How to Pack from Mr. Porter
Click to viewI have recently returned from a nearly four week adventure that took me to two countries and four different cities. I traveled by car, plane and boat. I had to take a costume with me for the show I was performing (my solo show Cyrano A-Go-Go). The temperature changed from the 105 o F days I left in Texas to a balmy low 80s o F in Seattle to mid-70s o F in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The last week of the trip found me in Fresno, California where it was around 100o F. I stayed on people's couches in living rooms, in guest rooms, in a detached guest house and in an office on a camping cot. Some places didn't have air conditioning. The Fresno place was great, but the folks I stayed with kept their air conditioner set around 84o F.
I usually pride myself on how I pack (light and all bases covered). But this trip pushed the limits of my resourcefulness. I packed a collapsible raincoat that I never wore. I packed a jacket I only wore once. I didn't pack any shorts which were required in Fresno, where I was on foot, outside, every day. I ended up buying some cheap $12 khakis from a Walmart and cutting them off above the knee for makeshift shorts. I took too many t-shirts, too many socks.
I am reminded of just how packing and travel really can be artful past times. Like many things, it can be done in a clumsy way or in an elegant way.
I found this smart how-to from a few years back. In it the good folks at Mr. Porter asked three well-traveled men to share their experience and illustrate their respective bag-packing techniques.