What was so absurd about the tips at Jaunted? I do find it a bit insulting to be told to wear a swimsuit as a bra.

Posted By Whitney on May 30, 2008, 2:11 PM

Hi, Whitney,
Thanks for taking the time to post a comment.
Consider the last tip:
"Pack whatever your heart desires. Then close the suitcase. An hour later, open it up and take out exactly half."
Now, what's the point of having a half-empty suitcase. And if you consider all the things mentioned earlier in the list, I dare you to fill a 22-inch carry-on case only half-way up with the items mentioned.

Also: Maybe the folks I see at my Crunch gym are way untypical, but I never see anyone--female or male--who finishes their workout ready to jump on a plane in the same outfit. Here was the tip:
So long as you aren't sweating buckets each day working out, you can at least use your tank top or t-shirt for sleeping. We like to air ours out in the bathroom for good measure.

I could go on, but I'll stop there. Clearly, as can be seen by the comments on the Jaunted post, my point of view is in the minority. Plus, I'm a guy. So no one should really care what I think on this issue. Just don't sit next to me on a plane in your gym clothes post-workout, please.
--Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Sean on May 30, 2008, 3:12 PM

I'm not sure what world Jaunted lives in but black leggings, while space saving, look atrocious on 90% of the female population! If you have supermodel legs, the go for it, otherwise do not expect to look amazing.

Posted By Genifer on June 2, 2008, 1:16 PM

Sean

Count me as another one who cannot work out and jump on a plane. I carry a heavy duty sealable plastic bag for my workout clothes as I also actually SWEAT which makes my clothes both damp and smelly. I do use my CLEAN workout clothes to runaround in and then workout in them. But this means I always have at least two sets of workout gear with me.


To cut down on what I take, I wear and take mostly black items that can be mixed in matched and that includes my workout gear. I also take a few bright tops to break up the black.

My swimsuit tops cannot double as a bra for me. I use thin cotton yakuta to travel with that takes up almost no space and run around my room in low cut workout socks.

Posted By Valerie on June 3, 2008, 3:15 AM

I am 6 feet tall and wear size 16, which has twice as much material/weighs twice as much as size 2. I am just going to start dressing like homeless people for travel, wearing evering I want on the plane, and phooey to the security line.
What about shipping clothes via UPS/FedEx. Is it comparable in price to the new luggage costs?

Posted By Lynn on June 3, 2008, 4:16 PM

OneBag has tried to update the site for the ladies. I think he's done a great job at it, and I've been using his tips for years. I would never travel in leggings - I don't have the body for it, and frankly, I'm not into personal embarassment. Tankinis are a harder problem - it is difficult (but possible) to find ones that are modest enough to wear as a top (and the better ones come with built in bras). See Travelsmith or Lands End. Try to find sports bras that can also be worn as regular bras, or bring one sports bra and one regular bra.

I also disagree with Jaunted's recommendations. "Wear blue jeans" (how are you going to clean them?) "Wear boots" (heavy!) "Bring on the shoes" (more heavy!) "Bring books/magazines" (oh, my back!!). OK, pick one of these as a luxury item. But being hot and sweaty from hauling your luggage around is not fashionable.

As far as sleepwear goes, I use my long johns in the winter and use a jersey dress for the summer. The jersey dress can double as a swim suit coverup. And if I wash my dress right when I get out of bed in the morning and hang it up, it will be ready for going out that evening. It is OK to sleep/wear your workout gear if you wash it after the workout. That means that you'll need something made out of a blend (spandex is good) Vs 100% cotton or it won't dry fast enough.

The key to lots of outfits is to have a basic color and stick to it. I usually have a skirt/jacket in one neutral color, pants in a 2nd matching neutral color, a sweater set in the 2nd neutral color, and then add in pops of accent colors in my 2-3 shirts (one tank, one long sleeve shirt with roll-up sleeves, and one nice t-shirt for workouts/casual. Instead of long john bottoms I will use yoga pants - good for workouts, can be worn casually. Add in a pair of tights to wear under my pants/skirt when it is chilly out and I'm set. The long john top is usually in a more standard shirt-like cut that I can wear as casual wear too. Now mix it up! Tank Top/sweater/bottoms nice t-shirt/jacket/bottoms Longjohn top/sweater/bottoms Longjohn top/shirt/bottoms sweater set/bottoms tankini/jacket/bottoms etc. etc.

Accessories - I usually bring a) one pair of "classic" jewelry (fake gold or pearls) b) one set of funky colored casual jewelry c) a thin elegant shawl/scarf d) a casual scarf e) a big silk scarf.

Shoes? One pair of euro-style workout/casual shoes, one pair of dressy flats (maybe with a slight heel) one pair nice flip flops.

Posted By Cindy on June 3, 2008, 11:53 PM

I forgot to add the part about creating “hiking” socks. If I’m doing regular trips (not mountaineering or adventure travel) I create “hiking” socks by layering my workout footies under my dress socks. This creates a sock thick enough to use for the longer hikes. The advantages are several:

1) I get workout footies when I need them

2) I get dress socks when I need them

3) Thick hiking socks dry slowly when washed – but two pairs of thin socks will dry by morning.

4) I don’t need to pack the extra weight/bulk of hiking socks.

I really enjoy the blogs. There are so many varied opinions out there. I can learn so much from others perspective! (But isn’t that one of the reasons why we travel?)

Regards,

Cindy

Posted By Cindy on June 5, 2008, 9:59 AM

I think what I find consistantly interesting in all "packing light assistance" sites is the amount of time dedicated to minimizing the amount of underwear carried around. Maybe it's just me, but the bra-and-underwear faction is NOT what's taking up room in the bag. I could pretty much bring 4 months worth of underwear and it would still only add up to about 1% of the space/weight of the bag.

BTW, I find OneBag less sexist than Jaunted, "It's sometimes painful deciding which cute frocks and pretty shoes won't make the cut." Can you hear my eyes rolling?

Posted By Erica on June 16, 2008, 2:20 PM

Dear Sean,

Enjoyed reading your article, referenced above. One thought:

As a former journalist, I wanted to point out that the term "checkpoint-friendly" seems to be a trademarked term, for at least three manufacturers. One, Aerovation, lists the "TM" symbol on their web page, and the other two companies are cited via the TESS page.

http://www.aerovation.com/
"checkpoint-friendly"

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=84555k.3.1

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=84555k.3.2

Perhaps it might be good in the future to refer to these products by a generic sounding name like: "x-ray laptop bags," or "x-ray laptop cases?" Rational is that the term 'friendly' when hyphenated is a bit unwieldy, as in "x-ray-friendly laptop cases/bags."

The thought is that the term "x-ray" would be used more as the main adjective that modifies the compound noun "laptop bag" or "laptop case."

Just thought I'd pass this along for consideration.

Posted By Penguin on July 1, 2008, 7:08 PM

Cindy - what are "euro-style workout/casual shoes" and where do you find them?

Posted By B on August 2, 2008, 4:23 PM

How so lovely Plus Checkpoint friendly.

Posted By Martina on August 6, 2008, 3:26 AM