My Must Have | Q3 2024

By Carolyn Luther, D.V.M. – AAIV At Large Director

Things I can’t live without when I travel, Part 1: Personal care and travel items

I have been working in animal health for 12 years now, and some of these items have been with me almost as long!  The biggest ”lifestyle” recommendation I have is to keep a carry-on suitcase that has everything you need for travel in it all the time, and then you only have to add clothes for each trip.

Separate bathroom case and smaller bedside stuff case (including emergency meds) that live in my suitcase. My old ones (farewell ebags brand) aren’t around but these styles have worked well for many years for me.

Even though I do collect conditioner bottles from hotels, I gave into the hype and do prefer the  HumanGear GoToob’s – easy to refill, no leaks in 5-7 years of use – and color coded.

Neck pillow – hangs on outside of suitcase so I don’t leave behind – I mainly actually use it as a lumbar support.  For frequent long flights or when stuck with a middle seat, I love the trtl!  It props your head up so you can completely sleep and relax your neck without falling over – it is surprisingly effective – but a splurge item.

Mini garment bag insert: Mine came with an old suitcase, and you can just use a dry cleaning bag too, though mine has a padded piece in the middle to decrease wrinkles where you fold, and an extension longer than this picture –the important thing is that it safely folds up a suit jacket or dress clothes into my suitcase to control wrinkles.

(If you have to travel with suits for your meetings, consider a wheeled garment bag, I can get everything I need in it – tightly – however the wide side wheel design means you can’t wheel it down the aisle inside the plane and mine when loaded was heavy).

Away bag:  I polled my friends on Facebook, and the Away brand won.  I do think it is better than my old TJ Maxx one – better wheels, less lost space, reliable zippers, handle long enough for my height, and since I switched to hard side I won’t go back – last week it weighed in loaded at 34lbs. My referral code for a $40 off: https://referrals.awaytravel.com/away732248 I got the “Bigger Carry On” and have been able to carry on all flights so far.

Sleep Mask:  My most recent addition comes from a discussion at a bar waiting for a train about what a terrible sleeper I am.  I never thought a sleep mask would be something I would want but now I use it every day at home and when traveling (in strange places I like to have a nightlight so I don’t wake up disoriented, this lets me have that and yet sleep in total darkness).  My advice is to order a few from Amazon and see what works best for you. This is the one that fellow traveler recommended: Drowsy brand Silk mask. This is the one that I kept of the 5 I tested (doesn’t touch lashes, doesn’t grab hair, comfy for sleeping on side, light weight, no marks on face in am).

Do you have a “must have?” If so, we would love to hear about it! Email us at industryvets@gmail.com.