The Marines are known for their dedication, skill, and bravery. What you might not know is how well they can pack. A Marine is only given one sea bag, a military duffel bag, to fit all his or her belongings. Packing efficiently is a must.
Related: Avoid wrinkles by learninghow to fold clothes for packing a carry-on.
They have developed a packing technique called the skivvy roll or grunt roll. It combines a t-shirt, shorts or underwear, and a pair of socks into a single small roll that’s easy to count and manage. If you have a complete roll, you have a complete under-outfit.
- Place t-shirt flat and unfolded. Stretch and smooth it to remove wrinkles.
- Fold underwear in half length-wise, and place on top of shirt below shirt collar.
- Fold the sides of shirt length-wise over the underwear.
- Lay socks flat over shirt sleeves in a crisscross pattern. Leave the leg of the sock hanging outside of the shirt. Ankle socks will not work. It will look sort of like a letter ‘T.’
- Roll items from collar down. Leave sock legs outside of roll.
- Fold one loose sock leg over rolled items.
- Repeat with other loose sock leg. You will have a completed skivvy roll.
There are many sites with step-by-step instructions and pictures demonstrating each step (we like the one on Huckberry.com). This technique may have Marine origins but that does not mean we civilians can’t use it for our everyday travel needs.
Used with permission from Huckberry.com
The skivvy roll is great for going on camping trips or traveling when space is very limited. You don’t want to lug three bags through the airport because of inefficient packing. It also ensures you have plenty of socks and underwear for each day you will be gone, since one roll equals one shirt, one pair of underwear, and one pair of socks. One day, one roll. Five days, five rolls.
