Suggestion for handle cover/pad for WF handle

[OnMyWay]

Two observations from my recent trip with my WF: (1) I often wanted to carry the bag by its top handle (main top handle when bag is in horizontal position, not the side grab handles). When it was fully packed it quickly got heavy/was not so comfortable so I switched to carrying it via shoulder strap (2) I can see that the handle would be the part of the bag to get dirty the quickest, both due to my carrying it and others touching the bag (porters or drivers handing me the bag--am I the only person who hates this?!). So....my suggestion is a handle cover/pad similar to the ultrasuede shoulder strap wrap. Ideally it would be padded for comfort, washable, and it could come in different colors to complement the various bag colors.

[dorayme]

Most of my travel has been and will be via car so only me and my family will be touching/handling my bags. On my recent flight only one other person touched my bag, the gentleman sitting next to me on the last leg of my return home. He offered to pull it from the overhead for me since he was in the aisle and could get to it better when it was time to disembark.
Were I to travel more where others handled my bag it would squick me out and I would definitely be interested in a handle cover, but I would worry that it would rub weird, or bunch up so I would think it would need grip on the inside to keep it put when fastened onto the handle. I would also think a clip or snap ring like the old stuff sack yarn guide would be nice to secure it out of the way to an o-ring when it wasn't in use and keep it from getting lost.
eta, the reason why I would suggest the snap ring vs. the c-clip or the snap hook is that it would need to be soft if you grabbed the handle with part of the attachment point in the way. If it were hard that could hurt, especially if the bag had some weight to it.

[Maria]

OnMyWay and Dorayme - I had to laugh. I thought I was the only one who gets fussy about people touching my bags! I'm at the point where I want to wipe them down with some sort of sanitizer if someone touches them....or consider putting them in a big plastic bag to go through the x-ray machine, or put them in the over head. (After all, who knows where other bags have been that are placed in the over head or on the conveyer belt!)



(Actually, I once saw a women put her hand bag on the restroom floor of a rather obviously scummy airport washroom. I was horrified!)

[OnMyWay]

Glad I'm not the only one! I tried to keep hold of my bag at all times (to the annoyance of various porters whose mission in life was the opposite) but there where times I couldn't get around it.

I did some searching and here are some examples of similar products to what I am thinking of although of course I think Tom Bihn would come up with a much better product and it would be better to have the covers customized to fit Tom Bihn bags:

Bucky IdentiGrip Luggage Handle Wrap at REI.com

Belle Hop Handling Bundle - eBags.com

[OnMyWay]

Anybody else think this is a good idea for a new product? It could be made of scrap material that might otherwise go to waste. Darcy, do you have any feedback??

[Yonkdaddy]

I use the Bucky Identigrip on my Aeronaut. It fits perfectly. Adds just a touch of padding and a handy second luggage ID (of course I have my "official" TB luggage tag on there, too!).