way.
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