January 27, 2023

The Ultimate Hawaii Packing List: Preparing for your Trip to the Aloha State

5 comments
Model wearing PCSB looks out at the Hawaiian landscape

Are you jetting off to Hawaii soon?

Lucky you!

With its beautiful beaches, lush rainforests, and warm climate; Hawaii is the perfect destination for a dream vacation. Before you go, it’s important to make sure you have the right items packed so you can make the most of your time in the Aloha state.

Our photographer showed us how he packs his Techonaut 45 for a 10-day trip to Hawaii. The packing list below includes all of your tropical paradise essentials as well as some useful packing tips to make the most out of your bag.

Model packs Techonaut 45 into the back of a car

Bags We're Bringing:

Techonaut 45 - With its suspended laptop compartment, three carry methods, and wide u-shaped main compartment (perfect for packing) this is our travel bag of choice.

Packing Cube Shoulder Bag - Our PCSB is useful for dual purposes; it can help us keep our items organized during our travels to Hawaii and then serve as a daypack once we arrive.

Other Packing Cubes - Packing cubes are a great way to maximize your packing space when you're traveling. We’re using a Vertical Packing Cubelet and assorted packing cubes here.

Small Travel Tray - Perfect for storing miscellaneous items before, during, and after our trip.

Ghost Whale Pouches - Organizing pouches work similarly to packing cubes, but on a much smaller scale. They're great for keeping track of small items! We've used sizes Small and A5.

Le Grand Derriere (Retired) - Used as a beefier version of our Packing Cube Shoulder Bag.

What We're Packing:

Clothing:

Toiletries:

Accessories:

Electronics and Tech:

How We're Packing:

Inside the LGD (Retired): Camera gear + Canon R6 (including battery + strap)

A5 Ghost Whale Pouch - 7 underwear, 3 pairs of socks

Small Ghost Whale Pouch (Mesh) - Portable battery pack + cord, pens

Small Travel Tray - Charging cables/dongles

Western Flyer Packing Cube - Tanks, t-shirts, shorts, swim trunks

T45 Packing Cube - Henley Shirt, Hawaiian shirt, long sleeve button down, dress pants

Vertical Packing Cubelet - Sunscreens, soap, floss, toothpaste, toothbrush, clothesline, medicine, moisturizer

Packing Cube Shoulder Bag - Hiking shoes, beach slides

Techonaut 45 - organizational bags, Nik's Minimalist Wallet (includes, cash, cards, and ID), sunglasses, hat, 18oz water bottle, rain jacket, iPhone, Airpods, and 16 in Apple MacBook Pro

 

Packing in Action:

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A post shared by TOM BIHN (@tombihn)

 

Packing for your next trip can be both thrilling and overwhelming, but with a bit of preparation (and practice), you can make it a breeze! That way, you can spend more time enjoying your travels and taking in the stunning sights of Hawaii.

You can also find all these bags in our Travel Collection.

5 comments

Robert - March 17, 2023

Don’t bother packing a raincoat: Hawaii is so warm and humid that if it rains you should just get wet. A waterproof bag can be helpful though :)

Alex - February 15, 2023

Have the dimensions changed on the small ghost whale pouch? That thing seemed huge and could fit a portable charger, whereas mine seems to be only able to handle mini-screwdrivers in my toolbox (or pens/pencils for most folks, presumably).

Either way, loved the video!
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TOM BIHN replied:
Hi Alex! Good question! We haven’t changed the dimensions of the Ghost Whale Pouches, so it could be down to the materials used. The Small Ghost Whale Pouch used in this case was a Mesh version, which has a lot more flexibility than the Ballistic or Cordura versions.

Shep - February 3, 2023

PCSB and A5 GW are definitely preferable to bulkier packing cubes – especially those without compression. That said, I find the Daylight Backpack to be a more versatile yet packable bag than the PCSB (I use the old school version without the bulkier, padded straps). My DLBP is most often a “packing cube” for pants and shorts, which I stuff into my T45 first before packing things on top of it. I still often bring the PCSB since I like to have options, but the faithful DLBP has been through sun, sand, rain, boating, dune buggies, etc., etc. and still looks great and has yet to let me down.

Mahina - February 1, 2023

Be sure to bring a tote bag or two for any type of shopping.
Hawaii vendors of all types (from Macy’s to Walmart to grocery stores) can’t give bags, you have to buy one or bring your own.
TB Swift, Truck, Shop Bags or even Daylight Backpack will also be ideal tote or beach bags!
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TOM BIHN replied:
Thanks for that suggestion! :) Can’t forget the souvenirs!

G42 - January 27, 2023

What a cool pack out; it would never occur to me to use an A5 Ghost Whale for clothes!
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TOM BIHN replied:
A new learning for us as well!

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We're the TOM BIHN crew: we design bags, make bags, ship bags, and answer questions about bags. Oh, and we collaborate on blog posts, too.