Carry-on only packing list
Carry-on only is a quantity problem, not a gear problem. Almost nothing on a well-built list is banned — the list is simply longer than the bag, and the fix is counts rather than swaps. Trip length and whether you get a wash halfway decide most of the volume; everything else is rounding.
The rules that actually bite are the liquids limit at security and the battery rules, which run the opposite way to what people expect: a power bank is refused in the hold and belongs in the cabin, not the other way round. Cabin-only travellers are the one group for whom that never causes a problem — so long as they know it before the bag is packed.
What this trip type changes
Full-size liquids come off the list
Anything over the cabin limit is either decanted or bought at the other end. The list flags the ones people forget: sunscreen, shampoo, contact lens solution, hand sanitiser.
Counts get tighter, and laundry matters more
A wash mid-trip roughly halves the clothing count, which is the single highest-leverage answer in the form when you have one bag.
Some things are cabin-only regardless
Power banks, spare lithium batteries and e-cigarettes are refused in checked bags. With no checked bag that is one fewer decision to get wrong.
Build the list
Already set up for this kind of trip. Add where you are going and your dates — those are the two things we will not guess.
Packing for — leave on Anyone to see everything
Laundry
Trip type — pick any that apply
Bags
Pick a destination to start.
Flying soon? Check what can and cannot fly for anything unusual, and what an overweight bag costs on your airline before you get to the desk.