Category Archives: Bags & Luggage

Bags & Luggage, CotopaxiNazca, travelbunny

Cotopaxi Nazca 24L Yes or No?

This really is a lovely bag. Well made, good materials and environmentally friendly production.

Lets get to the parts I love most then we’ll get into why I’m wavering in keeping it:

  • I love the materials. Black canvas, leather strap points… nifty.
  • The interior organization is good. I love the clamshell opening then having zip compartments for your stuff. The clamshell feature is mostly what attracted me to this in the first place.
    Actually, I first wanted the Allpa but it was too big for my purposes, and happily the Nazca is not.
  • The straps are great to wear and it has a larger webbing hip belt that does well for the smaller bag. Super comfy. I think mostly I won’t need the hip belt because I probably won’t have it stuffed that full.
  • it holds the right amount of stuff.
  • it looks sooooo pretty

Now the things that made me doubt if I want to keep it:

  • It is a longer pack, and I have a very short torso. This messes with me in backpacking packs as well. I’ve come to terms with the longer packs (one of my all-time favorites ever was the Eagle Creek Bedouin, but the straps on it with any weight at all were painful. I’m still looking for ways to replace them without breaking the bank.)
  • I thought the weight balance would be awkward with the 2 rectangular sections put together, but it is only slightly so on my short torso. To be certain I will look like a derp (as I do anytime I use a hip belt on a loaded pack) if I need to go miles in this thing, but I can handle that I think. The weight balance seems doable.
  • I think I need just a bit more division on the main compartments. That’s just a personal thing. I’ve seen many folks load it up and it packs just fine. If they had miniaturized the Allpa I’d be content.
  • I actually don’t need the laptop compartment. 😉 I put my collapsible daypack in there.
  • No water bottle pocket. Sigh.

Test packing the Nazca:

In the front pocket:

  • airplane stuff: charger, cable, earbuds
  • liquids for easy TSA walk through

In the laptop sleeve:

In the main area, left side:

  • packing cube 1
  • Cpap and associated gear
  • dry kit
  • passport and travel docs would go in the yellow zip compartment on the front of this compartment

In the main area, right side:

So far so good. After all was packed I could put the pack on and not need the waist belt. Using the waist belt pushed the pack up on my back (short torso, remember?) but was still doable-especially without a laptop in there. I could definitely wander about in a foreign city for hours without too much discomfort. If I was doing that I probably wouldn’t have a laptop anyway. I only ever take my laptop on business trips.

Verdict: No. I tested various configurations and my short torso is just too short for this.

I’m sad now.

Yes! I keep because I love 😉
I’ll probably be using this for a trip I have in mind that has several driving segments and a flight segment.

Here are some pics of starting to pack for this upcoming trip:

Outside, not stuffed full:


The small front pocket:

Pack opened when somewhat packed:
Left side of opened pack: cpap and gear and dry kit, still room for another packing cube: 
Right side of pack with basic clothes in cube:

There’s definitely enough room for me to put another packing cube and my Tom Bihn Sidekick if I need to, but I tend to want that where I can access it or put my hands on it easily.

Buy the Nazca 24L on Amazon here or on Cotopaxi’s site here.

Here are some other folks who use this pack:

Cotopaxi.com | Our founder, Davis Smith, grew up in Latin America and lived for several years in Ecuador. When he wasn’t in school, Davis was exploring and camping in Cotopaxi National Park. It was here that he developed a lifelong reverence for the strong, hard-working people of the Andes. His time in Latin America also showed him the plight of those in abject poverty… [Read more]

Bags & Luggage, Luggage, Packing, travelbunny

EDCRB (Every Day Carry RyanAir Bag)

I’ve done lots of running about the countryside lately and I have been just grabbing my little polka dot personal size bag that I got a few weeks ago as my go to bag.

I’m not actually using my standard set of packing cubes for travel, I’ve just got a couple of REI mini cubes with extra socks and a pair of leggings. The other things are things that would normally go in my purse or a daypack as well as my sleep gear.

Left most column of stuff (top to bottom): string wallet, pouch o’ cables and adaptors etc, REI microcube, battery bank, another REI microcube.

Middle column: REI mini dopp kit (this lives in any bag I carry – has  lip balm, travel spork, face SPF, pills, (dry stuff basically) etc), cpap

Right column: Sea to Summit cube o’ wires (cpap accessories and wall adaptor with 2 USB ports, phone Wi-Fi backup unit, mini flashlight for cave-like conditions.)

Just tucked in the front: finger puppets…because reasons, mini lotion carrier.

Also tucked in but not shown: Magic travel cpap tubing and my collapsible coffee drip cone.

Front pocket: holds the stuff I’d normally carry in my 3-1-1 kit (I also have a ziplock bag ready to stuff all my liquids in if I do actually go to an airport): toothbrush/toothpaste combo, shower stuff and soaps.

Pushinocorn lives on the handle.

If I’m just running around doing errands I just leave out the sleep stuff, but it’s been great for the last several weeks: for camping as my in tent bag, for when I decide I need sleep over after some of the epic game days at friends’ houses who live over an hour away and generally being mostly packed for any more family emergencies.

For an airport trip I’d add a few snack bars, my basic cube in place of the little cubes, my alien buddy and my iPad mini. Easily added.

BoardingBlue, Iceland, Luggage, Packing, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

WowAir Basic Fare Packing

Just FYI I’m postponing indefinitely my plans to go to Iceland until whaling has stopped.

Iceland Resumes Hunt For Endangered Fin Whales

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/iceland-resumes-hunt-for-endangered-fin-whales/

6/22/18

I used to go to Green Bay, Wisconsin in February and March (sometimes as early as January) and, as you might realize, it can get a little nippy there. But after doing this for about 10 years, the panic over “OMG I’m going to freeze to death!” calmed down to “Why is it so freaking hot inside?”

Most of the time I ended up in a long sleeve layering shirt with a snarky T-shirt on top of that and yoga pants. When I did go outside, I had a Patagonia down sweater, and for the occasional sleigh ride (it was a vacation) I just put on snow pants over my yoga pants or leggings; whatever I happen to be wearing that day.


Special guest star: barn kitteh at the Rock K Ranch

I have it on good authority from a Green Bay resident that Iceland is lovely and now I really want to try Wow Air and their basic fare (here are a couple of people who have done this: Pam Yang and Dariadaria) and I want to use my BoardingBlue bag which meets the free carry-on requirement for Wow Air.

I’m pretty sure it will carry all I need since I won’t be camping, I’ll probably just take a day tour to see some waterfalls, do the Blue Lagoon-natch, and noodle around town taking pictures. If I can manage it, I’d like to see the black sand beach – but that is negotiable. I also really, really want to see the northern lights, but I hear that can be tricky. Well, we’ll give it a shot.
(Suggestions for fun? Leave those tips in the comments!)

I have a comfy pair of Sorel winter boots (the Waterfall model from a few years ago – tested in GB) I can wear on the plane, my snow pants, I have a thin smartwool sweater for another layer, my Marmot rain/wind layer packs up super flat and I can carry my down jacket with hat and mittens stored in the pocket. I think this will be fairly easy to accomplish.

Here’s the BoardingBlue with my snow pants snuggled in:


And then my standard packing cube o’ stuff tucked in:

I’ll bring other stuff like flip flops and a swimsuit, my travel towel, packable daypack, etc, but there’s lots of room left in my bag… though not enough for the 40 Icelandic sweaters I want to buy, but that is another issue all together 😉

Excitement. I haz it. 😉

Bags & Luggage, Packing, Uncategorized

A New Bag!

Having watched untold packing videos on YouTube about minimalists traveling (some actual minimalists and some just rather pleased with themselves for only bringing on a full suitcase and a personal item) I decided a while back to see what is my minimum travel gear for leisure travel.

I tend to travel on Southwest since I can avoid flying through the problematic airports (O’Hare, DFW – eeeeevvvvil places IMO) to get to my Texas locations and they have a pretty amazing luggage policy (personal item, carryon and 2 bags fly free). Considering they have a really great on-time record, I’d say they are doing something right. However, not everyone is as fabu as Southwest, so I need to be ready.

I’ve done a week at my family home in the Tom Bihn Nightflight Travel Duffle (FYI: it is United’s personal item, perfect for their bare fare tickets); it worked pretty well and eventually I want to hop around Europe on a budget airline, such as RyanAir, but I don’t want to blow all my funds on carrying stuff around. I have several backpacks, but all seem to be just a bit larger than their specifications. So I went to eBay and found a RyanAir specifically sized personal item bag.

• Designed to be the maximum size for the second hand luggage for Ryan air
• Made from a tough wearing 600D polyester Material
• 1 main compartment
• 1 Front zip pocket
• Removable adjustable shoulder strap
• Piggy back strap so bag fits on back of trolley case when travelling – less to carry and easier to travel!
• Dimensions 35x20x20 cms  Weight: 0.4kgs

Also it has polka dots! ❤️

I’ve recently reorganized my specific travel clothes, using Lewis N Clark Electrolight medium cubes. The very basics in one cube and the ability for judicious expansion by grabbing cube #2 and/or one of the specialty cubes. (Read about the contents of my packing cubes here.) In addition to my plane outfit (jeans, black merino t, shell jacket and black walking shoes), cube #1 has a long sleeve black CuddlDuds item (triple duty item: pj’s, layering piece or just a long sleeve shirt), a short sleeve black shirt, a pair of black printed leggings, socks & undies.

There are some things that just live in my suitcase. My cross body purse (contains purse type stuff: phone, wallet, pen, iPhone backup thingy, etc), silicone coffee drip cone, Gobite Uno, USB cables, packable daypack, Jackery 12500 mAh battery, shampoo bar & carrier, flip flops, travel buddy… and not much else. It’s a pretty good set up for at least a week of wandering about taking loads of pictures.

If I do need more, I can throw in packing cube #2 with a bit more stuff in it.

But for this bag, my main packing cube fits the bill. Here it is in my new bag:

Lots of room left for another cube if I really need it, or even better, room for souvenirs!

Have suitcase, will travel.

(I’ve got my Boarding Blue Personal item bag for Iceland Wow Air packing almost done… stay tuned)

Bags & Luggage, Packing, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, travelbunny

1 week in the @tombihn Night Flight Travel Duffle

It is actually very easy to travel to my family’s place in just the Tom Bihn Night Flight travel duffle. I pack my merino wool T-shirts, a pair of leggings and a hooded shirt. Winter in Texas is flip-flop weather, and minimal toiletries mean that I can travel super lightly and easily.

My airplane outfit serves as arriving and returning clothes, and I wear my tennis shoes in the airport so that I can walk the 3 miles between terminals comfortably. (Note that I  also a bring packable day pack to carry presents to everybody which then gets folded up and put in my bag for the return trip, or carries back presents that I was brought so it works out well in any case.)

In the main compartment I have some jammies  (the blue tank and some ex officio black boxer shorts), three T-shirts; all merino wool, and my buff (just in case). Then I have my orange toiletries kit (dry products), purple REI mini towel, two Tom Bihn pouches with first aid stuff and fiddly bits. You can’t see them, but in the bottom I have my flip-flops for noodling around the house.

The silver thing is my iPad mini with a Bluetooth keyboard cover, a hairbrush and a banana republic shopping bag that has an elephant on it – so that obviously has to come with me ;).

The base layer packed:

And then the second layer:

Right before I go through security I tuck in my clear plastic plane kit that holds my earphones, phone battery, adapters, etc. that hangs on the tray table while I’m sitting in my seat. It fits in the area where the space is left.

The side pockets:

The right side pocket holds my electronics. In the pouches underneath my CPAP I have my wall adapter, the CPAP’s accessories, my phone charger cable, and any other cables that I might need on my trip.

The outside right pocket holds my wet toiletries that get pulled out for security at TSA. This little case from Daiso holds about six days worth of supplies for me.

The left side pocket holds socks and underwear, my packable day pack and any other thing that might need to be squished into my bag. It’s not overly full but it doesn’t have a ton of room left either.

Left outside pocket holds my slim wallet when I travel so that I can put my phone and it in my bag before I go through the scanner at TSA. It helps keep them organized and I don’t have such anxiety over losing my ID etc.

In general I’m usually over optimistic about what I will wear, but I actually did wear all of the stuff I brought this time (though given my druthers I would just wear this particular outfit the whole time):

Yes those are cat knees on my leggings and that Columbia hooded shirt is the best thing in the world, I’m having to darn the holes all the time because I’ve been wearing it for three years solid and it’s starting to wear out a bit. I will be sad when I can’t wear it anymore. I hope they come out with a good replacement!

(This outfit fits in the bag but I was wearing it  so I didn’t pack it up to take pictures.) I have a pair of black pants and a shirt to wear on the plane and then I keep the Columbia hoodie either on me or tucked into the snap handle on the top of the duffle. The leggings get tucked into wherever they fit at the time.

I fly home later today so I can verify that this set up works really well since I’ve been gone for about a week now. The only thing I really feel I’m missing is my cats. But they don’t like to travel and don’t really fit into this bag. 😉

Bags & Luggage, Gadgets, London, Paris, TeamUltraviolet, Tom Bihn, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

Paris packing list

We have the luxury of not changing hotels for a reasonable stretch of time, our hotel isn’t too far from a Metro station and there aren’t too many changes between Metro lines to get there.

I’ll be using my Aeronaut 30 and my Travelon daypack to carry me through 10 days of Paris and London.

Bags:

Clothes:

Bags & Luggage, London, Packing, Travel: Europe, Travel: Packing List, travelbunny

Vacation in a vacation

We’re planning to ride the Eurostar to London from Paris one day on our upcoming trip. The plan is to get there early afternoon, snoop about, eat Indian food til we explode, stay in a hotel then get up the next day and do one of those hop on/hop off tours until it is time to get back to Paris via St. Pancras station.

Being a packing nerd, I was up for this challenge (I hate carrying a lot of stuff and we’ll need to carry everything with us after we check out of the hotel that morning.)


I’ll be carrying my Pacsafe Slingsafe 300 GII and my pouch purse


I so adore this bag. Super comfy to carry, RFID pocket, slash resistant straps and securable zippers. Peace of mind in backpack form. Pretty much when I travel I have a pouch purse for easy storage of coins and phone and then a backpack for the day’s needs. These two together are THE BUSINESS I tell you…

Here’s what I have in my bag:
1. umbrella
2. In my dopp kit:

FullSizeR1.jpg

*I found some teeny tiny soap containers at Daiso that hold a Ligett’s travel shampoo bar and my travel sized Dove bar. Moreover, they fit in the travel zip pouch from Ligett’s that you can get perfectly.  

3. clothes in zip pouch (just the middle sized one):

FullSizeR

**depending on how warm it is, I might just take one merino shirt. They don’t smell generally and if I’m not sweating I probably will be ok. Though I’m a messy Indian food eater, I might need to take another one anyway 😉

4. Travel electronics:

All told it weighs about 5 or 6 pounds, (more with a water bottle in there). I’m ready for London!
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