Travel Essentials for 2022
It is a new year and a time to start (or rather continue) planning. One of the best parts of 2021 for me was that we finally got to travel again. In fact, our little Walker went on 16 flights and two road trips in the first nine months of his life. Poor guy doesn’t even know what time zone he lives in. He likes continental breakfast at the Embassy Suites more than daddy’s pancakes.
For me, part of planning for 2022 involved a lot of optimizing. My wife and I hit reset on our schedules and are in a much better flow when it comes to working from home (despite having COVID at the moment). I spent a lot of time preparing to undertake 75 Hard, including planning workouts, supplements, and diet in detail. I bought books and online classes to get me ready to tackle all of my learning goals.
Naturally, I want to optimize my travel, too. Especially now that we are wheeling around two kids that require a lot of stuff.
It began in late 2020, when I started buying a bunch of travel gear in eager anticipation (and as a means of over-preparation) for when we’d finally hit the road again. I covered a lot of the travel essentials in my first ever blog post, The One-Backpack Weekend Trip, but I’ve added a few items to the collection and am now, as best I can tell, optimized for light-on-packing, heavy-on-fun family (or personal) travel.
Check out my previous post for clothing and general accessories I won’t travel without, and consider some of my most recent finds…
Post may contain affiliate links, which allow me to receive a small commission on purchases you decide to make.
Public Rec’s All Day Every Day Pant
These are my new go-to, everyday, don’t-ever-take-them-off-at-home pants. They are a bit like more form fitting, performance material, nicer looking sweatpants. I’ll take them on any cool or cold weather trip from here on out to wear around the Airbnb, hotel, or even out for a cup of coffee. Heck, you could go for a jog in them.
Word of caution: these things run a bit slim. Before I met my wife, I used to wear jeans that could double as a parachute in case of an aviation emergency. I’ve since learned that everything I used to wear was too baggy, and I’ve grown to appreciate the sleek (but not skinny) nature of some pants. These are some of those pants.
Also, note that I have thighs about the size of a mature oak tree’s trunk. What is “slim” for me might be totally normal for you.
Matador Accessories
I stumbled across this travel essentials brand recently and they are right up my alley. Besides a lineup of cool bags and packable daypacks, they basically offer two things:
Higher quality and cooler looking versions of packing accessories that you already use or should use
Other travel essentials that have been designed to fold up for portability
I bought a few of the Waterproof Travel Canisters for supplements (100mL) and ibuprofen (40mL), a few of their FlatPack Toiletry Bottles to replace my bulky silicone tubes, and a few Toothbrush Caps to, well, cap off my toothbrush.
To be clear, I had each of these things in cheap plastic/silicone form. But for maybe $40 I got to bring a bit more continuity to my travel collection with neutral colors and slick aluminum pill cases. Worth it to me.
They also offer blankets, towels, masks, and ponchos that fold up to fit in the palm of your hand. That’s what I’m asking for when I turn 33 later this year – big birthday, big gift expectations.
The North Face Canyonlands Full Zip Jacket
I’m a big fan of The North Face when it comes to cold weather jackets and coats. I’ve found the Canyonlands Full Zip to be a good fit, highly durable, and warm enough to help me down to temperatures into the mid-30s or so.
It takes up a lot more volume in a bag than most of the stuff I carry so I usually try to wear it through the airport if possible.
Kuhl Jetstream Jacket
If you need a rainproof or windproof layer to put over your brand new Canyonlands Full Zip jacket, look no further than the Kuhl Jetstream Jacket. It has gone up in price a bit since I got it, and it isn’t cheap. But it works.
I have worn this thing in torrential downpours, splashing in puddles with my daughter in our street (her idea, I swear!). I throw up the hood and zip it up all the way and my shirt underneath is completely dry after 30+ minutes in the pouring rain. I can put my phone in the front pocket with water dripping down and… not a drop on my phone. Pretty amazing.
Back to the travel, though. The entire jacket also folds up into its own pocket and zips up like a little pouch. Love this thing, and I also love supporting a Utah-based company since that is where we head for 50% of our time on the road.
GORUCK Shooter 40L Backpack
Don’t even click this link if you aren’t looking to invest a lot of money in a “this is the last backpack you’ll ever buy” kind of backpack.
I bit the bullet because, as I mentioned, I traveled a lot last year and tend to in general. It falls into my “travel essentials” list because it does it all:
It forces me to pack light but fits everything I need,
It is an international carry-on,
It is basically bomb-proof and will outlast me, and
It can be thrown on my back so my hands are free to carry kids or other things
It fits the essentials and is a big upgrade in terms of pockets and useful features compared to earlier versions of GORUCK’s bags, which were cool and useful but had less storage utility.
This is obviously not everything I take with me, as I mentioned. Check out the one-backpack weekend blog I mentioned – it has all the other details. But these are some of the improvements I’ve made in my packing/travel strategy in the last few months.
I’m glad the world is finally starting to open up again (or is it shutting down now, I can’t keep track?) so we can all go exploring. I hope my travel essentials suggestions help and that 2022 finds you on many new roads and adventures. Cheers, my friends.
Where are you headed in 2022? Any gear you’re taking with you? Send me your thoughts at michael@theothermichaeljordan.com. I hope to hear from you.
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