December 4, 2008 Tag it
Some carryon-only types don’t worry about luggage tags since they’re used to having their bags in their possession at all times. But with gate checking becoming more common, a good luggage tag is essential. OBOW reader Larry P. has this tip for a cheap and indestructble one:
“I don’t remember who reccomended this but I got a pet tag at the local pet store with my name and cell phone number. It’s metal and I attach it with the ring for car keys. It should last forever and it won’t come off without some serious effort.”
December 3, 2008 ExOfficio sale
ExOfficio has buy-2-get-1-free sale through Dec. 24 on their
excellent undies which are comfortable, dry quickly, and are the favorite of light travelers everywhere. Toothbrush not included.
December 3, 2008 New carry-on player
Timbuk2, who previously focused mainly on laptop and messenger bags, have entered the carry-on luggage market. This bag is priced like a USA-made bag but as far as I can tell it’s probably made in China.
This bag has some interesting features though and it’s less than max-sized, which is nice. More to come on the Timbuk2 travel line.
December 3, 2008 Thieves!
As if you needed another reason never to check a bag - how about organized rings of thugs working with TSA screeners? LAX is the chief offender:
They both say there are organized rings of thieves, who identify valuables in your checked luggage by looking at the TSA x-ray screens, then communicate with baggage handlers by text or cell phone, telling them exactly what to look for.
“This is a laptop here, VCR here and it’s located in this area of the bag. Here’s the color of the bag. They give them all the information they need to know.” - cbs2.com
December 2, 2008 Best luggage for rappers
This piece about high-dollar Tumi luggage makes some extravagant claims. If true, no rapper or paranoid celebrity should be without it:
December 1, 2008 Silly school
This obvious spoof is still funny: a homeland security-themed charter middle school. Class offerings include -
TSA 101 - Shoe Removal For Dummies - Instruction will focus on general guidelines for Transportation Security Administration workers, including specific lessons in how to get people at airports to remove their shoes. Classes will also focus on the historical precedents for removing shoes as a means of ensuring the safety of the traveling public. Students will also learn to deal with serious foot odor issues.
TSA 102 - Nail Clippers: America’s Silent Killer - Students will learn about the threat to public safety posed by nail clippers. While many Americans believe nail clippers are fairly benign and cannot possibly be weaponized, students will receive detailed instruction in how nail clippers can be used to disable a 747. Students will be required to review the MacGyver episode in which Richard Dean Anderson defeats the entire Russian army using only a pair of nail clippers and his shoe strings.
November 26, 2008 Recession cures carry-on woes?
Maybe the overhead bins won’t be so full after all. Of course neither are our wallets:
Even though gas prices fell and airlines offered last-minute deals, many Americans appeared to be skipping trips this year. San Francisco resident Sharon McKellar called the Miami airport “shockingly quiet” after flying in overnight to visit family.
At Boston’s Logan International Airport, Alicia Kelly, 47, traveling with her husband and two children to Miami to spend the holidays with her family, said it was the lightest Thanksgiving travel she’s ever seen. “We have waited in no lines so far,” she said.
Security lines moved along briskly at under 10 minutes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, travelers found parking spots in the front row of the lot and no wait for check-in and security. The Delta terminal was nearly empty. - AP via breitbart.com
November 26, 2008 Liquidity
An interesting overview of the carry-on liquid conundrum from twincities.com/The Pioneer Press:
But by next year, (TSA Administrator Kip) Hawley expects size restrictions to be lifted because of new technology. By the end of 2010, he anticipates all liquid, gel and spray restrictions will be lifted. Until then, liquids, gels and sprays in packaging larger than 3 ounces are thrown into garbage cans, which are collected by the airport’s regular trash hauler. If it’s an alcoholic beverage, the liquid is poured out. On pain of firing, TSA employees are forbidden to filch items out of the trash, TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.
If you’ve got just a bit of perfume left in a too-big bottle, a TSA employee has the discretion to bend the rule and let you take it through, McCauley said (didn’t know this - Brad). You can’t count on that, but you do have options other than surrendering the item. You can return it to your car; take it to your airline agent and ask that your checked baggage be retrieved so you can put it in there; or mail it back to yourself.
Filching forbidden, alcohol poured out? Right.
November 26, 2008 Gate check poll
Our latest poll - asking how often you’ve been asked to gate check a carryon - now appears in the right sidebar. Lots of travelers are going to run in to this problem between now and the new year.
November 20, 2008 Death of one-bag travel?
Be sure to check out Skip’s post “The death of one-bag travel?” The battle of the bins is putting the squeeze on us and the nasty gate-checking monster is rearing its ugly head. I’ve had several close scrapes but have thus far avoided the gate check except on one tiny regional jet. Go the forum and share your experiences and tips.
Brad
OBOW post from May about the pain in the bins.
Brad
From Salon.com, to this point:
When boarding, please, for the love of God, do not place your carry-on bags in the first empty bin that you come to. Use a bin as close to your seat as possible.
It drives me crazy when I see a guy shoving his 26-inch Tumi into a bin above Row 5, then continuing on to his assigned seat in Row 52. I know it’s tempting, but this causes the forward bins to fill up quickly. Because airplanes are usually boarded back to front, there are no spaces left for subsequent passengers whose assigned seats are in the forward part of the cabin. They are forced to travel backward to stow their belongings, then return upstream, against the flow of traffic, clogging the aisle.
Found this at flyertalk.com, thread titled “Should airlines assign bins along with seats?” - sounds good to me. Simply enforcing size/number of pieces restrictions would help.
November 17, 2008 Life in the family lane
TSA press release -
TSA Expands Popular Family Lanes to Every Airport in America
Specially Designated “Green” Lane for Passengers with Larger, Medically Necessary Liquids as Well
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced the expansion of its popular family lane concept to every security checkpoint in America. This expansion comes weeks before the busy Thanksgiving travel season and will be complete by Thursday, Nov. 20.
The lanes, part of TSA’s Diamond Self-Select program currently at 48 airports, allow families, individuals unfamiliar with air travel procedures and travelers with special needs to go through security at their own pace. Individuals carrying medically necessary liquids, aerosols and gels in excess of three ounces will also be directed to these popular lanes. Individuals traveling with liquids, gels and aerosols within 3-1-1 limits will experience no change to their screening procedures.
The introduction of lanes that will serve as both family lanes and dedicated lanes for passengers carrying medically necessary liquids strengthens TSA efforts to build a network of technology to detect liquid explosives.
“Passengers have clearly demonstrated their preference to go at their own pace,” said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley. “Expanding these lanes to every airport and directing families and passengers with medically necessary liquids to them, increases passenger convenience and security.”
Officers manning these dedicated family lanes will use their training and explosive detection technologies to work with passengers to quickly and efficiently complete the screening process. Individuals traveling with medically necessary liquids, gels and aerosols like baby formula, insulin, cough syrup, contact lens solution and prescription medications will undergo additional screening that will usually take less than two minutes to ensure these items do not pose a threat.
Liquid explosives are still a relevant security concern. Restrictions on quantities of liquids, gels and aerosols carried onboard aircraft were implemented in August 2006. Technological innovations will allow a review of current procedures by the Fall of 2009. For more information on checkpoint security, please visit www.tsa.gov.
November 5, 2008 Right for the rain
Lots of light travelers like to use the little Moleskine-type pocket notebooks for recording experiences and information when the laptop gets left at home. Here’s another take on the notebook, and an all-weather one at that. The Rite in the Rain products have special waterproof paper that stands up to rain and moisture so you can jot in any clime. The Rite in the Rain website has a bewildering array of notebooks and even waterproof copy paper.
November 4, 2008 Why go?
BootsnAll has launched a new travel guide site that looks very promising - WhyGo:
“Each WhyGo Guide is created by writers who are truly passionate about their country, region, or theme. Part guide book, part blog, WhyGo Guides feature first-hand travel information to help you have the best experience on and off the tourist track. Of course, each guide includes the basic information a traveler needs to know: when to go, how to get there, where to stay, what to see. But, more importantly, WhyGo Guides provides ideas, inspiration, and insider tips you can’t find in other guides. That’s the kind of info that makes a trip truly special. That’s why you go.”
October 29, 2008 Laptop news from TB
Release from Tom Bihn:
Seattle, WA - TOM BIHN, a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of laptop bags, backpacks, travel bags, and briefcases, has introduced sizes of their Checkpoint Flyer “checkpoint friendly” laptop briefcase and Brain Cell laptop case specifically for the new 15.4” MacBook Pro.
// The Checkpoint Flyer //
The Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase is the first airport security “checkpoint friendly” bag designed specifically for Mac laptops. Available in custom sizes for all Mac laptops, the Checkpoint Flyer’s laptop insert is removable and interchangeable with other sizes. When one buys a new laptop, they won’t need to buy an entirely new Checkpoint Flyer: just a new laptop insert sized to fit their new laptop.
The Checkpoint Flyer is made out of the high-quality materials TOM BIHN is known for: U.S. made 1050 denier ballistic nylon, Japanese Dyneema rip-stop fabric, YKK splash-proof zippers, and Poron foam-padded handles. The laptop insert of the Checkpoint Flyer protects the laptop from all sides with thermo-molded foam.
The Checkpoint Flyer is $220 USD (including laptop insert.) Available for pre-order from the TOM BIHN website; ships by late November. Made in Seattle.
The Checkpoint Flyer:
http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB1701
VIDEO - Watch the Checkpoint Flyer go through airport security:
http://www.tombihn.com/cflyervideo.html
// The Brain Cell //
TOM BIHN customers have been using the Brain Cell laptop case to protect their Mac laptops everywhere from Iraq to Antarctica for over 10 years, giving the Brain Cell its word-of-mouth reputation as providing some of the best protection one can get for their laptop. Now the Brain Cell is available in a size specifically designed to carry the New 15.4” MacBook Pro: Size 4Z.
The Brain Cell is designed to clip securely inside a variety of TOM BIHN messenger bags, briefcases, and backpacks - including the Empire Builder, Super Ego, Brain Bag, and Western Flyer.
Among the protective materials that make the Brain Cell are 8mm thick soft foam padding, 4mm hard corrugated plastic, cross-linked closed-cell polyethylene foam, and 12mm thick premium memory foam.
The Brain Cell Size 4Z is $60 USD. Available for pre-order from the TOM BIHN website; ships by late November. Available in two formats: Horizontal for use in messenger bags or briefcases and Vertical for use in backpacks. Made in Seattle.
Brad
Here’s a video of a checkpoint-friiendly TB bag in the real world.
October 27, 2008 13 pounds of happiness
Lani at Travelite is all smiles after a lightweight Euro trek. Lots of good information and tips to be found in her account. An excerpt:
Weighing every item, and taking only what I planned to use – I had to make some tough decisions about my wardrobe. In hindsight, I wish I’d gone with two short-sleeve shirts and a long-sleeve instead of three of the latter, but I really didn’t expect weather in the high-70s all week in Rome. That said, I still chose the most lightweight of my shirts; they were even lighter than cotton T-shirts. Every liquid toiletry item was carefully scrutinized. Did I need a full ounce, or could I manage with half an ounce?
Using the smallest version of everything – Instead of large and clunky AC adapters, we took a USB-to-AC adapter that was as small as a film canister. A laptop was out of the question, but the iPod Touch gave us the option to send email in wi-fi hotspots (including a free one in a small part behind the Notre Dame in Paris!).
October 21, 2008 Backpack straps for Tom Bihn's Flyer
The Tom Bihn Western Flyer - a nifty and versatile less-than-max-sized carryon - is now available with traditional backpack straps. It is still also available in its original mono sling strap configuration. More to come.
October 16, 2008 Sheets to the wind
Graham is no fan of Travelon’s carry-on friendly shaving sheets:
“All in all this is a terrible product. However, if you hate your face or legs, enjoy frustration and like to bleed then you should definitely track down this product. I did see the whole line of Travelon soap sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond on clearance for $2 so you can save a little money and maybe even start a new blog called The Frugal Masochist; wouldn’t that be fun.
Just so you know that it isn’t all doom and gloom in the travel shaving world I can wholeheartedly recommend Mama Bear’s Soap Shave Stick. It may not be as lightweight and compact as the shaving soap sheets but it gets the job done in a way that the shaving sheets can’t touch.”
And of course there’s always shaving oil in half-ounce bottles which is simply terrific.
Brad
And here’s OBOWer Buzz’s review of yet another shaving system:
“I saw the Avid4 shaving system mentioned on another blog and was interetested due to its compact size and weight. (Rather than try to explain how it works, I suggest you go to the company’s website and see the video demonstration.)http://www.avid4.co.uk
Intrigued, I tried to find it only to be told it is no longer available in the U.S. but can be ordered from the UK. So, I did.
The package with a few shaving kits as well as their Skinglider shaving lotion arrived in the U.S. four days after ordering (amazing.)
I’m normally a shaving oil person but decided to try it with shaving oil, Skinglider and shaving soap. I also usually use Gillette Good News disposable razors.
The results were the same. I was not impressed. The shaves were no where near as easy or close as my regular disposable razor. I could feel the Avid4 drag along my face. And while they say you can use each blade up to 10 times, I found that I needed to change blades after about five shaves.
The Skinglider lotion—not really oil but a water based lotion—wasn’t impressive either.
I’ll continue to use this system for long trips until they are used up. At home, I went back to my regular disposables.
It’s too bad as the small size and light weight made this perfect for one bag travel.”
October 13, 2008 Nuts for Cocona fabric
A weekend trip left me a solid believer in the virtues of Cocona fabric. It’s made from from activated carbon from recycled coconuts and blended with other fabrics. My Savane pants (supposedly golf pants) pass as dress or casual khakis an