The Secret Piece of Carry-On Luggage That’s Disguised As a Travel Accessory

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If you ask airline passengers what their biggest pet peeves are, no doubt one of them will be paying for baggage. A big reason why is that checking bags used to be free on all major airlines. According to Vox, “For decades, it was free on major airlines to check at least one bag (some discount airlines got a head start on charging). But in 2008, amid rising fuel prices and economic turmoil, that started to charge. Airlines such as American and United began tacking on a $15 charge to get your bag checked to your destination.” Nowadays, low-fare carriers have even started charging for use of the overhead bin space. RELATED: Don’t Fly Frontier Airlines Unless You Know This

Before I had kids, I rarely checked bags, even when I went on month-long, round-the-world trips.. I’ve written this many times before but not checking bags makes travel so much more pleasurable. You don’t have to show up to the airport even earlier to check a bag and wait in a long line to do so. You won’t have to worry about the airline losing your bag or someone stealing stuff out of it. There’s no waiting around for what feels like an eternity at the baggage carousel, hoping your bag made it. Plus, with carry-on only, it’s much easier and cheaper to take public transportation to get around. And let’s not forget, that if your flight is delayed or cancelled, it’s much easier to jump on an earlier or different flight if you didn’t check a bag.

All of these reasons are why I often wear a Scottevest jacket when I fly. There are many different styles but mine has 19+ pockets that keep my valuables safe. It allows me to put so much stuff in the pockets, even my laptop in the inside pocket. If an airline weighs your carry-on and deems it too heavy, you can take stuff out and easily fit it inside your Scottevest jacket. It’s a genius jacket.

Well, here’s another option. A mom from Missouri has created a neck pillow that doubles as an extra piece of luggage. I’ve written about this hack before as a way to save money on baggage fees but there’s another product on the market that travelers may want to know about.

Amber Waldeier has created Zipplicity, neck pillows that secretly acts like a piece of carry-on luggage. On the website, they describe it as “a suitcase disguised as a neck pillow.”

The concept is pretty straightforward. To make the most of the real estate inside the neck pillow, the company recommends packing it like this:

-Roll articles of clothing.
-Insert largest items into sides.
-Smallest items at bend of U.
-Medium-sized items at neck.
-Choose items to suit your desired density.
-Toiletries & firm items can be rolled inside soft items.

It’s designed to hold about 5lbs of weight, distributed throughout the pillow and they say that the largest phone currently on the market can fit into the external pocket.

So, the next time you’re traveling and need just a little more room to pack a few more essentials, this packable neck pillow will have you covered. It also makes a great gift for the holidays and with Amazon Prime shipping, there’s still plenty of time to order and get it before Christmas. Buy the Zipplicity neck pillow here on Amazon.

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