TSA says be neat or be delayed!

Messy packers, you and the TSA have issues:

WASHINGTON — Airline passengers, who already are required at airport checkpoints to remove their shoes, take off their coats and carry only small bottles of liquids, now have a new task: Pack neatly.
In anticipation of the most popular holiday for travel in the USA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today launches a campaign urging travelers to eliminate clutter in carry-on bags. Pack in layers. Keep items neat.
Messy travelers could spend more time in line if their carry-ons are cluttered because such bags are more likely to be pulled aside and searched by hand, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe says. - USA Today

From the TSA site:
—
Here’s how to SimpliFLY your overall security experience:

• Pack an organized carry-on bag using layers – a layer of clothes, then electronics, more clothes, and then other items like toiletries. This will help security officers see what’s in your bag.
• Have your boarding pass and ID ready for inspection when you get to the checkpoint.
• Remove your coat and shoes and place them in a bin.
• Place any oversized electronics (laptops, full-size video game consoles, DVD players and video cameras that use cassettes) in a separate bin. iPods and other smaller electronics can stay in your carry-on bag.
• Follow the 3-1-1 rule for liquids and put your one quart baggie separately in the bin.
• When in doubt, leave it out. If you’re not sure about whether you can bring an item through the checkpoint, put it in your checked bag or leave it at home. Click here to see the list of prohibited items.
  —
  

I’m guessing packing cubes are OK, but probably the more translucent the better. Some of us will take a little umbrage at being told to “neaten up,” I’ll bet. Here are some TSA example photos (left good, right bad, if the shoe fits wear it!):

 

Kip says "1000's of ways to attack"

TSA administrator Kip Hawley and his agency have had a tough week. Statements like this one don’t help:

“There are thousands of ways to attack, but if you put all of the resources at the checkpoint to make that bullet proof, [terrorists will] say thank you very much and go someplace else to get in, so you have to secure the entire environment at a basic level and then upgrade in an unexpected, unpredictable way,” Hawley said. “If they say the checkpoint is all buttoned down, then the attack comes through the perimeter, the attack comes in front of the airport, there is a [shoulder-fired rocket] attack.” - Congressional Quarterly

He seems to be saying, “Don’t worry too much about our sloppy and inefficient checkpoint screening  because something a lot  worse could happen.” Wow. I do agree that the TSA is good at being “unpredicatable” and I’d love to be able to “say thank you very much and go someplace else” at most airports.

Heavy bags = unhealthy spines

An orthopedic and sports medicine specialist says choose carefully if you’ve got a big load to lug:

 

Design is more important than you think. If you’re hauling a heavy load, look for a bag that carries most of the weight near your spine, or the center of your body, which means less stress, (Dr. Robert) Pedowitz says. His top recommendation is a dual-strap bag.
Messenger bags are OK if you carry most of the weight on your butt as opposed to one side. Large purses and bags that you carry on one shoulder or by hand are the worst offenders, Pedowitz says. “They can strain your hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder,” he says.

 

 I believe the magic number for normal- and small-framed people is around 15 pounds. Exceed that weight for long (on your shoulder) and you’re in for some real discomfort unless you have wheels or a real backpack with with a good suspension system. The story referenced above mentions college students who struggle with 20-pound laptop and messenger bags. Portable computers are indeed the chief offender these days; they always add 4-12 pounds. If you must travel with one you’ll be hard pressed to to keep your total carried weight much below 20 pounds. 

You a TSA employee, or just happy to see me?

US Government Accountability Office investigators who conistently fooled the TSA are recommding more pat-downs and physical seraches of air traveleers:

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators testifying before Congress on Thursday said that more physical searches of passengers would be needed to reduce the chances that a terrorist can sneak a bomb onto an airplane. But air safety officials resisted the suggestion, saying American passengers dislike intrusive pat-downs.

The investigators smuggled the components of potentially devastating liquid bombs past checkpoints at 19 airports nationwide earlier this year, they testified. In the covert tests, they carried the elements of an improvised explosive device and a firebomb in carry-on luggage or on their bodies. - LA Times

Some in Congress are not pleased with the TSA’s performance:

“The problem is that the news is the same — it’s not getting better — and that’s unacceptable,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), chairman of the Government Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which held the hearing.

Waxman called the TSA’s record on screening “embarrassing and dangerous” and warned (TSA head Kip) Hawley that the committee would ask the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, to conduct a similar test next year. He went on to chastise Hawley for seeming to “pooh-pooh” the results of the GAO investigations.

“You’re on notice,” Waxman said. “I want you to take this one seriously. I didn’t feel you took the first one seriously.”  - Read the entire LA Times story here.

USA Today’s account of the hearing provides no comfort:

Hawley downplayed (the report) that showed investigators were able to smuggle liquid explosives and detonators past security. He said some bomb components investigators brought on airplanes this year are too weak to blow up a plane.

“Frankly, some of the stuff we saw here is not a concern. Some of it is a concern,” Hawley said after GAO officials played a videotape of the bomb parts they used in the probe being detonated in cars.

John Cooney, the GAO’s assistant director for forensic audits and special investigations, said the bomb parts “placed in an appropriate place on an aircraft could possibly do catastrophic damage.”

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the TSA and revealed that during another series of covert tests in 2006, GAO investigators slipped bomb parts past screeners in each of their 21 attempts.

“That’s an embarrassing and dangerous record,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which held Thursday’s hearing.

“This is unfortunately a record of failure,” said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.

The maddening thing is that the TSA’s incompetence is going to lead to more hassle - pat-downs and who-knows-what-else. Wouldn’t it be better to start over and design an effective system of security screening rather than just add to the existing regimen - which is undoubtedly what they’ll do?  I appreciate the diffuculty of the task and I’m glad we’ve had no more serious incidents, but government tends to perpetuate and add to its way of doing things rather than (pardon the pun) blowing them up and starting over.

More one-bag rule news from the UK

It sounds like the UK will ease its one-bag/no personal item rule in early 2008, but there is some waffle room for the authorities and some bureaucratic hoops involved: 

”From 7 January airports will be able to seek permission to let more than one item of hand luggage be taken on board flights by passengers.

Size restrictions on liquids and cabin luggage will remain and Ms Kelly said it was “not about relaxing” security.

In order to be able to relax the “one bag rule”, airports will have to apply to the Department for Transport and prove they have the necessary screening measures to handle extra cabin luggage.” - BBC

UK one-bag rule on the way out!

UK PM Gordon Brown has good news for the carry-on traveler:

Releasing a government report to the House of Commons, Mr. Brown also said British airports would begin relaxing their rules on hand luggage so that in some airports passengers would be able to take two carry-on bags beginning in 2008. Since a foiled plan to blow up trans-Atlantic planes in the summer of 2006, passengers at British airports have been restricted to one carry-on bag. - The New York Times

What's in your pack?

From Gadling.com’s excellent recurring feature - What’s in your pack? - this time with travel writer David Farley:

“I’d much rather hand-wash my clothes than lug around a big bag. It’s also nice to get off the plane and just go,without having to wait around for my bag, which is inevitably the last one that comes around on the carousel. Sometimes when I see the way people over-pack-lugging around bags that a pachyderm could fit into-I almost laugh out loud in shock. One time, while waiting in the check-in line, I noticed the couple next to me each had two massive bags and two large carry-ons. I jokingly suggested that they must be moving out of the country with so much baggage, but they said they were just going to London for four days. In a way, it’s emblematic of how inefficient and solipsistic we are as a society; we stuff our bags with so many just-in-case items, forgetting that the outside world also uses shampoo, tampons, and soap, and that there are shops in the outside world that sell those things just in case you need them. In fact, being forced to go into a shop to buy something you need (but didn’t bring), may in some way heighten your travel experience. We like to wax on about how travel changes us, it opens our minds and expands our world view. But I’m not so sure this is always true.

Less is more: the svelte Western Flyer from Tom Bihn

Sometimes maximum legal carry-on size is more than you need, and if you go ultra-light it’s almost always more than you need.  Tom Bihn is preparing a new smaller carry-on entry in response to customer requests and his own travel experience: the Western Flyer, a trim, versatile, innovative bag that can ride on the shoulder or function as a sling bag - sort of like a one-strap back pack:

“The Western Flyer is a small carry-on bag similar to the Aeronaut in function. It’s volume is about 25 liters or a little more than half the Aeronaut’s volume. Rather than convert to a backpack as the Aeronaut does, it has a sling-bag strap, like the Buzz. This strap is designed to be worn cross-body on the right shoulder; it zips away when not in use. A Poron padded handle and two heavy metal “D” rings (for an optional shoulder strap) allow you to carry it the conventional ways too. The Western Flyer has three exterior pockets (two zip closed) and two equal-sized main compartments (like the Brain Bag). The front compartment can be further divided in two with a zip-out divider, creating two compartments well sized for shoes. The back compartment has webbing loops so you can use annex clips to secure a Brain Cell (horizontal or vertical; we’ll let you know soon which sizes fit, not all for sure). Matching packing cubes will follow shortly. The Western Flyer is made of 1050 ballistic nylon in crimson, steel or black; lined with Dyneema/nylon ripstop. Ships late December or early January, we hope! [Available for pre-order before then]” — posted by Tom Bihn in the Forums

I have a prototype of this bag in my possession but have not had time to evaluate it fully. My first impression is that it’s a tremendous design and I can imagine about twenty ways people (not just travelers) will use it. My wife has already taken it on an overnight trip and she really liked the zipper divider mentioned above. I couldn’t envision its usefulness, but for her it was perfect for dividing her hair stuff and cosmetics. This bag is a chameleon and I’m guessing Tom will enjoy hearing about all the ways people will use it. I can see it as a primary one-bag solution for the really light traveler, a carryon for people who check bags, an overnighter for practically anyone, and - properly equipped - as an everyday laptop/briefcase thought that’s not its intended function. The Tom Bihn blog has a few pictures. I won’t photograph my prototype since I don’t think it is fully representative of the final design.

(Photo) from Tom Bihn blog)

 

Brain Cell gets brawnier

Tom Bihn has announced an upgrade to his highly-regarded Brain Cell laptop case/sleeve: an extra layer.
—
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOM BIHN Brain Cell Laptop Case Adds Memory Foam

SEATTLE, WA — November 7th, 2007

The TOM BIHN Brain Cell laptop case has gained a reputation for offering
the best protection one can get for their laptop short of using a heavy
metal briefcase. The Brain Cell cradles laptops in 8mm thick soft foam
padding, suspends them in a 4mm hard corrugated plastic insert that
protects from the front, back, and bottom, and protects them at the
sides with dense cross-linked closed-cell polyethylene foam.

And now that protection is even better. All Brain Cells now have an new
fifth layer of protection: 12mm thick premium memory foam, manufactured
to our specifications in the U.S.A. The layer of memory foam is fixed to
the corrugated plastic floor of the Brain Cell, separating the bottom of
the foam sling from the corrugated plastic shell. The memory foam acts
as an extra layer of cushion as well as an effective shock absorber.”

—

The nifty Brain Cells clip in to many Tom Bihn bags and lots of travelers use the Brain Cell to tuck a laptop into an unpadded bag or carry-on luggage. The come highly recommended from a variety of users.

"Back" soon

I must apologize for the dearth of posts this week. My back has been acting up; the good news is that the doc has found a medicine that helps and I’m on the mend. I have an exciting manufacturer’s prototype bag and an innovative shoulder strap that have languished as a result of my pains. It’s hard to shoulder a bag and impossible to sit when my back does this thing. My problems are NOT the result of heavy shoulder bags or poorly designed backpacks, but of heredity (thanks Mom). If this spasm problem had hit me on the road or on a plane it would be brutal. Thankfully this has never happened, and the muscle relaxer I’ve discovered may well save a future trip. Pack light and be careful!

Incovenience in perspective: Shoe news

CBS reports that the Feds still view shoes as a real threat:

The joint FBI-Homeland Security bulletin, obtained by CBS News today, bluntly warns that terrorists are still working to use “modified footwear as a concealment method for explosive devices,” CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports.

The alert follows the discovery of bomb detonators - expertly hidden in the hollowed-out soles of this pair of shoes - found aboard a European bus last month.

Intelligence officials say the shoes were not being worn at the time, but instead were being used, as the document says, “to smuggle electric blasting caps across international borders for use in a terrorist attack.”

A hi-tech light at the end of the TSA tunnel?

Don’t thow away your 3-1-1 baggies just yet - but:

Passengers breezed through the security checkpoint. No fumbling to pull laptops out of carry-ons. No dumping those quart baggies of liquids and gels into plastic bins.

Shoes still had to come off, but otherwise it was just a matter of putting packed bags through a futuristic MRI-like scanner and going on their way.

 Dozens of randomly selected Southwest Airlines passengers were sent yesterday through a checkpoint at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport that had a new automatic explosives-detection system being tested by the federal Transportation Security Administration. - from The Baltimore Sun

Better days may be ahead on the air travelers trail. 

Shoeless Joe's checkpoint mood piece

The NYT’s Joe Sharkey has written a TSA security checkpint lament that is not to be missed. Aside from his complaints about the ugly aesthetics and de-humanizing regimen, Sharkey makes the excellent point that the disorder and stress created by the whole screwed up system is creating more risk - not less.

Given bare or stockinged feet, the lack of floor mats is also a chronic problem, Mr. Weinstein said. Matt Blaze, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in security cryptology, agreed.

“Somehow we ended up with this cobbled-together mess,” he said. “At the very point in the process at which you have to take your shoes off, that’s where the carpeting ends.”

From a customer service standpoint, it’s “infuriating,” he said. But disorder also raises genuine security concerns.

“There’s no better place to get away with something than a chaotic environment,” he said.

United considers luggage ransom

United Airlines has always been good at holding luggage hostage. Now they may start charging ransom for early release:

United could soon charge customers a fee if they want their luggage to be unloaded off the plane first. That’s just one of the things being considered at United, where the Chicago Tribune (free registration) writes CEO Glenn Tilton believes “his airline needs deep, wrenching changes to remain competitive.” The newspaper says Tilton “wants to pursue everything, from a merger” to the priority-baggage fee (OBOW ed. - guranteeing your luggage leaves the plane first) “as part of a major overhaul of the nation’s second-largest airline.” The Tribune says other ideas being considered include “curbside-to-curbside baggage service, fees to check a second bag and allowing mainstream passengers to ‘rent’ for a day the perks available to elite customers.”  - - From USA Today

“Rent” the perks of elite customers? How about renting some customer service? 

Multi-tasking with the Air Boss

Here’s a tale from a traveling photographer who has decided that his next camera bag will not be a camera bag:

My solution is not a camera bag at all. I’ve looked at Moose Peterson’s bags and I think he comes close to my needs. But I want a bag I can throw my laptop into and not be forced to strap it to the side. Or at least I want the option to do either. The bag that I think comes closest is a Red Oxx Air Boss. The Air Boss, some GearWraps, and a thin sleeve for my laptop will protect my gear against bumps and save me 5+ pounds. And it’ll fit into bins.

RED OXX seems to make some of the most bomb-proof travel kit out there. On a side note, be careful with the words “bomb-proof” when travelling. An airport security officer recently remarked on my Stormcase as I threw it on the belt. He said it looked tough. I said it was “bomb-proof.” He suggested I not say that again. Momentary lapse in judgement - it had been a long, long day.

He makes a great point that I learned many years ago as a photojournalist: Padding wastes space and creates uneccessary bulk. Use specific padding (like wraps) or improvised padding (like clothes your taking anyway) to maximize efficiency. And a quality laptop sleeve - like those from Tom Bihn -  can turn any bag into a computer bag.

 See our review of the Air Boss here.

High insecurity

Is the airport security hassle we endure all for naught?

WASHINGTON — Security screeners at two of the nation’s busiest airports failed to find fake bombs hidden on undercover agents posing as passengers in more than 60% of tests last year, according to a classified report obtained by USA TODAY.

While the airport security system seems to have been fantastically effective since 2001 - inasmuch as there have been no major incidents - the question must be asked: Have we been safe because of the system or in spite of the system?

You'll be the most popular person in the strip search line

The SKEENER from Skooba Designs will make you the hit of the airport. Is this the first tongue-in-check messenger/laptop bag? From the Skooba site:

This is a courier-style laptop bag with a unique graphic treatment that is bound to turn some heads. The front flap of each Skreener is printed with an actual X-ray of items typically found in laptop and travel bags—computer, phone, music device, batteries, cords, and much more. The designers at Skooba actually “shot” these genuine X-rays themselves and reproduced them in a choice of 3 different flap themes and colors. They may not be enough to bypass airport security, but they certainly will entertain. Yet despite the fun cover treatment, the bags are all business, with Air Square laptop protection, dual audio pockets with individual earphone ports (one for music, one for phone), an expandable main compartment, and over a dozen other pockets and compartments for organizing office, school or tech accessories.

The bag: $119. The resulting cavity search: Priceless. 

TSA: Head-to-toe screening, Millimeter Wave

“Terrorist have used baggy clothing to hide weapons and explosives in the past, including in 2004 when Chechen rebels posed as pregnant women and smuggled explosives aboard two Russian jetliners, killing 90 people.

While passengers can wear any type of clothing they desire, baggy, loose fitting, bulky clothing and head coverings that are non form-fitting present a particular challenge for officers in their mission to ensure IEDs are not smuggled on board. Passengers could be subjected to additional screening to further evaluate any item that could hide explosives or their components.” - from the TSA website.

 The TSA has also announced that the “bulky clothing” category includes headwear:

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today adjusted its security procedures for headwear and is now including the screening procedures for headwear within the overall category of bulky clothing and not calling it out as a separate category.

Removal of all headwear is recommended but the rules accommodate those with religious, medical, or other reasons for whom removing items is not comfortable. Transportation security officers have several options for screening passengers who choose not to remove bulky clothing, including headwear.

These options include:

• Trace portals (where available)
• Trace detection
• Pat downs

 And are you ready for MILLIMETER WAVE Whole Body Imaging - a new technology on trial in Phoenix? It’s billed as an alternative to the all-too-friendly pat-down for secondary security  screening. It looks like a phone booth, but it can see right through you…

For the traveler who has everything...

I’m not making this up. You can buy zipper lubricant in a can. And it’s called Jig-A-Loo:

Jig-A-Loo is a revolutionary new product that combines the power of a lubricant with a water repellent.
Unlike any other lubricant, it contains no oil, grease, wax or detergent, so it doesn’t stain or stink. It stops squeaks, unsticks just about anything, protects against rust, and is an exceptional water repellent.
With thousands of uses around the house, garden, cottage and more, it’s the all-around solution in a can. 

The manufacturer calls it a “lubri-pellant” and recommends it for zippers and practically everything else you can think of. They claim it’s non-staining. This would make it appropriate for luggage…or trousers. And, hey, it’s from Canada, eh?

From the website FAQ: 

Can I use Jig-A-Loo on garments?

Yes, Jig-A-Loo does not stain. Have a stuck zipper on your white jeans, your wife’s dress? Your kid’s jacket? Or another piece of clothing? Just spray it with Jig-A-Loo for quick and clean results.

Packing and luggage thread

Here’s an interesting thread on the askandyaboutclothes.com forum - mostly for men. This is a nice site for the snappy dresser. Andy has pages about packing amd luggage.