Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Comparing Travel Backpacks


My recent travels took me from JFK to Orly airport, to the streets of Paris for 5 nights at a friend's house, to a train ride bound for Redon in Brittany, to the Nantes-Brest Canal where I walked 10-some miles a day for six days. And I carried all my essentials, including wine bar-perfect dresses, and clothes that were comfortable for walking as well as lounging at the end of the day and my prepared-for-anything first-aid kit, in an ultra comfortable, tiny backpack: the Flight 30 by Six Moon Designs. I recently posted about what I packed in this bag that I would be carrying for the first time and I had high hopes for it. It exceeded all of my expectations.



The bag, designed for ultra runners or super light backpackers, weighs in at a wee 19 ounces. The vest harness is unique, allowing the bag to move with you and comfortably transferring the load away from the lumbar region. I used packing cubes and zip lock bags to organize everything, and  external pockets carried a water bottle, tiny umbrella and other small essentials. (It was top loading but, with everything packed in individual cubes and bags, it was all very organized.) As my friend and I walked this flat paved path for 12+ miles on a few days, I blurted out "This bag is so comfortable, I could easily go another five miles."





Sadly, this was not my friend's experience. She purchased the Tortuga Travel Backpack based on my recommendation. I bought it in 2014 and, though I took it with me to Southeast Asia where I spent a month, I was completely unhappy with it.  It's a heavy bag, weighing in at 3.7 pounds. Sure, the company told me that my torso was too short --- 5'' 2" -- for the bag. But I had no idea it would be so uncomfortable in every sense: after wearing it for just 30 minutes, everything hurt, especially my back. And the padded hip belt that everyone loved just overwhelmed my tiny hips -- I'm a fairly skinny girl -- as did the wide shoulder straps. It just didn't work for me.

And yet, I recommended it to my friend who's 5' 8" tall and much heftier in girth. It's a bag that's good at organizing your gear with external and internal pockets and dividers. Plus it's front loading, which means you can easily find what you need without taking everything out, as you would with a top loading bag. The zippers are of good quality as is the bag itself. And it's the ideal carry-on size. So imagine my surprise when I met my friend in Paris and found out that both airlines she traveled with said the bag had to be checked. (She had not overpacked.) And my further surprise when she complained how uncomfortable the bag was, how it hurt her back, even though she packed light. The Tortuga Travel Backpack's website clearly states that it isn't made for hiking, but traveling from the airport to the hotel is hardly hiking, nor is walking a paved trail. But, alas, my friend did little walking with the Tortuga bag on our trip in Brittany, finding it too uncomfortable. She paid drivers to shuttle her bag ahead to our accommodations each night. And, at the end of our journey she gave the bag away. On the day I declared that I could easily go another 5 miles with my Six Moon Designs bag, my friend decided that as soon as she got home, she was ordering the Flight 30 bag, too. 







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Sunday, June 28, 2015

Fashionable + Ethical Bags for Your Weekend Travels

How perfect to find an ethical fashion accessory brand, especially one that's all about investing in women and girls, providing the women with fair work and, with the sale of each item, adolescent girls receive life skills mentoring. Also, it's so perfect that, planning to visit India in the fall, I found out that this company, Catrinka, which I originally wrote about months ago, is now selling the Kanta Weekender, a 100% cotton canvas bag with a hand drawn Indian street scene embellished with hand embroidery and mirrors.

The artisans behind this fashionable and ethically-produced bag is a mother-daughter team from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The bag is named for Kanta, the 33-year-old daughter on the team. (Her mother, Bhagwati is 52 and she learned embroidery craft from her mother.) The mirror work on the bag is traditional to Jodhpur, each panel taking two days to complete. The embroidered snowflake pattern originates out of Lucknow. (Both women are noted locally for their skillful hand embroidery work.)

The bag -- it'll hold all your clothing, accessories and toiletries for a weekend -- with its cow suede base and handles, cotton lining with zip pocket and top closure is assembled in a small woman-owned workshop based in New Delhi. Each bag provides three days of fair work to women in India. And indigenous adolescent Mayan girls receive a week of life skills mentoring through Catrinka's NGO partner, Redmi, with the sale of each bag. (Redmi strives to reach out to poor and at-risk indigenous girls, aged 8 to 19 in rural Guatemalan communities.)

So many of my activities, whether it's mentoring seniors at Barnard College where I did my undergraduate work or creating a fashion and accessories line, revolve around working with women and girls. Catrinka whose motto is "buy a bag, employ a woman, educate a girl, fits right along with this sensibility.







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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Ultra Light Carry-On-Only Packing

Most people who travel to Paris for a week take along enough luggage for months of wardrobe changes. My trip will include not just five days in Paris but also more than a week in Brittany where I'll be walking 20 km from village to village with all my gear.



 These trip logistics dictated that I would be carrying my lightest pack ever. And it's especially timely given the new proposed carry-on rules that, hopefully, won't go into effect. (But they probably will.) According to the International Air Transport Association, the standard carry-on size would be 21.5" X 13.5" X 7.5". No problem for me: Aside from what I'm wearing on the plane, I've packed 3 dresses, one extra pair of pants, one pair of leggings, 2 tee shirts, rain jacket, one pair of Mary Janes, a hoody, warm synthetic fiberfill jacket, 5 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear, 2 tank tops, iPad, first-aid kit, vitamin supplements, and toiletries, and a mini umbrella. All this went into my Flight 30 model by Six Moon Designs that's sized 17" X 11" X 7". (I managed to fit everything by placing different categories of clothing into individuals zip-log bags and squeezing the air out.) Because my clothes are either black or grey (plus bright colors coming from the tees, tanks, and scarves), there are myriad possible garment combinations. The very small Timbuka messenger bag that I will sling over my shoulder contains pens, antacids, chocolates, earplugs, eye shades, extra pair of eyeglasses, notebooks, batteries, connector wires, credit cards, cash, flashlight, dental floss, and peppermint lozenges.




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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

What Not To Wear On The Plane

When you're trapped in a plane for anywhere from a few hours to having to cross multiple time zones, you're a captive, in a sense. And the clothes you chose for the flight had better keep you warm and comfortable and, sometimes more importantly, not attract unwanted attention.


That means no beach wear: no low-cut revealing tops, no shorts (it's often cold in the cabin and don't assume the flight attendants will provide a blanket). No shirts with offensive words or phrases that could stimulate an air rage incident. No sky-high heels that are uncomfortable and impractical in the cabin. (And no shoes that require untying/unbuckling anything.) No tight pants. Not only is this uncomfortable as you try to curl up in your seat over the next many hours, but even young people wearing tight pants could be at an increased risk of blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis).



This is an example of what I'll be wearing on my next flight -- I'm heading to Paris: 




 Notice, my slip-on shoes are cute but flat. These are Chaco Mary Janes.


My socks are made of Merino wool by SmartWool. (No chance of getting blisters once I land and hit the road. And, on the plane, the socks are breathable, wickable and comfortable.)


The loose-fitting pants are made of a synthetic that's light, breathable and doesn't wrinkle. When I'm not wearing this sort of pants, I opt for black leggings and a comfortable, simple black dress, made, of course, of Merino wool by SmartWool.


The long-sleeve shirt is Merino wool by SmartWool, so it adapts to different temperatures, wicks away sweat, and is ultra comfortable.


Under my shirt I wear a stretchy tank top that's also breathable.


I'm wearing a part synthetic/part light cotton infinity scarf that can do double or triple duty also as a head or shoulder covering. (It works in lieu of a hoody, so I can pull it over my head when I go to sleep on the plane.)


The long cardigan is by ExOfficio and is made of a comfy polar fleece-type synthetic that, like with the shirt, keeps me warm in frigid cabin. As a worst case scenario, I can take it off and roll it up as a neck or back rest. (It doesn't wrinkle either.)


Since, as you probably already know, I never check luggage, these items of clothing allow me to dress up or down once I've reached my destination. I can wear the tank top at the beach or under a sundress that needs some extra coverage. The black long-sleeve Merino wool shirt pairs well with a skirt or a sleeveless dress (if it's chilly). The scarf is especially useful if I'll be visiting religious sites but also if it's breezy.

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