This is the way it is for me as well.

Work or pleasure? How many nights? Where exactly am I going? What time of year is it? It all makes a difference.

I go back and forth on this. Most of my travel is personal, so I don't have to worry about the suit thing. I do have to say that a few recent past "experiences" has changed my mind a little on clothing - I have decided there are some travelers who do push the one or two changes of clothes perhaps a little too far.

I seem to take the same exact thing no matter if I go for an overnight or a week. But I am little odd - I am one of those people who is real sensitive to fabrics, so I always, always carry two sheet/blankets (those beech knit things), my own pillow, and a small fan. That takes up most of my luggage, I rarely have more than a couple of clothing changes and such, but I find I can pack that all nice and small and light. It's the fan in particular that takes up too much room but I cant sleep without moving air.

I have a toiletry baggie - it is always in my laptop case and I usually have everything I need. I don't carry my own shampoo, but I tend to like my own brand of deodorant and mouthwash and such. I admit most of my purchases of those is done while traveling, but I am starting to find that I spend more time running to the store, washing clothes, etc. when traveling than I am actually enjoying my trip. So I am starting to lean the other way, packing a little heavier in order to be able to spend more of my traveling time traveling.

For work travel, I have two different packing scenarios. For a technical trip, I have my rolling tool bag, which clocks in at 21-22kg and my garment bag with my clothes (Fits in the OH of a CRJ200 or E145). For a customer or office visit, I carry only my garment bag. I can get roughly a week's worth of clothes in there.

For personal travel, I carry only my backpack, regardless of trip length. I refuse to check bags for personal travel, due to the very high risk of the bag being delayed indefinitely (My tool bag has gone missing for days at a time.). I never carry a briefcase anymore, as I have ditched my lappy in favour of an iPad.

I will say that switching to an MacBook Air has significantly lightened my "personal item", though I have about had it with the small screen. The other big weight savings there is getting usb chargers - so I only have to carry one or two AC/USB adapters and use the usb charging cables for all my gadgets (yeah, I'm an addict). An E-reader saves a ton of weight over carrying a book or two, but again in the end you cant read it on the runway and they are hard to read, etc. etc.

Of course the biggest weight savings comes from cleaning out all the spare change I dump in the front pocket as I go through security...

Packing for family vacations? Ridiculously heavy! I think they have to add extra fuel to the plane because of us.

By myself? I typically carry on a small rollerboard suitcase, but I'll pack just a backpack if I can (that is, no presentations or anything else that requires me to dress to the nines).

I've been doing more backpack-only-style traveling lately, and I love it!

I'm in the midst of debating whether I can downsize to an iPad only, and leave the Macbook Air at home, for a 5-6 week work trip.

Not sure I have the guts...

Do it. I find that an iPad with a keyboard meets roughly 95% of my needs. I still have a Linux lappy with me occasionally for a few work-related proprietary programs, but that's it. Everything else is feasible with the iPad.

I long ago gave up on the tablets. They are so limited in functionality, especially viewing web pages. And I found that by the time I had the case and keyboard and mouse for my tablet (whether iPad or Android) I may as well carry around an ultrabook or something similar. Not to mention I find using real computers so much easier.

How do you pack? Loaded for Bear or Light as a Feather?
 

For me, the question is - will I have to pay to check the bag, or not?
I am fully aware of how to pack a carryon for a longish trip, but I prefer to have more shoes, more underwear, more books, and more clothing choices. It's still a size and quantity that I can easily manage on trains, buses, and public transport (with my laptop too).
Even so, I will pay to check bags on EasyJet or such airlines, because the carryon restrictions are too limiting for me.
The poster who mentioned the convenience of having plenty of clothing and shoes when you relax in one spot for a week echoes my views.
Anyway, bravo to anyone who likes to travel very lightly, but I don't see anything particularly wonderful or enjoyable about it, although I can do it.

I second that. If I am going to have trouble with checked baggage that will make me miss a connection or whatever, i can do it. But those are all typically shorter and single purpose business trips.

I can't manage a table for work trips - they are ok for emails and for watching movies, but if you have to do anything more than that the mac book air is your best friend. the 11 inch is pretty light.

I think I have a phobia to checking bags and so I pack ULTRA light. This past summer I traveled 3 months around Europe with nothing but a large carry on bag and a backpack. It felt great just being able to pick up and go. Makes packing almost a non issue.

I try and pack as light as possible and only bring a carry-on, it makes the whole travel experience so much more seamless.

When I travel solo, I can fit everything into one small backpack - no matter where I'm going or for how long. It doesn't quite work that way when I travel with my wife. :)

Travelling on my own, I always go with carry on only. Usually I use a 20" roller or spinner plus a roomy handbag. It takes some discipline for trips over five days but I don't think packing light needs to involve compromise on choice of clothes etc if you plan well, choose luggage that works for your preferred packing style and pack efficiently. I would typically include three pairs of shoes, a small colour-coordinated range of separates and basics that combine to make seven to ten different outfits for daytime, two dressy outfit combo options and a small evening purse, plus all the usual essentials.

My iPad mini plus a Jambox, a set of noise isolating ear buds and my iPhone meet all my tech needs for personal travel but I find a laptop is more efficient for work - then it's my MacBook Air 11".

Sometimes I do quick day trips so depending on what I'm doing I might just pack my laptop and any paperwork I need in my soft full-size briefcase. If I'm catching the last flight home I bring an extra pair of underwear and socks in a discrete pocket in case I have to spend the night.

For 1-3 night trips (typical for me) I usually bring my 20" rollaboard with a small toiletry kit (the Asiana F amenity bag works nicely for me) with just the essentials. I pack tube-style shaving cream to save space compared to aerosol cans. I know I could save even more space by bringing nothing at all but I like to brush my teeth in the lounge sometimes. Other than that, I pack my dress shirts/suit(s) first and throw in my other clothes in later. I pack nothing else. If it's a leisure trip, I just throw my clothes in and go.

For 4-7 night trips I pretty much pack the same stuff and plan to do laundry. If for some reason I anticipate needing a wide variety of clothes I might consider checking a 24" bag. Other than that, I only usually bring checked bags for 7+ night trips, but those are rare for me.