Hacking the Packing Tips

If I had to list the most tiresome parts of travelling, packing would be up there in my top 10. No matter how big the bag, there’s always more stuff than space so I’m always open to some packing efficiency tips. In this post, brought to you with support from Holiday Inn Express, I find out what their suitcase czar suggests, get the kids to see if they can make his tips work for us and serve up 10 tips of our own for hacking the packing for outdoor and activity based holidays…  

Meet the packing efficiency engineer

So Holiday Inn Express has appointed Dave Hax as their first ever ‘Efficiency Engineer.’ His job? To consult on services and facilities. And to revolutionise the way people pack their suitcases. Really? We just had to check this out. Packing for our outings and expeditions is about as much fun as a waterlogged camp site so we are so open to any ideas that ease the pain.

The 2 second shirt folding challenge

And yes, his top tips and life hacks solve the problems of fitting everything in without spillages, breakages, or half the holiday wardrobe being left…well, in the wardrobe…

Our turn at hacking the packing

We were impressed. So impressed that we decided to make a little video of our own, trying out some of Dave’ tips. And as luck would have it, we had to put together a bag for a half term camping trip in The Lakes. But we don’t possess a suitcase. Or a business suit. And Stuart hasn’t shaved much on holiday since he discovered the Latino look on our cycle trip of Chile and Argentina in 1999. So our pack went a little differently…

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Doesn’t everyone pack extra cables?

If you’re wondering why we needed seventeen cables to go camping then you’ve probably never travelled with teenagers! Ok, so we need to practice the disappearing shirt trick a bit more and make sure someone empties the coffee cup next time, but it was definitely faster and more efficient than before!

And then we got to thinking; we have lots of tips of our own we could share with you, particularly about packing for long bike or walking journeys. So here they come. Click on, turn the page and check out our 10 Hacking the Packing Tips for an Outdoor Trip.