Business trip packing list male
Packing for a week-long business trip can be an intimidating task. You want to ensure you bring enough clothes that youllhave appropriate outfits for allthe different events, meetings, and activitiesyoull be attending. Yet you also want to conserve space and not end up schlepping too much.Plus, you want everything you bringto arrive safely with minimal wrinkling and damage. Below, Ill walk you through how to address these concerns and more, so that the next time you need to pack your bags for a business trip, youll know exactly what you need to bring, and how to fold, pack, and carryit all efficiently. Choose Your Weapon: Taking the Right BagOne trip, one bag is a good rule at any scale. In the case of a business trip, its probably a necessity. Most of the time youll be flying, limiting you to one big bag plus a carry-on and a personal item. You can get a little extra mileage out of the carry-on items, but the bulk of your clothing has to fit in one checked bag. For the week-long trip you have three basic bag options: Bag Option #1: The Hanger Bag A hanger bag is a wide, flat bag with an internal strap for hangers. Its designed so that you can store several suits and shirts on their hangers, then fold them in half and buckle or zip the whole thing closed. The advantage of the hanger bag is that its a lot easier on your clothes. Apart from a loose, gentle doubling-over at the middle, the suits and shirts arent getting folded. Theres less pressure on the places where you tucked sleeves or collars in, meaning less wrinkles when you get to your final destination. The disadvantage is storage space. Clothes on hangers take up more space than clothes folded up and tucked into a suitcase. Even a big hanger bag isnt going to holdmuch beyond two suits and three or four shirts, and they tend to be short on space for other items as well, like shoes and Dopp kits.
Bag Option #2: The Classic Suitcase A traditional suitcase has a stiff frame that keeps it in a rectangular shape. That makes it easy to pack and stow, but also means your clothes have to be folded to fit the compartment. Suits that go into suitcases usually have to be folded: first the trousers are doubled over and laid in, then the jacket goes on top with the arms crossed over its chest with the bottom folded up as needed. Shirts are usually folded like theywould be on a department store shelf, with the collar and top few buttons facing up and the sleeves and lower shirt folded away beneath them. A hard-sided (or at least hard-framed) suitcase, especially one with wheels, is easy to get around an airport and protects the clothing inside it. It also gives more room for items like toilet kits and shoes than a hanger bag would.
Bag Option #3: The Duffel Bag A duffel is a tube-shaped, soft-sided bag with no internal frame. You throw everything into its one large compartment and go. Most have both a handle on top and a shoulder strap, making them convenientto carry. Having to heft one will give you a bit of a workout, and motivates you not to overpack, which is why one of Walker Lamondsrules for his unborn sonis Never pack more than you can carry yourself, and amans luggage doesnt roll. Duffels are the easiest bag to pack, but the hardest on your dress clothes. Even if you fold everything carefully, the soft sides mean the contents are going to wrinkle and lump up almost right away. Theyre also less professional-looking, unless made of dark canvas with good leather handles. Colored nylon duffels are good gym bags, but not very business-like.
Any of the three styles of bag will do its just a matter of what characteristics are most important to you. Beyond the Laptop: MaximizingYour Carry-OnsAssuming a typical airline, you get to take two items onto the plane with you: a carry-on and a personal item. Some airlines now charge for the carry-on, in which case you might try to get away with putting everything you need in a laptop bag; in that case youre probably limited to a laptop computer and its peripherals, some paperwork, and maybe a book/e-reader/tablet and a granolabar. If you do get a carry-on, make the most of it. The best option is to get a small rolling suitcase built to the exact dimension requirements. Most major luggage companies make guaranteed carry-on models. Get one in black or navy blue for a professional look and use it to carry not just a book or two, but a spare shirt, your Doppkit, any umbrellas or rain gear, and other small items. That spares your good suits and shirts being wrinkled by other, oddly-shaped items down in the checked luggage hold. And should your checked baggage get lost, youll still have some essentials for your important meeting the day after you arrive. For obvious reasons, any valuable electronics should come in your carry-on or personal item bags. Try to save space by eliminating redundancies. For instance, if your phone has the battery life and storage space to double as your e-book reader or MP3 player, dont bring both. What to BringA week-long trip doesnt mean seven individual outfits made from entirely unique items. Youd need a truly oversized suitcase for seven suits, seven shirts, etc. Instead, the ideal business trip suitcase is filled with interchangeable items. At most you should be bringing a jacket and a pair of trousers for every other day, rather than every day, mixing and matching to create different effects. Of course, some items socks and underwear particularlyshould be packed in one-per-day amounts. Unless you have convenient access to a hotel laundry, its usually worth bringing one dress shirt per day as well, though traveler dress shirts made from quick-drying materials can be laundered and dried in hotel sinks, reducing the need. In general, a recommended load for a full week of business events in varying formality would look something like this:
Other items will be dictated by necessity: the electronics and papers you bring, any sporting clothes the specific trip requires, and so forth. If you fancy a hat, wear it on the plane to save room. You dont want to weigh your suitcase down with anything needless, so check your itinerary when you plan your wardrobe. If you know therell be a few days off where you wont have to wear a dress shirt and tie, dont bring them for that day. Throwa set of lightweight casual clothes in there instead, or wear your khakis and a previous days dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The Art of Efficient Packing: How to Load the SuitcaseThe goal of packing a suitcase is simple: no wasted space. Empty space is room for your clothes to jostle, settle, and inevitably wrinkle. Fill it to the brim, but systematically. Every suitcase is different, but you can usually plan on working in three basic layers: Layer 1: Jackets and Trousers The first things to go in are the jackets and trousers. Trousers will be doubled over just like they would be on a hanger and laid flat in the bottom. Jackets are made as square as possible by crossing the arms over the chest. If the case is big enough they can then lieflat; if its not, the bottom has to be folded up until it fits. Alternate the way the jackets lie so that the collars arent all in one big pile;that way the layers stay more even. Layer 2: Shirts Dress shirts are also folded to make them as rectangular as possible. Fold the shirt vertically into thirds, with the middle third (the width of the collar) on top, then fold horizontally, again with the collar on top. It should look just like it would on a store shelf. These shirt-squares get arrayed on top of the jackets and trousers, working from one wall of the suitcase to the other to fill it in a broad layer. It may take a few layers, so lay shirts on top of one another as needed, again alternating the direction the collars lie. Layer 3: Sundries Everything else goes on top as neatly as possible. You may not want to put shoe soles directly onto your shirt fronts, so slip them in a plastic bag (or in their own cloth bags if you have it). Its easiest to lay the big, odd-shaped items like shoes and Doppkits in the center, then fill in all the cracks with socks, underwear, neckties, pocket squares, and so on. Ideally, you should finish off Layer 3 with a mostly-flat array of socks, underwear, shoes, and other sundries, piled just high enough to touch the inside of the suitcase when you zip it up. Again, the less empty space there is,the less everything can bounce around. And once thats done, youre ready for seven days of full business dress just be sure to request and use an iron at the hotel if needed! ____________________________ Written By Antonio Centeno Related Articles Previous Next |