Heading on a boys weekend and looking for essential travel items for guys? You’re in the right place. Whether you’re going on a trip away with a partner or heading to your best friend’s wedding, either way you’re going to need to pack a bag, and inside that bag should be a few key items that make your trip easier… let’s have a look at those little lifesavers that will make your trip a breeze.
1. Luggage
Now, depending on the trip you’re making, you’ll need a different type of bag for each holiday. Lad’s weekend? Rucksack. Minibreak with the other half? Suitcase or a Garment Carrier. Trek to parents? Big suitcase with plenty of room for washing to be done, and leftovers to be brought back. To cover all the eventualities, a sturdy weekend bag will be a good shout in any of these situations, and as a bonus, it doesn’t take up that much room either when you’re back home.
2. Garment carrier
Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘I’ll chuck my suit in my suitcase, that’s why they’re called suitcases duh! Hang it up in the bathroom, steam the creases out, job done’. Your suit will look like scrunched up tinfoil if you take this approach, ruining the photos and upsetting your Mum (very important not to do this!) A good garment carrier will make your life easier, preserve the sharpness of your suit, and make you feel like Tom Hardy on the red carpet.
3. Sun Protection
It’s the big one gents, you need to protect your skin from overexposure to the sun, even on snow holidays. Eight hours on your board coming down the side of a mountain in France is going to leave you more roasted than the lad who forgot his girlfriend’s name in front of her parents. A decent, all-round sun cream will have an SPF (sun protection factor) of thirty, and protect against both UVA and UVB rays.
A good sunscreen will not be easily rubbed/washed off, and should also have an expiry date. Make sure you check this between your annual holidays as you could have very out of date sunscreen! For snow holidays you can also use a chapstick with an SPF, to stop your lips becoming chapped and sunburnt (an oxymoron!) whilst you’re out having fun.
Of course, the usual slip-slap-slop rules apply for sun holidays: slip on a t-shirt, slap on a hat and slop on your sunscreen. Defence is the best form of attack when it comes to sun related skin problems, so make sure you stay hydrated, well sunscreen’d and try and stay out of the sun when that burning ball of gas is at its highest point in the day, between 11am and 1pm. As the days become longer, this period will also be longer so beware!
4. Personal Grooming
Do not make the same mistake countless men have made- your shower gel will not be okay just floating around your suitcase. It will end up cracked when you’ve thrown your case into the boot/into the luggage rack/sat on it waiting for a delayed flight, and you will end up with acid green shower gel all over your sexy white shirts.
What you need is a hanging toiletries holder. Much like a garment carrier, it unfolds, has a variety of pockets, pouches and compartments for all your items and it will hang on the back of the bathroom door for the entirety of your trip. Handy! You can also count on it to be waterproof, and somewhat shockproof, as the bag itself works as a wrap, so it will protect whatever is inside, meaning you can take it into communal showers and swimming pools etc, and kick/drop/squash it til your heart’s content! As a relatively inexpensive item, this is one of the best travel essentials for guys that you need for the added peace of mind.
5. Snacks and Entertainment
This is one of those travel items for guys that you definitely don’t want to forget! Pretty much any trip away, no matter how you’re travelling, will require some snacks and entertainment for the journey. Short trips may only require a bag of sweets or a tube of Pringles and the radio, but an eight-hour road trip with your three closest friends is only going to get better with a carefully orchestrated playlist and picnic bag to boot. Think about your taste in music, your memories, your shared experiences. That’s the music taken care of already! Plan for games such as snog marry cruise and the old classroom favourite, fizzbuzz. Anything is better than hours of silence or I Spy. Tell stories, recount memories and the passengers can use their phones to look things up when arguments start to form.
As for the snacks, it’s important to stay hydrated, and work to the taste of the group. Sweets, crisps, anything savoury in miniature form, chocolate, raspberries? It should be small enough to manage in one bite, and not need any sort of cutlery or clean up after. Smelly foods should be avoided, for fear your trip mates will get a bit mad at the stench in a small car. Have fun with it!
So there you have it lads, the five most essential travel items for guys, suitable for any trip away. Find an excuse, gather your nearest and dearest, find a cheap flight and you’re away before you know it. Best to get planning for the next trip, there’s a lot to consider (mainly the snacks!)
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