Packing.

It's one thing to pack for a weekend, or even a week-long, vacation... but packing for a two to three week long trip through varying climates and with multiple activities planned can be challenging.

The trick is that you have to be prepared for a variety of categories of activities and there isn't a lot of wardrobe overlap:

Nicer-than-casual (not a suit, but not a t-shirt)
Business (company logo or otherwise)
Casual (out in public, but nothing really going on)
Comfortable (hotel room admin time)
Athletic (recreational opportunities, exercise)


A pair of jeans or two might get you through the first two or three items, but you'll probably want at least one pair of dockers, khakis or dress pants. Comfortable and Athletic clothes can also overlap conveniently with a good pair of sweats or other loose comfortable pants. Throw in a sports coat for occasional use in the first two categories and you can call it good... so, at a minimum, we're up to:

1 pr jeans, 1 pr of pants, 1 pr shorts, 1 pr sweat pants, 1 button up, 1 polo, 2 t-shirts & a sports coat.

Now, unless you're traveling in a warm climate were it never rains, you're going to need an outer layer. At  least a light jacket that can keep off some rain. If your travel circuit includes cold weather you'll have a bulkier coat. If you're like me, you'll probably have at least one coat/jacket for casual time and one for when you are dressier.

Footwear?  Forget about matching your outfits (not you, ladies... I get it: multiply the number of shoes in this paragraph by 1.6 and round down if you consider yourself casual, up if you are more honest.), from a purely utilitarian point of view, you've got to have at least two pairs of shoes (athletic & not-too-casual).... probably 3 (athletic, not-too-casual and casual-but-not-athletic). Add in a pair of boots for foul weather or general outdoors stuff and you're up to 4 pairs of bulky items... of course, you can wear one and save space/weight in the luggage.

This is a good place to address the real reason why packing is a big deal... the airlines have those of us who spend weeks on the road and hit multiple locations on one trip on the ropes. Generally, you're going to get charged for your bags and the 2nd bag fee can be double the first bag fee. 2 bags can mean adding $75 per flight... and the bags must each be less than 50 pounds (yes, not two bags totaling less than 100 lbs, they are weighed separately). My biggest complaint here is the arbitrary nature of the rules: a guy who weighs 300 pounds can carry the same baggage weight as a guy who weighs 175 and a carry-on only has the practical weight limit of "what-you're-willing-to-lug-around".

(Of course, there are the benefits of Frequent Flierness... on Delta, I get 2 bags free up to 70 pounds each.... but that's not normal. If anything, it almost makes it more painful when I check in on another airline and get nailed over-weight fees approaching $100 on my "normal" luggage.)


So, where were we?

1 pr jeans, 1 pr pants, 1 pr shorts, 1 pr sweat pants, 1 button up, 1 polo, 2 t-shirts, 1 sports coat, 1 jacket, 1 coat, 3 pairs of shoes and 4-5 days worth of underwear and socks (depending on how often you'll get time in for laundry).

Going on one trip in November that takes you from New England to Florida?  Multiply items by 1.5... you're going to need to keep cool and stay warm all on one trip.

More Formal Setting?  Add a suit or at least an extra couple of button ups.... AND dress shoes.

Care about wearing the same clothes over and over again for 2 weeks or concerned about paying fees for hotel laundry? My advice is to Get Over It.

What to carry it in?
  I suggest a good quality rolling duffel made for traveling with clothes... not an athletic bag, but a real piece of luggage that doesn't weight much, but is durable. I was gifted a 5.11 Rolling duffel about a year ago and I like it so much that I bought a second one for the trips when I need two bags worth of stuff (the recent trip that required ski clothes/equipment, for example). It has two main compartments and several pockets, one of which holds a pair of dirty boots OR a my shaving kit just about perfectly, depending on the trip. The rolling nature of the main bag is essential for hikes across airports or to taxis & rental cars... and it would be suicidal to try to do without wheels on a big bag while traveling by train*.

All the luggage you need to travel well with 2 weeks worth of business and living
clothes & equipment... without extra fees!

Of course, that was just clothes... and some of you may be pushing your 50 pounds already. I'll usually add the aforementioned shaving kit/toiletries bag and some chargers and a few work related items to the main luggage. I use my carry-on (currently a Tamrac multi-purpose camera-laptop backpack) for:

Laptop, iPad, DSLR & lens or two, Point & shoot, headphones, cell phone & laptop charger, business paperwork & various other accoutrements. 

The last piece of luggage that I'll recommend is a small portable safe for cash, passport, data cards and other small valuables. I use a NanoVault which has a combination lock and a cable that can secure it to the big luggage while traveling and anything sturdy in a rental car or hotel room.

Once you commit to living on the road, or just taking extended business trips, you have to learn what you really are going to want to have with you. You'll probably end up buying things you thought you wouldn't need and never unpacking things you thought you couldn't live without for a few trips... I know I did.

-RJP

(* I have, when I've known I was going to be doing a lot of train-ing or walking on a trip, used a large backpack as my main bag... this is even more convenient than a rolling bag, but requires carrying less stuff. It is a specialty alternative method, but not a good every-week choice.)