Packing Cubes
One cube per kind of thing, like shirts, underwear or the kids' clothes, and the suitcase stays packed the way you packed it.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Travel Gear Worth Owning
This is the short list behind Packr's packing lists: the things that make a bag easier to pack, carry and live out of. Every link opens an Amazon search instead of a single listing, so it won't send you to a product that's gone.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Packing
What keeps a bag organized from the first night to the last.
Compression Packing Cubes
A second zipper squeezes the air out. Worth it for sweaters, and for fitting a week into a carry-on.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Hanging Toiletry Bag
It hooks over a towel bar or a door, so everything sits in reach and off a wet counter.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Clear Quart Toiletry Bags
The reusable kind for the liquids you carry on. They outlast zip-top bags, which split at security.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Travel Laundry Bag
Dirty clothes go in their own bag instead of back in with the clean ones.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Shoe Bags
Keeps the soles off your clothes. A plastic grocery bag works too, but it tears.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Luggage
Buy the bag last, once you know how you pack.
Carry-On Spinner Suitcase
Check your airline before you buy. The big U.S. carriers allow about 22 by 14 by 9 inches, wheels and handle included.
Under $250
Find On Amazon
Weekender Duffel
Two or three nights fit, and a soft bag squeezes into a full trunk or overhead bin.
Under $100
Find On Amazon
Digital Luggage Scale
Weigh the checked bag at home, not at the counter, where going over the limit costs a fee.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Luggage Tracker
One in the checked bag tells you where it is when the airline can't.
Under $100
Find On Amazon
Luggage Tags
A bright tag spots your bag on the carousel faster than a ribbon does.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
TSA-Approved Luggage Locks
Security can open these with a master key instead of cutting them off.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Power And Tech
The cords and plugs people forget most.
Universal Travel Adapter
One adapter with USB ports covers most countries. It changes the plug, not the voltage, so check what your hair dryer can take.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Portable Charger
Keeps a phone alive through a long travel day. Spare batteries go in your carry-on, never a checked bag.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Multi-Port USB Charger
One plug with three or four ports charges the whole family off the one free outlet in the room.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Cable Organizer Pouch
Chargers, cords and earbuds in one pouch you can find without unpacking.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Noise-Canceling Headphones
The best upgrade for a long flight, short of a better seat.
Under $500
Find On Amazon
On The Plane
For the seat you are stuck in for a few hours.
Memory Foam Neck Pillow
Foam holds your head up better than an inflatable one, and some clip to the outside of a bag.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Contoured Sleep Mask
Cups that sit off your eyes are easier to sleep in than a flat mask.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Foam Earplugs
A box covers flights, thin hotel walls and a snoring roommate.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Compression Socks
Many people find their feet swell less on a long flight.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Collapsible Water Bottle
Carry it empty through security, fill it at the gate, and roll it up when you are done.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Toiletries And Health
The small things that are a pain to buy at your destination.
Silicone Travel Bottles
Your own shampoo in bottles of 3.4 ounces or less, the most a carry-on liquid can hold.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Travel First Aid Kit
Bandages, pain reliever and blister pads for the scrape that happens nowhere near a drugstore.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Weekly Pill Organizer
Sorted by day, so nobody has to wonder whether they took tonight's.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Wrinkle Release Spray
Hotel irons are a gamble. A travel bottle handles most shirts out of a suitcase.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Road Trips
For the drive, with kids in the back.
Back Seat Car Organizer
Snacks, tablets and wipes hang where the kids can reach them.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Headrest Tablet Mount
Holds a tablet at eye level for the back seat, so nobody holds it for three hours.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Volume-Limited Kids Headphones
Capped at a safer volume and sized for small heads.
Under $50
Find On Amazon
Car Trash Can
Somewhere for the wrappers to go before they end up all over the floor.
Under $25
Find On Amazon
Soft-Sided Cooler
Drinks and lunch for the drive, and it folds flat in the trunk on the way home.
Under $100
Find On Amazon
