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How to Be An Expert Road Trip Packer
Expert Name: Todd C.
Expert Occupation: Alaska Lodge Manager & Fly Fishing Guide
You know youre living an adventurous life when, within the span of a week, you find yourself being charged by an Alaskan grizzly bear and then cruising to the Palmyra Atoll (population: 4) aboard a 200-foot yacht in the Northern Pacific. Such is the life of Todd Calitri, a sought-after fly fishing guide. Todd averages 250 nights a year away from his own bed, so he knows a bit about hitting the road.
Q: What's your #1 packing tip?
A: Choose the smallest bag you can—because no matter what, you're going to fill it to its capacity. When you choose a huge bag, you'll end up taking things you don't need, and all that extra stuff weighs you down.
Q: How do you choose what to take?
A: I choose things that have more than one purpose. If a jacket looks good enough to wear in the evening with clients and it can also serve as a raincoat in a storm, I'll pack it. Everything has to be easy to care for and able to take some abuse.
Q: How do you make space for souvenirs from your travels?
A: I always put another nylon duffle in my bag—it takes up almost no space. If I'm really desperate for room, I'll roll up every article of clothing one-by-one as tightly as I can. When you roll your clothes tight, they take up half the space.
Q: Any final advice?
A: When in doubt, leave it out. If there's something you're not sure about taking, don't take it. When I leave for a trip, I make sure I have my ID and my credit card. With those two things, you can get pretty far.
Follow Your Passion
Names: Mike & Brad
Expert Credentials: Founders of Grain Surfboards
Employees: 8
Mandatory hours worked per week: 0
Eco-conscious, locally sourced and community driven, Grain handbuilds wooden surfboards, skateboards, bodyboards and handboards in southern Maine near the Atlantic Ocean. Before the Fall surf season started, they gave us their rules to live by —in and out of the water.
Follow Your Passion.
We've got two loves—surfing and making sure we treat the world right.
We didn't go into business to become rich. We did it because we believe in creating a values-based business.
Source Local.
The cedar we use comes from here in Maine, and we get it from a small mill run by two guys.
That's how we get the best cuts—and how we cut down on transportation emissions.
Hire Local.
The people who work here are from here. No big commutes. Some can ride their bikes to work.
We don't have a mandatory number of hours to work each week—people work best when they're choosing to be here.
Mix Old and New.
There's a lot to be said for the new ways of doing things—better tools, less waste. And there's a lot to be said for the old way—made to last.
When you combine them, you get the best of both worlds.
Choose Materials Wisely.
One of the resins we use is 35% bio-derived—made from pulp left over from the paper industry.
On some boards, instead of fiberglass, we use bamboo cloth that's made from that fast-growing grass.
Use Everything.
We give our wood shavings to farmers, who use it as bedding for animals.
When we have wood veneers that are too small to use on surfboards, we use them on our skateboards. We produce almost no landfill waste.
Grow Slow & Steady.
When you keep it small, you keep your impact on the planet down.
If our shop was bigger than we needed it to be, we'd be wasting energy to heat it and cool it.
Get Into the Community.
We teach classes year-round at the shop, and people come from all over.
When they leave here, they've got a beautiful board that they've built themselves—and a great story to share with their friends.
Follow Your Passion
How to Be An Expert Road Trip Packer