"One bag" travel, which bag is best?

" wrote:
I could probably "make do" with nothing. I took survival
training and actually had to do that for a weekend. Well,
I got to carry a knife and a compass. Not exactly my idea
of a vacation though. Besides, they wouldn't let me take
the knife on a plane these days.

I once met a Japanese guy walking across the border from Nepal to India
who was traveling with a toothbrush in a plastic bag. That was all his
luggage.

miguel
--
Photos from 40 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Malaysia; Thailand; Singapore; Spain; Morocco
Airports of the world: http://airport.u.nu

On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 20:23:26 -0500, "Donald Newcomb"
wrote:

Some shade of brown? Almost all my luggage is black. The only advantage of
black is that you can match luggage from different manufacturers without any
problem. With other colors it would be impossible to get a match. I'd
imagine that any light color would be not so good since it would show dirt
and wear.

Whether my luggage matches is not very high on my list of priorities.
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

B wrote:
erilar wrote:
B wrote:
I don't understand the public transport thing. The human body is
less bulky around the legs than around the chest. In a packed tram,
you can always find a bit of unused real estate on the floor, while
a backpack on your back will be punching people in the face.

In which case you remove the pack from your back and do the same.

Miguel Cruz had said that a backpack was MORE convenient on cowded
public transport than a wheeled suitcase. If you're going to do the
same thing with it that you do with a suitcase, but you also have to
take it off (no mean feat in a crowded tram) and put it back on, then
it's less convenient on public transport, not more.

The major advantage comes from your ability to move around the station,
through turnstiles, up and down stairs and escalators, around crowds on
the platform, and so on.

On the train it depends on the situation. If it's so empty that there
are seats, well, then obviously no big deal at all.

If there aren't seats but still it's not that crowded, I can just find a
wall and lean against it, with my pack as a nice bit of padding.

If it is crowded, I pop the waist strap, and it's then possible to spin
the pack around to my front without using any extra space, by grabbing
the top handle and angling my body slightly away from the pack. Then I
can lower it to the floor and leave it between my legs. On the way out
of the train, I lift it by the top handle, and wait until I'm on the
platform to swing it around onto my back again. After a while all of
this can be done without breaking one's stride.

I definitely don't bang people in the face with it, as I'm aware that's
both rude and potentially painful.

Welcome back to r.t.e., Miguel, even if you're just looking over the
fence.

Thanks!

miguel
--
Photos from 40 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Malaysia; Thailand; Singapore; Spain; Morocco
Airports of the world: http://airport.u.nu

"Donald Newcomb" wrote ...


Some shade of brown? Almost all my luggage is black. The only advantage of
black is that you can match luggage from different manufacturers without
any
problem. With other colors it would be impossible to get a match. I'd
imagine that any light color would be not so good since it would show dirt
and wear.


Black is the color of my true love's heart....

For years I had a roll of "Day-Glow" orange duct tape which yielded small
pieces for each side of a series of family travel bag(s) for a couple of
decades. Finally, the roll ran out, but I adjourned to a nearby auto supply
store for a package with 4 small narrow rolls of brightly colored plastic
"electrician's" tape. Pick a color combo and apply a few pieces in visible
locations (especially around the "pull-out" handle of a wheeled bag). A
black bag will literally jump off the carrousel into your hands (and the
visible ID may cause a purloin artiste to stay his hand, not knowing whether
I'm looking on, ready to impale him on my swordless cane.

I'll echo the comment on Travel Pro wheels. I carry a shoulder strap rigged
for mine, the "sling swivels" firmly sewed by a cobbler to the bag's long
upper edge, but recollect only a couple of occasions, one in tiny Cittadella
d'Agliano, where the cobbles defeated the wheels.

At some conference I attended, the "giveaway" party favor was a black nylon
soft sided briefcase, the sort of which convention goers receive a steady
flow. This one was different and came with a compartment on the flat side
with semi-padded back straps, actually positioned to provide comfort with
modest weight loading. Even unloaded and stuffed in a front compartment of
one of my two sizes of Travel Pros (gifts of my road warrior daughter), it
goes most everywhere with me, makes a serviceable day pack or shoulder bag
or informal brief case as circumstances require. A big flap with two
audible-click buckles provides at least an inference of security, but
obviously no "back pack" is safe on the bus in Marseilles, etc..

Knock on wood and bless the fickle finger of Fate, but in a half century of
"traveling" since I left high school, I don't recall ever having been
pick-pocketed, to have lost "stuff" from a hotel room, or to have been the
victim of theft, from baggage or otherwise, a better record than experienced
at the hand of local burglars, car & residential. On one occasion, Denver
by Braniff's second incarnation, a checked bag was delayed for two days (but
I don't count late bags returning home from a trip, just as long as they
arrive before the dirty clothes in them become too strong). Some folks are
simply "Marks", giving off a pheromone which attracts scavengers and snake
oil salesmen.

TMO

wrote in message
ups.com...
Dan Stephenson wrote:
I've found that if you pack light you can make do with a daypack.

I could probably "make do" with nothing. I took survival
training and actually had to do that for a weekend. Well,
I got to carry a knife and a compass. Not exactly my idea
of a vacation though. Besides, they wouldn't let me take
the knife on a plane these days.



A knife and a compass? Jeez, just give me a credit card and I don't need
anything else....

"TOliver" wrote in message
...
A
black bag will literally jump off the carrousel into your hands (and the
visible ID may cause a purloin artiste to stay his hand, not knowing
whether
I'm looking on, ready to impale him on my swordless cane.

That's an interesting thought. I've never had any trouble picking out my
particular black back on the carrousel. I've never even seen another of the
same model TravelPro bag on the carrousel. But how could one accuse a thief
who "accidentally" picks up your black bag from among the hundreds going
'round and 'round. After all, they all look the same, right?

Knock on wood and bless the fickle finger of Fate, but in a half century
of
"traveling" since I left high school, I don't recall ever having been
pick-pocketed, to have lost "stuff" from a hotel room, or to have been the
victim of theft, from baggage or otherwise, a better record than
experienced
at the hand of local burglars, car & residential.

My problem is forgetting and misplacing stuff. If you call me "absent
minded" I must own to it. This is why I generally travel with exactly the
same set of stuff or one of a couple of variations. With a strict routine I
tend to have a feeling for when something is missing, even when I've been 24
hours without much sleep. One time I spent about 5 minutes at the check-in
counter furiously looking for my lost tickets, only to eventually find them
in the spot I had looked at least twice before. They were in my black
leather ticket organizer in the black pocket of my black computer case.
Since then I found and purchased a shocking day-glow orange ticket organizer
which always goes in the same pocket of the same boarding bag. My luggage
not only has to carry my stuff to the other end of the trip; it also has to
help me actually get to the other end.

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 03:33:45 -0400, B wrote:

I like matching luggage alot, I just don't like the watermelon color. You
are right though, the size and shape is exactly what should be in mind.
I want a skinnier size.
in a different color than watermelon.

On 3 Aug 2006 22:25:26 -0700, "Tchiowa" wrote:
What bank is issuing ATM cards that expire? My ATM never does. And no
need to carry more than one. I also carry a few Credit Cards that you
can always use to withdraw cash.


King County Credit Union (Seattle area) - mine expires 7/08.

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 19:32:06 +0200, B wrote:
I had a medium-sized backpack (actually called a travel pack) whose
backpack straps could be tucked away behind a zippered panel. Then it
could be carried like a suitcase, or by attaching a shoulder strap.

This pack didn't have any frame, neither internal nor external, but
being smallish, it didn't really need any. It was light and
comfortable.

I don't think they make it any more. I got it from campmor, which has
good inexpensive hiking and camping gear. (www.campmor.com). They only
ship within the US though.
--

The original Rick Steves pack is like that - you can tuck the straps
in and carry it on the shoulder with a longer strap, or pull out the
padded straps and wear it on your back. I have used mine for 11
years, both to Europe and domestically, my sister used it for Israel
and Ecuador and my son used it for travel a half-dozen times in the
states. The bag has held up well, looks as good as the day I bought
it. It has perhaps held up better than I have, as I bought one of the
small wheeled bags made by Victorinox last year, and have found it
easy to use, especially with that swivel handle thing it has going on
- it doesn't tip over.

"Carole Allen" wrote in message
...
On 3 Aug 2006 22:25:26 -0700, "Tchiowa" wrote:
What bank is issuing ATM cards that expire? My ATM never does. And no
need to carry more than one. I also carry a few Credit Cards that you
can always use to withdraw cash.


King County Credit Union (Seattle area) - mine expires 7/08.

Cahoot Debit Card - expires 01/08.

JohnT