Travel

Want to win at traveling with just a carry-on? Wear plastic.

It's time to pack. The flight is in a little more than two hours. My laundry is in a pile on the bed. At the foot of my bed is an open suitcase.

For this 10-day trip, I've decided to go "carry-on" only. That means no handguns, no rifles, no knives or loose ammo. Oh — I mustn't forget to empty the water bottle. Check the Transportation Security Administration's website for a complete list of banned items: baseball bats, golf clubs, swords … the works.

Aside from the obvious weapons of destruction, being a carry-on traveler means you have to shift your thinking. It isn't about what to take. Rather, it's what else to leave behind.

Every trip is different, of course. I've had to alter my carry-on plans if I wanted to bring a bottle of wine back home. Or, if I've got a lot of camera gear, I'll check my clothes so I can haul the gear in the cabin with me.

Today's trip features a visit to the Pacific Northwest, with a couple of stops in Southeast Alaska on the way back. Everything fits in my pockets, in a smallish 21-by-14-by-13-inch rolling suitcase and a backpack from Costco that features a padded sleeve for my 15-inch laptop. Here's the breakdown:

What to wear

This trip is casual. Almost every piece of clothing is plastic. Two pairs of plastic pants from REI, with a plastic TSA-friendly belt. Three short-sleeved shirts that my wife got me from Eddie Bauer. They are plastic, so they're cool and I can wash them in the hotel sink. They will dry overnight. Four pairs of plastic underwear from ExOfficio and some sturdy sandals. I just bring one pair of shoes, a sturdy pair of waterproof shoes by Salomon.

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Sometimes hotels will have a guest laundry. But more often than not, the sink in the bathroom is the laundromat of choice. I learned this trick from my friend Janine Amon, who has traveled the world and always looks fresh as a flower. But this strategy works best if your clothes are made of plastic — so they will dry quickly.

If I needed to bring a suit, it would be easy to trade out a couple of items and add slacks and a jacket, two dress shirts, two ties, dress shoes and some dark socks.

Just for Southeast Alaska, I've got a river-ready raincoat, a long-sleeved extra layer and a vest. I always have a hat — and I almost forgot my gloves.

Brush your teeth

Everybody has their favorite items to bring in their medicine/toiletries bag. The key is not to bring anything that would necessitate checking a bag. That means no big tubes of suntan lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash or cans of hairspray. Extra items that I carry: Ibuprofen, lens cleaner, nasal spray, nasal decongestant, Q-tips, Band-Aids and antacid. Mine is not a full-fledged first-aid kit. If I'm headed up the mountain after I land, I'll make an extra stop at the pharmacy.

Gear bag

The heaviest part of my pile is the technical gear. This is a work trip, so I'm bringing along the laptop, a power cord, my phone, a power cord for that, a camera and a power cord for that. Oh, there's more. I always pack a strap-on headlamp from Petzl, since there have been several instances when the overhead light didn't work in a dark airplane cabin. I carry AA and AAA batteries for my gadgets, a power converter for the lighter slot in the rental car and an extra thumb drive if I need to move lots of data from one computer to another.

My memory cards for the camera are big (64 GB), but I carry an extra one in case I start shooting video with my camera. I'm not bringing my video camera or my tripod, but my Sony RX-100 point-and-shoot camera shoots good video. So does my iPhone 6 plus.

I always travel with noise-canceling headphones. Mine are from Bose, but there are several other brands. Planes are noisy, and I can plug the headphones into my phone or laptop and listen to music. In addition to over-the-ear headphones, I carry the standard-issue hang-down headphones with a built-in mic. That's because when you're driving in Washington or Oregon, you have to use hands-free devices when you're talking on the phone. Most late-model rental cars will let you sync your phone via Bluetooth, too. But if there's someone else in the car, the headphones are handy.

I'm carrying some gifts for people along the way. They are light and flat. They pack easily.

I commend Alaska Airlines for its 20-minute guarantee to get your checked bags. I've been able to collect some extra miles a couple of times, but most of the time my checked bags are right on time. But traveling internationally involves more waiting. Substantially more. So on this trip, I plan to reclaim that extra time for something worthwhile, like standing in line at the coffee shop.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.

Scott McMurren

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.

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