You Won’t Believe the Sneaky Way I Get 3 Days’ Worth of Extra Clothes Through TSA

It’s the secret packing hack I swear by as a “carry-on only” travel writer.

By Kristy Alpert

Although I see nothing wrong with checking a bag every so often, I’ve always viewed it as a personal goal to travel “carry-on only” when I fly. It started when I was a kid, flying on my airline pilot dad’s standby passes. My options then were to carry on my suitcase or risk having a bag end up in a city where I wasn’t. Although my standby status expired the second I married my military pilot husband, I still prefer carrying on, whether I’m flying for work (as a professional travel writer) or for pleasure (when my self-induced challenge intensifies as I pack carry-ons for my two kids as well). 

I’ve learned all the packing hacks over the years; I can roll clothes and stuff socks in shoes with the best of them, and I’m a pro at clipping in extras — like mini coolers and water bottles — with my trusty carabiner collection. (Don’t even get me started on the viral TikTok pillowcase hack that helped us travelers carry more clothes on board.) I’ll admit that smaller overhead bins and low-cost carrier fees for carry-on bags have made my preferred way of traveling a bit trickier, which is why when I heard about the Tube Travel Neck Pillow — the multi-use travel pillow you can store up to three days’ worth of clothing in — I had to try it out. 

To buy: amazon.com, $50

And wow, does it deliver. Instead of having to pare down my travel wardrobe to just the essentials, this neck pillow actually allows me to stash more clothes without checking a bag. It’s made from a durable and washable poly-nylon material that feels like a cross between a soft rain jacket and canvas tote. 

Although it’s not plush and fuzzy like other neck pillows on the market, other neck pillows can’t save you up to $70 worth of checked bag fees for each flight you take them on. I’ve also found it just depends on what you’re stuffing it with — the plusher the clothing (think: sweaters, down jackets) the more comfortable the neck pillow. However, you could also choose to care less about comfort and treat the Tube Travel Neck Pillow as your sole carry-on (especially when traveling on basic economy tickets since there’s no charge for a neck pillow … yet).

Depending on what you’re packing, one single tube can hold enough for three days of clothes. It’s lightweight enough to just toss into your suitcase as a “just-in-case” tool for any trip, like those times your suitcase gets too tight after a few souvenir purchases or as a way of keeping the essentials with you when forced to gate check on full flights.

To buy: amazon.com, $50

 The 11 Best Travel Pillows of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

The Tube’s zipper closures ensure everything inside stays secured during travel, and the minds behind the product intentionally left Velcro out of the design so as not to damage clothes. Once loaded, the two ends clip together with an adjustable strap, so you can clip it to your backpack, buckle it around your rollaboard, or just wear it around your neck enroute to your flight. It also packs down into its own pocket for easy storage when you’re not using it.

To buy: amazon.com, $50

As a mom, I’m planning to use the Tube for storing extra diapers, which, as any traveling parent knows, take up a ridiculous amount of space in a suitcase. I bought the Tube for its versatility as a packing tool, but it has five-star ratings at Amazon for its comfort and more than 70 percent five-star ratings overall.  

One Amazon reviewer who called the pillow “travel perfect” loaded their Tube as a carry-on with two pairs of jeans, two T-shirts, two pairs of socks, an iPhone charger, an iPhone bracket holder, and earphones. Another attested that they had “no problem” fitting two days worth of clothes in the pillow, and they found it “very comfortable as a neck pillow.”

Trust me, the Tube Travel Neck Pillow is the ultimate hack for anyone looking to maximize their carry-on potential … which is literally what I live for as a frequent traveler. Any time a product can serve two purposes, my ears perk up, and, thanks to this dual-purposed neck pillow, they now rest easily in flight as well. 

At the time of publishing, the price started at $50.