Wednesday
Jul162008
July 16, 2008 One-bag newbie makes two mistakes
PC World contributing editor James A. Martin experimented with one-bag travel and his findings were mixed. It seems to me he made a couple of mistakes. First, his load was over 25 pounds. Depending on your frame, anything above 15 to 20 pounds is going to be chore before long. Second, he made matters worse by using a wheeled cart with a shoulder bag. And what he got was a tottery load that proved to be a checkpoint hassle. I’ll say it again: Don’t try to go without wheels unless you can get the weight way down. 25 pounds + is tough sledding.
Reader Comments (7)
You are right. Part of going one bag is going light. The same thing applies when hiking. See how much pleasure you derive from being in the outdoors by toting a 25lb or higher backpack.
He wrote: By the time I finished, the bag weighed over 25 pounds--even though I'd streamlined my clothes as much as possible.
I doubt this very much. And notice that he didn't post a complete list of everything he packed?
I can hear Doug now, "The point isn't to stuff as much as you can into the biggest bag you can carry on board, the idea is to simplify and carry as light a load as possible."
I recently started a new career that forces me to fly from a small airport on "regional" crop dusters to a hub and change planes to fly to my final destination. Once there, I need to carry paperwork and printed materials in addition to my laptop. I must wear "business" attire during these trips.
After research here and the "One Bag" site, I purchased a Red Oxx Air Boss for these trips. I also drank the cool-aid and bought the clothes line, packets of Woolite, quick drying underwear and t-shirts, etc.
Well.....it works great!
The key, as posted above, is to pack the right gear, get the high-tech, lightweight, quick drying gear, and pack right. If you do this, and then use one of the many bags championed on this site, you will travel happy and feel free. Add lightness.
Cheers.
On the Embrarer I'm not too worried about having by bag taken before boarding, but why did I think the AirBoss woudl fit in the overhead?
-Does the Aeronaut?
-How about the Western Flyer?
The Aeronaut or Air Boss will fit in an EMB145 overhead - I've done it in both cases. The WF is even better. The key to not getting gate-checked on the EMB is keeping the bag close to your body and not having it look to bulgy so it doesn't look big. I've been on EMB's where almost everybody got gatechecked but me.
Brad, same experience here.
I have to fly on either an EMB 145 or the dreaded Saab 340 turboprop from my small local airport to the big hub every time I fly.
My Air Boss fits in BOTH the EMB145 and the Saab 340 turboprop's overhead bins.
I also have had the experience of being the only passenger allowed to carry my bag on board the plane and not having it loaded into the cargo hold with all of the rollers. This has happened on both the Saab and the EMB.
I walk with the AirBoss on the opposite side of the baggage handler waiting for us to board. As he quickly examines us as we board, my Air Boss on my shoulder looks small and has yet to be grabbed for checking.
Cheers.
I have also been successful getting my AirBoss into the puddle-jumper's overhead (even when it has my tiny luggage cart inside.) The only time it is a problem is when I take my Powerbook. On those trips I put the laptop in a separate slim-line case. That way I take the laptop out to be stashed under the seat before putting the AirBoss in the overhead.
John and Brad made an excellent points - don't overstuff and put the bag on the opposite side of the ticket agent (I'll toss my coat over it) and luggage handler. Keep the weight down - weighing in at 125, I can't pack my Airboss to over 25 or I'll fall off balance carrying it.
FYI I've have been impressed by my AirBoss. I have gotten it into places I didn't think it would fit. Especially on Southwest Airlines when people put the large rollers the long way in the bins - it will slide in the small space left in corner quite nicely.