Until you help a man pack, you might not realize just how much more room their clothes take up in a carryon suitcase. There’s a world of difference in Mark’s suitcase and mine. If you missed my England packing post, check it out and then come back here and we’ll see what Mark packed in his suitcase. I had someone ask me if I was going to do a packing post on what Mark takes on a trip like this, so I decided to do it for the first time. It’s a lot more challenging, I can tell you that! He always asks my opinion on what to pack, so I’m happy to help him. He’s a pretty big guy, so his clothes are about twice as big as mine in how much space they take up. We were not able to get nearly as many pieces in his suitcase as I got in mine! But I think this will work out and he can mix all these pieces together for different looks throughout our 13 days abroad. Right now, all we have is 20″ carryon size luggage and one large suitcase, so he needs to get a medium 24″ size for our next trip.
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He’s taking this carryon from Rollink (this company sent me this suitcase several years ago & he’s been using it.). It’s sort of pricey, but it is very compact and folds up for storage. This one only has one big compartment instead of equal amounts on either side, so I like my suitcase better than this one, but they both hold about the same amount of clothing. Mark picked up this leather backpack on our last trip to Italy and he’s taking it this trip for the first time. It’s very nice and holds his tablet, headphones, and toiletry bag, with a few other things tucked in. He’s also putting in one change of clothes, just in case of emergency. I’ll do the same in my backpack.
He’s taking 3 nicer plaid shirts that he can layer with t-shirts underneath. Temps are in the 70’s in London while we are there and Ireland in the 60’s. He’s definitely more hot natured than I am, so these should be fine for him.
He’s taking 5 pairs of pants: jeans and 3 pair of cargo style pants. He’ll wear another pair of jeans on the plane for 5 total. He’ll be mixing up the pants and shirts everyday, depending on the weather.
These 3 Henley’s will also go in and he can wear them alone or layered.
These 2 Champion T-shirts will also be packed and he will be rotating and wearing some of these shirts more than once. I was able to pack more tops to go with all my pants, but again, my clothes are a lot easier to roll and pack than his more heavy and bigger pieces.
His Fruit of the Loom will go in a packing cube and that takes up a lot of room for that many days of underwear.
He’s also taking this windbreaker with hoodie in the collar in case of rain or for warmth.
With a size 12 foot, he’s only going to take one pair of shoes for walking and going out, this pair of Skecher’s brown shoes. He will take the long raincoat on the plane with him and try to get everything else packed away. It’s definitely more of a challenge to pack this way for 13 days away, but we are trying to minimize the luggage situation and it’s nice to just get off the plane with your luggage in hand. He may need to get a medium sized suitcase at some point for future trips and just check it because of it being much more challenging to take everything he needs in smaller carryons. So, that’s what he’s doing and hopefully this will all work out!
Love following your packing tips/ideas as well as your trips! And, as you, I have learned over the years to take as little as possible because you never wear all that stuff you pack…LOL. For an Alaskan cruise a few years ago and flying from NC to Seattle, I decided to only do carryon and an under seat roller bag. That is when I ordered your compression bags that you had recommended and they worked great! I do have the Delsey Luggage which I splurged for and I do love and found a roller bag that someone else had posted about (lots of room and fits on top of my 21″ Delsey overhead bag. Here is my suggestion to Mark and I do love his leather bag that he got in Italy but leather is heavy. Would personally get some type of roller type bag/parachute type fabric which is a lot lighter and easier on the back. Have fun and keep posting pics of your trip!!!
Went to Paris, London and Amsterdam two years ago, and let me tell you I did NOT take enough clothing. Not able to do laundry, forcing me to wear some things at least twice, and a pair of jeans…well let’s just say thank goodness I had two pairs. I did have plenty of underwear, bras, etc. but could have used a couple more tops and at least one more pair of slacks, but it was not possible as my suitcase was packed tight. Shoes are such a headache and I had to pack a pair of black dress shoes; performed with a choral group which meant also taking a dress and hose. And yes, glad I wore a lightweight jacket on the plane since we had some cool days even in June. Rhoda, enjoy your trip. My husband wants to go to Scotland to play golf, so imagine that luggage to include golf clubs. Looking forward to your trip highlights and photos.