Never leave home without.....

[mshunter]

Might also want to check for international travel to bring a credit card with a chip in it. Has been a major life saver.

I'm not there yet. One day though.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

I also like a full-size bar of Dial soap. I hate those tiny bars of Dove soap found in most hotels.

It's the little things.

 

[Boskru]

Wow, these are great responses. A few things mentioned I had thought about, but most will be quickly added to my flight bag.

 

[mikecweb]

Wow. I guess I'm way underprepared. If I was traveling to the third world I'd consider some of the stuff you guys are packing.
Extension cords? Duck tap and zip ties? What kind of hotels are you guys staying in!?

 

[Screaming_Emu]

Yup. Very rarely am I in a place where I can't get anything I need in a pinch. Pack light. Clothes, tablet full of books/magazines, computer, toiletries bag, running clothes.

 

[Stinger]

Ah reminded me of the best trick I ever heard, from an airline pilot...
If you lose a charger, or forgot to bring it in the trip, just walk into any hotel in the world and explain how you stayed there last week and forgot your charger in the room...they'll proceed to pull out a box full of 'em and you simply go shopping for one that fits.

I tried this about 5 years ago in Grand Forks. Went into 5 different hotels saying I left my phone charger behind. Each one of them asked me what phone charger I left, when I stayed, my name, and room number. The closest I got to actually getting a charger was one hotel said they'd had no chargers turned in the last few weeks.

 

[killbilly]

I tried this about 5 years ago in Grand Forks. Went into 5 different hotels saying I left my phone charger behind. Each one of them asked me what phone charger I left, when I stayed, my name, and room number. The closest I got to actually getting a charger was one hotel said they'd had no chargers turned in the last few weeks.

Yeah. Right around the time that cell phone usage became RAMPANT (call it 1999 or so) I'd heard that same advice. And tried it. And got the same response.

 

[e6bflyer]

I just try the honest approach. I say I forgot my charger and ask them if they have a box of lost chargers I can rummage through to find one. Tell them I will return it when I am done. Both times I have tried this approach I got a charger. Both times they told me to not bother returning it.

 

[mshunter]

I just try the honest approach. I say I forgot my charger and ask them if they have a box of lost chargers I can rummage through to find one. Tell them I will return it when I am done. Both times I have tried this approach I got a charger. Both times they told me to not bother returning it.

Leave it behind in your room?

 

[bucksmith]

I tried this about 5 years ago in Grand Forks. Went into 5 different hotels saying I left my phone charger behind. Each one of them asked me what phone charger I left, when I stayed, my name, and room number. The closest I got to actually getting a charger was one hotel said they'd had no chargers turned in the last few weeks.

Well, if jack wagons would stop revealing good tricks on public forums, maybe the word wouldn't get out!
Yeah the honest approach is actually your best bet...

 

[PositionAndHold]

I go from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere on a pretty regular basis, and I manage to go about 9 months of the year without a jacket. Too much to carry... My fleece works fine unless it gets really cold.

Anyway, I have one of these, and it's awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Jackery®-Portable-Aluminum-12000mAh-External/dp/B00AANQLRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420620302&sr=8-1&keywords=jackery giant

I guess I should've added, if I had to drag it around from aircraft to aircraft I would have a different strategy. Being I've been on the same airplane going on five years, my jacket has its own little spot.

 

[CirrusMonkey]

 

[dasleben]

I should add that I'm also my own personal pharmacy on the road. But, domestic flying wouldn't really require everything I have with me.

 

[surreal1221]

Shark 15000mAh battery pack.

$35 on Amazon. Charges an iPhone 5S up to 7 times before needing recharging itself.

 

[knot4u]

+1 for a real bar of soap, Lever 2000 for me, those little hotel crap soap bars leave me feeling greasy. Q-tips are normally not provided, against the advice of my doctor I still dry my ears every time I get out of the shower. Don't take a flourescent lamp and scan your bed, you'll end up sleeping on the couch. Don't scan the couch, you'll end up sleeping on the floor. Don't scan the floor, you'll end up trying, unsucsessfully, to sleep on the ceiling. Don't scan the ceiling......

 

[cezzna]

Guess I'm one of the contrarian minimalists here.

- bought my last three bags at Big Lots
- I pack in 10 minutes or less, never the same stuff
- at least 50% of the time I get a toothbrush and toothpaste from the hotel
- don't take any meds
- eat anything and everything ESPECIALLY sushi
- why would I bring liquids in a thermos?

 

[cezzna]

Oh, and if you're the guy who always has to park his suitcase zippers in the exact same location each and every single time.............you need help.

 

[dasleben]

Guess I'm one of the contrarian minimalists here.

- bought my last three bags at Big Lots
- I pack in 10 minutes or less, never the same stuff
- at least 50% of the time I get a toothbrush and toothpaste from the hotel
- don't take any meds
- eat anything and everything ESPECIALLY sushi
- why would I bring liquids in a thermos?

What kind of flying do you do? I try to be as self-reliant as possible on the road (other than food, of course), but it has more to do with the style of flying I do. I have a routine that I stick to, considering even forgetting an iPhone charger may mean no phone for the whole trip.

 

[Cessnaflyer]

Oh, and if you're the guy who always has to park his suitcase zippers in the exact same location each and every single time.............you need help.

Uh oh. I need help!

If I park them on the top I get rain in there. On the bottom a ramper drags it through a puddle on the way to the crew car. I keep mine dead center on the side all the time.

 

[KKochan]

I carry a survival kit usually, and it's not some POS "bear grylls" one. I'm nearly positive if I had a kit like that, and needed to use it, some of the people responsible for creating that "survival" kit would be hurt.

I carry that since I'm mostly flying piston singles all over the place.

Boring stuff otherwise.