Traveling Angler Tuesdays: Packing Tips

Traveling Angler Tuesdays launched June 26th, 2012 on mattrevors.com. My mission is to prove the concept of fly fishing travel abroad is not just the realm of old rich dudes and magazine writers & photographers. Keep checking back regularly as I share tips & tricks to get you to fly fishing locales you dream of going to. To see past articles & tips, click here.

Guatemalan chicken bus & fly fishing sculpture at Calgary Airport

Dump all of your money and everything you've packed on your bed. Look at it. Then pack half the clothes and take double the money. - Unknown

A few weeks back I discussed how you should carry your rod and reel on the plane with you.

This week I'm going to skip over the fun stuff of rods, reels, flies and such, and get to the boring stuff: clothes, toiletries and other necessities.

Here are five tips outlining my basic methodology:

1. Weather and climate
Unless you've been to the area before, click over to the Weather Underground or some other weather website to get an idea of the average highs & lows.

To view weather history on WU, click  on the tab for Today's Almanac, then click "View more history data" on the bottom right of that square:

After checking the average highs & lows for the month of travel, look at the extended forecast to see if anything weird is on the horizon.

Armed with this knowledge, the Traveling Angler can start picking out some clothing to pack for the journey.

Remember this: weather determines whether you put on shorts or long-johns in the morning. Climate determines how many of each you own. Same goes for packing and traveling: know what to expect.

2. Planned activities
Go through your itinerary to see what's scheduled. A fancy dinner, perhaps? Clubbing? Camping on the beach for five days straight? It matters not whether the Traveling Angler is male or female: different activities call for different clothes.

If traveling to an all-inclusive fishing lodge or doing a week-long DIY camping trip in warm locations, packing light should be an easy task; shorts, a few shirts, quick-dry pants, flats boots, flip flops and you're set.

If a colder venue is on tap (steelheading in January on Haida Gwaii, anyone?), heavier clothes and waders will obviously be needed, but one can still pack light on the number of clothes one brings.

Throw a nice dinner or a night out with your significant other and packing light becomes slightly more complicated. Your loved one probably wouldn't appreciate sitting across a candle-lit dinner, looking at (and smelling) your fish-slimed shirt.

Any way you cut it, you want to have the appropriate attire for the activities planned.

You don't, for instance, want to be the knob wearing boardshorts and flipflops in a dress-code-enforced casino in San Juan, PR  getting escorted out by security after winning three consecutive hands in blackjack. Hypothetically speaking, of course...

Fortunately for the Traveling Angler, several clothing & fishing companies are getting good at making quick-dry technical apparel that looks sharp enough to do double-duty on the water or on the town. If you have extra cash to burn, or don't mind skipping a rent/mortgage payment, check out the following companies:

• Ex Officio (Men's / Women's)
• Patagonia (Men's / Women's)
• Simms (Men's / Women's)
• Columbia (Men's / Women's / Kid's)

Don't dismiss convertible pants, either. Life's an adventure, not a fashion show. Convertible pants are practical and comfortable. Seriously.

They just make you look like a complete dork when you wear them in your hometown.

3. Trimming it down

The Traveling Angler has their pile of clothes on the bed. Now it's time to get realistic. Ask yourself the following:

• Are you really going to work out and/or do yoga every day you're there? Do you really need exercise-specific clothing, or can you do those activities in boardshorts or swimsuit? Same goes for running shoes. Running barefoot on the beach is good for your feet and your soul. Do you need the extra weight & space of single-purpose shoes?
• Are there laundry facilities available? Are you mentally capable of washing a few clothes in the bathroom sink? Those technical clothes are made of quick-drying material for a reason. They can dry overnight.
• Is it the rainy season? No? Then why are you bringing a full rain suit?

If you are really having a hard time choosing, go back to the quote above: pack half the clothes and take double the money. 

4. The uber-secret packing method of ancient gods

Leaving space pays off

Whether I'm traveling for work for four weeks, or traveling for fishing for one week, I use the following technique for packing my clothes.

If traveling for work, this allows me to get work boots, books, fishing gear & tying materials in my larger duffel bag. 

If I'm heading somewhere to fish, this allows me to use a small duffel bag or a backpack as my checked bag, usually with room to spare for whatever knick-knacks & other extras I pick up on my journey (4lbs of Guatemalan coffee, for instance).

So here's how it's done:

• Take the largest/heaviest long-sleeved piece of clothing and lay it flat on the bed or floor. If packing a hoodie or hooded jacket, use this.
• Lay any other long-sleeved articles of clothing directly on top of the first, matching up the sleeves, neck & bottom. Make sure they're flat.
• Do the same for any t-shirts & short-sleeved shirts.
• Place underwear, socks, lightweight shorts, pants on top of the stack of shirts, in the centre, and ball them into a tight pile.
• Take the hood of the first piece of clothing on the bottom and pull it tightly over the pile in the centre.
• Grab a bottom corner of the clothes & pull it over the pile in the centre. Do the same with the other bottom corner.
• Take ahold of one of the stacks of shirt sleeves and wrap it around the ball of clothes, using it to 'tie down' on of the bottom corners. Do the same with the other stack of sleeves.
• Flip the ball of clothes over, so its weight keeps the sleeves from loosening.

You should have a ball of clothes, neatly and tightly packed to approximately the size of a soccer ball. Maybe even a football, if you're good at packing light. Place this in your backpack or duffel bag.

Note: this method keeps shirts from getting wrinkled to shit; typically just the sleeves end up wrinkled.

Any heavier pairs of pants or shorts, or a towel* if required, can be folded and/or rolled and placed in the spaces under the edges of the clothing ball.

* - Buy a travel/pack towel. Trust me. See the list at the end of the post for a good one.

5. Toiletries

Depending on the location of your adventure, the toiletries needed can vary. On a family vacation with a side trip of fishing, the Traveling Angler might need the full spectrum of a shaving kit, makeup and other niceties. On a two-night backcountry camping/fishing trip, an general all-purpose camp soap might be sufficient.

Note: I highly recommend having some biodegradable camp soap wherever your travels might take you. The right brand can serve as a laundry detergent, body wash or dish detergent. Ensure it is biodegradable, though, especially if you're using it in a body of water that isn't a bathtub. Millions of microscopic organisms will thank you.

Lots of companies make travel or trial-size containers of shaving cream, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste and mouthwash, and there are two schools of thought on how to obtain them:

1. The Suburban School: go to your local Walgreens, Shopper's Drug Mart, or Sprawl-Mart, look for the beauty and hygiene section. There should be everything you need there for very reasonable prices.
2. The Pirate School: when staying at a hotel, take the shampoo, soap, sewing kits, mouthwash and whatever else is stocked in the room's bathroom. Then plunder the housekeeper's cart for more when she is in an adjacent room with her back turned. Bam, you now have travel-size toiletries for the next four months.

Note: I always travel with a few ziplock bags to isolate toiletries that may leak in transit. I also have a roll of electrical tape packed away; a quick wrap of tape over the pop-top of shampoo keeps things in check.

Always remember to pack only what you need. And, if you happen to forget something, it'll be rare that you won't be able to get something on your journey*.

* - Unless you're running out of deodorant in an isolated project site in Nunavut. Like I am...

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This might seem over-simplified, and I'll be the first to admit, it is. It takes me longer to figure out what to pack than it does for me to write these posts (it takes a little while to write these).

Packing & traveling light isn't a macho thing, nor is it something to really brag about. And forgetting to pack (or intentionally leaving behind) necessary things won't make you any friends if your constantly bumming toothpaste (or underwear).

However, packing exactly what you need and nothing more make things less complicated and far more comfortable when you are traveling.

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Here are a few pieces of gear and clothing I count on when I travel, for work and for play (read: fish):

• MEC Fast-Track 2 rolling duffel: my go-to for month-long project work. It fits work clothes & boots, books, toiletries, fishing and/or fly tying gear.
• Arc'Teryx Needle 55L backpack: this pack is discontinued. I bought it in '05 for a steal on ebay. Arc'teryx makes very spendy stuff, but it's extremely good quality. This is the backpack pictured above. I still use a softshell jacket and a winter jacket of theirs that are both pushing seven years old. 
• MSR Packtowel: almost the size of a beach towel, folds to the size of a small paperback novel. I don't leave home without it. Amazing product.
• Ex Officio Give-N-Go boxer brief: another go-to. Comfortable, easy to wash, quick drying. Wear a pair, take a pair. Wash them in the shower or sink when needed and they'll be dry within hours. Some day, every pair of underwear I own will be these.
• Smartwool socks: same as the Ex Officio underwear: awesome product, and oh so comfortable. I have several pairs of varying weights and it's not often I'll wear anything else. To those who have gave me socks or gift cards I have used on Smartwool socks: thank you.

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Disclaimer

The products mentioned in this article were bought and paid for by the author, Mat Trevors. 

I, Mat Trevors, am not sponsored by or associated with any of the companies listed above and am accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for these endorsements. 

My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship has been pursued or established. 

Companies wishing to hire a Writer-Not-In-Residence-But-On-Water can definitely buy my allegiance; however, those companies must be upstanding members of the global community and produce gear of high quality. I can be reached through the Contact Page.

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