Travel Tips - how to travel light

Getting the most out of your baggage allowances

North American’s are spoiled by most of our airline’s baggage policies.  My hub airline, Northwest (NWA), for example, allows us to take on two carry-ons in business class and check in 2 large bags (a third for Platinum Elite members).  The large bags can weigh up to (34 Kgs) 70 pounds each.  That’s 140 pounds (68 kgs) of checked-in baggage. 

While you might never use or need this weight domestically, on an international trip of 2 or more weeks, taking you for speaking and vacation purposes, you might be tempted to over pack.  The clothes for work and play are quite different.  The many climates you can travel through and the possibility of activities from scuba diving to formal dining are very real.

Unfortunately, most overseas carriers follow a very different set of rules.  Most don’t care how many bags you check-in…one or one hundred.  What they care about is weight.  While some may allow 30 kg’s (66 pounds in total) in business class, most only allow 20 kg’s (44 pounds) and some only 10 kg’s (22 pounds).  On one trip around the world, I carried my limit on NWA to Singapore.  Left easily 25 pounds of give-aways and props in Singapore and then boarded South African Airways (SAA) for Johannesburg, South Africa.  The overweight luggage cost was $550 USD!  This was after factoring in an extra 22 pounds for business class and 22 pounds for being an SAA Voyager frequent flyer.

Here are my top ten suggestions for lightening up the load and keeping your overweight luggage costs to a minimum:

1. Forget leather.  Leather luggage, leather toiletry kits and leather coats.  I love leather at home and would love to travel with it, but it’s weight is prohibitive.  Instead, for a jacket to wear in the often cool cabin I use a Galway windbreaker and soft sided, ‘Hong Kong expandable’ travel bags for speech props, give-aways and product and a ‘walk in closet’ styled garment bag.  I use either an American Tourister wheeled garment bag or a lighter un-wheeled Samsonite Ultra Valet II bag.
GARMENT BAG:
2. One working suit and a single blue blazer.  For men or women, you can accesorize the suit and blazer with a different blouse or shirt, ties and scarves to make a lot of different outfits.
3. Just 4 dress shirts or blouses.  Even on a 10-week tour, you can have one in the laundry, one on your body, one for an evening event after a day of training and one in reserve.  If they are different in color and style, you look like you are always wearing something new to people who see you on multiple occasions.
 
4. One pair of dress shoes, one pair of casual-dress shoes and a really good pair of sneakers.  All light, give you many looks and practical.
5. 6 pair of underwear to change twice a day and stay fresh, 4 pairs of dress socks, 4 pair of casual-dress socks and 4 pair of sports white socks.  Sorry ladies, I don’t know how many bras or panty hose you need.
 
6. A dual voltage clothes steamer that REALLY kicks out the steam.  Also a small but powerful dual voltage hair dryer. 
7. One or two dressy casual shirts / blouses with the sleeve length appropriate to the climate and culture you are traveling to, 3 t- shirts (I work out 3 - 5 times a week), one silk boxer shorts (sleep-ware) and workout shorts.
 
8. A pair of dark slacks that can be used with the blazer and a pair of jeans.  I personally travel in dark khaki, blue or gray Dockers which can double as pants for the blazer or for casual dining.
9. For miscellaneous, LOTS of ties (or scarves), pocket squares, 2 handkerchiefs, a couple reversible belts (again for options), a sewing kit, small bottles of vitamins (in the original bottle with the original label so as not to arouse customs inspectors suspicions), a photocopy of your passport and pertinent details, toiletries in a hanging zip-up bag, liquid black shoe polish (in two plastic bags and in the water tight compartment of the garment bag), combination corkscrew / pocket knife / bottle opener.
On the electrical side, a multi-tap extension cord that handles 220 voltage (I bought two in Asia and converted one to a South African plug.)  The latter is for plugging in a computer, printer, steamer and hair dryer.  Most countries and their hotels NEVER have the number of electrical plug-ins we have in North America.  Also, any converter and electrical adapters you might need relevant to the countries you are visiting.  Be aware, there are over 20 electrical options and even more options for phone plug-in adapters if you intend to use a modem. 
10. Pack the bag starting with the dress shirts / blouses by putting them and anything you pack in a plastic dry cleaner bag.  This eliminates most of the wrinkles and if your bags sit in the rain or something leaks in your luggage, your clothes may be spared.  Next, the casual dress shirts, trousers and lastly the suit and blazer!  Avoid wooden hangers as they break and are heavier than the molded plastic variety.  Secure your bag with a Samsonite combination lock (no worries about losing keys and minimizes theft risk.)  The combination lock can be used in gym lockers if needed as well.

In addition, on-board the plane, I carry my Mac Powerbook, an HP printer, my handout masters, my notes, client files, cuff links and watches, address labels pre-printed for postcards, my company letterhead / labels / return address stickers and any reading material in a black soft leather briefcase.  (On board, the luxury of leather gives a more professional image.)
Any transparencies I need, heavy items or essentials for seminars like an LCD projector go in a wheeled roll-on bag with a strap to carry the briefcase. 

The last item I carry on is a soft nylon bag with large web handles to stuff comfort items in for the plane ride like a neck pillow, emergency toiletries in case of delays, my CD player, a 24 CD holder (I really love music), my hip pack which holds my camera and a separate stash of cash in different currencies.  This soft bag doubles as a gym bag, shopping bag, seminar misc. bag and is a fantastically versatile tool.

Finally, NEVER pack anything in boxes as customs will always want to see what’s in the box and ALWAYS remind the check-in staff to mark your bags for priority handling when traveling in business or first class.  If traveling in cattle car (economy), try to take all you need on board and decide which one you could give up if stopped at the gate.  ‘Gate checking’ bags like this is better because they rarely get lost and most times, they don’t charge you for the excess weight at the gate but will at the check-in.