Top ChackPacker packing hacks for traveling light

ChackPacker.com is celebrating its first birthday! During this year we talked to a lot of interesting and inspiring frequent travelers who shared their travel hacks and insights with us. In this post, we have compiled their top travel must haves and packing hacks for you.

Which items are absolute travel essentials?

Lifestyle blogger Norbert ‘Bru’ Ambros’ favorites are his mobile for it’s his calender, P.O. box, address book, map and music player that gives him the possiblility of switching off everything around him. He’ll also pack a small bag filled with all the stuff to freshen up like toothbrush, moisturizer, deodorant and perfume.

InsideFlyer Managing Editor Steffen Hager says: First of all it’s my hand luggage itself, my Rimowa trolley. But a high quality liquid case is also very important to me as a frequent flyer and of course a foldable travel bag from TUMI, which is very useful!

Blogger Vera Hutterer admits: I never travel without my notebook, my camera and my care products. I’d rather leave all my clothes at home, but I can’t travel without these three things.

Market research project manager Laura Hess views her handbag as a “small living room” with everything necessary in it: My phone is everything – my calendar, my alarm clock, my connection with customers and colleagues. Also, it is always important for me to have a bottle of water with me to stay hydrated throughout the day. I also like to have a small snack with me, such as nuts or dried fruits. This has often saved my life when I ended up stranded somewhere due to delays or other incidents. My headphones are very important for me too in order to be able to block out noise on the train or plane. Also, I always have lip care products and hand cream with me.

Wellness hotel tester Andrea Labonte told us: My main focus is mostly on the first-aid kit. I always make sure it’s well-equipped. I always consult with our doctor before long-distance trips to find out which must haves should go into our luggage.

What are the best tips for traveling light?

Frank Thiele, managing partner at factor product recommends: Use a small bag, because that limits you automatically. Continuously optimize your packing list after a trip. Use an e-book reader to avoid carrying heavy books. Buy T-Shirts made from Merino wool. You can wear them for several days without washing.

Award-winning landscape photographer Felix Röser says: It makes sense to think about what you will really need. Every gram you have with you makes traveling harder. So in this case, you compile everything you think you will need and then you reduce it down to a half.

Market research project manager Laura Hess recommends: Planning is key here. Figuring out what I will need beforehand really saves me a lot of luggage. I usually check if shampoo or shower gel are provided at my hotel so I can leave them at home. If necessary, I can still purchase them on site. It’s always a bit of a trade-off what comfort I don’t want to do without when traveling.

When it comes to packing clothes, Miriam Koren, brand manager at zLabels has some excellent tips: I try to pack only pieces that can be combined in different ways. For a long trip with various destinations I even make a little plan, to see how many flight outfits are needed and how many days and nights I will be in a specific climate zone so that I can check my wardrobe accordingly.

Film-maker Inka Reichert suggests: It’s a great idea to always have a bag pre-packed and ready to go! Only bring your hand luggage and have everything for the basic needs prepared, like the hygienic pouch.

And Airbus pilot Patrick Biedenkapp recommends: Traveling light starts with a light weighted suitcase of good quality. Fill big bottles of your toiletries into small containers and know which clothing you really need.

How can you make sure not to forget anything when packing for a trip?

Memory expert Markus Hofmann gave us some excellent advice:

If I want to remember a list of items that I have to pack, I need a so-called mental mailbox for the information I want to remember. You can build your own mental mailboxes by, for example, dividing your body into 10 mental mailboxes: Number one is your toes, number two is your knees, number three is your thighs and so on. If we want to remember any item on our packing list, we have to link it mentally to our mailbox in a creative, funny, grotesque, erotic or painful way. Let’s say you want to remember to pack your tablet. You could link the tablet in an extraordinary way to your first mental mailbox – your toes. Imagine stepping on the tablet, the screen breaks and you cut yourself on the glass. The image in your head is so painful, you will remember the tablet from now on when you look at your toes. And we continue the very same way linking all the items on our list to the mental mailboxes of our body.