The Travelite® FAQ

The Wall Street Journal has a new article out today called “What It Costs An Airline to Fly Your Luggage,” which concludes that it costs the airlines about $15 to carry your check-in luggage for you.

However, it’s not until you scroll well into the article that you see a couple of whoppers.

First, take a look at their chart.

Wall Street Journal’s at-a-glance chart showing current luggage fee charges by major U.S. airlines.

Currently, only Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran charge nothing for the first bag (although Delta charges a whopping $50 for the second bag; and that will change on December 5 when Delta starts charging for the first bag, and lowering the price for the second), and Southwest is the only airline that doesn’t charge for a second bag. If you are flying any of the other airlines, checking in two bags can easily set you back $40.

There’s one more whopper in the article, though:

This summer, Delta Air Lines Inc. Chief Executive Richard Anderson said he thought it was fair for the airline to haul one suitcase free for passengers.

But earlier this month, Delta said it, too, would begin charging $15 one-way to haul the first bag, effective Dec. 5. (At most airlines, elite-level frequent fliers, first-class ticket-holders and international passengers are exempt from many of the fees.)

What changed? Customers were paying the fee at other airlines without a backlash. Delta said it wasn’t getting any benefit from not charging the fee. So why not charge it?

Can you believe the gall of these people? How much research did they do? Did they do any market surveys to find out if people were choosing to fly Delta because the first bag was free? That’s not the kind of thing crew members would hear, so I’m really curious how they came up with this cockamamy notion.

And does anyone remember all the big whining excuses the airlines gave earlier this year about why they needed to charge for check-in luggage? Because oil prices were spiraling out of control. When’s the last time you filled up your car in the U.S. for over $3.00? Even in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area, prices are amazingly below $3.00. Has even one single airline used it as a marketing tool to say, “Hey, we want your business back; don’t drive, fly with us for the holidays and you can check in your bags for free!” Nope, no such policy change. We knew they weren’t going to remove those fees, didn’t we? I’m just waiting for airline executives to go begging for relief money from Congress just like the automotive industry CEOs did last week. Let me tell you, they are simply out of touch with the public.

I don’t know about you, but this just raises my hackles.

Of course, the best way to counter this is to travel light! Lift up your fist, stick out your chin, and give those luggage fees the old heave-ho!

…that said, it might be a little tougher if you’re visiting relatives for the holidays and you plan to take gifts with you. As we head into December, you’ll see a lot of these kinds of stories in the media, but here’s a really simply list to remember as you start holiday shopping:

• Shop online and have the company mail the item to your destination. You can spend a bit extra for gift wrapping, but you can also let your family members know to immediately place the mail under the tree.
• Buy something that’s flat, small, and lightweight. Small electronics are fine but be mindful that many of them are overpackaged (iPods use minimal packaging). CDs and DVDs come in pretty small boxes now, and they’re also pretty easy to tuck in your carry-on. Silk scarves, fine jewelry… be creative!
• Remember not to wrap your gifts before you fly. The TSA reserves the right to open everything, including your boxes.
• Don’t buy any stocking stuffers that are liquid, like hand lotion. All liquids still need to go in your 3-1-1 baggie.
• If you’re staying in a hotel at your destination, you can ship your packages to the hotel directly, so that you can take your time to do your gift wrapping once you get there. Beware that not all hotels accept packages for guests, so check in advance. Make sure to ship it well in advance so it gets there in time, and make sure you clearly mark your package with your check-in date, as well as confirmation number.
• For a big splurge, consider buying someone a trip! You can tuck a guidebook to that destination under the tree, be it a weekend getaway to a nice B&B, a trip to Disneyland or the Mediterranean.

One more thing (that most people don’t think about): You have to convince your relatives that you only want small, flat, light items as gifts—because you’ll have to fly home after the holidays, too. This one is the true challenge. Many years ago, a relative gave us a huge tin of popcorn for Christmas. We just opened it immediately and shared it with everyone so we didn’t have to take the tin home. Another year, that same relative gave us a very large kitchen appliance (I think it was a large crock pot) knowing we’d flown thousands of miles to visit. We promptly returned it to the store and exchanged it for something smaller and flatter.

It took a few years, but people finally started to remember. As a result, we got things like calendars and muffin top pans… stuff you can actually pack in your carry-on! Things that will help:

• If you get any electronics, make sure everything works before you lug it home.
• Make sure to remove any extra packaging. Do you really need the big case that comes with the watch, or do you just need the warranty card?
• If you get a lot of stuff, just mail everything home.
• If you get any food, share it with everyone so you don’t have any left over to lug home.
• If something is really too cumbersome, go to the store and exchange it before you go home.

This is actually a personal request from me. We really got a lot of mileage from the Timbuk2 Metro bag in our trip to Europe, with my husband using it as a camera bag.

Since then, I’ve discovered that Timbuk2 sold a waxed canvas line of messenger bags last year called “Single Speed,” and that they sold a model very similar to the Metro, called the Minna.

The Timbuk2 Minna (left) and the Metro (right).

Back in college, I used to own one of those “Indiana Jones” waxed cotton bags from Banana Republic (back when they mostly sold khakiwear), and it continues to be one of my favorite styles of bags.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Timbuk2 only sold its Single Speed line for a very brief period about a year ago, and apparently has no immediate plans to produce any more. I almost got one recently, but I was too late and someone else snagged it before me.

So… if you happen to come across, or know anyone who owns, one of these Minna bags that they are willing to part with, please let me know!

Retailers are feeling the pinch this year, and it seems like everywhere we turn, they are offering lots of sales and promotions.

If you’re trying to find some good deals to build your travel stuff inventory, Rick Steves (of the PBS Europe Through the Back Door series) is having a really nice sale at his online travel store now through December 14, 2008. Scanning through his listings, it looks like he’s actually put everything on sale. His travel bags, travel accessories, and maps are 20% off, while his guidebooks are 30% off.

Rick Steves Classic Back Door Bag. Photo from RickSteves.com.

For example, if you’ve been considering getting his Classic Back Door Bag travelpack, it’s priced on sale at $63.95, a $16 savings over his regular price of $79.95. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.

Now, let’s say you’re beyond traveling right now. You’re pinching your pennies, cocooning for the winter and planning on traveling vicariously. In that case, your best deal is his DVDs. He’s selling most of his regular DVDs for an unbelievable price of $4.95! Most of these normally go for $19.95, so it’s really an amazing deal.

For example, his Greece, Turkey, Israel & Egypt DVD, normally priced at $19.95 is on sale for $4.95, and includes eight episodes (four hours) of shows he produced from 2000 to 2007.

The Travel Skills DVD, on sale for $4.95. Photo from RickSteves.com.

One DVD that you might not normally think to get at regular price is his Travel Skills DVD. But for the sale price of $4.95, you can get hours of information on how to plan for travel (plus, you get to take a sneak peek into how he makes his travel videos).

If you want to really splurge, his entire video DVD collection—82 episodes over 40 hours’ worth—is on sale for only $49.95. That’s enough to keep you dreaming through the winter.

The sale is good through December 14th, and you get the added incentive of being able to get these shipped to you for just $4.95 (on the slow boat; if you want it sooner it goes up to $14.95 for rush delivery). If you have any travel bugs in your family, a couple of Rick Steves DVDs would make great gifts under their tree. His shows are safe for the whole family, and it will give everyone something to watch on TV besides football games on Christmas Day.

“Ideally packed!”

That’s what a London Gatwick Airport security agent told me when my bag got tagged for a manual inspection. She was completely impressed because she couldn’t believe how efficient and well-organized my carry-on bag was!

[If you've ever had one of those, you know that they take everything out of your bag. It got flagged because I had a bag full of wires and electronics, so after that leg of the trip, I just removed that baggie and put it in the bin next to my toiletry bag, and I had no further problems.]

It’s been three days since my return home, and my body clock is still very off. They say it takes a day to adjust to each hour change, and it feels pretty close. I’ve managed to stay up a bit later each night and not wake up as early in the morning, but still, I was up by 5:00 a.m. today and am not able to snooze anymore.

So now that I’m wide awake, I may as well be productive and finally share with you how I managed to travel with just 13 pounds for my Europe trip.

Oh just a warning: Today’s post is going to be long. Grab a cup of coffee.

Details, details, details

First, the foundation: We were originally planning on traveling with another couple whom we’ve traveled with in the past, with an itinerary that included France, Germany, and Luxembourg. As a return favor for my providing a fair bit of translation and cultural knowledge about Japan on a trip we’d all made to Tokyo Disneyland a few years ago, our guide was going to be the husband of the other couple, who had spent a few years in France.

However in an example of how our current bad economy affects us in direct ways, Alex and I were hit with unexpected news: The wife, who is a small business entrepreneur, was forced to decide between going on vacation with us, and keeping her business afloat.

At that point, we could’ve decided to just scrap the trip altogether, except for one minor thing: I’d already bought Alex and myself nonrefundable tickets on Virgin Atlantic.

Getting over our disappointment at not being able to travel with our friends, Alex and I looked at each other with “Oh my god, what the hell are we going to do now?” drawn on our faces. With zero independent itinerary, zero French/German language skills, zero travel knowledge of the area, we were at a complete loss.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I’d had an idea: Check to see if Rick Steves had any tours that would fit our schedule. We were in luck. There was one tour that fit our schedule exactly: His Best of Rome in 7 Days city tour. [How many people chose to go to a destination because they looked over a list of tours and picked the one that fit their flight schedule?!?] The tour was spendy but since we were completely noobs we felt it was worth the price.

Once our main destination was set, everything else fell into place, with plans to spend a bit of time in London (since we were flying in and out of Heathrow), as well as in Paris for a few days so we could see both the city as well as Disneyland Paris.

If you’ve never seen Rick Steves’ PBS series on traveling through Europe, he is a firm believer in low-key immersion travel. Pack lightly, stay in smaller hotels run by locals, focus more on learning and absorbing the culture in smaller groups rather than being shuttled around like cattle and spending all your stops in tacky gift shops. Rick Steves also happens to be one of my personal heroes because he was the one who originally inspired me to learn to travel lightly. That, combined with the fact that Alex and I would be on all sorts of public transportation with our luggage, meant we were going to avoid check-in luggage at all costs.

Traveling with just my carry-on? No problem! Not even a challenge!

…except there was. It was called “Virgin Atlantic’s unusually small weight restriction for carry-ons.” If you read my previous entries, you know that we had to limit ourselves to no more than 13 pounds (6 kilograms). Most full carry-ons will probably run you at least 20-30 pounds depending on the weight of your bag, so getting our stuff together in the weeks before our trip became almost like a game for us.

We were successful, but not without a lot of adaptation and sacrifice.

My Packing List

I based my initial packing list on the one Rick Steves recommends for women. I provide the original list here, with my notes on how I adjusted it for the trip. Some assumptions I made included October weather in Europe, which ranged from the low-40s to the low-70s. Each item is followed by a description, and any pertinent comments (negatives are in red, positives are in green). Those I did not pack, are crossed out.

Clothing

• 1 pair of walking/comfortable shoes – This was the single, most important decision I was going to make. After reading the “Best Walking Shoes” section for personal recommendations at Rick Steves’ site, I chose a pair of Keen Seattle shoes. Since Keen no longer makes them, I had to do quite a bit of looking around online before finding one. I also took a spare pair of insoles with me, and swapped them out daily to keep my feet feeling less tired. At the end of the trip, I tossed the spare insoles away. These shoes worked out great for my feet, which are wide.
• 1 pair of sandals (weather permitting) – I couldn’t afford a second pair of real shoes, so I took a pair of Pocket Slippers from Magellan’s. They roll up and tuck into a little pouch that weighs just a few ounces. This was a waste of space for our particular trip since I only wore them on my flight to London. But they are keepers for future trips.
• 1 rainproof jacket – I picked up an LL Bean Storm Chaser 3-in-1 jacket, which has an inner fleece that zips out so you can wear it as a fleece jacket. And since the two zip up into one jacket, it was less I had to carry if I wasn’t wearing it. I applied Scotchguard on it to get a little more protection on it, although it should do OK in light showers. This jacket is terrific! Big pockets, zippable pockets, secret inner pockets, and comfortable. Highly recommended.
• 2-4 pairs of shorts/capris/skorts – I assumed it would be too cold to take shorts.
• 2 pairs of pants (one dressy, one casual), 1 belt – I wore one pair of slacks, and packed a second pair. The second pair was a Slinky brand from HSN.com, but it’s very similar to the Travelers line from Chico’s. That means no ironing, easy to wear.
• 1 swimsuit (packed in a plastic bag) – I assumed it would again be too cold.
• 5 1 pairs of socks (cotton blend) – The Keens can be worn with or without socks, so I chose to take just one pair of very thin Smartwool socks that I picked up from REI. Smartwool socks dry fast and don’t smell. I highly recommend them.
• 5 pairs of underwear (silk, lace, or micro-fiber dries quickest) – I took some that were the lighest I could find (if you are comfortable wearing thongs, they save a ton of space)
• 1 extra bra
• 4-6 shirts (long/short-sleeved, various colors) – Assuming it would be cold, I took 3 long-sleeve nylon/polyester shirts, a button shirt, and a layering overshirt. I really wish I packed for warmer weather. My shirts were way too hot in Rome. Lesson: Check the weather right before your departure, and be prepared to adjust your wardrobe at the last minute.
• 1-2 light cardigans for layering – Instead of a cardigan, I used the fleece jacket from the LL Bean 3-in-1. So glad I just used the fleece lining instead.
• 1-2 skirts (wrinkle-resistant) – With colder weather I assumed this wouldn’t work well.
• 2 dresses (optional) – No special dinners, and no space in my bag.
• 1 hat – My jacket had a hood, but I also took a neoprene Headgasket visor from Croakies. I kept the visor in my daybag and used it all the time. It worked out great, especially in those sunny days in Rome!
• Scarves (to wear with clothing or hat) – I took a warmer scarf. This is one of the best things I took, since you can wear it instead of packing it when you fly. The wider ones work as a wrap on your flight, too.
• 2 vests (optional) – Completely unnecessary, and didn’t miss not having them.
• 1 pair of pajamas (or long shirt to get you to the bathroom down the hall if necessary) – No room, no need.

Toiletries/Medicine

• Body soap/puff (washcloth); most European hotels do not supply washcloths –The single best wash cloth I have used all my life is the Salux nylon wash towel from Japan. Anything else makes me feel like I’m not getting clean, so I made sure to take one. It’s better than any scrubber ball because you can scrub your back easily. I also took a large Japanese bathtowel. These things barely take up any room because of their thinness and loose weave. I probably didn’t need the bath towel. I never travel without one! [Fortunately it weighs next to nothing.]
• Toothbrush/toothpaste/floss – I wound up not taking enough toothpaste with me but we made do with the baby containers of toothpaste we got from our Premium Economy amenity kits.
• Shampoo/conditioner – I took 1 ounce of shampoo and 0.5 ounce of Paul Mitchell leave-in conditioner. We augmented the shampoo with hotel shampoo, and it worked out perfectly.
• Brush/comb –I took a folding travel brush, which was small enough to carry in my day bag.
• Lotion –I took a tube of face lotion with SPF, which worked out fine.
• Vaseline (for feet) –Unnecessary; I just made sure I pedicured my feet nicely right before the trip.
• Razor (non-electric)/shaving cream or soap – I didn’t bother (since my leg hairs are almost nonexitent) but for most women it’s probably easier to get a professional wax before a trip. My husband just bought some razors when we got to Rome, and that worked out well. Alex used either soap or shampoo for his shave (after a shower so his skin was moist).
• Sunscreen, insect repellent –See lotion, above.
• Prescription drugs (in original container with your name and your doctor’s name, write down generic name) – I had a small prescription bottle with me that didn’t take up much room.
• First aid kit/moleskin/blister kit – I used a lot of Band-Aids preventively but I purchased them all when we got there.
• Feminine hygiene products –Assumed I could buy them during the trip if I needed.
• Deodorant – We actually didn’t take any. Shaving/trimming underarm hairs does wonders to keep the odor to a minimum. Given how warm it was in Rome, I wish we’d taken some. We used a lot of Febreze instead.
• Nail clippers/file/tweezers –I took a nail file and tweezers, and just made sure our nails were clipped before we left.
• Spare glasses and/or prescription, mini-eyeglass repair kit, or contact lenses and supplies –Neither of us wear glasses anymore, but we did take our sunglasses.
• Hand sanitizer – I didn’t take any, but I wish I had. I couldn’t find any in Rome, either.
• Vitamins –Didn’t take any.
• OTC remedies (whatever works for you): Pepto, decongestants, etc. –Took ibuprofen and acetaminophen; glad we did, since it took the edge off our sore feet at the end of the day.
• Clothesline, sink stopper, soap – These came in handy for washing our clothes in the bathroom.
• Baby powder (dry shampoo for hair) –Didn’t take any.

Money and Security

• Moneybelt: Passport, plane ticket, debit card, credit cards, traveler’s checks, railpass, driver’s license (if you’re renting a car) – Rick Steves tours make you sign an agreement saying, among other things, that you will use your moneybelt. This is not only for your peace of mind but also so the tour guide (and their travel office) doesn’t have to deal with the hassles of one of its customers having to deal with the U.S. embassy and banks during the trip. It was the one thing I made sure we followed, and our entire group in Rome did great during the tour, and nobody lost anything to pickpockets. We did have numerous attempts made on us, though!

Other things I took

• Guidebooks – I went to Kinko’s and had them cut the binding out of all our guide books. I then selected the pages and sections we needed, and rebound them into smaller books. This saved quite a bit of weight since we took guidebooks for Rome, Paris, and London. As we were done, we tossed the books.
• Moleskine notebooks – I’m one of those people who uses Moleskine books, so I took a Rome Citybook as well as a sketchbook.
• Drawing and writing utensils – Pencil, pens, small ruler, eraser, and so on… didn’t take up too much space but I wanted the opportunity to do some sketches.
• Various electronics, including an iPod Touch, a Sennheiser noise-cancelling headset, AC adapter. I tried to take items that were as small as possible, and I managed to fit them all into one liter-size Ziploc bag.

Things I wish I’d taken

• Addresses – I ran out of time, and wasn’t able to put together an address booklet of people I wanted to send postcards to. What would have been easiest was to hand write the addresses on a strip of adhesive mailing labels.
• A pair of capri pants –Given how warm it was, I probably should have traded my Slinky slacks for a pair of capris.
• Short-sleeve shirts – I really wish I’d swapped some of my long-sleeve shirts for short-sleeved ones. I was completely prepared for layered clothing for cold weather, not hot.
• More podcasts, books on tape (MP3 format), and albums for the iPod – I wound up mostly playing Bejeweled and Jewel Quest.
• A tiny digital camera – I didn’t take one because Alex was taking his SLR; as it turned out, he mostly took “photographs” whereas I would’ve taken more snapshots of things like our tour group (who were a terrific bunch, by the way).

Items packed for the Europe trip include Ziploc baggies for electronics, for miscellaneous junk (medicine, pens, earplugs, etc.), toiletries, clothes, a very thing Japanese bath towel, and a couple of Platypus brand collapsible water bottles.

What I picked up and brought home

One thing we collect when we travel, are refrigerator magnets of the places we visit. We adhere to a strict guideline (for example, we have to both go together, and we they don’t count if they are souvenirs given to us from friends). Normally, these barely take up any room, but after a while they add a bit of weight. I was prepared to carry them in my jacket pocket for our flight home if necessary.

Refrigerator magnets from some of the places we visited on our trip. Can you guess where all of these magnets may have come from?

One thing I was looking forward to was purchasing Moleskine Volant softcover notebooks—they are currently available only in Europe. I found these in a bookstore in London. Don’t let your eyes deceive you; the larger notebooks in the photo are the small index card sized versions. The smaller ones are slightly larger than credit cards. Each Volant packet includes a pair of notebooks of the same color scheme (one lighter, one darker). If you look carefully, the small green one is by itself; I unwrapped it and started using the lighter green one during the trip!

Moleskine Volants, purchased in London.

These weigh a bit so I was also prepared to just stash them in my coat pocket for my flight home.

Finally, I kept various paper receipts, tickets, and such so I could eventually put together a trip report and remember where I went. These take up almost no space or weight.

Used tickets and other small, flat souvenirs.

How I packed

Ziploc baggies – More than anything, I used a lot of Ziploc baggies. I normally use fabric ditty bags and cosmetic bags and such, but the only non-disposable one I used was my Paula Begoun makeup bag, to hold my toiletries. While the dimensions are approved for air travel, her bag is gussetted, which lets me carry way more stuff than in a Ziploc liter-sized bag. I used Ziplocs to separate clean underwear from used, to hold my electronics, to hold our fridge magnets, and so on. Where I would have used a net fine-washables laundry bag, I used a Ziploc bag. In addition, I went to a local craft store and picked up some smaller resealable baggies (2″x3″ and 4″x6″) for things like holding Band-Aids and Q-tips. Speaking of Q-tips, I normally take the little travel container but I did away with the container to save on weight. Instead, I counted how many Q-tips we were likely to use (1 per person per day, with a few extra thrown in), saving a fraction of an ounce.

Weighing every item, and taking only what I planned to use – I had to make some tough decisions about my wardrobe. In hindsight, I wish I’d gone with two short-sleeve shirts and a long-sleeve instead of three of the latter, but I really didn’t expect weather in the high-70s all week in Rome. That said, I still chose the most lightweight of my shirts; they were even lighter than cotton T-shirts. Every liquid toiletry item was carefully scrutinized. Did I need a full ounce, or could I manage with half an ounce?

Using the smallest version of everything – Instead of large and clunky AC adapters, we took a USB-to-AC adapter that was as small as a film canister. A laptop was out of the question, but the iPod Touch gave us the option to send email in wi-fi hotspots (including a free one in a small part behind the Notre Dame in Paris!).

Tom Bihn Convertible Cube/Shoulder Bag – This bag turned into my everyday daypack, and it was awesome beyond words (see one of my earlier posts for a full review). I carried this thing everyday full of stuff, and it never saw any wear or unraveling at all. I routinely packed two soda bottles, notebooks, and various other sundries, and the unstructured form meant I could just toss things in willy nilly and have everything settle in easily. I cannot speak highly enough of this bag as a travel daypack.

The Tom Bihn Convertible Cube/Shoulder Bag.

I used this bag as a packing cube when I flew, stashing a lot of the assorted things in my carry-on bag that would otherwise get loose or scattered around in my bag. It’s where I put my underwear, socks, and other stuff that I put in my Ziploc bags. And once I passed security, I’d move stuff around in my carry-on, moving my toiletry bag and electronics baggie into the packing cube. When I get to my airplane seat, I just remove the packing cube to keep by my feet for easy access, and stow my carry-on in the overhead bin. Easy as pie and a wonderful solution without trying to shove the carry-on by my feet.

Traveling with a partner

One huge benefit to having a travel partner is your ability to share some things during the trip. For me and Alex, that meant sharing toiletries. He actually managed to fly without a toiletry bag at all! Alex is a very low-maintenance traveler anyway, and he just shared things like shampoo with me (or used the hotel supply).

He kept his packing list as short as possible, and did a great job swapping out a lot of his clothes for travel-friendly items. A couple of items that worked particularly well include:

ExOfficio Trip’r line of travel shirts – He picked up a few from REI, but you can buy them directly from Exofficio online as well. The fabric is the typical travel shirt feel, but they make them in checkers and plaids, so you can completely avoid the “Hi, I’m wearing this khaki travel shirt” look altogether. The shirts are adequately vented, the chest pockets have zippers, and best of all, their buttons aren’t sewn on but instead, they are secured on with a little piece of fabric. It’s hard to describe; let’s just say you won’t worry about losing any buttons.

Very attractive ExOfficio Trip’r shirts are available in patterns that don’t make them look like ordinary travel shirts.

He also picked up a few pairs of travel-friendly underwear, which dried really easily on the clotheline.

One item that weighs down a carry-on bag for the guys is their big shoes. So for this trip, he took just the pair he wore on his feet (a pair of nubuck New Balance shoes). He made sure to break it in for a few weeks before the trip.

Alex’s biggest challenge was his camera gear. He has a pretty nice Canon digital SLR that he wanted to use for his trip, but wanted to avoid using camera bags that were too easy to identify (and which also tended to weigh too much). Up until right before the trip, he was planning on taking a Tom Bihn Large Cafe Bag, although we were a bit concerned since the fabric is thin for a camera.

At the last minute, he chose to take my Timbuk2 mini Metro Messenger bag, and that turned out to be a great decision. The biggest reason he changed his mind was that Cafe Bag doesn’t have the ability for you to  remove its shoulder strap; this turned out to be a huge disadvantage. In order to save even more weight, Alex used the luggage strap for his carry-on once we were in Rome, to carry his Timbuk2 bag with—he couldn’t do that with his Cafe Bag. The Timbuk2 is also pretty water resistant, which worked out well on one day in Paris when we met with some foul weather.

For packing purposes, Alex put all his smaller items (underwear, socks, etc. around his camera gear) in the carry-on itself so that the Timbuk2 bag was safely packed in the carry-on.

Timbuk2 Metro Messenger bag. Although this bag isn’t padded, it’s very sturdy, making it an option for carrying camera gear. If you bang up your camera in this bag, though, don’t blame me; do so at your own risk!

We had both planned to use the Outdoor Products Carryon Bag, however we discovered that the bag was actually too big for the items we put together to pack! Instead, I wound up using the discontinued Sierra travelpack from Uphill Down, and Alex used a discontinued travelpack model from MEI in Canada. We could have used the Outdoor Products bag but we both felt that we might be tempted to pack more stuff in it during our trip, so we abstained. I’m sure we’ll use the Outdoor Products bag in future travels where bag size—and not weight—is the limiting factor.

Final thoughts

All in all, the 13-pound weight limit imposed by Virgin Atlantic was an awesome challenge, and we wound up thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to test our packing abilities. For years, I’d become pretty complacent and not being particularly fastidious in my carry-ons since it had gotten to be old hat, so being forced to face a new test kept me on my toes and more excited about the trip than originally expected.

I don’t know that I’d pack that lightly again unless I’m forced to do so. I wouldn’t have minded taking a third pair of pants (or capris or skirt/skort), and maybe a T-shirt. That said, let me tell you—a 13-pound bag is a breeze to carry! I think in the future I may try to keep it down to around 15 pounds or so, just to make it easy for me to carry through the airport.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, and we leave for Europe tomorrow.

In the meantime, we went to our local post office this evening to use their Automatic Postal Center machine to weigh our carry-on bags so that we could meet the stringent weight restrictions on Virgin Atlantic. The verdict?

My bag: 12 pounds .40 ounces.

Alex’s bag: 11 pounds .20 ounces.

We are both safely within the 13-pound limit. Cross-checking the stuff we are carrying with Rick Steves’ recommended packing list, the only thing we aren’t carrying is our bathing suits.

I must say, I’m quite impressed.

…but no, no photos for now. Everything’s packed up and I don’t want to open the bags up until we have to.

But it looks like we made it!

Besides selling a basic travelpack for a low $29.99, Campmor also sells another travel bag you might be interested in if you have to travel with suits.

The garment bag folds up and looks a lot like a regular travel pack. Photo from Campmor.

The High Sierra brand Tri Fold Garment Bag is like most garment bags except that it folds in threes instead of in half, and once folded, can be carried like a backpack with its backpack straps. If it means you don’t have to carry two rolling uprights (one for your clothes and another for your laptop), all the better.

Folded, the size is 22″ x 16″ x 3.5″. A little tall but if you don’t stuff it like a Thanksgiving turkey I suspect most domestic carriers won’t give you any hassles; especially considering how much taller most garment bags are. Not quite as cheap as their regular travelpack, but at $39.95 it’s not a bad deal at all.

Back when I was younger, my mom shared with me a story of how a guest at a dinner honoring Christopher Columbus questioned whether Columbus should be considered great for discovering America. After all, the guest questioned, anyone could’ve set sail and eventually discovered land. In response, Columbus challenged this guest to try to stand an egg on its end without any supports. Try as he might, the guest could not. When he finally gave up and dared Columbus to try it himself, Columbus lightly cracked the egg on one end so that it would stand by itself—and at that moment, everyone understood: it takes someone special to figure out how to do something, after which anyone can do the same thing.

Let me share with you one of those, “Well why didn’t anyone else think of that before?” items: the Tom Bihn Convertible Packing Cube.

First, take a look at their regular Packing Cube:

A pair of Tom Bihn Packing Cubes.

Notice their ordinariness, their simplicity. The Seattle-based manufacturer (and there really is a guy named Tom who designs all this stuff) uses a Japanese nylon called Dyneema for its packing cubes, which come in various shapes and sizes and are designed to snugly fit in Tom Bihn bags.

Now, take a look at their Convertible Packing Cube:

The Tom Bihn Convertible Packing Cube.

Same fabric, same general shape, but with one difference: The Convertible Packing Cube has D-rings on each side of the bag. Snap a luggage/bag strap to both ends, and all of a sudden, you have a shoulder bag!

Because of its simple but sturdy construction, you can really stuff a lot of things in the bag.

The Convertible Packing Cube can easily hold all the items you want to carry for your day’s touring, including a folding umbrella, facial tissue, first aid kit, travel book, wallet, and other handy items.

The dimensions are pretty large; at 13.5″ x 8″ x 3.25″ (34.5cm x 20cm x 8.5cm), you can easily smoosh a bath towel, afghan, or travel blanket in it and turn it into a little pillow. You can also carry things like socks, and underwear, or various items you want easy access to on your flight (and just toss the Convertible Packing Cube on the floor by your feet). Depending on the type of shoulder strap you use for your main travel bag, you can even use that as your carrying strap when you reach your destination and want to head out for the day.

Morgan wears a Convertible Packing Cube like a shoulder bag.

The Convertible Packing Cube is larger than a woman’s purse, but smaller than a bicycle messenger bag. And even though it only weighs around 3 ounces (100 grams), the fabric is remarkably sturdy. The tight nylon weave means it’s somewhat water resistant, in case you spill something on it. It’s not waterproof, though.

The cube has a diagonal zipper on one side and it’s a good place to stash your cell phone or boarding pass. Both the main zipper and pocket zipper are YKK zippers, which are very well made. As with all Tom Bihn bags, the zipper is solid, and you won’t have to worry about the fabric getting caught in your zipper pull.

If every item you take on your trip has to serve multiple purposes, this Convertible Packing Cube is your answer. Use it to store things in your main travel bag, then use it to carry stuff around once you’re touristing around.

Just a couple of things to be aware of:

First, although the Dyeema nylon is very sturdy, it’s also very thin. While this is great for keeping the weight of your bag light, it also means that the fabric itself provides almost no protection against anything fragile you put in the bag. Any electronics like iPods or cell phones—especially if you think the bag will get jostled around a bit—are probably best off having their own little protective cases. And while the bag has plenty of room for a larger SLR camera, unless the camera is in its own cushioned camera holder, you are just asking to have your camera dinged up if you just leave it naked in this bag.

Second, the dimensions of the bag are very rectangular, and the D-rings are only a tad bit above the center of gravity. And because the fabric is so thin, the bag lacks a structural frame—which means you want to take a little care when opening the bag while it’s slung over your shoulder. If you’re not careful, the bag (or one of the sides when you unzip the main pocket) has the potential to do a quick flip-over. Think of it like a quick stick-out of the tongue. If what you have in your bag happens to be a bit top-heavy, the item can spill out of the bag in a flash.

I think the second issue is something they could easily fix, if they move the zipper area up a little and place the D-rings higher on the bag. My preference would also be to have it actually be closer in shape to their very popular Cafe Bags. By having it taller than it is wider, you wouldn’t have to worry about anything accidentally spilling out of your bag.

Although you have the option to order the Tom Bihn Simple Shoulder Strap at the same time for $10 (and it functions perfectly well with the bag), I have another tip for you: Buy a 1.5-inch Quick Release Shoulder Strap from Timbuk2 for $5.00. It’s not just that the Timbuk2 strap is half as expensive; it’s that the shoulder strap has a quick release handle that lets you easily adjust the strap’s length with one hand. With the Convertible Packing Cube, I find myself adjusting the strap length all the time—wearing it as a shoulder bag when I’m just meandering, and loosening the strap and wearing it cross-wise when I want to huff it down the street.

The Timbuk2 1.5-inch Quick Release Shoulder Strap.

The Timbuk2 strap does not come with an extra shoulder padding, but chances are, you won’t be weighing your Convertible Packing Cube down so much that the Timbuk2 strap will dig into your shoulder.

The verdict? I think this is a fantastic little bag, and I love it! It’s so simple, yet serves multiple functions! It barely weighs anything, and it’s so sturdy. Best of all, it’s completely unisex. It doesn’t look or feel like a lady’s purse, so guys can feel just as comfortable using this as their day bag. I hope it’s popular enough that they keep selling it, and eventually expand the color line to include travel colors like black and olive, or fashionable colors like red (and I’d be ecstatic if they made it more vertical than horizontal, or addressed the location of the D-rings to provide a more stable center of gravity).

And $20 is a hard price to beat for something this handy. This product earns a solid A from me.

Thirteen pounds.

That’s the weight limit for your carry-on bag when you fly Virgin Atlantic.

Forget trying to smoosh everything into your compact carry-on bag, the weight restriction turns “traveling light” into a whole new ballgame.

We’ll be heading to Europe later this year and flying Premium Economy to London Heathrow, and our challenge will be in meeting this weight criteria.

Normally, I can pack light even in my sleep. But this will require me to be pretty consciencious; even for an old hack like me who has no trouble traveling with just one carry-on bag, that 13 pound restriction is a challenge I’ve never had to face.

Trust me, every single item I pack will be chosen carefully both for need and weight. Some things are already completely written out, like a spare pair of shoes.

What a challenge!

Can we do it? Stay tuned!

[Updated December 2, 2008]

You will soon be able to keep your laptop in your case when you go through airport security checkpoints. The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that they will begin allowing laptops to be screened through their X-ray machine while they are still in bags. The catch? The bags have to be “checkpoint friendly” and meet specific guidelines. The new rules take effect August 16, and you should be able to start purchasing these bags this month.

According to the TSA (link), the bags need to have a sleeve or flap that folds out, and encases the laptop separately.

Illustrated samples of the types of checkpoint friendly laptop bags that the TSA has approved for use.

Some of the requirements for checkpoint-friendly laptop bags are:

• A designated laptop-only section
• The laptop-only section completely unfolds to lay flat on the X-ray belt
• No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section
• No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
• Nothing packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.

Although the TSA is not endorsing specific manufacturers or models, a few luggage and bag makers have are announcing their products now:

• Incipio’s QuickCheck line of simple sleeve bags – designed for Macbook laptops of all current models.

Incipio’s QuickCheck laptop sleeve.

• The Targus Zip-Thru Corporate Traveler – looks like an archetypal leather laptop case, but zips fully open to split the bag down the middle to lay flat, with the laptop on one side. Retail priced at $99.00.

The Targus Zip-Thru looks like a standard laptop briefcase, but you can zip it flat (right) and run the bag through airport X-ray with the laptop in its separate compartment.

• Skooba Designs Checkthrough – known for some of their neoprene (wetsuit) bags, Skooba has not yet announced a price for their product. Availability is listed as end of summer, and they are not taking pre-orders. You can, however, sign up to be notified of any announcements.

Skooba Designs Checkthrough bag, with the photo on the right showing the laptop portion with clear window.

• Tom Bihn’s Checkpoint Flyer – Seattle-based bag manufacturer Tom Bihn now offers its own checkpoint-friendly, soft-sided briefcase. If you’re a fan of Tom Bihn or if you’re looking for a truly rugged, made-in-America bag, the Checkpoint Flyer is a great new addition to the roster of checkpoint friendly laptop bags. By the way, Tom Bihn is more than user-friendly; the product description is also reader-friendly. Visit the product page for an animated image of how to unfold the bag at the security terminal.

  By the way, the Checkpoint Flyer is much more than just a laptop bag. You can easily use this as your main carry-on if you can pack lightly; it has plenty of room for a weekend’s worth of clothes as well as all your laptop-related stuff.

The Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer briefcase.

What’s it all mean?

For one, it means that there are some people at the TSA that actually come up with some good ideas. That’s good to know, because a lot of people have negative impressions of the TSA based on their experience at the airport security checkpoints. Honestly, it’s about time we started moving towards some common sense. Putting your laptop in a checkthrough-friendly bag means less risk for banging up your laptop, a little more security from people just grabbing your laptop as it comes out of the X-ray chute, and less scrambling at the checkpoint when you have to get everything loaded up onto the queue.

I think the initial crop of checkpoint-friendly bags will get picked up by business travelers who do a lot of air travel and who must carry their laptops on their trips. I also anticipate that a whole slew of bag manufacturers will come up with some sort of product that they can say is checkpoint-friendly.

Just remember that the TSA is not taking on the added work of actually certifying any of these bags. All they did was provide requirements that a product must meet in order to have it house a laptop through their X-ray machines.

Unless you already travel with a separate laptop bag, my suggestion is that you don’t replace your regular carry-on just yet. Wait until you can purchase a standalone sleeve-type case, with D-rings that let you carry on your shoulder. It should be compact enough to be snug for your particular laptop, and it should allow you to easily pull it out from your carry-on. It will provide a lot more versatility, as you will still be able to use the carry-on of your choice (to which you tuck the sleeve in).

I was going through my morning e-mail and noticed a summer luggage sale announcement from an online bag seller. The e-mail’s subject title said something like, “Save Big for Summer Travel,” enticing me to see what sort of wonderful bargains I could find.

The e-mail listed the seller’s top recommendations for bags for summer travel. All but one were for rolling uprights (and the tenth in that top 10 list were packing cubes and pouches with the seller’s inhouse brand).

The wheels and handlebars of rolling uprights make moving around an airport with them a breeze, but the convenience comes at a stiff price. To me, rolling uprights are the SUVs of the luggage market. You might have a nice ride, but is it really worth paying $5.00 a gallon when you only get 15 miles per gallon?

Let’s take a look at what’s wrong—and outdated—about rolling uprights in today’s travel environment:

• The wheel-and-handle mechanism adds substantial weight to a carryon.
• The wheel-and-handle mechanism sacrifices internal capacity.
• Most rolling uprights don’t come with shoulder straps or even D-rings on the ends on which to snap a shoulder strap to; if you need to quickly walk up the stairs you are in for a real workout.
• The wheel-and-handle mechanism makes rolling uprights almost impossible to stow under a seat.
• The firm shape of most rolling uprights make them almost impossible to squeeze into a crowded overhead bin. No overhead bin space? Wave your precious carryon good-bye as the flight attendant hangs a check-in luggage tag on it.

To get an idea of just how much you are giving up for those wheels, let’s compare two very similar bags: the JanSport Weekaway convertible travelpack, and the JanSport 19″ Upright rolling carryon. Both are part of JanSport’s popular SuperBreak series. They make comparing the formats easy since the two are nearly identical, except that the Weekaway has stowable backpack straps, and the Upright has the wheels and telescoping handle.

If you were to place these two bags side by side, they would almost be identical in size. The main difference you’d notice is that when empty, the Weekaway deflates into almost complete flatness, while the Upright maintains its shape due to its firmer skeletal structure.

The Jansport’s Weekaway convertible travelpack on the left, compared to Jansport’s 19″ Upright model on the right.

JanSport Weekaway travelpack specifications:

• Fabric: 600 Denier Polyester
• Weight: 2 pounds 4 ounces (1.0 kilogram)
• Dimensions: 20″h x 12″w x 8.5″d
• Capacity: 2700 cubic inches (44.2 liters)

JanSport 19″ Upright specifications:

• Fabric: 600 Denier Polyester
• Weight: 6 pounds 1 ounce (2.8 kilograms)
• Dimensions: 19″h x 13″w x 9″d
• Capacity: 1900 cubic inches (31.1 liters)

Take a look at their weight. The Weekaway weighs a tad under two-and-a-half pounds while the Upright weighs over six pounds—yup, the wheel mechanism adds almost four pounds to the Upright. Not all convertible travelpacks are as light as the Weekaway, since most use the heavier Cordura than the lightweight denier polyester of JanSport’s SuperBreak series of bags—but what matters here is the actual weight difference between the two, since the extra weight comes almost completely from the wheel-and-handle mechanism.

Finally, compare their capacity. The Weekaway can carry 2700 cubic inches, while the Upright can only carry 1900. The 800-cubic-inch difference is specifically due to the wheel and handle mechanism:

The convenience of wheeled luggage is costing you a third of your carryon space. This difference is startling.

There’s a reason automobile dealerships are having difficulty selling their behemoth SUVs this year. A lot of people have wisened up to the need to be more economical, choosing instead to go with a lighter vehicle that sips gas.

If you are traveling by air this year and you are trying to pare down what you pack and figuring out what to leave at home, take a moment to consider what you’re going to pack your stuff in. Unless you have physical limitations such as a bad back that makes wearing backpack-type straps uncomfortable, consider leaving your rolling uprights at home and dust off that old convertible travelpack you bought 10 years ago.