What’s in my carry on bag (besides the dirty underwear)?

In nearly every airline review here on this blog (as well as every video on my YouTube channel), you’ve seen a glimpse or two of my poor little carry-on bag stuffed to the max with what only God (and me) knows what. So – If you’ve ever wanted to know what’s in my bag, this is the post for you.

Actually, you’d be surprised how many requests I get for a peek of what’s inside my carry-on bag. At first I thought it was kind of creepy that y’all wanted to see pics of my dirty underwear, but as the requests kept pouring in I realized it was all about the gadgets and tools – and not the dirty underwear.

I recommend getting out pencil and a notepad before proceeding any further, because some of the things I’m about to show you have been total life savers for me while I’m out on the road doing the travel blogger grind. They might save your travel life as well!

What’s in my carry on bag? Lots of stuff actually.

Even though it may look like that I travel light, my bag is stuffed to the max nearly every trip. Because there’s so much stuff, the most organized way to see what’s in my bag is to examine it compartment-by-compartment. Don’t worry. I’ll spare you pics of my dirty underwear.

The bag itself

My carry on bag is a Swiss Gear TSA-friendly 15″ laptop compatible backpack, which I picked up from Amazon way back in 2019. It’s been a great carry on bag for me, and I can’t say enough good things about it. They don’t make that particular model anymore unfortunately – but they have updated it with something better:

My favorite so far

SwissGear ScanSmart Laptop Bag

• The TSA-friendly lay-flat / padded rear compartment is ideal for fitting my 16-inch MacBook Pro (and all it's accessories such as the power cord, charging brick, and wireless mouse).
• The multiple pockets are a lifesaver! I use the front pocket for charging cords, and the side pockets for things like GoPro cameras, camera batteries, and snacks.

Check Price on Amazon

Note: I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

I love how compact and versatile these Swiss Gear backpacks are! There’s tons of little pockets to store all the little gadgets that I’m about to show you.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that Swiss Gear doesn’t build a perfect carry on bag IMHO. My biggest complaint has been the obnoxious laptop strap in the rear compartment that was always getting in the way. I say “was” since I snipped it off with a pair of scissors after my second trip with it.

The front compartment

The front compartment of my carry on bag is by far the most important. It contains all of the chargers and cables I need for all of the devices I have stuffed elsewhere in the bag, plus a few extras.

I’ve been totally paranoid about carrying extra cables with me ever since losing my iPhone charger in JAL 737-800 business class a few years ago – and I never want to make that mistake ever again.

The contents of this compartment include:

• Two iPhone charging cables: As I already mentioned, I’m paranoid. One would do just fine but I’d feel naked and exposed without the second.
• One USB-C cable for charging my GoPro: One of these days I’ll learn my lesson (the hard way) and start carrying two of these.
• An all-in-one international electrical plug adapter (similar to this one on Amazon): Cheap, but it does the job.
• An Apple Watch charger cable: Can you tell that I’m an Apple fan boy yet?
• Two USB-A electrical outlet adapters: I can never have enough of these, especially with all the electronic gadgets I travel with.
• A Belkin USB-C to USB-A adapter: I use this for offloading iPhone pics to my laptop via one of the cables I mentioned above (any Apple laptop owner knows the struggle).
• An Uni Micro SD to USB-C adapter: Used to get footage off my GoPro and onto my laptop.

If you’re curious, the reason why I use the front compartment for all of these chargers and cables is because they are my most frequently used items during any point of my travels. I am always charging devices, whether it be in an airport or on an airplane, and I need really quick access to that stuff.

The side compartments

One of the really nice features about my Swiss Gear backpack is the fact that there are two small quick-access pouches on the sides. Although not quite deep enough for a bottle of water, they still do come in quite handy.

Contents of the left side container:

• A plastic bag that I use to put dirty clothes in as I travel: Not only does this keep the clean clothes separated from the dirty ones, it’s a very neat and organized way to remind myself which clothes I have worn already and which clothes that I haven’t.
• Pre-cut squares of double-stick tape: Because sometimes I need to stick my GoPro cameras to stuff in order to get the shot.

Contents of the right side container:

• My GoPro Hero 11: This is my primary travel camera, so I need a very quick access to it (you know, for things like loo reviews and stupid selfies).
• My old GoPro Hero 8: Because I’m clumsy as heck, and not having a backup camera would be irresponsible of me.
• Extra batteries and chargers for the GoPros: All of you GoPro owners out there know very well the necessity of having quick access to spare batteries. Filming everything at 4K/60fps (at a high bit rate with image stabilization pegged to the max) eats up batteries. Fast.

I should probably mention that I could easily get away with only one side container if I had to. As a matter of fact, I really wish the particular Swiss Gear bag I use had a dedicated water bottle holder in place of one of these side containers. However, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big of a deal. You’ll see why in a moment…

Contents of the three main compartments

My Swiss Gear backpack has three main compartments (not including the front compartment that I already told you about). I am a fairly organized person, and I always use each compartment for the same things on every trip.

I’m not all that free-spirited, and there is no freaking way that I could travel like Casey Neistat. Throwing all my stuff in a bag 10 minutes before leaving for the airport would stress me out to the max! I need to be well prepared and extremely organized.

1. Main compartment #1

This is the smallest compartment of the three, so I use it to hold a lot of my little gadgets and trinkets that I’d need fairly quick access to at any given time. It’s easily the most important compartment of the bag.

The specific contents of this compartment include:

• My passport
• My titanium Ridge wallet: Because it’s very small, compact, and stylish AF. 
• Global Entry card: So that I can use the short line at passport control when re-entering the US. It should be noted that I’m a really big fan of the Mobile Passport app as well.
• Priority Pass card: For lounge access in over 1200 airports worldwide
• My AirPods Pro ear buds: Which are amazing for traveling! BTW, did you read my post about how much I love the AirPods Pro for flying?
• AirFly Pro Bluetooth Transmitter / Receiver: This handy little gadget allows me to connect my AirPods to any in flight entertainment system on any airline.
• A pair of wired headphones: I use these to plug into video entertainment systems on airplanes
• An ink pen: Mostly used for filling out customs and immigration forms prior to landing in a new country
• My Space Black iPhone 14 Pro: Not only is it my main communication device, it’s what I record a vast majority of my video clips on.
• My old iPhone 11 Pro: it’s always good to bring along a backup phone, just in case!
• A lens cleaning cloth for my glasses: Because I’m a greasy mofo.
• An Anker 10000 Pro rechargeable power brick: It’s an amazing feeling knowing that I can charge my phone or GoPro at any place at any time. Talk about total freedom! I can get just over three full iPhone charges from this thing, which is amazing for its compact size.
• Etymotic Research ER20XS Ear plugs: I’m really picky about ear plugs (it’s my oddly-shaped ears I guess), and I’ve tried many. These Etymotic’s are the first pair that I’ve tried that not only block out lots of different kinds of sounds, but are comfortable enough to sleep with as well.
• My American Express Platinum Card: It’s the card I charge all my travel expenses to, mostly because I love earning 5X points for all air travel purchases.

If there is anything at all to take away from this “what’s in my carry on bag” list, it’s that this first compartment is the most important by far. It contains all the things vitally necessary for travel, and I keep it relatively simple because don’t want all my really important stuff mixed in with other less-used things (such as dirty underwear).

2. Main compartment #2

The middle compartment is the most boring and unflattering compartment of my carry-on bag. Yep, this is the compartment that holds all my dirty underwear. Well, technically it holds things like dirty underwear, socks, pajamas, and other light clothing such as T-shirts.

I keep light clothing in this compartment for two reasons:

1. It’s not as large as the rear compartment (which I’ll get to in a moment).
2. There is also a zippered pocket in this part of the bag where I keep all my toiletries. Things like soaps, lotions, and general grooming tools that (when added all up) take up a lot of space. It’s difficult to cram in a lot of bulky clothing in there as well.

Although this is the most unexciting part in the “what’s in my bag” post, there are several items in here that you might be interested in:

• Wrinkle-free travel clothes: Since it’s a very small compartment, I need to wad up some of my clothing in here into the smallest bottle possible (without fear of looking like a bum later). 
• Toiletries – including business class toothbrushes and toothpaste: One of the benefits of flying international business class every now and then is that I never have to worry about buying travel toothbrushes and toothpaste. The little zippered compartment in this section of my bag is filled with tiny containers of toothpaste that I have collected from my travels all over the world. And you know what? Toothpaste really *is* the same wherever you go.
• Zojirushi refillable aluminum water bottle: Since there’s no dedicated compartment on the outside of my bag for water bottles, I keep my aluminum refillable water bottle in this section of the bag. I usually keep it as near to the edge/zipper as possible for easy reach.
• Plastic containers for soaps / lotions: I’m really picky about things like face soap and sunscreen, so I have a collection of little plastic containers (various sizes) that I fill with that stuff. Nothing fancy.
• Samsonite money belt: Call me paranoid, but I never explore a city without my passport (and at least one credit card) strapped to my sweaty belly.

3. Main compartment #3

This is the largest compartment in my bag, and the one where I keep my bulkiest and most expensive stuff.

• 16” MacBook Pro: Yeah, I’m still rockin’ an old Intel-based MacBook Pro from 2019. Maybe I’ll have the courage to upgrade it before the next time I update this post…
• MacBook Pro charging block and cable: A necessary evil for the power-hungry laptop.
• Bulky clothes such as jeans and sweatshirts: I will say that clothes that end up in this compartment usually require ironing before wearing, since the amount of cramming and shoving I have to do in order to get that stuff in there easily qualifies as “aggressive”. 
• Apple Magic Mouse: Simply because there ain’t no way I can edit video without a mouse.

A few final words about my carry on bag (and the contents of it)

I pride myself in never having to check a bag whenever I fly. Of course I’m forced into it sometimes, and I’m cool with that, but I like the idea of having everything I need right at my feet (under the seat in front of me) on a flight.

My carry on bag holds a weeks worth of travel gear – plus all the clothes I’ll need along the way. The best part? It does it in a compact enough way to fit under the seat of nearly any commercial airliner (even tiny regional jets). Consider me satisfied!