Long weekends are the perfect escape, but dealing with airline baggage fees, especially for carry-ons, can add unnecessary stress. In today’s travel landscape, mastering the art of traveling light with just a personal item, like a travel backpack, is increasingly valuable.
For years, I’ve embraced the carry-on-only approach, perfecting the technique of maximizing space in a single backpack. Follow these eight steps, inspired by my personal packing strategies, to streamline your packing and efficiently use a Travel Backpack For your next weekend adventure. Feel free to adapt these tips to suit your individual needs and preferences.
Step 1: Selecting Your Ideal Travel Backpack
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Vicki Denig/Travel + Leisure
For frequent travelers, investing in a quality travel backpack is a game-changer. While I personally upgraded to a Tumi Voyageur leather backpack for its durability and style, any standard-sized backpack with practical features will work wonders. When choosing a travel backpack, prioritize one with external pockets – front and/or side pockets are incredibly useful for easy access to essentials. A dedicated zippered compartment for a laptop or tablet is also highly recommended for security and organization. The main internal compartment should be functional and spacious. While some backpacks have internal dividers, a simple, open space can be more versatile for packing cubes. I utilize a smaller zippered inner pocket for secure storage of items like my passport, keeping it readily accessible.
Step 2: Curating Your Clothing Essentials for a Weekend Trip
Clothing tends to be the bulkiest category when packing for a three-day trip, often consuming the most space in your travel backpack. This is where packing cubes become invaluable. These organizational tools are a traveler’s best friend for compressing clothes and maximizing space. A smart packing strategy is to wear your bulkiest outfit on travel days, including layers. This reduces the amount you need to pack in your backpack. For a weekend trip, plan for two days of packed outfits, assuming you’ll wear an outfit on day one. This translates to packing three sets of underwear and socks. Consider adding a swimsuit (optional, depending on your destination), pajamas, two versatile t-shirts, two pairs of shorts or lightweight pants, and potentially two sets of workout clothes (again, optional, based on your travel style).
Many clothing items can serve multiple purposes to minimize packing. For example, a t-shirt worn during the day can be repurposed as workout wear the next day. Similarly, quick-drying gym shorts can double as swimwear cover-ups, maximizing their utility.
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Vicki Denig/Travel + Leisure
Step 3: Streamlining Your Liquid Toiletries for Travel
This might be a minimalist approach, but I prefer to keep my liquid toiletries bag as simple as possible. Many hotels offer complimentary toiletries, and travel-sized versions of your preferred brands are easily purchased upon arrival at your destination. To expedite airport security checks, I opt for a clear zip-lock bag rather than a bulky toiletry bag.
My essential liquid toiletries include travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and body wash. I also pack a small facial serum, toothpaste, lip balm, and a teeth whitening pen. Additionally, I include two mini perfumes for a touch of personal luxury without adding significant weight or bulk.
Step 4: Assembling Your Miscellaneous Travel Essentials Bag
Think of your miscellaneous bag as your travel backpack’s version of a junk drawer – filled with seemingly random items that often prove indispensable in unexpected situations. Given the limited space in a 72-hour travel backpack, the contents of this “junk drawer” are curated to include only essential, space-saving items.
My miscellaneous essentials typically consist of: instant coffee packets for quick caffeine fixes, earplugs for restful sleep, a pair of tweezers, a small supply of feminine hygiene products, a few bandages, pens, a toothbrush, a small jewelry bag, a coin purse for local currency, a compact mirror, eye masks, hair ties, prescription and over-the-counter medications (allergy and sleep aids), a razor, hair clips, glasses, and a universal adapter. This list is personalizable, but even with these items, there’s usually still some room to add a few extra small necessities.
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Vicki Denig/Travel + Leisure
Step 5: Organizing Your Tech Wires and Chargers
Staying connected while traveling requires proper organization of your electronic accessories. For me, this includes a laptop charger, a lightning cable for my iPhone, a USB cable (essential for older airplane charging ports), and a USB charger for my portable power bank – along with the power bank itself. You can include a phone charger wall adapter, but I often charge my phone by connecting my lightning cable to my laptop and plugging the laptop into a power outlet. I also always pack a spare pair of wired headphones as a backup in case my wireless earbuds run out of battery.
Step 6: Packing Random but Necessary Essentials
These are items that may not fit neatly into your miscellaneous bag but are crucial for travel. My random essentials include my laptop, reading material (magazines are a great lightweight option), keys, wireless earbuds, and sunglasses. My sunglasses case also provides a little extra space for a few cards that I don’t keep in my primary wallet.
Step 7: Assembling Your Travel Backpack Strategically
Packing a travel backpack is a bit like a Tetris game, but with a little strategy, it’s quick and efficient. Begin by placing your packing cube filled with clothes at the bottom of the backpack. Next, ensure your passport is in a designated, easily accessible pocket – for me, it’s the zippered back compartment. Then, layer the toiletries bag, wires bag, and miscellaneous bag on top of the clothing cube. Slide your laptop/tablet and reading material into the laptop compartment. Finally, place keys, wireless earbuds, wallet, and a water bottle in the side pockets or utilize your clothing pockets for smaller items.
Step 8: Maximizing Space with Additional Worn Items
The outfit you wear on your departure day is not only your day-one ensemble but also a strategy to carry a few extra items without packing them inside your travel backpack. My typical travel outfit consists of jeans, a simple t-shirt, and a jacket (adjusted for the weather). I always bring a sweatshirt, either wearing it if it’s cold or tying it around my waist. If you plan to bring a hat, scarf, or other clothing accessories, wear them during travel days to save space. For footwear, consider wearing sneakers and carrying sandals in a small bag tied to your backpack. This often goes unnoticed by airline staff and allows you to bring an extra pair of shoes without taking up valuable backpack space.
