Pack light: baggage and storage
The short list we’d actually buy: backpacks sized to a budget airline’s free under-seat bag, and the cubes that make them hold more. Prices checked 20 Oct 2026.
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Day to night: get two looks out of one capsule → · Cruising? What drinks you can bring → · Duty free and your free baggage →
Free baggage at 40 × 30 × 20 cm
The strictest common free under-seat bag in Europe. These two are cut to fit it.
Free baggage at 45 × 36 × 20 cm
easyJet’s free under-seat bag is bigger, so you get about a quarter more room.
Organise the bag
Cubes don’t shrink your clothes, but they stop a small bag turning into a jumble and make security checks quicker.
Store more in the same space
A zip round the outside squeezes the air out, which is how you fit a knit and a spare outfit into a 40 × 30 × 20 cm bag.
Wear your storage: travel coats and vests
A jacket or vest with lots of inside pockets keeps your phone, passport, charger and a paperback on you, which is handy at security and on the plane and frees up a little room in your bag.
Buying SCOTTeVEST from the UK: prices are in US dollars, and import VAT and any duty are charged on delivery, on top of the price. Returns are within 30 days and you pay the return postage. Prices checked 20 Oct 2026.
What airlines say about coats
- easyJet: 'Handheld belongings: You're allowed to bring some extra things into the cabin. e.g. umbrella, overcoat, crutches, walking stick, one standard bag of goods bought at the airport.' Source
- Wizz Air: 'A coat or blanket' may be taken on board at no extra cost. A neck pillow must fit in the bag or 'may be treated as an additional item and be subject to … oversized or excess baggage charges'. Source
- Air France: A 'jacket, coat, or any other item of clothing you may be wearing' is not counted as hand baggage. Source
- Virgin Atlantic: 'Your overcoat or wrap' is allowed in addition. A handbag counts as extra only when used 'as you would normally use it (in other words, not just being used to contain items that would…'. Sourceto re-check
- Lufthansa: Jackets and coats can be hung on the seat-back hook. 'Any piece of baggage brought to the gate counts as carry-on.' Source
The honest bit: no airline promises that a coat with full pockets won’t count as baggage. Gate staff decide what counts, and Lufthansa says any piece of baggage brought to the gate counts as carry-on. Liquids, power banks and other items in your pockets still follow the normal security rules. Wear your storage for convenience, not as a way around your allowance.
Do vacuum bags make your bag heavier?
Not by themselves. Squeezing the air out actually makes your clothes a few grams lighter, because air weighs about 1.2 g per litre. But because they let you fit more in, the bag you carry usually ends up heavier. That matters on allowances with a weight limit, such as Wizz Air’s 10 kg free bag or easyJet’s 15 kg.
Watch the creases. Vacuum bags crease clothes more than anything else, so use them for knitwear, fleeces and coats rather than shirts. Put crease-prone pieces in packing cubes instead.
💡 Tip: Vacuum bags save space, not weight. Weigh your bag before you leave.
No-iron packing
Pick fabrics that don’t crease. Woven cotton and linen crease; knits, merino, jersey and most polyester blends barely do.
Skip the mini steamer on a free-bag trip. It adds weight and takes space, and abroad it needs a plug adapter, so it usually defeats the point.
- Hang creased clothes in the bathroom while you shower.
- Pack a small crease-release spray under 100 ml (it counts as a liquid).
- Roll clothes, and keep crease-prone pieces in a packing cube on top, not in a vacuum bag.
- Check whether your hotel or Airbnb has an iron.
On a cruise? Check your cruise line’s prohibited items list before packing a steamer or iron; many ships offer a pressing service or self-service launderettes instead. Crease-release spray and hanging clothes in the shower are the no-risk options.
Wedding, or a bigger baggage allowance? A travel steamer can make sense, as long as your ship or venue allows it. Travel steamers on Amazon UK ↗
Check your room first
Read the hotel, Airbnb or hostel listing, or message the host, and ask whether they provide:
- Iron or steamer
- Hairdryer
- Toiletries: shampoo, shower gel (conditioner often isn’t supplied)
- Towels, plus beach or pool towels
- Washing machine or laundry service
- Plug adapters or USB sockets
- Kettle, tea and coffee
- Slippers and a robe
- A safe
- Beach gear: umbrella, loungers (beach trips)
- Ski storage and boot heaters (ski trips)
Hostels often don’t provide towels or padlocks.
Every item they provide is one you don’t carry.
Short of space? Buy it there
Adding a checked bag typically costs around £60–80 return on a budget airline. So if your bag is full, buying bulky or liquid items when you arrive is often cheaper:
- Sun cream and after-sun
- Full-size shampoo and conditioner
- Insect repellent
- A beach towel
- Flip-flops
- A cheap umbrella or poncho
Prices vary a lot by destination. Supermarkets in places like Spain and Portugal are usually cheap, while Iceland, Switzerland, Scandinavia, cruise ships and resorts tend to be expensive. Our destination guides say whether it’s worth it.
Prices checked 20 Oct 2026 on each brand’s own website, in GBP, and they change often. Preview note: these are placeholder links to each brand’s normal product page with no affiliate tracking yet. Free-baggage sizes come from each airline’s official page: see the free baggage size reference.