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Old May 24, 2009, 5:56 pm
  #8  
panamamike
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 95
Originally Posted by tfar
Mike, can you give us a more complete packing list. That will make things easier.

Here are some tips off the bat, that should work pretty well:

- shirts and trousers don't go in the same compartment or folder. The cloth is very different and the resulting friction will wrinkle the shirts.

- try a shirt folder with a board as described above. I have the Eagle Creek 17 or 18" model. Works quite well. Fold two shirts together at a time. This way one shirt reduces the creases of the other shirt. It's like putting silk paper in between the shirts, except it adds no weight. Alternate direction of collars when stacking the shirts. Wrap ties around the folded shirts. Be careful with velcro closure and ties.

- Put trousers lengthwise into the rollaboard with the cuffs first. The waist hangs out over the edge. Do not fold it over yet.

- Put a pair of shoes filled with underwear, socks or fragile things at the bottom of the case (where the wheels are). The shoes should be in plastic bags or shoe bags. Other heavy items go on the bottom, too.

- Put your shirt folder in the bag. If you have a sweater or cardigan, fold it and put it on top of the shirt folder.

- Now fold your trousers over the core. Ideally you'd have packed the trousers with one waist hanging over the top side of the case and one hanging over the bottom side of the case. Basically like the bundle diagram. The idea, as with the shirt collars, is to even out the bulky parts by avoiding big stacks on one side of the bag.

- If you have t-shirts or other undergarments, roll them up and put them in the spaces around this bundle.

- If you have a belt, don't spiral it up onto itself. wrap it around the perimeter of the bundle. This is easy on the leather and takes minimal space.

- Finally, pack suit jackets in the suiter compartment. Ideally, leave each jacket in one of the dry cleaner plastic bags.

You see this is a variation of the bundle technique. The pure bundle technique as explained on onebag is great if you have to minimize space and if you have the patience to undo and rewrap the entire bundle. In your situation the full-blown bundle technique is not necessary. You will achieve the desired effects and very orderly packing when you follow the steps above.

Why don't you do a test pack and report back?

Cheers,

Till

P.S.: Wrinkle free dress pants do exist. Brooks Bros. non-iron shirts are great, too. A pure wool suit (Super 100 or above) will unwrinkle very nicely while you take a nice hot shower.
More complete list
3 plain white T's
3 casual T's
1 pair of exercise shorts
1 pair of jeans
3 slacks
4 dress shirts
4 boxer shorts
1 pair tennis shoes (Need to go straight to office after deplaning)
Toiletry kit. Has quite a bit of stuff in it, shampoo, after shave, conditioner, toothpaste, general medication, asprin, claritin, ect... This is probably my biggest obstacle since it takes a good deal of space in the 22 "
3 pairs of white sox.
4 pairs of dress socks. usually in the inside side pockets.

I'll typically put one shoe on either end. I don't put anything in the shoes, I can flatten them pretty well and I don't know how well stuff would smell after being in the shoes in an enclosed space inside a plastic bag :P

Thankfully I haven't had to wear a formal jacket or tie. If I have a jacket I just wear it.

It looks like your packing technique advocates not using any of the dodads that they include in 22 inch bags... So you don't think those things aren't useful?

Mike
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