The Art, and Technology, of Packing
This column is about technology but it's also about innovation: How do we do things and can we do them better? This week's technology is simple enough -- a bag -- but it's more about new ways of using the bag. It's called packing. Or more specifically, modular packing .
I'm a journalist. I don't travel as much as I used to but I do travel. I've learned a few tricks over the years. And what has struck me is how, on the surface, not much has changed in thousands of years. Early business travelers would grab their stuff -- a spare bearskin, a backup club, a few flints -- and throw it into some sort of primeval pouch, hitch it over their shoulder and hurry after migrating mammoth prey, who were already pulling out of the terminal gate. (OK, I didn't do much research for this bit.)
Nowadays (which I have researched extensively), things aren't much different. We leave everything to the last minute, throw it into a bag, sit on it while getting the spouse to call a cab. Sure, our wheeled carry-on may look more sophisticated, but the technology is basically the same as that used by our hirsute forebears: A container, all our stuff, a mad rush and a mess.
So how can we do it differently? To me the big innovation in packing is the module. The thinking is simple: Why collect all the individual things we are going to take with us on our trip and then lump it together? Most of us, if the flight is not actually about to depart, make little piles of our underpants, socks, shirts, etc on our bed before cramming them into the suitcase, hoping they fit, squeezing a sock-ball here, a handkerchief there. At the other end, we throw the case on the bed, rummage around inside, with shirts, vests, scarves and boots flying everywhere in a sort of reverse action replay. It's horrible, and if we then have to move room, hotel, or continent again on the trip chances are not a single item of clothing looks anything like when we bought it.
Packing Awareness
So technology's answer to this problem is: Stay at home. Let someone else do the trip. No, actually, it's modular packing , sometimes called packing cubes. It's simple enough: Instead of throwing everything into one bag, you put them into smaller sub-bags, which then go into the big bag. So the big bag, instead of being a pile of sundry items in varying degrees of crumplitude, is a neat collection of different size sub-bags, or modules.
This may not sound like much of an innovation, and some of you may do this already (in which case I'm sure I'll hear your strong views on the subject at some point), but extensive scientific research of my friends in the pub revealed a very low level of modular packing awareness. Even many campers don't seem to do this kind of thing to the extent I imagined, unless I happen to have some really hopeless camping friends. Which could be the case.
Modules simplify things immensely. But it's not just about the modules, it's about how they're designed and how you use them. The modules have a zip-around top, usually webbed so you can see what's inside. They come in different sizes and shapes. UK-based Lifeventure (
www.lifeventure.co.uk) offer what they call "packable mesh cubes" (I can't see me calling them that halfway up a mountain either), while California-based Eagle Creek (eaglecreek.com) sell the Pack-It Cube (slightly better name) and have recently introduced a new range with padded sides, so they keep their shape better and don't squash the contents too much.
Then it's up to how you use them. The best way to pack most kinds of clothes is to roll them, rather than fold them. Roll up a T-shirt and you'll find it's much less creased when you pull it out. Rolling also makes them easier to pack in a cube. Underpants, socks and smaller items can be folded over before being rolled into little balls. Eagle Creek does a series of special shirt and pants containers, where, if you follow their folding instructions to the letter, you end up with clothing that survives a long trip in surprisingly good condition. For geeks, Eagle Creek makes some nice padded bags that are great for stuffing all the digital detritus you may bring with you but don't want to put in your laptop bag. (More on what gadgets to take with you and how to pack them in an upcoming "Loose Wire" column.)
Respectful Security
One of the great things about packing cubes is that you can then unpack without really unpacking. Pull out the cubes from the big case, throw them in a drawer and you're unpacked. Or, if you're short of space, leave them in the case. If you need to get something out while you're on the road, in the hotel lobby or on the airport runway, you won't have to pull everything out. Also, I've noticed that airport security see your baggage and tend to be more respectful, since unmatched panties and bras don't spring out immediately when the case is opened and land on their head.
An innovation I've developed myself (I call it the VariCube) is to avoid the logical choice of putting all your undershirts in one cube, your socks in another. That's fine for a short trip. But if you're going to be moving from place to place, it makes better sense to divide the trip into segments, clothes-wise. Each sub-bag, then, contains enough clothes for each part of the trip, so you only need to open one cube at a time.
Modular packing is a great innovation and I've tried to convert everyone I know. Including you, now that you've read this. There are side-effects, however. One is appalling smugness. Another is that I'm so mobile I tend to change hotels, or hotel rooms, at the drop of a hat. If I don't like the view, the carpet or the way they folded the toilet paper, I'm out of there, knowing I can throw my cubes into a case in a second. It's empowering, but can be somewhat irritating for any anyone traveling with me. Unless they're fellow packing cuboids themselves, in which case they're probably already checked out and waiting in the cab, the engine running 打包的艺术和学问
这个专栏的主题是科技，但也包括创新：我们怎么做事，如何才能做得更好？本周要谈论的科技很简单－－一只旅行袋－－但它更多地是关于使用旅行袋的新方法。这被称为打包。或者更具体一些，即模块打包 (modular packing) 。
我是一名记者。我现在旅行不如以往那么频繁，但我也确实旅行。几年来，我学会了一些技巧。而令我惊讶的是，表面上看，几千年来并没有太大的变化。早期的商务旅行人士通常抓起东西－－一张备穿熊皮、一根备用棍棒，几块燧石－－扔到某种原始的袋子里，然后扛在肩上，便匆匆出发了。（好吧，我承认我在这方面没做过多少研究。）
如今（我已经对此进行广泛的研究），情况并没有多少不同。我们将所有的事情留在最后一分钟，把东西扔进旅行袋，然后坐在上面，让伴侣去叫出租车。当然，我们使用的有轮子的行李箱可能看起来更加复杂了，但其中的技术同我们未进化好的祖先使用的技术差不多：一个收纳物品的东西，所有的行李，一阵疯跑和一团糟。
那么，我们怎样才能有所不同呢？对我来说，打包最大的创新是模块。其中的思路很简单：为什么要把我们打算带上的所有零零碎碎的东西混在一起呢？我们中的多数人，如果航班实际上还没有起飞，都会把内裤、袜子、衬衣等等一小堆一小堆地放在床上，然后把它们塞进行李箱，希望位置正好合适，然后还在这儿塞一只袜子球，在那儿塞一块手帕。另一方面，如果把上述画面倒过来重放的话，就是这样一幅场景：我们把行李箱扔在床上，然后在里面翻来倒去，搞得衬衣、汗衫、围巾和靴子到处都是。 这太可怕了，而如果随后我们不得不在旅行途中换房间、酒店或者到另一个大陆去，最可能出现的情形是行李箱已经变得面目全非了。
因此，解决这个问题的技术是：呆在家里。让别人去旅行。实际上不是这样，答案是模块打包，有时候也叫打包袋 (packing cubes) 。这很简单：把行李放进小袋子里，然后把小袋子放进大箱子里，而不是把所有东西都扔进一个行李箱。 因此大箱子就是不同大小的袋子、也就是模块的整齐组合，而不是一堆受到不同程度挤压的杂七杂八东西的堆积。
这听上去不大像是创新，你们当中一些人可能已经这样做了（若果真如此，我敢说你们在这方面会有相当有力的说辞），但我对酒吧里一些朋友所作的广泛科学研究表明，人们对模块打包的认知度很低。甚至许多露营者似乎也没有做到我想像的那种程度，除非我碰巧有一些真是无可救药的露营朋友。那倒也有可能。
模块让事情大大简化。但这不紧紧是模块的问题，还涉及它们被如何设计以及你怎样利用它们。这些模块周围带有拉链，通常做成网状，因此你可以看见里面的东西。它们的大小和形状各异。总部位于英国的 Lifeventure (
www.lifeventure.co.uk) 提供一种他们称之为“可折叠网状袋” ('packable mesh cubes') 的产品。而加利福尼亚州的 Eagle Creek (eaglecreek.com) 出售打包袋 (Pack-It Cube) （稍好一点的名字），最近推出了一种边上带有衬垫的新系列，这样可以使袋子保持更好的形状，也不会对里面的东西形成过度挤压。
然后就取决于你怎么利用它们了。对多数衣服进行装箱的最好方法就是把它们卷起来。你会发现把一件 T 恤衫卷起来后再平展开，上面的褶皱要少得多。卷也使装进可折叠袋要容易一些。内裤、袜子和小一点的东西可以先折叠再卷成小球。 Eagle Creek 生产一系列特殊的衬衣和裤子的收纳产品，如果你按照它们的折叠指示来做，最后你会发现衣服在经历长途旅行后的状况要出人意料地完好。针对那些怪人， Eagle Creek 还生产一些很好的带有衬垫的袋子，非常适合你可能随身携带但不想装进自己的笔记本电脑包的数码玩意儿。
可折叠袋的一个优点是，你可以接著打开行李，而不需要在真正意义上打开行李。把可折叠袋从大箱子里拉出来，扔到抽屉内，你就已经取出行李了。或者说，如果你没有什么空间，就把它们留在行李箱里面好了。如果你需要在路上、酒店大堂内或者机场跑道上拿出一些东西，你不必把所有的东西都取出来。此外，我发现机场安检在察看你的行李时，通常都表现得更加尊重，因为在行李箱打开时，不搭配的内裤和胸罩不会跳出来飞到他们的头上。
我自己发明的一种创新技术（我称之为 VariCube ）是旨在避免将所有内衣装进一个可折叠袋内，而所有袜子装在另一个可折叠袋内这样合乎逻辑的选择。这样做，对短途旅行没什么问题。但如果你要不停地从一个地方飞到另一个地方，那么按照衣服将整个旅程分成几个阶段则更加明智。于是，每一个小袋子装上每一段旅程所需的足够的衣服。因此，你只需一次打开一个袋子。
模块打包是一项伟大的创新，我已经试著让我所认识的每一个人都尝试这种技巧。包括你，既然你已经阅读了我的文章。不过，它也有副作用。一是装模作样到极点。二是既然我这么轻便，那我可以随时换酒店、换客房。如果我不喜欢窗外的景致、客房的地毯或者他们折叠纸巾的方式，我知道自己可以在一秒钟内把打包袋扔进箱子。这样做很有威严，但对于任何跟我一起旅行的人来说则有些让人恼火。除非他们自己也是打包袋能手，这样的话，他们可能已经退房并在出租车里等著我呢。
