Laurie is the current organizer of the Albuquerque Solo Women’s Travel Club Meetup* and during the Covid-19 pandemic, she has been hosting Zoom meetings with members. The topic for the October meeting was “What travel gear are you passionate about?” Here are a few of the responses.
Eight of us participated and shared our love of certain kinds and brands of travel gear, plus common household items repurposed for travel. Here is the list:
A Swiss Gear suitcase that fits under the airplane seat in front of you. Its dimensions are: 16” x 13.75” x 9” and weighs a mere five pounds, available at Target. Rachna (Ritch) shared that she traveled for three weeks with one of these suitcases and managed to bring along three pairs of shoes plus clothes for both warm and cold weather.
Several of us had plenty to say about packing cubes and “envelopes” for optimal packing of clothes. Folding your clothes the correct way can be an important space-saver. Items for organizing your packing are available from the Container Store, eBags, Travelon, and other on-line venues, and Lieber’s Luggage in ABQ is a good local resource for luggage and travel accessories. To avoid having to rummage for something she’s looking for, Vicky places a strip of duct tape on top of her packing cubes and lists the contents of the cubes on the tape. Many of us use Ziploc bags of various sizes to separate travel items into categories (e.g., hair styling products in one, socks in another) and to see the contents without having to open the bag.
Pashmina shawls, bandanas, and sarongs are space-saving, multi-purpose articles of clothing essential for travel. Some of their uses include: for keeping warm on a cold overnight flight, for use as a towel or wash cloth, and to keep the sun and wind off your head and neck. All of us have our favorite small items that can be easily stowed in a purse: ear plugs and eye shades, a strip of duct tape wrapped around a pen or pencil, a hook for a bathroom door (how many times have you put your purse on a dirty bathroom floor because there is no hook on the door?), a contact lens case for pills. Clothes pins are useful to close curtains in a hotel room that won’t get quite as dark as you like or to hang clothes to dry. Water filtration may be important during your travels, and two recommended brands are the Grayl system and LifeStraw, both available from Amazon.
One suggestion that makes a lot of sense is to leave a packing list in your suitcase. That way, you preclude the anxiety of packing by knowing exactly what you need to take. It’s all there in writing.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
* The “Solo Women” in the name means women who live on their own but want to travel with other women.