The Carry on Cozy: A Must for Every Girl Headed to SE Asia

Ladies headed to South East Asia: I think I found the holy grail, and it is called the carry on cozy.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s no doubt great for travel everywhere. But having just spent 4 months in sweltering countries filled with must-cover-up temples, but also having to deal with freezing planes and air conditioned hostels and hotels, this piece was an absolute life saver.

So what is it?

It’s kind of magic.

The carry on cozy is a travel wear design by Canadian travel clothing designer, Diane Kroe. It’s a versatile one size fits all (yes, it still fit my curves) piece that can work in a million ways. Ok, maybe not a million, but at least six and, like most of Diane Kroe’s other pieces, even more if you are willing to get creative.

My go to style was the poncho look. To be honest, I never considered myself to be a poncho person but this style came in so handy for multiple reasons. I wore it like this on every plane ride I took, and in the evening when I was in cold rooms. I don’t know what it is about Asians and their air conditioning but if they have it, they love it. Which meant I froze to death every time. Wearing the carry on cozy as a poncho on the plane meant I could cover up and hug myself to keep warm.

The poncho style was also a life saver at the temples I visited along the way. Of course, you need to dress appropriately as Asia’s temples (even the ruined ones) are sacred sights. This means no bare shoulders or knees. I wore a lot of tank tops (it was 35C degrees) so the carry on cozy was easy to just have in my bag and pull out when needed. It kept me covered and respectful, without being super heavy. Plus, unlike draping a sarong or scarf around my shoulders, the little clasps made sure it stayed in place meaning I could take as many photos as I wanted without worrying about it sliding off and revealing my scandalous shoulders.

Another great way to wear it was as a cover up for a bathing suit; either as a mini dress or a skirt. It was perfect for hanging around the pool at hostels or at my beautiful Bali villa, and dried very quickly in the sun when wet. I’ll be completely honest; it did not make it to the beach with me as it was a little too short and revealing on my body to walk through town to get to the beach in as a dress, and as a skirt I would still have to bring a top to wear over my swimsuit with it. Although I think it would be fine somewhere like the Caribbean, which is much less conservative than the Asian countries I was traveling through.

While the poncho and beach cover up styles were definitely my go-to’s for the trip, there are many more ways to wear and use the carry on cozy. The easy snap system turns it into a bolero style jacket for over a light shirt or dress, you can use it as a scarf, and even as a blanket (which I definitely had to do a couple of times at night!)

The carry on cozy holds up amazingly. It has been both machine washed and hand washed over a dozen times and dragged through countries airports, busses, temples, and hostels/hostels in 8 countries and it still looks brand new. If that, paired with the versatility and cute designs isn’t enough to sway you to get one for your own adventures, I don’t know what is!

Want your own carry on cozy? Shop online at DianeKroe.com and use promo code HANNAH10 to save $10 on your purchase!

The carry on cozy was given to my by Diane Kroe Brand to test. All opinions, as always, are my own.