Why I Like Rubber Bands

One of my favorite traveling companions along with the ziplock bag is the lowly rubber band. I favor them over twisties and other forms for holding things together because of their utility and the variety of ways they can be used.

I always keep of bag of them handy and maintain that a good collection of rubber bands will keep any avid traveler from going completely mad, especially after their first experience of pulling out a tangled spiderweb of cables from their travel backpack.

They come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, so it is important to find a staple or common size that fits most of your needs, and then later add to your collection as you find new sizes. I prefer the thicker ½” × 2″ (1.25cm × 5cm) model, though I keep others as well, just in case.

If you live and travel from the States you are especially in luck, most grocery stores there give you free rubber bands on the produce you purchase. I have found celery to be the number one item where you can find them. These are especially good because they are normally more robust than others, in order to keep the stalks of celery from falling off during shipment. I also like them because they are free, you just have to have the presence of mind while you are unpacking your celery to grab them. Unfortunately, I have found their analogs in Europe to be not as good, so do not wait or expect to find good quality rubber bands in most other countries. I have found most of them flimsy, thin and made of materials that disintegrate over time, leaving a melted mess behind than can be difficult to remove from item, especially cloth.

I particularly use them for my cables. But I have also found them very useful in the kitchen to hold bags, packages and opened containers together so that you can reuse the contents later. Women might also find them useful hairties to pull their hair back. What ever the reason, I would commend the lowly rubber band over many other things as one of the primary things to pack as you travel to your next destination.