What is the ONE Unusual Item You Always Travel With?

When you pack light, you leave unnecessary items at home. There may however, be an item you just don’t want to do without. For me, that is a Japanese Salux scrub cloth (available here and through Amazon). I find that it’s the best scrub cloth in the entire universe, and it’s practically indestructible. Fortunately, Salux scrub clothes take up almost no space, and dry really quickly.

I was curious if other people had any special item they still travel with, so I posed the question at the forums at Tom Bihn’s website. People seemed to take some very interesting things close to their heart.

  • Autolycus travels with a small Travelocity roaming gnome, which was given as a gift from a co-worker.
  • TavaPeak travels with a small paper journal.
  • Jenne travels with a portable hula hoop (one that collapses so it can be packed)
  • AVService travels with a tiny but full-featured amateur radio transceiver that provides AM/FM/weather, as well as VHF, UHF, aircraft, marine, shortwave, railroad, and public safety broadcasts, as well as transmit.
  • JLE likes to travel with tiny travel candles to mask the odor of hotel rooms, a Bluetooth speaker for her iPad, and very small hair-straightening irons. Most unusual, however, is her squeezy tube of Vegemite.
  • Snowbot likes to travel with a small nightlight.
  • WhiteStar likes to travel with three to six dogs (probably not packed in the carry-on, though).
  • Badger has two stuffed Uglydog dolls that travel with her everywhere.
  • As a chiropractor, Chiro75 carries a lot of odd chiropractic instruments that cause the TSA a lot of consternation.
  • Kinsale confesses to carrying a mini-bottle of vodka in their 3-1-1 toiletry kit. “Just in case.”
  • Frank II from One Bag, One World likes to take a telescoping backscratcher.
  • KmK likes to travel with a very small owl figuring that allows her to feel at home wherever she goes.
  • Moriond likes to travel with some emergency food in the form of Lärabars.
  • BChaplin likes to take instant coffee in the form of Starbucks VIA packs, an insulated Thermos, and a 220-volt instant water healer to avoid any caffeine withdrawal.
  • Dorayme, always takes her knitting or crotcheting things with her, but when traveling by car, takes her spinning bike!
  • When traveling by car, Darbs always packs some Diet Coke.
  • Eire takes a small shortwave radio.
  • Tzporah takes a headlamp and earplugs.

Is there anything special you like to take with you on your travels?