An increasingly popular item these days are bag or storage compression systems. Mostly these are advertised on television for storage in the home.
The system basically comprises of a large transparent plastic bag into which squashable items such as clothes, towels and bedding can be slid. A significant amount of material can be fitted inside these bags. At one end of the bag there is a zip that can be fastened to seal the bag airtight. A valve on one side of the bag can then be fitted to an air pump, usually battery or mains operated. This air pump will then suck out all of the air from the bag, compressing it massively.
It is very surprising just how much air is contained within clothing. The material will squash and will take up significantly less volume. This way, clothes such as jumpers, coats and other potentially bulky items can take up no more room than a few cotton tops would. This same method and system can be easily applied to the baggage that you take with you on holiday, since most of these bags are about the same size and dimension of the base of an average suitcase.
So, by placing your clothes in these bags, removing the air and squashing your clothes to a much lesser volume you can then ensure you give yourself plenty of space in your bag for other little essentials.
Another advantage of these bag compression systems is the fact that they protect the clothing inside against damage, particularly from crumpling or creasing. This of course is another immediate advantage for the traveller who can not only take clothing that takes up less space, but also arrives in the same excellent condition in which it was packed. There are two warnings to heed, however, if you are considering using such a system. The first is that of course it will be necessary to take the air pump with you. This in itself will take up a fair chunk of room in your luggage, and will also add weight. However, this may well be more than countered by the amount of space you have saved by compressing your clothes in the first place.
The second thing to consider is that if your air pump is mains operated, then depending on your destination it may also be required for you to have a mains adaptor. Clearly, taking what would otherwise be an enormous volume of clothes but in a compressed format will require you to be able to compress your clothes every bit as much the other end, unless you intend to leave many of your clothes behind, or wear half your wardrobe on your return journey simply because you can't fit it all back into your case.
Battery operated air compressors do tend to drain the battery power quite quickly, and it may be wise to ensure either that your batteries are fresh or fully charged, or take a spare set with you to use at the other end.
These air compression systems therefore are ideally suited to the traveller, and are reducing in price quite significantly and are a worthwhile purchase. One final thought however, do please remember that reducing the volume of your clothes will not in any way reduce their weight. Therefore, by compressing your clothes, the temptation is to fit more clothes into our bag, which will naturally increase the weight of your suitcase compared to normally. It might be worth considering reducing the size of the bag you take, rather than falling into the temptation of packing yet more heavy items into your enormous case.
Use the compression system, not just for your clothing, but use the principle of it in choosing the size of the bag you choose to use in the first place.
