My Carry On Only Travel Gear

As I stated in this post here, when I travel I do not check bags. It is a massive waste of time and if I bring a big bag, I will only fill it with clothing that I won’t wear and buy shit that I don’t need. I did a lot of research on the site Her Packing List and last year before I went to Poland, I purchased a travel backpack from Tortuga. Tortuga makes a lot of really cool traveling gear at relatively reasonable prices and it’s all pretty nice looking. I thought I’d take you through what my gear from Tortuga looks like. Let’s start with the backpack:

This is the now-retired 44L Tortuga Travel Backpack. They retired it shortly after I bought it off Amazon (for a slightly cheaper price than on their website). As you can see, there’s lots of padding on the part that lays on your back so that it doesn’t hurt while you’re toting it around.

When you open the main compartment, there are two little zipper compartments that clip together and I guess is meant to separate the main backpack storage area from the part that folds down. I usually put dirty laundry in the two zipper parts in the main area (left side) and clean underwear in the two little zipper parts that pull away (right side). Clean is separate from dirty and every one is happy.

There are pockets on each side, which is where I usually store my eye mask, glasses, and chargers for easy access on the plane.

There is a front pocket, too, that is deep enough for your laptop, iPad, book, journal, etc. And if you open the main compartment of the bag from a secret top zipper, you can reach into a padded slot and pull out your iPad or laptop without having to open the entire from of the backpack.

And these are my packing cubes, also from Tortuga and also now retired (sorry! but you can find a number of different knockoffs on Amazon!). You can fit all three inside the main compartment of the 44L bag above and they’re excellent at keeping your clothes separated, accessible, and organized inside your bag.

Then there’s my toiletry bag. I don’t have a photo because it’s not technically mine. I always borrow one from one of my good girlfriends because it’s deceptively spacious. More than you think always fits in it. You can find something similar here.

Lastly, I always bring my purse or some black cross-body bag that fits my wallet, phone, passport, Kindle, tickets, and the other things that are usually in one’s purse. (Use your imagination.)

Listing it all here, it sounds like a lot but it’s really not. If you have any recommendations for amazing travel gear that I don’t know about, let me know!