Frequent travelers tell what’s in their carry-on bag

They're the keeper of our valuables at the airport, the repository of comfort-providing necessities during our flights and, if we pack right, our ticket to a quick escape from the airport at flight's end.

It's the humble carry-on bag, our go-to container for all the stuff that we'll need or might need while traveling. And, practicality aside, they can offer a glimpse into a traveler's in-flight routine and packing strategies.

So, we asked a few Southern Nevada frequent travelers what they stash in their carry-on bags in the hope that we occasional flyers can learn a trick or two from them as we pack for our own holiday trips.

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Kris Sanchez figures he's on the road either domestically or internationally for almost six months of the year. So, he says, "it doesn't take me long to pack."

Sanchez is director of international trade for the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development. Depending on how long he'll be away, Sanchez says he'll try to limit his luggage to one checked bag and one carry-on, "and if I can make it just a carry-on, that's what I do."

Sanchez says he always keeps an extra change of clothing — a pair of jeans, a shirt, a change of underwear — in his carry-on bag "just in case my (checked) luggage is lost."

"I haven't lost any luggage yet," he adds, "but if I do, I'll have a change of clothing."

For longer trips, Sanchez will add a checked bag and maybe even a backpack to his traveling arsenal. But, even then, he'll pare down his belongings as much as he can, packing with an eye toward where he'll be staying.

For instance, if he'll be staying in a hotel where dry cleaning service is available, "I can pack half as many shirts as I usually would, and that saves a lot of space," he says.

Then, because much of his travel is international, "I'll always have a photocopy of my passport, and I always tuck that away," Sanchez says. "If I have a backpack and a carry-on, I'll put (a copy) in both."

"I have two iPad chargers, one in my carry-on and one in my checked bag," Sanchez says, and he also carries a set of electrical adapters — leaving at home the ones in the set that he won't be using — in both sets of luggage.

"The other thing to think about is snacks," says Sanchez, who packs a small bag or two of almonds for those moments when he realizes he's skipped a meal or is stuck waiting on the runway.

"Then, on the international side, too, I try to get a little bit of currency exchanged here and I'll usually tuck some currency away," Sanchez says. "I don't keep it in one place. I put it in multiple bags."

Finally, Sanchez says, "I always pack some aspirin and some Dramamine."

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"I'm one of those individuals who will do everything possible to not check (luggage)," says Spencer Stewart, chancellor of Western Governors University Nevada, "I am a carry-on-only individual. I think probably the seventh circle of Purgatory is for those who find they have to check. So carry-on only."

Stewart always packs two essentials in his carry-on bag. The first is a spare, fully charged smartphone battery.

"One thing I've learned as I travel, especially during the holidays with long layovers, is, one might be able to find a power outlet, but it might be in use. I know everyone carries a power cord with them, but I have found it easier to just have a spare, fully charged battery."

"The other thing that I have grown fond of is a really good set of headphones," says Stewart, who prefers noise-canceling headphones (his current favorite is a pair of Bose headphones, although he's had luck with headphones by other manufacturers, too).

"I'm also a big reader," Stewart says, and "I've become a big fan of the Kindle reader, which doesn't take a year and a half to power on and off."

Another thing that's often found either in Stewart's carry-on bag or in his pocket: a pack of gum that, if need be, can be chewed during takeoffs and landings.

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Matt Smith, regional vice president of development for ATI Physical Therapy, recommends, first, that medications of any sort "should always be in your possession."

"Then, if it's a flight of over, say, 2½ hours," Smith says he'll pack an inflatable pillow collar.

"It's a horseshoe, so you can rest it on your neck and put your head back and catch a few winks," he says. "Otherwise, the ergonomics of an airplane seat are horrible, especially for your neck."

On longer flights, Smith also will have a pair of sunglasses to help dim ambient light and earplugs to reduce ambient sound. He also might pack a pair of noise-canceling earphones, particularly if "you're going to listen to music or watch a movie."

"And, then, airplane temperatures vary, especially this time of year, so I might wear a jacket or sweater. You want to have something to put over you, because, frankly, those airplane blankets they pull down and roll up, you don't know whose DNA is on there. So I'd suggest taking something out of your own closet or own drawer to keep you warm."

Then, "I'm always going to take my iPad, and I take two magazines," Smith says, using the iPad or a laptop computer for work and the magazines to relax.

"Sometimes I don't get a lot of pleasure time when I'm working at home, so while a lot of people do work on an airplane, I tend to use it as a time to have a bit of luxury."

Finally, Smith says, "in my right pocket, I do carry one of those small bottles of hand sanitizer. I do use that quite a bit."

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"I have become a member of the community of carry-ons only," says Gayle Juneau-Butler, assistant vice provost for retention, progression and completion at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in part because of the nearly universal traveler's fear of "getting stuck somewhere without your stuff."

Another reason, she adds, is that "when I travel, I want to feel free. I don't want to feel held down by things."

So, Juneau-Butler and her entire family typically travel with just one carry-on bag each and can fit seven days' worth of gear into their bags. Even so, Juneau-Butler still finds room in her own carry-on bag for her journal and a book, "although that sometimes varies from being a physical book to an electronic version."

Consider that, in fact, her one concession to carry-on bag excess.

"I still prefer the physical version," Juneau-Butler says, "even though it takes up space."

— Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280 and follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.