Whether you’re a frequent flier with a airline lounge pass or a once-a-year holiday kind of guy, chances are you’ve had to pack a carry-on for your flight.
What should we put in a carry-on anyways? Clothes? Games? Snacks? A bit of everything? Carry-ons are game-changers when it comes to travel and, if you pack it right, you can avoid a lot of unpleasant scenarios and make unexpected events a little easier to bear.
Here’s our list of must-have gadgets and items everyone needs to pack into their carry-on luggage!
6 essential carry-on luggage hacks
Compression cubes
Compression cubes are a game changer when you’re traveling, but especially by air.
Compression cubes are cube-shaped bags of fabric that can be zipped closed and, with the use of an additional zip around the exterior, can compress to around half its size — like a vacuum-less vacuum bag.
Not only does this make packing your clothes into your checked luggage easier, but it can come in handy for your carry-on luggage, as well. You can use these to maximize how much your carry-on luggage can hold, therefore giving your weight-limited checked bag more space or removing the need for it completely.
Keep an extra empty compression bag handy in your carry-on bag for a last-minute pillow (stuff it with a jacket or airline blankets), a small bag to keep essentials together while in your seat, a toiletry bag for those long layovers where you need to extract some personal items from your luggage or just as an extra space-saver for last-minute duty-free purchases before your flight.
Battery pack
Although you can’t keep these in your checked luggage anyway, keeping a small battery pack in your carry-on is a great gadget to have. It also prevents some pretty serious security issues that are, unfortunately, prevalent in many airports.
Many airports have USB sockets scattered throughout the seating areas and restaurants that are available to passengers looking to charge their devices. Data thieves can modify these USB sockets and install malware which, when connected directly to a phone or laptop using a data transfer cable (most charging cables are also data-transfer cables), can spread the malware directly into your device.
Scary, huh?
Avoid this risk altogether by bringing your own fully-charged battery pack with you for those times you need to charge your phone. You can also bring along a power-only cable that will only allow a power supply transfer to your phone and nothing else, just in case!
Socks
You may be flying from sunny Miami to equally sunny San Diego in nothing but your Chacos, a set of linen shorts and a T-shirt, but when your connecting flight in Minneapolis in the dead of winter gets canceled, then you’re going to want a pair of socks to make the snowy walk to your hotel.
Trust me. Just bring the socks.
An extra set of clothes
And, speaking of unexpected layovers, bring a set of extra clothes in your carry on, if you can. If your connecting flight gets canceled because of a snow storm and you have to spend a day entertaining yourself in zero-degree temperatures and two feet of snow without your checked luggage (I’m telling you from experience, you guys), an extra set of clothes will come in handy, even if it’s just so you can wear something other than your two-day old airplane clothes.
TSA locks
Bring an extra TSA approved lock (or two) with you in your carry-on in case one, your checked luggage locks break or, two, you have a chance to check your carry-on at the gate of your flight.
Carrying around that extra lock is well worth the peace of mind when it comes to the safety of your luggage and your valuables.
AirTags or Tiles
Having some sort of tracking device in your luggage is one of those things that doesn’t always seem necessary, but when you really need it, it’s an actual lifesaver.
The Apple AirTag is a Bluetooth-enabled device that sends out a secure signal on Apple’s Find My network, allowing you to locate the tag from your phone using a GPS. It’s a handy thing to put on your keys, in your wallet, on your pets’ collars and, of course, in your luggage.
The Apple AirTag has a range of 33 feet, meaning it can send out a signal as long as it’s within 33 feet of another Apple device connected to the Find My network. In an airport, that’s well over half the population! If your luggage or carry-on is lost, then an Apple AirTag will make it much, much easier to find it!
Now, for all us iPhone-less travelers, fret not. While AirTag is exclusive to Apple products, there are Android alternatives that are just as suitable — Tile being one of them.
Like an AirTag, Tile trackers also use Bluetooth to send GPS coordinates to your phone, and it’s also dependent on other Bluetooth-connected Androids to maintain a signal. In a busy airport with plenty of people, that’s no problem.
Next time you’re packing for your flight and are considering bringing carry-on luggage, consider these handy gadgets so that you don't end up with lost luggage, no clothes to change into, unprotected toes in two feet of snow and nowhere to charge your phone safely.
You’re welcome. Travel safely!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/JESHOOTS-com
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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