Are you traveling on Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, or Ryan Air for your next academic conference? Was the price too good to pass up, but now you’re wondering about packing for an academic conference with no carry on bag? Today I’m going to show you how to pack for a conference in a personal item, in this case, a backpack!
University travel budgets are constrained, and some conferences are in small towns with limited flight options. So, you might be looking at some super cheap flight options and wondering if it’s possible to do an academic conference with no carry on. I know the temptation too well, and I’m here to say: the answer is it’s maybe possible. But it will take some very strategic packing to avoid buying a bag. Here are my best tips.
What personal item should I pick?
I’ve already shown you how to pack in a backpacking backpack — you know, a bigger pack that you see people lugging onto trains in Europe. The Cotopaxi Allpa is truly an ideal personal item. It’s spacious, but it’s a backpack, so it fits the personal item constraints of most budget airlines.
But today I’ve decided to do this on hard mode in case you only have a plain old backpack and don’t want to invest several hundred dollars in a new one (I mean at that point I would just buy a carry on, right?). So today we’re using the Calpak Luka 15-inch bag.
The Calpak Luka is a great personal item! It has many awesome features, including a laptop sleeve, multiple organizational pockets, and a shoe pocket. It also has a back sleeve that allows it to thread over the handle of a roller bag, so when you do have one at the airport, you can go hands-free. This bag was gifted to me by Calpak and I’ve been enjoying bringing it everywhere!
Onto the personal item only conference packing list: The name of the game here is to outfit repeat as much as possible. And pack multiples of small items, not bulky items. This means bringing one blazer and wearing it repeatedly. Next, bring multiple shirts or dresses, as long as they roll up small!
Sample no-carry on packing list
Here’s a packing list for a three day conference!
- 1 pair of pants (this pair is wrinkle-free, this is a great budget pick)
- 1 pair of shoes
- 3 conference tops (this is a good example of one that rolls up well and doesn’t wrinkle!)
- 1 blazer
- Pajamas
- Comfy sweats (worn on the plane)
- Comfy sneakers (worn on the plane)
- Outerwear if needed (carried onto the plane)
If you love a dress, you could swap one in for a top. Then, you could wear it by itself or with the blazer over the top for more versatility.
I also like to pack a t-shirt and wear it under the blazer one day for conference attire. Then, I have a more casual option that I can wear with sweats and sneakers to walk around town, or on the plane back home.
Packing in a backpack hacks
A couple of things you can do that, in my experience, make packing everything small easier!
1. Roll your blazer.
This packing hack is the best I’ve found–see above for how to fit a blazer into a personal item or backpack. You might need to use the hotel room iron when you arrive, though.
2. Condense toiletries.
Hotel rooms have shampoo and conditioner, plus soap and a hair dryer. Don’t bring any of those things! If you use any serums, now is the time to leave them at home for maximum efficiency. Instead of a toiletry bag, I wrap everything into a gallon ziploc bag (I know these are too big for US TSA, but I fold them in half when they go through the security bin, and no one has ever mentioned it to me, but use that tip at your own risk).
3. One pair of conference shoes.
I LOVE shoes, so this one is hard for me, but if you can stick to just one pair for the conference, plus a comfy pair you wear through the airport, you’ll save a lot of space. I wear sneakers or weatherproof boots if the conference is in a cold spot, and then pack one extra pair of flats.
4. Carry your outerwear.
Even budget airlines seem ok with this. If you need a coat, drape it over your arm and carry it onto the plane. I use mine as a blanket to attempt to sleep (which is not happening on any Spirit Airlines flight, but we can dream).
5. Save your shirts from sweat.
If you don’t have a sweatproof undershirt yet, I highly recommend! Makes it much easier to rewear sweaters and blazers.
When do I call it and buy a carry on bag?
Yes, carry on bags and checked bags are often expensive on budget airlines, but there are a few times it’s simply not possible to do an academic conference with no carry on. Here are my personal “I give up” moments:
-Excessive rain, snow, or temperature swings. Randomly, high humidity can make packing in only a personal item very difficult (harder to rewear shirts due to sweat!).
-Need for multiple shoe options. Shoes are the bulkiest thing to pack, obviously, so if you need more than 2 pairs this plan doesn’t work.
-Bringing extra conference swag to run the graduate school table, academic job market table, etc.
I hope these tips are helpful if you’re planning for an academic conference on a budget!
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