Last edited by Horace (2016-04-02 03:29:25)
I've got a grab-bag of assorted stuff but nothing wheeled, I'm still trucking around with Bean brown duffels, have maybe six of them in various sizes, staring at a couple right now;
then I've got some assorted Filson; Ghurka; brown leather Samsonite like Derm pictured above; some American Tourister gorillla-can't-destroy-'em; a nice leather Gladstone by Polo; a beautiful green canvas Gladstone from the nicest old-line sporting goods store in Paris; and various other bits and bobs, including a mysterious Harris tweed tie case from the Andover Shop which just showed up at my house one day .....
one day I might need something with wheels but maybe I won't ever have to fly anywhere again, which would be great
/\ my Bean duffles now feature a hodgepodge of assorted straps cannibalized from other duffles of the past, the long-gone Eastpaks, Incontinence pants, etc., and most have been repaired with suede patches and heavy stitching, and some have my brothers' names and the names of their dorms written on them with Magic Marker, the bags are thirty to forty years old but still going ..... which is good because replacing them with something made of canvas, leather, and brass would be expensive
they were so inexpensive then and I'm so cheap now, I think I'm stuck with them, I perfected the art of sprinting to the station with a Bean duffle slung across my back but I separated my left shoulder permanently .....
Globe-Trotter was not familiar to me back then, I never had any .....
Last edited by stanshall (2016-04-03 12:40:15)
/\ so the upshot is I started babying the Bean bags and now I use them to store winter clothes
when I travel I just use a backpack with a spare carry-on gym-type rolled up bag inside it, depending on where I'm going ...
I have some nice stuff, I just use it less and less, it's like a relic from a different age ....
does anybody else here abhor flying? I'll drive anywhere, take a train or a boat, .........
I detest even the merest whiff of turbulence and it has my palms all sweaty and it gives me The fear. Despite this, I've flown and still fly a lot and I've now come up with the solution, 20mg of one of these newer diazepam's (I forget the name, Ozapam or something) which takes the edge of the fear and has you arriving fit enough to do a presentation or go out to a restaurant. The secret is to just take it with water and no alcohol as this seems to stop the desired effect. It's still not enough to make me sleep though, but this makes it ideal for trips around Europe.
Like Stanshall, if there's a good excuse to drive or go by train, I'll take it. Flying in the USA always seems to have a lot more turbulence than in Europe, but in saying that, one of the worse flights I ever had was from Rotterdam to London City in a turbo-prop one early morning.
We went to Marseille on the train recently for a long weekend, it took five and a half hours from London and the train deposited us in the city centre ten minutes walk from our hotel. It would have quicker to fly, but not that much quicker by the time you factor in all the hassle at airports and travelling to and from them. The journey itself was ten times more enjoyable.
+1
If I have the option, I go by train... I also tend to take only very short flights. My longest flights habe been a 6 hour flight to Tenerife and a second to Gran Canaria with my parents when I was a teenager.
The problem with aiports is the hanging around time, once a train starts moving, you're on the go, that sensation that you're getting there. Last time I went to London City, because of a reduced number of flights into Rotterdam, I had to wait several hours after a meeting, if I had got the train, I would have been back sooner and it was also cheaper. Despite recent incidents, I've vowed next time to get the train to London, but the travel from Brussels to Rotterdam/The Hague is where it slows down significantly. To Brussels only, it's much better than the plane.
I've flown the new Airbus A380-600 and A380-800 with Lufthansa recently and they are a definite step-change in the flying experience. Quiet, bigger windows, galley toilets and they're pressurized at a lower altitude which makes a big difference to how you feel when you arrive. When I think I was flying the MD-11's halfway around the world back in the early 2000's, this is definitely a huge improvement and the next generation of flying. Still take me tablets though.
For hold luggage I favour a Peli camera case with a load of Eagle Creek modular 'Pack-It' bags.
http://casemarket.co.uk/peli-1630-case-with-wheels-and-pull-handle-516-p.asp
For 'carry-on' it varies on what I'm doing, currently a Unit Portables computer bag and a small Eagle Creek wheelie bag
http://en.unitportables.com/products/unit-01-incl-02-and-03
http://www.eaglecreekluggage.co.uk/Eagle_Creek_Tarmac_25_Bi-Tech%99_in_Black
The very first time I flew, it was on wide navy leather seats, glass of champagne after take off, nice meal and hot towels en route, and smoking was permitted.
Now it's just a step under a bus ride. Anything that fits under the seat in front of me is perfect, if it has to be bigger the likes of Cabin Max do the right size of bag (and you can find a few slightly more retro offerings among those - mine looks like an old school climbing rucksack).
Last edited by RobbieB (2016-04-04 07:28:31)
My flight was delayed on the runway for 50 minutes and there was no free offer of drinks or food. The flight is fully booked and many of my fellow passengers seem to be travelling with everything but the Giant vibrator sink. I, however, have my back pack safely stored under the seat in front. Alan Whicker style of travel it ain't.
Indeed, I only took it with booze once or twice and because I was taking only 5mg dose which is insufficient for an 11 hour flight, or indeed to have any effect on someone like me.
I've just checked my prescription and it's Oxazepam. Excellent in-flight fear relief.
I have a couple canvas shoulder bags, Brady and Jack Spade that I use as carry-on luggage. The Jack Spade is good for anything up to a 3 night stay. I can fit shoes and my laptop in there as well as my clothes. And a LL Bean waterproof duffle for hold luggage. It's big and it's yellow and no-one has ever mistaken it for their own on the baggage carousel!
Brady Bag:
http://www.bradybags.co.uk/shop/Shoulder-Bags/15/-Ariel-Trout-Canvas--Large/
Bean:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WRTXWApESq4/UM3crozd6fI/AAAAAAAACa0/aPFxtuz4f0g/s1600/Picture+40.png
My Jack spade is similar to this but mine is all black and all canvas:
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02804/jackspade_2804880k.jpg
Last edited by Leer R. (2016-04-07 03:44:18)