Unpacking What I’m Packing: New Gear for a New Era of Travel
What I am packing today is suddenly quite different from what I packed in years past. Historically, weight be damned, I’d stuff a bag and don’t recall ever being forced to gate check it.
That just won’t work in the hectic days of 2022 travel.
We now need new rules for packing in 2022.
Rule one for travel today is don’t even think of checking a bag. Especially not in Europe but, really, nowhere. Yes, I have Air Tags. And I still won’t check a bag.
Rule two is be very, very mindful of airlines and their requirements for carryons.
Understand, too, that airlines apparently are cracking down on oversized carryon. Christopher Elliott has reported that “airlines appear to be getting stricter about carry-on bags.”
He also thinks he knows why. He quotes Jeff Galak, who teaches marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business: “By being strict on what counts as a carry-on bag, they can move some free bags to paid ones.”
Rule three: European carriers often have different rules from US carriers. For instance: TAP, which I am flying later this month, has an 8 kilogram weight limit for carryon. That’s about 17.6 pounds. A personal item can weigh 2 kg (roughly 4.5 pounds). That’s around 22 pounds total.
Iberia, which I also am flying in Europe, has a 10 kg carryon limit – 22 pounds. That’s inclusive of the “personal item.”
So lightweight matters.
But for me, on this upcoming month-long trip where I will use only carryon (a 40 liter Osprey bag), there are competing universes that need to be satisfied. For instance, I will have six nights in European capital cities (Lisbon and Madrid) where prevailing wardrobes are on the dressy side. But much of the trip will be spent walking 150+ miles on the Portuguese Camino where sweat, rain and mud will be staples. I need clothing I can launder in a hotel room sink and – crucially – that will dry fast and be ready to wear or pack in the a.m.
That rules out the cotton I have historically preferred in everything from shirts to pants and underwear and socks. Last year, on a similar but shorter trip to Spain, I learned that cotton is not quick drying.
What am I packing – keeping in mind this is primarily a walking trip? Much of it is stuff I bought specifically because I am doing this trip.
But, first, a shout out to several readers who pointed me to SCOTTeVEST as a clever tool for, shall we say, augmenting what one can carryon. At first glance I snickered at this eccentric garment but then I weighed my backpack after filling it with a trial load and, well, I saw the brilliance of the SCOTTeVEST. Pockets are what this garment provides. I bought the entry level nine pocket model for $129 from Amazon but I see other styles with as many as 42 pockets. (Yes, it’s mainly cotton but I won’t be washing it on this trip.)
I will stuff the vest with a Bluetooth keyboard, an iPhone (one half pound with case), glasses, coins, keys, a few travel documents, an Apple pencil, a packable day pack and more. That’s probably 4 lbs of gear that rides on my back and every ounce counts. SCOTTeVEST says it builds in a weight management system so the wearer doesn’t look like an inartful shoplifter.
As for my clothing, for this year’s trip, nylon and polyester rule because they dry fast. The underpants are ex officio, nylon/spandex. Amazon Essentials tech t-shirts are in the bag – 100% polyester. One shirt is “mixed material” via Wrangler – 73% Nylon, 27% Polyester; Inner Shell: 88% Polyester, 12% Spandex. Another shirt, via Craghoppers, is 65% poly, 35% cotton and REI says it is “quick drying.” I’ll wear Prana pants that are 97% nylon, and I’ll pack Prana pants that are made of hemp, polyester and spandex.
I’ll also pack three pairs of Darn Tough hiking socks – merino wool but it dries reasonably fast, certainly overnight. And a well worn pair of Chaco sandals will go in the bag.
I believe this kit will work on all three levels – European carryon limitations, doing a long walk in conditions that may well be rainy many days, and yet also being fit to dine in nice eateries in Lisbon and Madrid.
Sigh. I remember the days when I toted a huge garment bag that probably weighed 40 pounds loaded and that was good for carryon even in coach.
Post trip I’ll report back on how this new kit of mine fared. I am optimistic but we shall see.
Hola, Sr. Robert,
We (self, spouse) live in Murcia half the year, exc. when there’s a pandemic that blocks travel. We almost always go through MAD on way to/from, and like to spend a few d in Madrid @ each end of stay to see friends, eating places (some of them the same). If you haven’t already decided on places to eat in Madrid, I am going to plug one, where people are seen in suits and in jeans or shorts. The restaurant is El Caldero, it specializes in Murcian style dishes, and it is ideal as a follow-on to a morning spent at the Prado or Botanic Gardens, if that’s anything you might do. Or take a taxi, Madrid taxis are generally pretty cheap or there is a metro stop only a couple min distant. From the Paseo del Prado, you can cross from the museum’s S end (Murillo exit) and continue up C/ Huertas. to number 15. It is on a sl. upgrade so ideal for a stroll, with about 10 min walk from the Paseo.
If you were to decide to try it out, I will recommend dorada a la sal, a saltwater fish also designated the gilthead or John Dory, which is baked whole in a salt crust, with the skin preventing too much salt actually invading the meat. We usually have the Murcian salad, which truly is available in most restaurants here in Murcia, and the eggplant Andalusian style. If you are a dessert indulger, paparajotes are also a regional specialty from Murcia, though they are often more a fiesta special, rather than something we see every day. We grow a LOT of lemons in Murcia, and it is historically a poorer region with its econ mainly ag-related, so, like poorer people through history, they adapted diet to what is available. They take a lemon leaf, (probably toxic or at least not very congenial eating), dip it in a slightly sweetened batter, and fry it, then sprinkle with sugar and/or cinnamon. To eat, one grasps the stem of the lemon leaf and slides the fried batter sheath off the leaf. Though fried, it is a lot lighter than some fried sweets, like a Krispy Kreme anything, though you may be tempted to add a dollop of ice cream. The leaf serves as a framework to support the batter in frying, and adds a slight lemon aroma, but absolutely do not try to cut it up and eat it; the waiter had to show us on our 1st visit how to deal with the apparatus.. Enough. If you try out this suggestion, hope you like. we have been going about twice a year for 25 years and they have been pretty reliable, though we can’t claim familiarity with the entire menu, since we have kind of settled into a rut of always getting some of our favorites. The name of the restaurant is from a typical cauldron used to cook rice with various other ingredients, whatever is to hand, originally in open air over a fire. The rice dishes are good, but too generous for us as our appetites have aged along with us. They are akin to a paella, but not so saffron-y as classic Valenciano paellas, and cooked in a different manner. If you have at least 1 and preferably 2 to share it with, should be a nice, filling prelude to another Murciano trad., the siesta.
Hasta luego,
Bill Hope