Smartwools are the best! Really worth the investment. Especially the ones with extra padding on the bottom- it feels like you're walking on clouds.

Aaaaahhh, packing cubes! I resisted them for so long thinking they were ridiculous, superfluous items. Instead they are magic, wondrous things that keep you organized at your destination and somehow cause your suitcase to hold twice as much as it did before. Love, love, love.

Amen to the National Parks pass! We get one every year.

I really have to question the price of the GoToobs. What makes them so expensive for five little bottles?!? Does anyone know the reason?

I had a GoToob - it leaked a bit on me...so I wasn't impressed. Give me a screwtop travel bottle...

Love packing cubes. To use them is to love them.

I think Smartwool socks aren't as good as they used to be. Goodhew is my new favorite brand and they are made in the USA.

everythingistaken, I used the GoToobs recently on a trip, and they are fantastic. They don't leak, and there's a little thing you can turn so you can tell if it's soap, shampoo, or whatever inside.

I have no idea why the ones listed here are crazy expensive! I bought the 3-pack for $20 at Bushtukah in Ottawa, and I see that you can even buy those on Amazon. Bizarre

Packing cubes are amazing. They help save a ton of space, plus help keeps things organized and easy to find. I found when hopping on and off trains and running through airports, the best travel bag is a hiking backpack. Packing cubes helped organize the mess that is generally the inside of a backpack. Also, they work great saving space when traveling with my family. My wife and I are typically able to share a suitcase.

for travel shampoo bottles and tubes Muji is much cheaper and unbeatable, the make lots of sizes and shapes
http://www.muji.us/store/travel/packing.html

I've had a bad experience with GoToob as well. It's hard to get the product out of the bottle sometimes, the lids come unscrewed easily, and the products inside get dried out really quickly for some reason!

I have the chicobag daypack, and while I do love it, what I like even better is their messenger bag. When I'm traveling, I have a backpack (carry-on) and a tote bag with stuff I need on the plane. But after I arrive at my destination, I just want a shoulder bag. The messenger bag works really well, and like all the other chico products, packs down into almost nothing, and is easy to wear as a cross-body bag.

So glad to see the National Parks pass made the list. Note that seniors can get a lifetime pass for something like $15, and that one pass gets an entire car's worth of people in--so get one for Grandma or Grandpa, and plan a family trip to the Grand Canyon!

As a veteran traveller, I don't see much here that I don't already have or that I would necessarily want. After hundreds of overseas trips I finally broke down and bought myself a nice leather passport case. How about luggage tags that don't get torn off your suitcase? How about the lightest-weight foldable umbrella you can find? And best of all for the traveller, how about an e-reader? Now those are gifts I would love to travel with.

Packing cubes are must-haves, a National Park pass is a great idea, and anything from Smart Wool is a wise purchase. Their clothing, socks and underwear wash well in hotel sinks and dry quickly.

I second the suggestions about rugged luggage tags and really good collapsable umbrellas.

One thing I like about the GoToob is that the wide-mouth opening makes it simple to clean out the tube and also to add more product. I haven't had the problems others mentioned, and especially like the opening.

I cannot speak highly enough for the Bose headphones. They are absolutely amazing. I will never travel again without them. I had a crying baby screaming behind me on a 6 hour red eye flight home after a long time away. Popped the headphones on flipped the switch and slept wonderfully. My poor traveling companion was instantly jealous. They are god's gift to airline travelers!

Traveled Rick Steves style for weeks in Europe so instead of a week's worth of socks, I brought two pairs of Smartwool. And that's all I needed! Washed in the sink every other night and ready to go the next day.

Noti pressed. Where are the ex-officio travel undies and the ultralight packing cubes? Muji's squeeze tubes release too much product - I am going back to a mix of generics..

A pretty good list. I have used smartwool products to travel for several years, Wool is great for travel....breathes, does no absorb moisture like cotton and is easily washable. I also use ex-officio underwear, though I like the smartwool better, the ex officio are less expensive and dry quicker if you have to wash them.

Buy the Bose headphones or Sony noise canceling. They really help on long flights. They do not work miracles, but they do eliminate that engine and air drone.

I have used the GoToobs, but only for dry storage...so I do not know about the leaks.

Packing cubes are the best. They keep everything organized at every stop.

I also bring my own Coolmax blanket...the airlines have the incredible shrinking blankets...in most cases, I would bring a pillow as well....worth it to be able to stuff the airline version onto the sidearm so you do not go numb on the rock hard armrests in coach!

@Taureg--would you really give someone travel undies as a present? I suppose we run in different circles...

My favorite toiletry bottles are wide-mouthed 1-3 oz containers. Didn't like Go Tubes' due to difficulty getting a good squirt out of bottle or remnants out at the end.

The steri-pen is not reliable. We paid $$$$ for one several years ago and it worked beautifully for one trip to Guatemala and then broke-- iodine tablets will ALWAYS work and are much less expensive.

I agree with the e-reader-- a Kindle is my favorite travel item for the plane and after arrival.

We always travel with a small cork screw because in some countries they can be hard to come by in the smaller hotels--

Got back last night from a month in England. I travel to Europe frequently and have done so for years. I've tried most travel stuff and find it's mostly not worth it. Don't like Packing Cubes. I find Headphones too bulky to be worth it (I use good in-ear headphones).

GoToobs, though.... I'm always attracted by things like the GoToobs, but they are messy to fill and hard to clean etc. I find it's much better to buy travel sizes of good products. I don't buy drugstore brands. If you want to give someone a special travel present, look at the luxury brands for travel sizes. Aveda and Thymes make travel sizes, Chanel sometimes has them. Sephora is a place to look for small samples of skin care products. Then, of course, there are the samples you get during special promotions from Department store brands.

What I find completely indispensable is my Kindle.

Plus, I've been using a Grid-it, for chargers, plugs etc. and it has been working well.
http://www.amazon.com/Cocoon-CPG10BK-GRID-IT-Organizer-Black/dp/B002HU27UW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354718903&sr=8-1&keywords=grid+it

May I suggest luggage locks? I feel like an idiot for losing them all the time! Even if I have enough locks right now, I'll lose or damage 2 locks per year.

You know what I really want as a frequent traveller? Piggyback straps! The straps that allow me to piggyback all 3 of my suitcases in a cascaded manner, so that I can pull them all with just one hand.

I own a pair of the Bower and Wilkins P5 headphones. They're one step above the P3 and worth EVERY penny. By far the best headphones i've ever owned and with a beautiful design to top it off.

This belt bag will be perfect to travel with only my wallet, Moleskine and my ipod.
http://somostienda.com/products/bags/beltbag

$110 for a belt bag. Now, I REALLY need that trust fund... :D

I have to weigh in against the GoToobs--I was mesmerized with them and wanted so badly for them to be awesome but they are NOT. I took them on a couple of trips of varying difficulty--tropical vacation and hardcore wilderness canoe trip--they leak, they're messy to clean up, and I ended up having to quarantine them in a ziploc just so they would ruin anything on the way home. The thing that makes them so appealing--the soft-sided, easy-squeeze factor, is exactly what makes them pretty useless, in my opinion. I am going back to Nalgene mini-bottles--they're super-cheap and you can find them at Gander Mountain or basically any outdoor store. They do not leak.

http://www.tombihn.com/SFNT.html

Luggage I couldn't live without? My Tom Bihn Aeronaut. It's incredible. I found this on my quest to become a one bag traveler. This bag has made it so easy! Durable and quality that you can see and feel.

As an added plus, this company's Customer Service is truly wonderful! I know this bag will last me the rest of my life(and I'm only 23!)!!