August 8, 2008 We’re up at 1bag1world.com, with or withot the “www”. Your old links to onebagger.squarespace.com addresses will still work. Look for lots of new changes in the coming weeks.
If you maintain any blogs or sites let me strongly recommend Squarespace and Nettica for ease of use.
August 6, 2008 
Thanks to all for the help on the new address/name. We’ll be changing to a new template sometime in the next two weeks to take advantage of Squarespace’s recent upgrade. The look will be diffrent but many of the graphics will remain. Please be patiient with any temporary bugs or instability - just imagine you’re waiting in line at the security checkpoint, shoes in hand. As always I’ll welcome and value your suggestions.
August 6, 2008 
The OBOW site is growing quickly. We’ll soon move beyond our Squarespace address to our own url. A couple of choices (which we own) are 1bag1world.com and mustcarryon.com. Which do you prefer? Unfortunately onebagoneworld.com and obow.com are taken.
Frank@OBOW
Possible logo element if I go with the digits…
August 6, 2008 …that’s the unofficial, passenger-generated motto of British Airways, whose new Heathrow Terminal 5 was proposed as a panacea then panned as a pitiful failure. More evidence from the Times of London:
HEATHROW
British Airways loses more bags and operates more delayed planes than any other big airline in Europe, a confidential report seen by The Times has found.
On the day that BA launched its first advertising campaign to rescue the reputation of Terminal 5 at Heathrow using the tag line “Terminal 5 is working”, it emerged that BA customers were 80 per cent more likely to lose their luggage than average in the first half of 2008.
Heathrow is quite a trip - the crossroads of the world in my opinion - and a real cultural experience if you survive it. To think the old LHR terminals are actually preferable to the new one is incredible.
(Thanks to Mike in Bristol, UK for the tip)
Frank@OBOW
Read how tough LHR can be, even for a one-bag traveler.(and note how nicely his Aeronaut fits in the BAA luggage gauge).
August 5, 2008 
JUVENALThose literate Brits. A London newspaper story contains two great travel quotes - one from a 21st century high fashion designer, one from a Roman satirist of 20 centuries ago:
Diane von Furstenberg - “When you figure out your suitcase, you figure out your life.”
Juvenal - “Travel light and you can sing in the robber’s face.”
I like the old quote better than the new one. Might as well throw in the old Spanish proverb “On a long journey, even a straw weighs heavy.”
Read the story from the Telegraph.
August 5, 2008 Share your feelings about the TSA liquid restrics in six words and you might win an iPod from Cranky Flier.
“Three? I thought it was four!”
“Toiletry terrorists took two tubes today”
August 5, 2008 A little company called Aerovation claims to be first-to-market with a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag. Just one problem, some TSA screeners never got the memo that laptops can stay in these approved cocoons:
But Mr. Bosma’s little company had already quietly claimed the title. Being first, of course, can have a price. Some customers complained to Mr. Bosma that some airport screeners had told them they knew nothing about the new rule and required owners of checkpoint-friendly bags to remove their laptops just like everyone else.
So Mr. Bosma posted a disclaimer on the Aerovation Web site (www.aerovation.com) that says, in part: “We’ve had customers who’ve been told to remove their laptops from the bag for screening. This isn’t the fault of the bag. T.S.A. is moving as quickly as possible to deploy signage and new standard operating procedures to their screeners.”
Agency officials were amazed that a retailer could get the bags produced so quickly. “We’ll get the word out,” Kip Hawley, director of the agency, told me the other day. The agency is now accelerating training and other procedures to be ready by mid-August. - New York Times
note: TSA now says they’re ready…
August 5, 2008 William Strunk, Jr., author of the writing manual The Elements of Style, used to tell his students “Omit needless words!
Omit needless words!” Strunk stressed economy of language; he said
every word and phrase must pull its weight, pay its way. Similarly, the
light traveler is well advised to “Omit needless stuff! Omit needless
stuff!” 
Need - now there’s a weighty word. What do we need? What can we edit? What can we leave behind? Packing stuff we need
is not the same thing as packing everything we might need. We may live
out of one suitcase, but we shouldn’t try to pack our entire life into
that suitcase. Leave room for chance. Heck, get crazy — discover a new
shampoo! Buy an umbrella in another country. Run out of underwear…just
for fun.
(repost form 06-07)
August 5, 2008 One of the readers of the hobotraveler.com blog researched international carry-on regulations to find the lowest common denominator for bag dimensions and weights. He found that a bag of 19 x 13 x 8 inches (48 x 34 x 20cm) should be accepted by an airline in the world, though most airlines allow much larger bags of 45-50” in combined dimensions. As for weight:
5 kg 11.02 lbs (a few)
6 kg 13.22 lbs (several)
7 kg 15.43 lbs (common)
This is helpful info if you absolutely, positively never want to check a bag. The TB Western Flyer at 18 x 12 x 7” is one of the few bags I know that fits comfortably under the size limits. Some recent discussions at the TB forums extol the Flyer as a bag that fits under nearly any airline seat - real plus given the badly bulging bins on most flights these days!
August 5, 2008 A packing cube that becomes a daypack and a Western Flyer with two straps instead of one:
Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack
Tom writes:
“I designed the Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack as a result of
customer requests from our Forums, in fact, I think it’s the first product we’ve made that was 100% inspired by customer
feedback. Many of the details, of course, reflect my design experience, and my sewing crew helped to refine some of the subtleties of the construction. Overall, it was truly a group effort.”
The Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack is a Packing Cube that can be used with our Aeronaut or Western Flyer carry-on travel bags to organize and keep your clothing neat and separated from the other items in the bag. Once you reach your destination, you can remove the contents of the Packing Cube and right-side it out, transforming it into a backpack with two compartments, an “o-ring” for attaching a Guardian Light, Key Strap, or Organizer Pouches, and webbing backpack straps that are surprisingly comfortable for lighter loads.
It’s a great, dual-function bag for those who travel light and need what they take with them to be lightweight and multi-tasking. Plus, the Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack gives you the option of bringing home more than you took with you (gifts, souvenirs, etc.) — use it as an additional carry-on bag on your return flight.
The Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack ($35) is available for pre-order now and ships by early September. Pre-order here:
See also:
Convertible Packing Cube/Shoulder Bag
Frank@OBOW
I believe one or both of these items will be arriving for evaluation soon. The cube pack is a very nice idea and it should work with most carryons - Brad
July 29, 2008 Register with TripAdvisor and get a free reusable 3-1-1 bag while supples last.
July 27, 2008
For those who hate to fold: SkyRoll
And now for something completely different, the SkyRoll garment bag - an innovative solution for the business traveler, weekender, or light traveler who simply hates to fold clothing. Here’s the concept in a nutshell: take a full-size garment bag and wrap it around a rigid tube, the hollow part of which can be used for stowing shoes, toiletries, personal care items, and clothing which can be rolled or stuffed. OBOW put the SkyRoll through a hands-on test and here’s what we found.
A weapon in the war on wrinkles
The SkyRoll gets high marks for its think-outside-the-rectangle crease-fighting design which means a traveler’s main items of clothing – shirts, blouses, skirts, dresses, trousers, and sport coats – can be carried in the garment bag. Because it’s not folded in half or in thirds but is wrapped (rolled) around the triangular center tube, the Skyroll garment bag effectively reduces wrinkles by eliminating the hard folds which are inescapable in suitcases or folding garment bags. I found it worked best on jackets and pants. Shirts still had some wrinkles but they were mostly vertical (probably due to the hasty way I tucked them into my sport coat) rather than horizontal and – to my eye – less noticeable than normal. The thicker material of my pants and jacket fared very well and probably would look near-perfect after being hung up overnight. The manufacturer says it’s best not to use hangers in the bag, but recommends thin wire hangers if you insist on using them. The opening in the top of the garment bag will allow the hanger hooks to protrude if you position the double zippers properly. Without hangars that bag can be completely sealed. There are no devices to hold clothing in place in the garment bag: the pressure produced by wrapping the bag and cinching it up with adjustable buckles takes care of that. I noticed no movement of my garments during transport.
Buckle up for action
So different a luggage concept requires a bit of explanation. The process of unwrapping, packing, and re-bundling the SkyRoll at first appears daunting but is actually quite simple and intuitive. There are three buckles on one end of the garment bag and two on the other, so knowing where to start is easy. The shoulder strap must be unbuckled, then you undo the three outer (“ending”) buckles and the bag can be unrolled. The two inner (“starting”) buckles then allow the garment bag to completely detach from the tube. A double zipper lets the garment bag open on three sides. The bag is generously sized unlike the undersized suiters that come with some carry-on suitcases. Up to a size 44 men’s coat would fit comfortably and larger ones will work as well, though they may be a little scrunched. Two zippered mesh pockets on the garment bag accommodate small items, underclothing, or ties. There’s also a long (but not so deep) zipped exterior pocket.
Totally tubular
The core of the Skyroll is the hollow two-compartment tube. It is zippered on each end and has a fabric divider in the middle. Either end of the tube will swallow a pair of shoes up to about men’s’ size 12 or 13. The other end can be stuffed full of socks or underwear, toiletries, hair dryer, et cetera.
Size matters
My packed SkyRoll (see bottom of post for what it held) had dimensions of 23” x 10” x 11” which puts it just under the normal U.S. carry-on limit of 45” combined inches. Some carriers specify a maximum length of 22” but SkyRoll inventor Don Chernoff assured me he’d had no negative feedback from customers about carry-on size problems. The odd shape and the fact that you can sling it vertically on your back means that it looks a good bit smaller than it is. It should also tuck nicely in the top of an overhead compartment. International air travel, where carriers are usually more concerned with weight than dimensions, should present no problem. The SkyRoll weighed about five pounds empty which is pretty light considering the rigid frame of the tube. My packed weight was 16 pounds.
Carrying the load
The provided strap has a sliding pad which is reasonably comfortable. There’s also a padded handstrap. I really like the fact that you can sling it almost vertically on your back – makes squeezing down a crowded airplane aisle much easier. One end of the bag has a pull handle.
Contruction & materials
The SkyRoll is made of 1200 denier ballistic nylon. It’s an imported bag but quality of construction looks quite good. It’s very important that the zippers function well since the garment bag zips on three sides. Zippers might be one area where the USA-made bags are superior.
Value
At $109 the SkyRoll appears to be an excellent value. If this bag were made in American you could probably expect to pay $200 or more. I can’t say is would be as bullet-proof as a Red Oxx, but looks like a lot of bag for the money.
Who needs it
The cleverly-designed SkyRoll is an excellent solution for the short-trip business traveler or anyone who needs to travel with nice clothes but hates to fold. Its capacity is somewhat less than a traditional, rectangular, max-sized carryon but its garment bag utility is something special. I hate to fold, and if I had to travel with a suit on a regular basis this bag would be at the top of my wish list. The only downside for the business traveler is that any printed matter or computer equipment will have to travel in a separate bag – it’s pretty much shoes- and clothes-only. But the ability to slide in a pair of shoes is a nice feature. The SkyRoll is not a full-time one-bag solution for everyone, but it might be the business traveler or snappy dresser’s best friend.
Here’s what I packed:
Garment bag:
Two dress shirts
One undershirt
One necktie
Two pairs of cotton dress/casual pants
One small book
Tube:
One pair of dress shoes
Two pairs of socks
3-1-1 liquid bag and minimal toiletries
Travel hair dryer
Two undershirts
One long-sleeve casual/athletic shirt
Clothesline
Weight empty: 5 pounds
Weight packed: 16 pounds
The SkyRoll comes in black only
Top three pictures courtesy of SkyRoll
Visith SkyRoll.com for a video demonstration and read about Don Chernoff’s inspiration for bag’s invention.
The SkyRoll may be purchased directly from skyroll.com or from these brick-and-mortar retailers
July 23, 2008 
…with powdered toothpaste. Amy at WriteBrained is getting serious about light travel and is testing prodcuts. Read here review of Eco-Dent here. Also, see her excellent in-depth post on a feminine 3-1-1 strategy - very helpful and way above my level of expertise.
Frank@OBOW
…and also for the fairer sex - seven days of outfits in one carry-on.
July 22, 2008 Tom Bihn iw working on new bags and packs designed to meet the TSA’s “checkpoint friendly” standards. The end result will be that with one of these bags you won’t have to remove them from the bag for screening which minimizes hassle and damage risk. Last week Tom flew to a west coast airport for a run-through with the TSA. This post from the Tom Bihn blog explains a few things about the checkpoint friendly program that I was unaware of:
The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening standards. Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available for pre-order within weeks. Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and messenger bag. These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle factory crew. Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.” That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine, protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in the case, no accessories.) Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.
July 22, 2008 
While researching a question from Buzz in the forum I came across this interesting shirt - a travel oxford that doesn’t look like a travel shirt. It’s 73% Coolmax/27% cotton so it should dry quickly. A shirt of this type might be a real boon for the business traveler. Here’s hoping it has a comfortable collar. It’s also available in white and standard blue.
July 22, 2008 We told you a couple of weeks ago about the massive, motorized suitcase from Live Luggage. Well, Ginny McGrath of the excellent Times of London travel section has tried one out and she’s not so bloody well happy with it:
Steps were the greatest challenge - going up and down them meant carrying the heavy bag - but there’s also challenges like loading it into cars/onto beds/off baggage carousels.
It’s not the best looking piece of kit either - I got some sniggering comments from a stag party checking in ahead of me about its size and clunkiness - and more than one person likened it to a giant Dyson vacuum cleaner.
The sheer size of the suitcase means getting on and off busy trains or buses means there’s bound to be a few unhappy travellers whose toes you’ve run over - that said, during an airport delay it made a handy table for a game of cards. - from the Times, see video here.
Oh, and it weighs about 50 pounds and costs ₤700 ($1400!).
July 21, 2008 Read an interview we did with TravelSmith and learn a little more about the genesis of OBOW.
July 17, 2008 July 16, 2008 
