Test pack for 2 weeks in Spain

[Toblerhaus]

Thanks for the detailed photos. I'm always curious how people pack their packing cubes and I'm amazed how much you fit into yours. It looks like you roll all of the tops, bundle wrap the bottoms, and fold the dresses - is that right? Do you carry the Aeronaut cross body and the Synapse on your back?

The packing cube really can hold a ton! You are correct that I roll the tops, bundle wrap bottoms, and fold the dresses.

This will be my first trip with this bag combo, so I'm not sure how I'll wind up carrying them long term. Right now, I have an Absolute Strap on the Aeronaut, and plan to carry it cross body. If that isn't working for me, I'll try the Aeronaut backpack style, and perhaps the Synapse on my front. This will be our first big trip with only carry ons, as we have always checked a single rolling duffle that the kids and I share. My "babies" are 8 and 10, and have only started carrying their own clothes in the last year. My compromise was to start them with small rolling bags, as I didn't want to wind up with them carrying too much weight on their body. It's worked out great so far.

[giantsteve]

You are right that most people are familiar with the Epi-pen... that is actually what we have provided to the school nurse. Since my son is 14 he is also allowed to carry his meds in school (and of course everywhere outside) so we have found the Auvi-Q packaging advantageous. Another nice feature of the Auvi-Q is that it has voice prompts. As soon as you remove it from its case it speaks to you and guides you through its proper usage. This would be of great to help someone unfamiliar with its administration or calm a panicky person in the midst of a serious allergic reaction. There is a great demonstration video on the Auvi-Q website which shows you how it works.

[Shanisol]

Thanks for the detailed photos. I'm always curious how people pack their packing cubes and I'm amazed how much you fit into yours. It looks like you roll all of the tops, bundle wrap the bottoms, and fold the dresses - is that right? Do you carry the Aeronaut cross body and the Synapse on your back?

[RDR3]

My DH and I were celebrating too when the boys were old enough to carry their own gear. The 8 year old is already asking for a bigger TB container to put his Lego mini figures in. Yup, he asked specifically for a TB one! I envision him asking for my Synapse 19 on our next flight!

[RDR3]

Great job packing! As the father of a son who has severe food allergies I am familiar with the need to pack food and meds for a trip. We recently switched from using the Epi-pen epinephrine injector to the Auvi-Q system. The packaging of the Auvi-Q is MUCH better than the Epi-pen and it contains the same life saving medication in case of a severe allergic reaction. It's also much easier for my 14 year old son to carry and that means he's likely to have it with him in the event of a reaction. You can see from the attached image how well it fits in a pocket... it is just a bit bigger than a credit card and measures 3 3/8" x 2" x 5/8". Another item we always travel with are individually wrapped antibacterial wipes to clean airplane trays, seat armrests, etc. to help ensure there is no nut residue from previous travelers.
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We're still carrying the epi pens for 2 of our sons until more people are familiar with the Auvi-Q system. I find in a nut reaction situation, the epipen is still the first thing caretakers/teachers/school nurses ask/look for. We put ours in a red medium OP along with their inhalers, spacer, Benadryl and orapred. It's our traveling pharmacy. Oh yeah, and plenty of antibacterial wipes too.

[Toblerhaus]

Thanks for the tip on Auvi-Q. I've never heard of it, but will check it out.

[giantsteve]

Great job packing! As the father of a son who has severe food allergies I am familiar with the need to pack food and meds for a trip. We recently switched from using the Epi-pen epinephrine injector to the Auvi-Q system. The packaging of the Auvi-Q is MUCH better than the Epi-pen and it contains the same life saving medication in case of a severe allergic reaction. It's also much easier for my 14 year old son to carry and that means he's likely to have it with him in the event of a reaction. You can see from the attached image how well it fits in a pocket... it is just a bit bigger than a credit card and measures 3 3/8" x 2" x 5/8". Another item we always travel with are individually wrapped antibacterial wipes to clean airplane trays, seat armrests, etc. to help ensure there is no nut residue from previous travelers.

[Toblerhaus]

Soon, I'll be leaving for 2 weeks in Spain, and finally managed a full test pack for my belongings. I'm bringing my beautiful new Aeronaut, and a Synapse 25.

Prepare for packing geekery.

This includes everything I'm bringing except for food. We have multiple severe food allergies in the family, so we wind up needing to travel with a fair bit of food on travel days. I still have room in my Synapse for most of the food I need, and the kids will carry all their own food and belongings. Woot!

I'm documenting my pack job in reverse order. All packed up and ready to go!

IMG_8601 by agtobler, on Flickr

Inside the Aeronaut

IMG_8582 by agtobler, on Flickr
Medium cafe bag (to be carried as a purse once we arrive), tennis shoes, waterproof boots, blue slim packing cube for underwear and socks, medium raspberry packing cube for clothing, umbrella, red dot bag with dry toiletries, brown zip bag with misc emergency items, olive 311 bag with wet toiletries

Inside my main packing cube

IMG_8577 by agtobler, on Flickr

More details of the clothing packing cubes

IMG_8576 by agtobler, on Flickr
Photo includes the clothes I'll wear on the flight. Bootcut jeans, skinny jeans, cropped athletic pants, wool leggings, 2 3/4 sleeve dresses, 3 short sleeved tops, 2 3/4 sleeved tops, 2 long sleeved tops, 4 tanks. Blue slim cube holds 4 underwear, 5 pairs socks, a sun hat, and an extra bra.

Inside the Synapse 25

IMG_8591 by agtobler, on Flickr
Hydroflask, 2 stuff sacks, side effect, organizer cube, iPad in Portenzo case, Kindle, Ziploc bag, clear organizer pouch with Eurorail passes and passports, camera bag for dSLR and 10-22 lens, 35 mm lens and neoprene pouch to hold it.

Inside the Side Effect

IMG_8593 by agtobler, on Flickr
Portenzo case with iPhone, pocket pouch with misc cards, travel wallet, Benadryl, Epipens, snap pouch with Euro, tin with chewing gum, pen and notebook.

Inside the medium stuff sack

IMG_8594 by agtobler, on Flickr
Electronics accessories galore! Assorted plug adaptors, book likght, Kindle cord, headphone splitter, headphones, iPhone and iPad chargers, camera card reader for iPad, screen cleaning cloth

Inside the small stuff sack

IMG_8595 by agtobler, on Flickr
Small camera gear: waterproof camera cover, lens cleaning fluid, battery charger, lens cleaner, extra camera card, lens cleaning pen

Inside the red organizer cube

IMG_8596 by agtobler, on Flickr
Assorted medicines, ginger candies and cough drops, toilet paper, mini first aid kit, oil blotting papers, barf bags, anti jet lag tablets, sea bands

I think I'm officially ready to go!