The great overpacking Challenge!

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chrisb

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Apr 10, 2005
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Inspired by the Hand luggage only challenge - i'd like to ask - who OVER PACKS?

My last PER-SYD trip was for 4 nights and I ended up checking in 19Kg's, plus a carryon with laptop and other gadgets.

I basically packed for every occasion - Formal, casual, swimming, gym, spare jeans incase the Qantas Magnum attacked me, enough underwear for a week or more, etc. Also, I packed into my luggage 8 cans of Coke Zero and snack foods for the week. (screw the minibar prices) (No microwave in the room this time, however I have known to take meals with me too)

4-6 DVD's and the magnetic base external NextG antenna are also regular luggage items too. I also plastic wrap shoes, toilet bag and dirty washing so everything stays clean.

I think my SO thinks i'm slightly nuts...

Chrisb.

Ps. I didn't end up swimming, going to the gym or even wearing anything but casual wear. The coke was appreciated however.
 
I pack pretty heavily because I can never decide what to wear at the moment of packing. So I pack enough to have multiple sets of clothes for each day I'm away. And I can't leave home without my entire Molton Brown toiletry set (that plum kuda shampoo is yum!), nor my facewash - unless I know the hotel I'm staying at has nice MB or BlissWorld stuff.

If I'm going to NYC I will bring an extra empty suitcase along to stock up on BlissWorld products when I'm there. They always run out around 8 months after I've lugged them home though. :( The *G extra baggage allowance came in handy for that purpose - but I might end up shipping stuff home for the upcoming RTW to avoid having to lug so much stuff around after NYC.

:oops: :oops: :oops: But glad I'm not alone. ;)
 
chrisb said:
I think my SO thinks i'm slightly nuts...

That all sounds perfectly normal to me.

I once flew SYD-OOL checking in 2 pieces weighing 62kg total in Y.

:D
 
You and Mrs Shano must have attended the same School of Excess Packing!

She will take more gear for an overnight trip than I would for a week away. I think she averages about 3 outfits per day, including changes of shoes and handbags to match!!!

I have struck a deal with her though.... if she can fit all of her stuff in carry-on then I will book J award seats for us, otherwise it will be down the back of the plane. I believe the response was along the lines of ".......tight cough!!!"
 
mrs serfty is coming around. She can pack a weeks worth of stuff in 2 x 7kg bags. Still need the expandable bag to check with the last flight home.

I hit the limit some years ago and declared that henceforth she would need to carry, tote or otherwise lug her own bags around when travelling. :confused:

Once My black eye cleared up and she started talking to me again :p , we revisited the issue and came to a understanding. (It also helped waiting ½ an hour or more for luggage at MEL Int. far to often)
 
Shano said:
I have struck a deal with her though.... if she can fit all of her stuff in carry-on then I will book J award seats for us

Such a waste of a perfectly good baggage allowance. :rolleyes:
 
On the way home from Canberra last week, I had 37kg in my bag - it was an overnight trip. :oops: I had to pull out a stack of documents at the check-in counter and stick them in my boss's bag. The poor cabbie at BNE could barely lift the bag.:oops: :oops:

In my defence, I had all of my personal stuff in my carry on! The suitcase was full of documents (about 5% of which were actually required)!:evil:
 
chrisb said:
My last PER-SYD trip was for 4 nights and I ended up checking in 19Kg's, plus a carryon with laptop and other gadgets.

4 nights and only 19kgs??? Even my toiletries stuff weigh at least a few kgs - face cleanser, face moisturizer, body moisturizer, toothbrush, toothpaste, contact lens solution, antiperspirant spray, pimple gel, shampoo, shower gel, eye gel, sunscreen, electric razor and hair clay.
 
Skoogle said:
Shano said:
I have struck a deal with her though.... if she can fit all of her stuff in carry-on then I will book J award seats for us
Such a waste of a perfectly good baggage allowance. :rolleyes:
I also haven't told her that flying J we are entitled to two carry-on bags each....
 
Shano said:
I also haven't told her that flying J we are entitled to two carry-on bags each....

Should we infomed Mrs. Shano :shock: :D

Ah well, I am usually packing less when I am going away and packing to the fullest and a bit pushing my envelope on my way back. However, I would soon be faced with carrying around half a ton of bagages in matters of days :mad: I had NEVER relocate and carrying stuff at the same time, the rest of the world allowing us to courrier bags or at the very least doing unaccompanied bagages, not this time :mad:

I do not shop much around Adelaide, I just love Adelaide Cafes and of course it's wine :D

I honestly think my husband pack way more compared to me.
 
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i reckon some of you need to take a teaspoon of cement and harden up when it comes to packing ... big sheilas :)
 
If you read some of the threads about carry on you will appreciate that what you take on a trip is all about experience and knowledge from this forum. I accept that some people may need to carry material for business etc, but if you are going on a holiday for less than a week anyone can get away with carry on. If you can't, when you arrive home, go through your luggage and put aside what you did not wear or what you could have gotten away from wearing during your trip and you will be surprised. A lot of pax take a lot of personal things with them that can be purchased for under $10 at a local drug and/or 7/11 store.
 
Having read the responses I now don't feel like I'm such an overpacker after all. :p

I manage with keeping my suitcase under 25kg for a month-long trip on the outbound. But usually end up way more than that on the inbound due to all the shopping. I usually take a 2nd suitcase with me just to store all my shopping.

I'm considering shipping stuff home on the next big trip though.

For short domestic trips I manage well with just carry on.
But internationally - thanks to LAG restrictions I have to check stuff in everytime. There's no way I'm parting with my entire toilery set. And no the individual items in it can't be bought for under $10 overseas. Sure, I run the risk of my checked in bags being delayed, but that's where travel insurance comes in.
 
I flew from Cairns to MEL in Aug 1999 on a full fare Y ticket. I was in J but waitlisted in Y and the waitlist came through (younger then and no $).

I arrived at CNS checkin and said I was travelling to Mel and had 11 (eleven) pieces of luggage to check. The check in guy was very polite and did his best to hide being somewhat startled. He then very apologetically said that he would have to charge me and would this be OK. I said yes. He then started typing away at his computer madly (a bit like on the american movies when somone checks in). After 5 mins of typing said that it would be $30 and then apologetically asked if that was OK. I said fine. I paid at another desk and then returned to the checkin where the luggage was tagged. It all came out the other end in Mel!
 
QF009 said:
....snipped

For short domestic trips I manage well with just carry on.
,... snipped

Huh, if the domestic are to Melbourne or Sydney, even in a very short trip, I pack second bag into my check in, as I love shopping in those 2 cities :D This is what I called the beauty of living in Adelaide :D
 
Ok, this is my biggest down fall. I tend to be at either end of the spectrums. Overnights to SYD I usually just pack a shirt in the front of my laptop bag, some jocks and socks and that's it.

BUT THEN....................


I'm am notorious at work for overpacking. 1 week trip to MEL last year. Packed one suitcase, two hard suit packs, file bag, backpack etc, etc. Hey, I needed two suits (brown and black), matching shoes- black, brown and bone, joggers, thongs, casual shoes, five work shirts, five sets of casual clothes, speedos to swim in, clothes to run in. And then there was the three days on the Great Ocean Road at the end. Tracksuit pants, pyjamas (with Mother so best wear pyjamas), boardshorts, casual clothes etc, etc, etc.

At check-in in MEL for the trip home I had accumulated a little bit of stuff (wine and cheese meant I had to buy an esky :p ). And then there was the files from a week at work. All up, seven bags were checked, six of which were mine. :oops:

Coming home from the UK last year I checked 61kgs. But I left with 21kgs so that was a good start, just a poor follow through. (Ps. Don't buys books when there is a book clearance sale, the money you might save could blow the excess luggage budget).

I'm going overseas for 5 months next year so I'm already planning how I can get 3 heavy suitcases RTW.

I clearly have a lot to learn, and possibly the hard way!

PS. I'm usually the one that forgets the toiletries. I'm not exactly as metrosexual as one may think.
 
On the BEHEMOTH I re-read all the Potter books and bought them progressively on the trip. As I had bougth a whole new wardrobe, when I left London I just had to leave all the books behind as I had no space...
 
I was based in the US for 6 months on a project and checked in 1 suitcase and 1 small bag - and this included hand tools, multimeter, etc.

I actually came back with less than I took as multiple use of the clothes that I took resulted in them being rather worn at the end of my stay.
 
Not sure where I fit into the equation. Not quite enough for hand luggage only, especially with creams, gels and ointments, but hardly ever overpack.

Generally my bag weighs around 15-18kgs for 2 week trips and it all depends on how much junk I have accumulated in the pockets. I hardly ever have carryon but after the delayed luggage fiasco on my last trip I may have to rethink my strategy and pack at least 2 change of clothes in a carryon bag.

Even for domestic trips I normally just check the bag. It may only be 10-12kgs but I do not want to have to explain the razors, scissors, nail clippers etc that are in my toiletries bag.
 
Oh dear.....I go pretty much anywhere (domestic weekly commute or 10-day USA) using a sports bag with the right count of shirts/socks/knickers etc, washbag in one side pocket, gym gear in the other....total weight about 9kg.

But for some reason I enjoy the thrill of checking it in and waiting to see if it makes it........
 
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