The Perfect Packing List for Your Next Business Trip  

Packing cubes are the secret to wrinkle-free business attire. They help you organize your clothes inside your suitcase; You can divvy items into cubes based on daily outfits or clothing categories. Hudson+Bleecker’s Austin navigator packing cubes are a durable chambray, and compressing your clothes into them will allow you to fit more in your suitcase. Packing your clothes tightly into the cube will keep them neatly pressed, too. A quick steam and your wardrobe will look fresh from the dry cleaner, even when your clothes have been rolled up for 12 hours in a carry-on.

Shop: $30

A steamer and an iron, this super-compact gadget is four by seven inches. Even its case is multi-functional—it’s heat resistant, so it can be used not only as a travel case but as a press pad while you’re steaming. The Ovo just launched in June, and it won’t spit or leak while you’re trying to press your clothes on-the-go. It’s fast, heating up and ready for use in one minute, and you can steam your clothes right on the hanger before your meetings, so you don’t fall victim to unfortunate suitcase creases.

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The Carry-On, by Away, has an ejectable battery and USB port so that you can charge from your suitcase. The smart suitcase also has a lock to protect your valuables. Plus, there’s a nylon laundry bag, so you can avoid scrounging for a paper bag to use for dirty clothes. On the inside, the Carry-On divides neatly into two compartments, and the hard shell exterior is “unbreakable and guaranteed for life,” Away promises.

Shop: $225

A well-organized dopp kit will spare you from scrambling because you forgot to pack razors or conditioner. Dagne and Dover’s hunter case is made from air mesh, so it’s sturdy but still easy to keep clean. It comes with two pouches that fit inside the case, and elastic loops line the dopp kit to secure your toiletries.

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Traveling for work and jet lag are just incompatible. Timeshifter provides a schedule of exact action items to help you get acclimated to a new time zone as soon as possible. You want to appear refreshed and on-your-game when traveling for business, so getting enough rest (at the right times) is crucial. The Timeshifter app will direct you to sleep, skip caffeine, get sunlight, etc. at different times to effectively adjust your sleep schedule. If you want to incorporate melatonin and caffeine into your jet lag-fighting routine, Timeshifter will customize a plan for you with that in mind.

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Patterned iPhone cases are fun, but they’re not a great fit for business travel. You need something that presents professionally, and ideally has room for a credit card and ID. Often black is the color of choice for luxury business staples, but this tan is a dependable neutral that doesn’t look bland. It’s made from Mujjo’s signature leather, which is vegetable-tanned and “carefully treated with aniline oil to enrich color tones.”

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Amazingreen is a clean, refreshing fragrance, perfect for putting you in the get-over-jet-lag mindset. Its crispness works for day-to-day client meetings and adds a nice touch for your colleague dinners in the evenings. Having a go-to travel fragrance means you never run the risk of smelling like you just walked off a plane.

Shop: $105

The b-y-o-pillow lifestyle might actually help you beat jet lag. Dreampad is a smart pillow with sound technology that plays calming music, encouraging you to unwind and sleep after a packed day. And it comes with an app stocked with fatigue-inducing playlists. When you’re on the road, having a pillow you're used to can help you sleep and feel at home halfway around the world. You can choose the Dreampad that best suits your pillow preferences—it comes in memory, firm, medium, and slim support—so you aren’t tossing and turning on a not-quite-right hotel pillow.

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Sygic essentially annotates a map of the city you’re in with every attraction you should see. If you have time to kill in between meetings, you can pull up the app and check what’s worth catching nearby. You can find restaurants, shopping, and museums on the map, too. If you’re staying for a few extra days in a new city but don’t have time to plan an itinerary, you can tell the app where you’re staying and how long you’ll be there for, and the app will create a sightseeing plan for you.

Shop: Free but premium services, $9.99

Specializing in travel comfort, Bucky pioneered the u-shaped pillow for airplanes. They’ve now expanded to sleep masks, and because of the way this mask contours your face, it won’t mess up your eye makeup. It also lets you blink freely, so you won’t feel like the mask is confining or claustrophobic. It’s the perfect accessory for a power nap right when you get to the hotel.

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You can buy this as a subscription box, and get a new toothbrush head sent to you every three months. If you’re constantly traveling for work, the fact that the subscription is thinking about oral hygiene for you is a plus. The BURST toothbrush comes with a USB charger, and an hour charge can last up to a month. This toothbrush is pretty luxurious—the bristles are coated in charcoal from Wakamaya, Japan.

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Small enough to slide into your dopp kit, this “lasts a lifetime”-quality Seki Edge grooming kit has all the things you need but don’t want to think about packing. Throwing stray nail clippers into your carry-on makes for suitcase chaos you shouldn’t have to deal with while on business travel. This kit keeps the essentials together and includes stainless steel toenail clippers and nail clippers, small scissors, a nail file, extra-grip tweezers, and nail nippers.

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To have the option of leaving half your wallet at home, keep a money clip on hand. That way, you can take your credit card, ID, and some cash with you in the money clip, while leaving the rest of your documents and bank cards back in the hotel safe. This sterling silver David Yurman money clip is sleek and discreet—it’s part of their cable classics collection. As travel accessories go, opting for a timeless, well-made piece is preferable to flimsier money clips that are easily lost.  

Shop: $325