Category Archives: Travel: Packing List

Bags & Luggage, Patagonia, Travel: Packing List

LadyLight travels super light

Always good to see other folks  traveling  lightly without sacrificing much. I have this Patagonia tote as well and I can attest it is very roomy and comfortable!

Minimalist travel in winter – Packing tips for traveling with only a personal item

Photo copyright LadyLightTravel

“I once again used the Patagonia travel tote as my personal item.  The main section of this pack is 16 liters.  I relied heavily on technical clothing for my winter/outdoors activities.  The pieces were light, low bulk, fast drying, and could function in both city and country.  I also relied on silk long johns for warmth.  These washed up quickly and easily and provided undetectable layers beneath my clothing. I layered my nano-puff jacket under my rain shell as needed.  I also included my Montbell Versalite rain pantsas a precaution for hiking in rainy weather. This provided protection for all winter temperatures. I started my wardrobe with my black technical pants.  I added in a couple of 3/4 sleeve tee shirts and a light sweater for variety.  I decided on jeans as my second pair of pants.”

Read the rest and take notes, this is a great set up!

Bags & Luggage, NightFlightTravelDuffle, TeamUltraviolet, Texas, Tom Bihn, Travel: Packing List, Travel: The Americas, travelbunny

Dallas – 4 days in the Night Flight Travel Duffel

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Aside from what I wore on the plane (knock off rose pattern doc martins, leggings, a black shirt and a long sleeve black T-shirt) this was perfect. (My phone and my wallet tucked into the end zip pocket as I went through security.)

CENTER SECTION
Bottom strata:
First aid pouch
flips
standard tiny travel towel

Clothes strata:
black leggings
stripe shirt
white Ably shirt
socks, undies and jammies in packing cube

On top:
Tom Bihn sack with plane stuff (earbuds, spare battery, etc)

RIGHT POCKET
CPAP
Power supply
Power strip (with USB ports and a several ft extension cord)
USB cords for phone and battery
Mask
Lewis N Clark fold up ultralight backpack

LEFT POCKET
Goes Everywhere With Me pouch
Bubba watertight bottle
Klean Kanteen small insulated bottle
Snacks

 

Synapse 25, Tom Bihn, Travel: Packing List, Travel: The Americas, travelbunny, USA, Wisconsin

Packing List: Green Bay, Wi

Final packing list for Green Bay ended up having 2 things I didn’t really need, but when it comes to light layers in the cold, it’s better to have them than not, and since they are light they weigh almost nothing.

It was quite warm when I got there, in the 40’s F, so my uniqlo hoodie was just fine with my merino shirt, my jeans, and my blundstones. I did bring a long packable down coat to wear most the time because the length is really a luxury to have if you insist upon wearing leggings, like I do. 😉 (Yeah I would’ve wore my jeans if it was that cold but frankly my jeans make me cranky. )

Full list:

Plane wear:

Other items:

  • Long sleeve stripey layering shirt
  • Long sleeve tunic
  • Sleep tank and shorts (which can double as layers if we got into the polar vortex situation or had to be outside for any length of time.)
  • Leggings
  • General Leia T-shirt (for theme party)
  • Bombas socks and Ex Officio undies
  • FitKicks for hanging about the hotel
  • Merino scarf
  • Gloves
  • Hat
  • Camp pillow cover (to stuff down coat in for the plane if I wanted a nap)
  • IPad and Apple Pencil

I packed all the clothes in the Tom Bihn packing cube shoulder bag and my toiletries in a #2 sized stuff sack.

Electronics baubles in a 3D clear organizer cube hanging from the rails loops on top (thanks TB forum hacks! Best. Idea. Evar!)

Organizer pouch for headphones and anything I want to carry around for the day (like my Gotcha charger or a spare iPhone cable).

My sleep system extension cord with built in USB chargers and power supply get stowed in a travel cubelet. (I like that I can make either my travel cubelet or my packing cube shoulder bag my purse while I’m there.)

I keep receipts and other flat things in a medium double organizer pouch.

Lip balm and other plane necessities went in the top small zip pocket, straw and water bottle in the deep zip pocket.

Side pocket 1: toiletries (all dry so no need to remove for TSA)

Side pocket 2: shopping bag, USB plug, pens, laundry stain stick (I’m clumsy ;). )

Bottom pocket: snacks and gifties for friends

Main pocket: clothes, down coat (with gloves and hat in the pockets), iPad and sleep system.

Bags & Luggage, Synapse 25, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny, Wisconsin

Riding the Rails prep

I’m doing a preliminary pack for a long weekend in February (I’ll be kind of riding the rails so I wanted to be super mobile). I haven’t flown American Eagle with my Aeronaut 30 yet and I didn’t want to take the risk of it being gate checked – because O’Hare airport is consistently the airport of chaos and evil. Instead, I’ll be using my Synapse 25 and I loaded it up with just the basics to see how it feels.

So far I have socks and underwear, a merino wool shirt, pajamas, my sleep system and charging cords in the TB Packing Cube Shoulder Bag and travel cubelet (both in Island blue, either of which can be used as a purse while I’m there), flip flops in a shoe sleeve (from who knows where), my stuff pillow. Not pictured: my little kit that I never go anywhere without as well as my 3D organizer cube that I use as my purse catchall that I will clip into the top of the bag from the cache rails loops. I’ll have a long down coat that packs into its own envelope that will go in there when it arrives, a couple more T-shirts and probably a few more odds and ends or presents that I’m bringing people.

In the front side pocket, I have dry toiletries and a travel towel (see below for a list with linkies) that don’t need to be separated out for TSA.

In the other front side pocket I have a couple of shopping bags, a power plug, a couple of cables and things I might need to get to easily in the airport.

Front small pocket will have my ear buds and some batteries, bigger pocket will have a water bottle and my reusable straw.

The bottom front pocket has snacks (on the plane) and my fold up silicone mug. There will be more food in there before I leave but there’s lots of room left.

I bought the new frame sheet from Tom Bihn recently and I am excited to try it out on the Synapse 25. I already have the frame sheet for the Aeronaut 30. I used it when I went to Detroit last month and it really made a huge difference. (I carried my Aeronaut in Paris and much whining ensued about the long walk with ALL our stuff since the metro station nearest us was closed; the difference between carrying it without the panel vs. with it is incredible!)

I’ve had this backpack for several years now and while I do use it, I don’t use it as regularly as I would if I like the panel as much as I did on my Aeronaut. This might make the difference between being madly in love with it and just thinking it’s pretty cool.

I’ll definitely do a final set of pictures when I get all this packed up, for now, I’m pleased with the set up.

Dry Toiletries:

https://youtu.be/Ynedk112cAw

BoardingBlue, Iceland, Luggage, Packing, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

WowAir Basic Fare Packing

Just FYI I’m postponing indefinitely my plans to go to Iceland until whaling has stopped.

Iceland Resumes Hunt For Endangered Fin Whales

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/iceland-resumes-hunt-for-endangered-fin-whales/

6/22/18

I used to go to Green Bay, Wisconsin in February and March (sometimes as early as January) and, as you might realize, it can get a little nippy there. But after doing this for about 10 years, the panic over “OMG I’m going to freeze to death!” calmed down to “Why is it so freaking hot inside?”

Most of the time I ended up in a long sleeve layering shirt with a snarky T-shirt on top of that and yoga pants. When I did go outside, I had a Patagonia down sweater, and for the occasional sleigh ride (it was a vacation) I just put on snow pants over my yoga pants or leggings; whatever I happen to be wearing that day.


Special guest star: barn kitteh at the Rock K Ranch

I have it on good authority from a Green Bay resident that Iceland is lovely and now I really want to try Wow Air and their basic fare (here are a couple of people who have done this: Pam Yang and Dariadaria) and I want to use my BoardingBlue bag which meets the free carry-on requirement for Wow Air.

I’m pretty sure it will carry all I need since I won’t be camping, I’ll probably just take a day tour to see some waterfalls, do the Blue Lagoon-natch, and noodle around town taking pictures. If I can manage it, I’d like to see the black sand beach – but that is negotiable. I also really, really want to see the northern lights, but I hear that can be tricky. Well, we’ll give it a shot.
(Suggestions for fun? Leave those tips in the comments!)

I have a comfy pair of Sorel winter boots (the Waterfall model from a few years ago – tested in GB) I can wear on the plane, my snow pants, I have a thin smartwool sweater for another layer, my Marmot rain/wind layer packs up super flat and I can carry my down jacket with hat and mittens stored in the pocket. I think this will be fairly easy to accomplish.

Here’s the BoardingBlue with my snow pants snuggled in:


And then my standard packing cube o’ stuff tucked in:

I’ll bring other stuff like flip flops and a swimsuit, my travel towel, packable daypack, etc, but there’s lots of room left in my bag… though not enough for the 40 Icelandic sweaters I want to buy, but that is another issue all together 😉

Excitement. I haz it. 😉

Bags & Luggage, Gadgets, London, Paris, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

Paris packing list

We have the luxury of not changing hotels for a reasonable stretch of time, our hotel isn’t too far from a Metro station and there aren’t too many changes between Metro lines to get there.

I’ll be using my Aeronaut 30 and my Travelon daypack to carry me through 10 days of Paris and London.

Bags:

Clothes:

Bags & Luggage, London, Packing, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

Vacation in a vacation

We’re planning to ride the Eurostar to London from Paris one day on our upcoming trip. The plan is to get there early afternoon, snoop about, eat Indian food til we explode, stay in a hotel then get up the next day and do one of those hop on/hop off tours until it is time to get back to Paris via St. Pancras station.

Being a packing nerd, I was up for this challenge (I hate carrying a lot of stuff and we’ll need to carry everything with us after we check out of the hotel that morning.)


I’ll be carrying my Pacsafe Slingsafe 300 GII and my pouch purse


I so adore this bag. Super comfy to carry, RFID pocket, slash resistant straps and securable zippers. Peace of mind in backpack form. Pretty much when I travel I have a pouch purse for easy storage of coins and phone and then a backpack for the day’s needs. These two together are THE BUSINESS I tell you…

Here’s what I have in my bag:
1. umbrella
2. In my dopp kit:

FullSizeR1.jpg

*I found some teeny tiny soap containers at Daiso that hold a Ligett’s travel shampoo bar and my travel sized Dove bar. Moreover, they fit in the travel zip pouch from Ligett’s that you can get perfectly.  

3. clothes in zip pouch (just the middle sized one):

FullSizeR

**depending on how warm it is, I might just take one merino shirt. They don’t smell generally and if I’m not sweating I probably will be ok. Though I’m a messy Indian food eater, I might need to take another one anyway 😉

4. Travel electronics:

All told it weighs about 5 or 6 pounds, (more with a water bottle in there). I’m ready for London!
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Bags & Luggage, Packing, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, Travel: Packing List

2-3 days in the Tom Bihn Night Flight Travel Duffle

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See my actual packing list for 4 days in my Night Flight Travel Duffle!
I’ve done several mini-trips for work that involved flying up somewhere one day and back the same day or even just catching the earliest flight the next day  home after delivering something or attending an important meeting.

But what if you got a free ticket to Vegas (but sleeping is such a buzzkill time waster)!?!? Or a quick flight on a no-frills airline for a family emergency? Or did you get stuck somewhere when your flight was canceled? Quick, versatile packing is a skill that is good to have.

I got the Tom Bihn Night Flight Travel Duffle for more than just minimal travel, but I know it could be used for up to 3 days travel if you are judicious. If I did need to add, the first thing that would go in would be a pair of leggings!

Here is my baseline for a day trip (via plane):

image

I don’t have much in the way of spare clothes but I do have clean (SmartWool) socks and undies that live in the orange TB Travel Stuff Sack and a long sleeve shirt for layering. I travel with the Ex Officio undies that are super comfy and wash/dry easily just like the SmartWool socks. I could add another short sleeve shirt if I wanted to extend a day.

Otherwise this is pretty much what I need to work and amuse myself for a day or so.

In my dry kit:

image

Clothes:

Wearing:  Columbia pants, quick dry (or wool) black t-shirt, black pashmina/shawl, lightweight jacket, smartwool socks, ex officio undies, black shoes

Packing: long sleeve wool shirt, wool buff (can be used as hat or scarf or headband, eye cover…).

For an extra day or 2, I’d also include another shirt and some cute leggings.

This all fit with room to spare 😉

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Side pockets:

imageimage

Center section:

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The travel tray with my cord and wall plug:

imageimage

Then my long sleeve shirt and buff folded in:
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Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

Packing constants

Aeronaut 30 (dyneema with ultraviolet lining): this is built to fit the specs of those cheapo bastard airlines in Europe. I may or may not use them especially since trains are nifty, but carrying less stuff is never a bad idea. I have a terrible tendency to shed things on the road that irritate me (such as umbrellas or the like) by giving them to street buskers or homeless folks so I’m more judicious now about what I take to begin with, conversely, I’m particular about what I wear so I can’t just replace my wardrobe on the road. Now I have a pretty good set of basics that don’t much leave the suitcase; they are easily washed, comfy and very neutral for mixing and matching.

Knitting bag and Travel Tray: I generally have a newer project that I just cast on that is smaller (I really should learn to knit socks soon, they are so nice and portable) as well as my knit kit. The travel tray I leave full of stuff I’m going to want to use in the plane. iPhone cable, iPhone battery, earphones, lip balm, travel alien, etc. I tend to drop things, because clumsy, and this makes it easy to pull out of my bag and keep corralled on the tray or the seat. I use it in the hotel as well as my bedside bag for my necklace or bracelet while I sleep. Very handy.
When empty it squooshes down flat to take up very little space.

image

robe/kimono/drape-y black sweater: I can wear something like this over jeans, my jammies dress, as a robe sort of thing, as well as another layer

Black jammies dress: pretty much if I see a packing list that shows an outfit with shorts and heels, I click away from it. However, I will wear jammies out and about. The thing is my jammies don’t look like jammies much…


Shoes: I wear

Rockport sandals:  happily I found a pair of sandals that are tidy looking AND are comfy.

Luggage, Packing, Panama, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, Travel: Packing List, Travel: The Americas, travelbunny

Packing List: Panama City, Panama 


We spent about a week in Panama City, Panama in April. It was hot and humid, but we didn’t venture out of the city, so I didn’t have to worry about hiking boots or mosquitos. I brought several tshirts that wash and dry fairly easily in a hotel room that has a/c and a tidy outfit for a poolside party. 

BONUS: both pairs of shoes I can walk in for miles comfortably!

Clothes:

  • Khaki light pants (Columbia)
  • Columbia Tamiami shirt
  • Patterned orange tank
  • Black light floppy sweater 
  • Black jammies dress (also good for stealth comfort wearing during the poolside party with  a fancy necklace and the floppy sweater)
  • Stripy shirt 
  • White tank top
  • Black shirt
  • Ex Officio underwear
  • swimsuit
  • Keen H2 sandals
  • Rockport sandals (these are older, but here’s the detail page)

Bags:

Gadgets: