Wednesday, December 5, 2018

TRAVEL TIPS: Compressing Your Luggage


We've talked about packing light here at The World on Wheels before but what about when you're headed somewhere that just refuses a light, simple bag with just a few clothes in it?

Of course, I'm talking about our recent Canadian trip, which brought the promise of cold weather. No squeaking by for a week wearing nothing but shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops...this was to be jeans, sweaters, thick socks, hats, and sturdy shoes.  Oh my, how to we make that small and easy to carry?

Remembering those infomercials from years ago, I got some vacuum compression bags. They're not too expensive, I think around $10 for three good sized bags at Walmart, and they're reusable.

Also, we got down jackets that would be really cozy in frigid temperature, plus they're mostly air, so the theory is if we can get the air out we can make those jackets really small.

So here's how it works...

My cold weather gear will consist of my down jacket and a waterproof windbreaker. I can be ready for simply cool weather, wet weather, and really darn cold weather with just these two items.



I put the windbreaker inside the down jacket. 



I fold the whole package so that it will fit into one of the bags and seal it up. I get the shop vac out of the garage, hold it to the valve, and suck out all the air.



The result is a very thin bag that hardly takes up any room in the suitcase. 

We did this for each of us and packing was really a breeze after that.

Darryl Musick
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