Packing Pro

Packing lists, for the most part, are as alien to me as daily calendars. My typical motto is that if I can't remember something, it is just not worth remembering. It became obvious to me that my system was broken when I went to CES and found that I had only packed one pair of socks. Sure, I guess I could get by (I borrowed socks from someone), but I knew that I needed to be a bit more responsible with my packing. My problem is that packing lists are on paper, and I tend to lose small sheets of paper the second I lose sight of them. I needed a solution.

Fortunately for me, there is an app for that! Packing Pro, by Quinn Genzel, provides a clean and effective packing list that is hard to lose (unless you are prone to losing your iPhone!). What makes Packing Pro special is that it doesn't make you completely build the list from scratch on your phone. There are many list apps available, but most of them make you define each item and don't give you many options after that. This app lets you build lists either from scratch, from an Expert Help feature that predicts what you will need by trip type, or from sample lists that are included with the program, and each list fully customizable. Most of the items that you would expect to have are included in the program, but if you have any bizarre items that you take on trips, adding them is as simple as finding the plus sign.

Getting further into the lists, you'll find that not only are the lists customizable, but the individual items in them are too. You can choose how many of things you need, like socks for example, leave specific notes about items, and even include the weight and value of each item. Further customizations include all sorts of layout changes, from colors to fonts, and there are 9 preset design layouts that you can choose from in case you aren't feeling too creative.

The most important thing about Packing Pro is that it is extremely simple, looks polished, and doesn't have any strange glitches that plague so many other list apps. Creating lists and checking them off is a breeze with this app, and is much more enjoyable than creating paper lists, and the ability to save multiple lists in one place is a real lifesaver. With the help of Packing Pro I certainly wont forget socks on my next trip, and that to me is worth the price of admission.