The preposterous pressure to pack light.
Today, there is intense pressure to pack light and travel exclusively with carry-on, leading to boarding processes so stressful they can feel like the wildebeest stampede from "The Lion King." |
 | | Lauren Humphrey |
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Do you have travel plans this summer? If you're like me, the only thing more stressful than planning a trip is packing for it. |
Flying these days feels as if we have no choice but to try to cram everything we want to bring into a carry-on suitcase, no matter how long the trip. For me, that can be a challenging concept. And as I prepare for my own coming travels, I wanted to give my fellow overpackers a voice in my recent guest essay for Times Opinion. |
I know I should pack lighter and make things easier for myself, but when I open my small suitcase on the floor of my apartment in preparation for a trip, I also somehow open a Pandora's box of frightening possibilities. Will I work out each morning of this weekend trip even though I'm likely to be indescribably hung over? It's probable, so I had better pack three sets of gym clothes. White T-shirts go with everything, so best to bring a dozen, but don't forget to pack a lot of black because that goes with everything, too. Pack one pair of underwear for each day of the trip, my rule goes, plus an additional pair for each day should I somehow spend the week soiling myself. |
Of course, more often than not, I cycle between the same sweater and shirt, only to return home with a bag of spotless clothes I haven't worn once. |
But writing my essay made me wonder: At what point is this pressure to pack lighter a sad indictment of the once glamorous — but presently miserable — experience that is modern air travel? It feels as if the industry deregulation that began in the 1970s has gifted us with lower fares, but at the cost of the things that made flying tolerable. We're now being nickel and dimed on everything from leg space to headsets to luggage. And with just four airlines now controlling 80 percent of the U.S. market, the competition is not among the companies — as it should be — but among passengers fighting for overhead bin space. "Checked bags used to be free!" I will mutter to my grandchildren one day as they put me in a nursing home. |
Writing this piece, I decided to call up a professional traveler to get her advice on how best to pack for a trip. What she told me changed my view of not just packing, but travel itself. I hope you find it as illuminating as I did. |
| READ DAVID'S FULL ESSAY HERE | | |
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