# Going Out On First Tour



## Neon Ninja (Dec 11, 2015)

What do i pack, besides tools, and how much is to much? Its a sit down tour so in the same city for roughly a week or two? Thanks for the help guys and gal!


----------



## Henning (Dec 11, 2015)

Is that a paintball team in your picture?


----------



## MattC (Dec 11, 2015)

Finding the right pack for tour can be a tricky game and be dependent on the season. I limit myself to two bags, one I travel and the other goes on the trucks. One bag was mostly clothes and the other for swag, seasonal clothes, other random items. Leaving extra room for items acquired is important. (I left tour with a bag filled only with local/show swag). If you start to get too full you can always ship a box home. You just want to avoid ending with more than you can fly with.

First off plan your wardrobe for doing laundry ~once/week. If you are allowed to use wardrobe machines, crew members normally are, it makes this much more manageable. Having work clothes, show blacks, casual, and a few dressy items (there usually are sponsored opening night parties) for both warm and cold weather can start to add up fast. So plan for layers unless you have a convenient layoff when the weather changes.

I usually only bring a few tools that make my life easier unless they are willing to pay to bring my personal work box out. Tours will usually supply tools that you need to do your job, unless bringing your own tools was part of the negotiation. Too many tools is lots of weight to move around and opens up to possibility of things walking away.

For media I switched years ago to everything being digital. So now I have 2,000 books, 500+ movies, numerous TV shows, pics, etc all on a 3TB portable hard drive. So if you haven't started down this road already I would recommend. It dramatically cuts down on space/weight used that you can invest into electronic devices. (I had laptop, surface pro, small tablet, phone)

If there is something that you use regularly and makes you happy try to leave room for that. Living as a nomad can grind sometimes so leaving room for your small joys in life is important. I've seen people pack anything from gaming consoles to hammocks, remote control helicopters to costumes, and stuffed animals to firearms (this an entirely different conversation but keep this one on the DL if you go down this road). Without things that make you happy touring gets old regardless of the good money you'll make.

But overall remember that you need to be mobile and can pack quickly. I'm sure most people reading this that have toured has experienced atleast once: Oversleeping for bus call, wildly throwing everything into a suitcase while trying to dress, running downstairs, getting onto the bus heading for the airport/next city, just to realize you left something in the room. So simple packs are important. But more importantly never go to bed without prepacking for travel days!

You learn very quickly what you need everyday and what you might touch once a month or less. So as layoffs happen you can refine your pack. If unsure I pack a little extra and ship things home once I start to get settled. I usually tried to go minimal and had more focus on epic adventures in the time off. People tend to over pack their first time out so restraint is key. What ever you bring just be prepared to travel with it all the time. I'm sure others will have different perspectives but let me know if you have any questions.


----------



## porkchop (Dec 13, 2015)

Pack as little as possible. You'll need the usuals (clothes, computer, lots of cables and chargers,ect...), but it's hard to predict what will make day to day life better. Maybe when you get there you'll find out you need room for hotel cooking stuff, or you might decide that your second "suitcase" should be a cooler or a mini fridge. Those are all things that I brought with me at times on tour.

tl:dr you can always buy what you want or have it mailed to you at the hotel a few weeks in advance, but if you bring something that is too expensive or sentimental to leave behind then your stuck with it taking up valuable space for the rest of tour.


----------



## soundman (Dec 13, 2015)

Bring some exercise clothes. Even if you aren't big into it now I found by simply carrying around a pair of running shoes I have more motivation to do healthy things. My logic is if I have brought my shoes with my I should use them, most hotels have basic gyms but also just going out for a jog is nice. And an interesting way to see the city. I also now travel with rock climbing shoes and a harness so I can keep up with that hobby too. I am by no means a health nut but this job can be a lot of sitting around.


----------



## Scarrgo (Dec 13, 2015)

Take only what you can carry in one trip. You dont want to have to make more than one trip from the bus to the hotel to the venue to the airport...

Have fun...

Sean...


----------

