Airlines are stricter about the weight and size of bags
Judy Wiley
Province
Heavy, impressive-looking luggage is officially over. The airlines have made it so with new, stricter weight regulations that have travellers groaning.
Of course, the lighter your luggage, the more stuff you can lug along. And we discovered that cheaper bags are lighter — though they won’t necessarily last as long.
PACKING TIPS
Choosing the lightest suitcase doesn’t matter much if you insist on taking along too much stuff. These ideas will help you pack lighter, no matter what style traveller you are.
For everyone:
– Wear your heaviest clothes, such as jackets and coats.
– Call your hotel and ask whether such items as blow-dryers, irons and robes are provided. No need to pack them if so.
– Check the weather and make a list. Then pile everything on the bed and edit. If you pack straight into the suitcase, you’re more likely to add extra items.
– Downsize toiletries. Buy travel-size versions or empty plastic bottles. It makes a huge difference.
– According to Melissa Klurman at Fodor’s, a good rule of thumb for travelling less than one week is one shirt per day, one layering jacket or sweater, one bottom per every two days (but never less than two pairs of pants), no more than two pairs of shoes, underwear for every day and seasonal additions, such as a bathing suit.
Klurman says for more than a week, you should take the same number of items and plan to wash. If the exchange rate is good, use a laundry service. Otherwise, bring Woolite and a travel stain-treatment stick (Tide to Go is the best, Klurman says).
(Sources: Melissa Klurman at www.fodors.com and Chris Culwell at Fodor’s)
For the fashionista
(or fashionisto):
– “Choose a central colour to pack around,” says Chris Culwell at Fodor’s. Try a neutral such as brown, navy, black or tan, then choose accessories to change the look — “so you’re not bringing things like purple pants and a green tank top,” Culwell says.
– If you’re not going to wear it more than three times, don’t bring it, urges Rick Steves’ website, www.ricksteves.com. Let sandals double as slippers and a scarf double as a wrap.
– If we know you, you’ll want to shop before you go. At www.exofficio.com you’ll find good-looking techie anti-wrinkle dry-wicking stuff, including one line with built-in insect repellent; www.travelsmith.com is an old reliable, better-suited to the over-40 traveller; ww.tilley.com likewise; and www.rei.com has some of the cuter stuff online.
– Silk, microfibre or stretch-lace underwear dries faster than cotton.
– Leave your expensive jewelry at home. It’s not worth losing it.
(Sources: www.fodors.com, www.ricksteves.com)
For the business traveller:
– Pack a business suit in a dry-cleaner bag. Less friction means less wrinkling.
– Use zip-top bags for lots of things: liquids, dirty shoes — anything you want to keep away from items you can’t wash or spot-clean.
– Put socks inside shoes to save space.
– Line the bottom of your suitcase with pants and let the legs hang over the outside edge, say the experts at Travel+Leisure. Then pack the rest — with lighter items on top. Wrap pants legs over all, and they’ll keep their crease.
– Hang wrinkled items in the bathroom while you shower to help get rid of wrinkles.
© The Vancouver Province 2006