Packing Lab
Intro
Travel advice is easy to repeat. Testing whether it actually works is more useful.
Packing Lab is where City Trip Lab compares packing methods, luggage choices and travel gear using real trips and simple, repeatable measurements.
What we measure
- Bag dimensions
- Empty bag weight
- Total packed weight
- Number of packed items
- Number of unused items after the trip
- Clothing actually worn
- Items we missed
- Items bought because we forgot or needed something
- Expected versus actual weather
- Practical comfort during the trip
Our starting baseline
4 / 4
Trips where we packed a second pair of shoes
0 / 4
Trips where that second pair was actually needed
4 / 4
Trips with unused clothing
These results come from four reconstructed short European trips. They are a personal baseline, not universal travel rules.
Historical trips vs planned tests
Our first observations come from reconstructing previous trips. That is useful for identifying patterns, but memory is less precise than collecting data before and after a trip.
Future Packing Lab experiments therefore use a simple before-and-after method.
Before the trip
- Photograph what is packed
- Record bag type and dimensions
- Weigh the empty bag
- Weigh the packed bag
- Count clothing and other items
- Record the weather forecast
- Record planned activities
After the trip
- Record what was actually used
- Count unused items
- Note anything we missed
- Record anything bought because it was needed
- Compare expected and actual weather
- Record what we would change next time
What we plan to test
- One pair of shoes vs packing a second pair
- Personal item only for a 3-day trip
- 20L vs 30L backpack capacity
- Packing cubes vs compression cubes
- Rolling vs folding clothes
- Full-size vs travel-size vs refillable toiletries
- What we packed vs what we actually used
- Real packed weight for a 3-day city trip
What Packing Lab is not
Packing Lab is not formal scientific research, and our results should not be treated as universal rules.
Travel style, body size, weather, activities and personal preferences all affect what someone needs.
We publish our own setup and results so readers can decide whether a finding is useful for their own trip.
No invented tests
If we have not tested something, we will say so.
AI may help us structure information, analyse results or improve writing, but it is not used to invent measurements, product experience or trips that did not happen
Pack less. Test what works. Learn from the next trip.