February 11, 2011 We get quite a few people coming here wondering what to do when they have to travel with formal clothes yet still want to one bag it. This is true especially for cruisers.
Well, now there may be an answer: the Fuxedo. The first zip up tuxedo. While I haven’t tried one myself, it looks intriguing.
(Frank II)
February 10, 2011 
Bailey Works has added a couple of new made-in-the-USA bags and packs. Among them is the Citizen Pack (large). It weighs 2.2 pounds and measures 18x11x7. Bailey started as a supplier of bags to professional bike messengers. Their website is a little funky. You have click “view size chart” to find specs on any item. Be sure to check the item size before you do this since many come in more than one size. Some people use their Whalemouth duffel as a one-bag solution.
(Brad)
Frank@OBOW
The small Whalemouth is the only Bailey duffel that is comfortably carry-on legal. We used to have a reader who swore by this bag, as I recall.
February 9, 2011 An interesting site (Aussies, I think) on bags and “carrying” of all types…worth checking out.
(Brad)
February 6, 2011 
Forest nails it in the Forum — the iPhone and like devices have made it easier than ever to go anywhere and do anything with only a light bag or pack on the shoulder:
The iPhone has replaced so many things in my bag. I no longer take a camera, clock, computer, books,magazines, newspaper, movies, address book, datebook,or any of the assorted cords and ephemera associated with the electronics. I bet it has saved at least 6 pounds and maybe as much as 12 lbs.It is the most amazing tool I have ever used. Talk about muti function …. the holy grail of light travel.
And speaking of the iPhone, these things are cool:
This under-$10 sticker makes your iPhone into a lookalike of a $4000 Leica camera.
(Brad)
February 6, 2011 
If you must have a recycled bag, well, Gorilla Sacks will suit you. Made in the USA from reclaimed billboard vinyl. Each is numbered since each is unique.
(Brad)
February 4, 2011 Fashionable J. Crew gets into the weekender bag act with this 10 1/2”H x 19 1/2”W x 8 7/8”D nylon duffel in wildfire (orange for regular people). Nice enough.
Want to feel even better about yourself? Try Jack Spade’s $365 21” x 8” x 14.5” svelte carry-on.
(Brad)
February 4, 2011 Officials in Malawi, a small, impoverished country in southest Africa, are deciding whether or not to ban farting in public.
A new bill being introduced next week states:”Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.”
One side says that includes passing wind. The other side says it’s only meant to cover pollution.
I would love to see the U.S. Congress arguing this one.
(Frank II)
February 4, 2011 CNN.com has an interesting article on why Americans don’t travel abroad.
While most people here are travelers and this article doesn’t represent them, do you think the conclusions are correct? (No need to argue that YOU do differently. Let’s discuss why others don’t leave he comfort of North America).
(Frank II)
(CNN) — The numbers tell the story: Of the 308 million-plus citizens in the United States, 30% have passports.
That’s just too low for such an affluent country, said Bruce Bommarito, executive vice president and chief operating officer for the U.S. Travel Association.
“Americans are comfortable in their own environment,” Bommarito said.
There were 61.5 million trips outside the United States in 2009, down 3% from 2008, according to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. About 50% of those trips were to either Mexico or Canada, destinations that didn’t require a passport until 2007.
The percentage of Americans with passports — a number that was in the teens just a few years ago — has spiked since the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was adopted. It requires American and Canadian travelers to present documents showing citizenship when entering the United States.
Despite the climbing number of American passports in circulation, 30% is still low compared to Canada’s 60% and the United Kingdom’s 75%.
“Not taking the leap is comforting, because this is the American life,” said Matthew Kepnes, international traveler and creator of NomadicMatt.com, a blog chronicling his travels and observations. “Breaking outside anything that is your norm is scary.”
Tourism experts and avid travelers attribute Americans’ lack of interest in international travel to a few key factors, including: the United States’ own rich cultural and geographic diversity, an American skepticism and/or ignorance about international destinations, a work culture that prevents Americans from taking long vacations abroad and the prohibitive cost and logistics of going overseas.
Cultural and geographical diversity
America has it all: “From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam,” as “God Bless America” proclaims. Beautiful beaches in Florida, crisp skiing in Colorado and the desert sun in Arizona are among thousands of domestic destinations competing to lure visitors.
“In the United States, we have an enormous amount of places we can travel — basically an entire continent,” said everything-everywhere.com author Gary Arndt, who has been traveling abroad and blogging since 2007. “You can do all kinds of things without needing a passport.”
Arndt, who was in Los Angeles when interviewed by CNN, noted that he could go to any number of different ethnic enclaves within the city and get a taste of culture without spending much money or time. The same goes for many other parts of the country.
“There are pockets of regional culture — the South has an attitude that New Yorker’s don’t have,” Kepnes said. “But you don’t have the cultural differences that you would get if you went to Asia, Paris or London.”
Even with Chinatown in Los Angeles and Little Italy in New York City, it’s just not the same as walking the streets of Beijing or riding a gondola in Venice.
“America is an outstanding country and an outstanding vacation destination — no doubt about that,” said Joe Byrne, executive vice president for Tourism Ireland. “But it is America. I’m sure you have great Irish traditional music in an American Irish pub, but you don’t have the Lakes of Killarney.”
Skepticism and ignorance
We buy goods from Sri Lanka and outsource business to India, but when it comes to traveling to these destinations, Americans would rather stick close to home.
“Our culture doesn’t emphasize knowledge of the world,” Kepnes said. “We’re more skeptical of it because we just don’t know about it.”
Kepnes attributes some of our skepticism to negative media reports about the world. For example, he said that Nicaragua always draws negative connotations because of the political and civil unrest that has been covered in the news.
“When I first left I was very nervous and scared,”Kepnes said of traveling to countries like Nicaragua. “What if I’m mugged in Thailand or kidnapped in a hostel?”
Arndt has encountered similar feelings when he travels to lesser-known destinations. Though he is comfortable in his travels, others aren’t so convinced.
“Every time I say I’m going somewhere, people assume that it’s dirty, they don’t have good hospitals, you’re going to get sick or raped or robbed,” Arndt said. “If you know something about Colombia, it’s drug lords, which hasn’t been a problem for 20 years, but that’s still what people think of.”
Arndt pointed out that foreign countries generally don’t make it into the media for doing good things, just for natural disasters or bad news.
“I think there’s a lot of fears that people have that may be used to justify the fact that they don’t go somewhere,” he said.
Work culture
Many Americans follow the same pattern: work hard in high school, go to college, accrue a load of debt and get a job right away to work it off, Arndt said. The United States doesn’t promote taking a year off between major life phases like New Zealand or the United Kingdom.
“Up until recently, having a gap year was a job killer, so you chose work,” Kepnes said. “And that work, work, work mentality makes it much harder to leave.”
A one-year break in your resume could make an American employer question your commitment to a company, whereas not taking a gap year in New Zealand would be considered crazy, Kepnes said.
“We’re not a travel culture,” he said. “Countries are travel cultures when they put more of an emphasis on leisure time, and Americans tend to choose money over leisure time.”
Even those who do receive a nice chunk of vacation time don’t use it all, and those who do seem to take shorter, more frequent trips, Arndt said.
“There are some differences in terms of vacation time that are hugely influential,” Byrne said. Workers in mainland Europe receive between six and eight weeks of vacation, while Americans average about 16.6 paid vacation days as of 2005, according to the Families and Work Institute. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed didn’t plan to use their full vacation.
“It’s not just about how much vacation time people get,” Arndt said. “Americans don’t even use all the vacation time that they have.”
Cost and logistics
When trying to entice Americans to visit Ireland, Byrne said the first thing he does is remind people that it’s more affordable than they think.
“That’s generally true of vacations to Europe,” Byrne said. “The exchange rate is more favorable for Americans than it has been in recent years.”
The 30.3 million Americans who traveled overseas for vacation in 2009 spent an average of $2,708 each — including airfare, lodging and other expenditures, according to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. It seems that getting there is about half the battle: Average airfare per person was $1,177.
Also, as Kepnes pointed out, time is money for some Americans.
“It’s an easier hop if you’re in Paris or Madrid, or any other European city,” Byrne said. “Whereas the flights from the East Coast of the United States take up to six hours.”
The United States is so big that a flight from one state to another could take just as much time as a flight to Europe. At any rate, Americans are more likely to do the former.
“We’re a big country, and we have a culture of traveling within the United States,” Bommarito said. “When you’re born and raised in a European or South Asian country, your access to other countries is much easier.”
Arndt doesn’t see this changing any time soon, if at all.
“Cultural shifts like that are not something that happens quickly,” he said. A swing toward international travel is going to take time.
Still, Kepnes said he believes that more Americans going abroad will become inevitable sooner or later.
“Americans are going to have to speak more languages and be more culturally savvy,” Kepnes said. “We have to change because we have to do business with all these other cultures.”
That’s music to Bommarito’s ears. After being nervous the first time he landed in China, he said he now feels just as comfortable on the streets of Beijing as he does anywhere in the United States.
“One of the true benefits of travel to foreign countries is it’s probably the greatest form of diplomacy,” Bommarito said. “Strange ideas go away and you realize that we’re all similar, just with different cultures.”
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February 4, 2011 
Not light (canvas & leather), not cheap, but made in the USA is this truly classic luggage from J.W. Hulme. The company used to make bags for Orvis and Gokey. You’d think these were English bags. Jolly good.
(Brad)
Frank@OBOW
February 3, 2011 In a clear case of sexual discrimination, ExOfficio has released a collection of lacy travel underwear for women only. Just the thought that the likes of Monte and other sensitive OBOW males won’t be able to enjoy wearing pretty travel underwear is enough to make my blood boil.
(Brad)
February 1, 2011 The TSA began testing a new software program on some of its Nude-o-scopes that omits graphic photos of the passenger being screened.
Instead, the person will show up on the momitor as a simple stick figur. If the machine detects a foreign object it will circle that area of the body of the screen image. If there is no problem, the system flashes “ok.”
Since no actual image of the passenger being tested is shown, an additional operator in another room will not be needed as the TSO manning the machine can monitor the screen as well.
The new software only works on one of the two types of nude-o-scopes in use. The first test airport is Las Vegas which began today.
TSA head John Pistole said he hopes this new software answers some of the privacy issues brought up with the current machines.
(Frank II)
Frank@OBOW
February 1, 2011
TSA to begin testing new Advanced Imaging Technology Software at select U.S. Airports to further enhance passenger privacy
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will begin testing new software on its advanced imaging technology (AIT) machines that enhances privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images and instead auto-detects potential threat items and indicates their location on a generic outline of a person, TSA Administrator John Pistole announced today. TSA will test the new software at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) beginning today, February 1, and at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in the coming days.
“We are always looking for new technology and procedures that will both enhance security while strengthening privacy protections,” Pistole said. “Testing this new software will help us confirm test results that indicate it can provide the same high level of security as current advanced imaging technology units while further enhancing the privacy protections already in place.”
The new software will automatically detect potential threat items and indicate their location on a generic outline of a person that will appear on a monitor attached to the AIT unit. As with the current version of AIT, the areas identified as containing potential threats will require additional screening. The generic outline will be identical for all passengers. If no potential threat items are detected, an “OK” will appear on the monitor with no outline.
By eliminating the passenger-specific image associated with the current version of AIT, a separate TSA officer will no longer be required to view the image in a remotely-located viewing room. Through removing this step of the process, AIT screening will become more efficient, expanding the throughput capability of the technology.
TSA worked with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) and private industry to develop the software, and began testing it at the TSA Systems Integration Facility in the fall of 2010.
AIT safely screens passengers without physical contact for both metallic and non-metallic threats, including weapons and explosives. Currently, there are nearly 500 imaging technology units at 78 airports nationwide, with additional units planned for deployment this year. The new software is being tested on millimeter wave AIT units currently in airports, with plans to test similar software on backscatter units in the future.
To learn more, visit www.tsa.gov/ait.
Frank@OBOW
February 1, 2011 The following is WSL’s review of the Red Oxx Ruck Sack/C-Ruck (has two names) first posted in the Forum:
I decided to give back to the OBOW Forum which was very helpful when I was looking for a new backpack. The following is a review that I submitted to Red Oxx’s site which is still under moderation. The addendums below are just to clarify a couple of points and were not in the original review.
So, after a trip where my twenty-year old backpack was soaked all the way through I decided that it was time for a replacement. I wanted something that could hold my Macbook Pro (MBP) and yet not look like a notebook bag and can be used for other purposes such as groceries, carry-on, day-to-day usage, etc. Basically a versatile, all-around bag that I didn’t have to worry about. Hey, my last bag lasted 20+ years and I didn’t see any reason why the next one shouldn’t either. 
After doing a lot of online and offline research and dithering about I finally decided to order the C-ruck. Ordering was dead easy and it arrived right on time. Within a week, it was on its way with me for a short jaunt to Jakarta. How did it perform?
The good news first, it’s capacious - it looks big but it fits exactly the carry-on frame. The internal sleeve fits my MBP perfectly and I don’t have any worries there about the protection given by the C-ruck. And, yes, it did look as classy as I had hoped it would - sometimes you can’t really tell these things unless you have the item right in front of you.
The bad news? It’s a heavy bag. The specs says it’s over 3 lbs and it’s easy to dismiss that until you have it in hand and realize how much that will cut into your carry-on allowance. The weight is also a factor in that this is a “hot” bag, meaning that the weight of the bag, the weight of your items along with the padding in the back may have you overheating pretty quickly. It’s not a problem if you’re in temperate climes but it can be unpleasant if you’re slogging through a tropical city such as Jkt. The straps are also very long and I suspect that the bag is sized for someone who is closer to 6 ft than my 5’8”. I’ll probably get them cut shorter and restitched when I get the chance.
So, do I feel that I am getting value for my money? A qualified yes. It’s a well-built, over-engineered (this is a good point!) bag that looks great and will do all that I want it to do. Unfortunately, there are a couple of niggling points that were not mentioned in other reviews and holds me back from giving it 5 stars. If I had known about those niggling points it would have made me dither a lot longer than two months!
P.S. I had sent an email asking about sizing and it was suggested that I purchase the mini-ruck but that item would not hold my MBP in its sleeve.
Addendum:
A. It’s a 15” MBP that I have and I also carry a couple of items specific to the work that I do.
B. Tom Binh and LLBean had bags that were in very serious consideration for my money. But, the Brain Bag had too much material that I would never use and the Expedition Travel Pack (from both retailers, respectively) looked too much like a carry-on. They were, though, half the price of the Ruck Sack.
January 29, 2011 Shortly after the TSA began its new groping program, a handful of airports, under the urging of Rep. Johm Mica (R.-Fla), contemplated replacing TSA screeners with private contractors. This is already done at 16 airports such as San Francisco and Kansas City. According to Mica it would make the screeners more responsive to the public and more easily replaced than the ones working for TSA.
At the time, the TSA said it would allow it.
Not any more. As of Friday, the TSA said no more private screeners. The ones alreadyin place could stay, but no new airports could apply.
You have to wonder what could have caused this reversal? The fact that the union representing the TSA workers is thrilled, the fact that the government could keep control over the people, or perhaps the fact that the TSA was tired of being outperformed by its competition.
You decide.
(Frank II)
January 28, 2011 January 25, 2011 Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota, former pro wrestler, and well known libertarian, is suing the TSA and DHS stating that full-body scans and pat-downs at airport checkpoints violate his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The lawsuit claims that searches are “unwarranted and unreasonable intrusions on Governor Ventura’s personal privacy and dignity and are a justifiable cause for him to be concerned for his personal health and well-being”
In 2008, Ventura received a hip replacement. Since, then, he always sets off the metal detectors. Up until last November, he was always checked with a wand and cleared to travel. Now, he must subject himself to invasive body scan or pat downs because he always sets off the metal detectors.
The lawsuit goes on to say the invasive pat down “exposed him to humiliation and degradation through unwanted touching, gripping and rubbing of the intimate areas of his body.”
Both DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA chief John Pistole are named in the suit.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
(Frank II)
January 24, 2011 By now, I’m sure most of you have heard of the terrible bombing in Moscow. Our hearts go out to the vicitims and their families, and it shows that no country is immune to these monsters.
But it also had me thinking…even though it happened half way around the world, I’m sure TSA is going to overreact somehow. Anyone want to guess?
(Frank II)
January 24, 2011 Let’s face it, most of us here practice or want to practice a type of travel minimalism—taking only what we really need.
And a smaller group, including me, are trying to incorporate those prinicples into our everyday lives. I recently got rid of anything I don’t really need or haven’t used in a long time. Most was donated to charity, some was sold, some recycled and, thankfully, very little is going to wind up in a landfill.
Minimalism, it seems, is becoming trendy (Which is weird for me since I usually go in the opposite direction of trends.) Blogs on the subject are growing quickly.
But I noticed something similar about all those blogs. Not necessarily about the idea, but about the bloggers.
Then I saw this video. And it summed it all up.
For the record, I’ve watched it a few times and still laugh. Enjoy.
Oh…and has what you learned traveling light affected any other portions of your life?
(Frank II)
January 22, 2011 For those of us who one bag, there are times when the small of luggage we take can actually cause a problem. I’d like to start a series of discussions going on how each of handles a particular problem.
First ups, souvenirs. Most people buy them and they can very easily add weight and bulk to our one bags. How do people here handle souvenirs and is it still possible to one bag it if you are a shopper?
(BTW, if you have other “one bag dilemma” topics, feel free to post your suggestions in the forum and I will put them on the blog—incrementally.)
(Frank II)
January 19, 2011 In an era of extra airline fees, Ryanair leads the way in sheer number and originality. But one of those fees seems to have gone too far.
If you fly Ryanair, you are required to print your boarding pass before you get to the airport. If you wait, it will cost you an additional 40 Euros or Pounds depending on which country you are in.
But a Spanish judge has ruled this is illegal as it is the job of the airline to issue boarding passes and should not be left only to the passengers.
Ryanair said they will appeal. If they should lose, they’ll still require people to print their boarding passes at home. If they arrive at the airport without one, they don’t fly.
Ryanair’s boarding pass fee is illegal
(Frank II)
January 17, 2011 traveling light. (What did you think I meant?)
What made you decide to try it? What did you carry? How was it?
I was going to talk about my first time one bagging a vacation. It was a two week trip to Europe and I was carrying the original Rick Steves Convertible. (I think it was the only one at the time—there might have been another.). I believe I overpacked as I remember the bag being heavy and sweating anytime I had to walk a few blocks with it. It was March and I was also wearing a coat. The other mistake was that I tried to use the included shoulder strap, which wasn’t very good, rather than just put it on my back.
I realized that I had been sort of one bagging it prior to that for business. For years, I traveled on business trips with a garment bag. In those days, even though they were bulky, thye were allowed to be brought on board (probably not today). This was before the day of roller bags when the garment bag was the standard. It was great for suits and pants, but horrible for everything else.
When rollers came out, I upgraded to a Travelpro Suiter and even took that on vacation for a few years.
But now, it’s mostly non-wheeled bags and I go back and forth between a Tom Bihn Tri-Star and an L.L. Bean Quickload Travel Pack. I also have an Ebags Weekender that I realized I’ve never even used. (Perhaps I shoudl sell it.) Oh, and the good old OPEC bag…..sans shoulder strap.
If I should need wheels, I have an old Ebags Weekender Wheelie that is no longer made. It’s basically the old model Weekender with wheels. I have a few other bags but they are for specialized trips.
Your turn……
(Frank II)
