Every item in my carry-on has been there for more than 50 trips. Nothing is in here by accident. Here is the full inventory.

The bag itself

One 40L carry-on backpack, the Tortuga Travel Backpack. Clamshell opening, padded laptop sleeve, structured enough that it stands up on its own. Weight when empty: 1.5kg.

Clothes, and the cube system

Six packing cubes, colour coded. Tops in one, bottoms in another, underwear and socks in a third, sleepwear in a fourth, swim and spare in a fifth, and one empty cube that becomes the laundry bag mid-trip.

Total clothing for a 14-day trip: 6 tops, 3 bottoms, 1 dress, 1 lightweight cardigan, 7 underwear, 5 socks, 2 sports bras, swimwear, sleepwear, 1 packable rain jacket. I do laundry once around day 5 to 6.

Shoes, the painful constraint

Two pairs. One on, one in the bag. A walking shoe and one slip-on that looks dressy enough for a nice dinner but lays flat in the bag.

Stuff your socks and underwear inside your shoes. It saves space and helps the shoes hold their shape. Sounds obvious, almost nobody does it.

The tech pouch

One mid-size pouch holds every cable, charger, and adapter I need: a universal adapter, a 4-port USB-C charger, three USB-C cables, one Lightning cable as backup, small in-ear headphones, a 10,000mAh battery pack, an AirTag, and replacement adapter fuses. Total weight: under 700g.

The toiletry kit

Hanging toiletry bag with two compartments. Everything decanted into 100ml bottles, no exceptions, even for trips where I’m checking a bag, because consistency means I never forget anything.

The sleep and comfort kit

Five items that together cost about $60: a contoured silk sleep mask, soft foam earplugs, compression socks, a cashmere blend wrap, and a small bottle of lavender oil.

The backup kit

The one I hope I never need: a photocopy of my passport, a backup credit card, $200 in mixed local currency stashed separately, a small power bank, a pre-activated eSIM, and a printed list of emergency contacts and insurance policy number.

What I cut

Hardback books, a second pair of jeans, a full-size camera, a travel pillow. Every item I’ve cut had a logic to it when I packed it. The logic was almost always wrong.