Travel pack or backpack?

In article ,
wrote:

I looked at the MLC since it was 'official' acceptable to airlines, but
I found the should pads to be too thin - it hurt my shoulder bones when
I weight-tested in my local outtfitter's shop. The Northface Galileo,
while a little too big on the whole, is comfortable enough to carry a
ton of weight _while_ sightseeing all day (which I did, clambering over
the Minoan ruins in Crete last year).

Hmm.... too bad abt the Patagonia MLC.

The thing abt the Galileo that I don't like is the
detachable day pack. At least I don't "think" I like
that idea. Id rather not have a day pack at all.....and
instead just carry a super light weight day pack or
belt pack folded up and kept INSODE the main
pack...rather than zipped onto it.

That is *exactly* what I did with my Galileo daypack for the entirety
of my 3 month vacation last year. What's do great about the Galileo is
that with the daypack zipped off and inside the main pack, the main
pack LOOKS like its is supposed to be that way! Compare this with a
similar Eagle Creek model, with a goofy kangaroo-pouch + straps
approach. You take off you daypack from that one, and you still have
the huge gaping pouch. No thanks.

Plus, I love the Galileo day pack. It's got loads of features,
included a 'on the back side' security pocket. And, its receptor
buckles for use when on the main pack TUCK IN little slits in the pack
lining, making IT appear slick, too!

I like the very clean lines of the Tough Traveler for
that reason above.

Maybe Im wrong on that detachable day pack tho? I
don't know for sure. What is your feelings on a
detachable day pack vs one just stored inside the pack?

See above. I for one didn't get the Galileo to hook the daypack on the
outside. I got it because it looked good with it detached. Besides, I
keep all the valuables in the daypack (camera, photo drive, binocs,
power cords, etc) which is much easier to tote around than the whole
main pack, e.g. when I go out for food at night. I can stand to loose
dirty closed and guidebooks in my main pack at the hotel if I were
robbed. With a single big pack, I cannot do this.

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from last year's 3-month European vacation and this year's
road trip through Wales:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address if replying)

In article ,
wrote:

My pack has the detachable daypack and I very rarely attach it to the
outside. Normally I just use it as a way to organize stuff within the main
pack.

But doesn't the main pack look "funny" without the day
pack attached to it? Does the main pack sag or
anything like that without the day pack on it?

The Galileo doesn't. It looks like it is supposed to be that way.

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from last year's 3-month European vacation and this year's
road trip through Wales:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address if replying)

In article ,
wrote:

Well, my point was that keeping possession of your pack means no lost
luggage or waiting around for the luggage carosel. If the pack is
small enough, why not?

Ahhh ..... now I think Im getting you dan...

You are saying that regardless of whether its a
conversion pack.... or a real backpack.... that its
best to keep it small so that it is allowed as a carry
on. Right?

I thought you were advocating one type of pack over the
other..... but in fact you are advocating that WHATEVER
you get.... to try and keep it as small as legal carry
on size as possible

Bingo. Besides, you're supposed to be packing light, anyway, right?
:-)

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from last year's 3-month European vacation and this year's
road trip through Wales:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address if replying)

In article ,
wrote:

Well, like I said in the other post, it's a little on the large size,
but when you cinch the straps together with a non-full pack, it can
really get quite shallow.

Im sorry dan but did you already tell me what SIZE
Galileo you bought?

I see it comes in three diff sizes. How big/tall are
you and what size did you get?

I got the Large size. It fit the size of my back better than the
Medium. This is where being able to try on packs in the store is so
helpful. I'm 5'10".

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from last year's 3-month European vacation and this year's
road trip through Wales:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address if replying)

That is *exactly* what I did with my Galileo daypack for the entirety
of my 3 month vacation last year. What's do great about the Galileo is
that with the daypack zipped off and inside the main pack, the main
pack LOOKS like its is supposed to be that way! Compare this with a
similar Eagle Creek model, with a goofy kangaroo-pouch + straps
approach. You take off you daypack from that one, and you still have
the huge gaping pouch. No thanks.

OK Dan..... thanks for your input!!

Tell me..... I see that the Galileo comes in three diff
capacities. What size do YOU have?

BTW..... I checked out you web page and it very good!!
Pretty cool stuff!

Id be interested in knowing what kind of car you
drive..... what kind of camcorder you use..... and how
do you shoot the video by you self while driving?

Also.... I take it you do all the editing and such on a
Mac. Yes?
appleseed at warpdriveonline dot com

I got the Large size. It fit the size of my back better than the
Medium. This is where being able to try on packs in the store is so
helpful. I'm 5'10".

Oops..... sorry on the size question in the other
post..... I didn't read this one before asking abt the
size in the other one. G

Im 5'10" as well

Maybe I will go look at the Galileo in St Louis.
That's a two hr drive form here but they do have an REI
store down there
appleseed at warpdriveonline dot com

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 20:30:19 -0500, john63401at yahoo dot com john63401atyahoodotcom wrote:
Maybe I will go look at the Galileo in St Louis.
That's a two hr drive form here but they do have an REI
store down there

Good luck, but I'm pretty sure they won't have the Galileo. I would
call them first.

I've been rather disappointed in REI's selection, at least in the SF Bay
Area. They carry lots of packs but all are either unlockable trekking
packs or unnecessarily heavy wheeled packs.

www.rei.com shows some travel packs from Eagle Creek but nothing more.

--
Use the From: header. Sending mail to
or will only result in frustration.

John:

Call REI before making the 2 hour
trip, as Eric stated. REI only
carries mostly low end gear and
has very limited stock. Here in
Phoenix, AZ, the REI in Tempe is
pathetic, empty shelves all over
the place, and they make you pay
in advance even when ordering an
item that is part of their regular
stock, plus I've seen them hassle
people for returning defective
gear.

Tom Welch

Good luck, but I'm pretty sure they won't have the Galileo. I would
call them first.

You are right

Actually it appears that the Galileo has been
discontinued!

In article , john63401at
yahoo dot com wrote:

That is *exactly* what I did with my Galileo daypack for the entirety
of my 3 month vacation last year. What's do great about the Galileo is
that with the daypack zipped off and inside the main pack, the main
pack LOOKS like its is supposed to be that way! Compare this with a
similar Eagle Creek model, with a goofy kangaroo-pouch + straps
approach. You take off you daypack from that one, and you still have
the huge gaping pouch. No thanks.

OK Dan..... thanks for your input!!

No problem.

Tell me..... I see that the Galileo comes in three diff
capacities. What size do YOU have?

I have the Large. I'm 5'10".

BTW..... I checked out you web page and it very good!!
Pretty cool stuff!

Thanks. You check out the new panoramas I made? They're a little
crude (hard to match exposure times in 360 degrees), but really nifty.

Id be interested in knowing what kind of car you
drive..... what kind of camcorder you use..... and how
do you shoot the video by you self while driving?

On my 3 month trip, I rented a Nissan Almera in Britain, and had a
Eurail pass on the continent. This was in part because Britain doesn't
participate in Eurail, and because some places I was visiting in
Britain were less convenient by train. On my recent Wales trip I got a
Seat Ibiza... much better than the Nissan for me because it is smaller.
A smaller car is important for a non-native-British driver, because
driving on the other side of the road is hard enough... you don't have
a good feel for the far side of your car when you sit on the right side
of the car. I would have gotten a smaller (more narrow) car if I could
have... in the more rural areas, especially in Wales, the road is only
one lane wide. In fact, in one place I had to fold down a side-mirror
to squeeze through!

I don't have a camcorder. I have a Sony DSC-P9 'Cybershot'. It has
since been replaced with a 5Mpixel version (mine is 4M). It has a
'movie mode' at 320x240 pixels full motion... this is like 1/4 the
resolution of a real camcorder... however, camcorders don't take 4
MPixel still photos! It is look fine enough, especially just on the
Web. What I liked about the Sony in particular in this regard is that
its throughput to the Memory Sticks is high enough to continuously
stream video capture up to the limit of the Memory Stick capacity.
Normally, like with SmartCard or CompactFlash, the camera's internal
buffer is full after 15 seconds, so that means video clips are never
ever longer than 15 seconds. And I knew, and came true, that in some
cases I'd like to film longer than 15 seconds. Plus, unlike a
camcorder, the DSC-P9 is less conspicuous... some museums allow
cameras, but not camcorders, you see.

I film while driving by holding the camera over the front wind screen
of my convertible. I rest my hand on the rim for stability. With
practice, you can steer the camera, pointing it all around whereever
you want, and yet keep your eyes on the road. You don't LOOK at where
the camera is pointing! In Wales (I'm going to eventually post video
of driving from there), I held the camera out the window. In this
regard sitting on the right side of the car helped because I am
right-handed.

Also.... I take it you do all the editing and such on a
Mac. Yes?

That's right. I got a Mac when I got back last Fall specifically to
manage all this media. It's great. And it's Unix. It is a 17" iMac.
I haven't done anything like this before - video, web publishing, etc
before, but I think it's turned out OK all the same. I got an extra
512MB RAM for my Mac.

appleseed at warpdriveonline dot com

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from last year's 3-month European vacation and this year's
road trip through Wales:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda
(remove nospam from email address if replying)