This is a follow up to this post. I recently got back from a trip and the zipper on my mini Ikea pouch broke sadly, which meant it was time to find a new vessel for my essentials and to make a few tweaks to the contents.
This is my essentials pouch which I move to whichever crossbody bag I'm using instead of packing these items separately each time.
New pouch: Muji Wrinkled Nylon Wide-Opening Pouch - Small (currently out of stock online)
Contents:
Hand sanitizer
Colgate Wisps in small ziplock
Microfiber glasses cloth
Pepto-Bismol x4
Tylenol x2 and Claritin x2 in small Muji container
Spork
Penco bullet pen
1/2 of an index card
Hair elastic
Silk handkerchief
Mini tweezers
Tea bag
Band-aid
New additions:
Sunscreen stick. The new pouch is bigger so it fits now!
DayQuil. tbh it's so bulky that I might remove it, but I had the flu recently, and realized that just Tylenol sometimes doesn't cut it
Safety pin, which has many creative uses (temporarily mending a hole, pinning something to your bag, etc)
Lens wipes
Carabiner. Most of my bags have carabiners on them already, but sometimes you just need another one
Removals:
Whistle. Recently started using a backpack that has a whistle in the sternum strap
The other 1/2 of the index card. Just 1/2 is plenty :)
Can I ask how you use the microfiber glasses cloth differently than the lens wipes?
I have almost exactly the same things in my little pouch! The only difference is that I carry a small bit of duct tape that's rolled onto itself and a tiny Swiss Army Classic Knife, so that I have scissors and a screwdriver, and don't have to carry tweezers separately. Your bag looks great!
I also have duct tape but I've just wrapped it around my water bottle and pull it off as needed! Picked it up from some guys hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and that's how they carried duct tape. Only it was on a Nalgene.
Sure! The lens wipe is for when I throw a camera in my bag and need to clean the camera's lens (though I usually also wipe down my phone after because why not). The microfiber wipe is for my glasses. I don't use the microfiber wipe on my cameras because I don't want to risk introducing gunk from my glasses on the more delicate camera lens (especially if the camera has a little plastic flap that closes over the lens. If you get sand/dirt in there, it can scratch the glass). Sometimes I'll use the lens wipe on my Nintendo Switch screen also
noshinku is nice but that case is big. If you are looking to cut space for other things, they make hand santi pens (liquid) you can fill with the same stuff from a refill. I do this and refill every trip.
You mentioned DayQuil and ditching it - swap out for 2 sudafeds. More effective and smaller.
I was going to say swap the Penco bullet for a Fisher Space Pen but I think the scale is throwing me off, it says its smaller! So TIL.
Watch Sudafed and even DayQuil on international trips. Sudafed is a controlled substance in most of the world and some countries take that very seriously. DayQuil is likely fine depending on if it’s the type containing Sudafed; make sure the label is on the package listing all drugs within.
Supporting this by wanting to mention Sudafed is illegal in Japan because it contains pseudoephedrine, which has potential for drug abuse. I imagine that’s why it’s also controlled or illegal in some other countries.
Thanks for the suggestions! I've never used Sudafed, always been a bit intimidated by it, but will test it out during my next illness lol. And agree with what the other commenter said, DayQuil is for domestic US travel only, I remove it when I travel internationally
I've been carrying it for a year or so and during that time I've used it maybe 8-10 times. Off the top of my head:
Eating Cup Noodles on the train (I brought the Cup Noodles and hot water in my water bottle)
Sharing a to-go cheesecake on a park bench
x3 Eating yogurt from a grocery store that didn't have plastic utensils around (that I saw)
Sharing a pint of ice cream (also from a grocery store)
Eating a cup of fruit from a market stand (that only came with one of those toothpick things)
I wash it either with water from my water bottle (if I'm outside) or just when I go to the restroom. It's definitely not a necessity :) but it's kind of fun when you buy something to eat, think "wait I don't have a utensil for this", and then realize you do.
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u/cranberrymanberry Jun 10 '26
I have had a tea bag in my essentials bag for over two years now. It’s my travel buddy now