Night flight and Tri Star

[atarango1]

I'm going to visit my parents in California for a long weekend (Wed-Monday morning) and will be travelling with my Tri Star and Night flight. This trip is pretty mellow because mainly I just stay with my folks and entertain myself. No really going out or visiting other people as they are elderly and don't go out and really just want my company and for me to do stuff around the house for them. A few of you asked me to post how my packing list was different from my last trip two weeks ago, so here it is: my Tristar is mostly configured the same as it was last time with a few changes necessitated by the Night Flight.

In Tri Star:
In back compartment packing cube:
2 pair of shorts
3 tops
2 dresses
1 pair of capris
T shirt that is a gift for my dad
Little swift, flattened under packing cube

In middle compartment:
Cosmetic bag
311 bag
Travel tray with chargers
Hat
Travel hair dryer and travel hair iron
Small bag with first aid kit, Hair ties, vitamins, etc.

In front compartment:
1 pair Birkenstocks in eagle creek shoe cube
1 flat folder holding flight info, some knitting patterns, etc (this would usually go in a carry on but it doesn't fit in the Nightflight)
Sharky

iPad will go in largest front pocket plus a platypus water bottle to be filled once I get through security.

I will wear a pair of linen pants, t shirt, fleece hoodie and sneakers.

Now for a Night Flight



Side effect with purse things
bob the travelling beaver
1 knitting pattern (folded)
1 sock project
1 knitted top project
1 bag holding extra skeins of yarn for sweater project
1 double organizer pouch with needlepoint things
Jewelry in q kit
iPod
1 packing cube filled with emergency gluten free foods
1 kindle
1 book for plane (I have to read an actual book on the plane. I get queasy reading a kindle-- I don't know why. I use the kindle for when I am on the ground.)
2 cross stitch projects

Here it is all crammed in



It just barely fits. And it is heavy. Like a brick with handles. I will report back and tell you how it wears in the airport.

Here's the whole set up. With Sharky who has not yet been smashed into the Tri star.



I'll let you know how it goes. I have to change planes at DFW, so that usually entails a lot of walking or riding that monorail thing. I'm hoping this is a comfy configuration.

[Sacharissa]

I'm soooo jealous! Love your Aubergine Traveling Set!

[Melissa]

Where in in California are you traveling to? If by chance you are coming to San Diego, I can let you know what LYS are worth visiting while you are here....,

[atarango1]

Melissa-- I was in the Los Angeles area, but I'll be in San Diego in November. Downtown by the convention center, for a conference and I won't have a car-- any yarn shops near there?

So, about the trip. A few thoughts.

1. American is clearly cracking down on oversized bags. On both legs of the trip they stationed a gate agent by the bag sizer and made people who looked bulgy or too big stick their bag in it. It made the line slow but more than one person was forced to check (rather grumpily I would add.) The gate agent didn't even bat an eye at my Tristar, I was one of the few waved through without a size check, on each flight.

2. My aubergrine travelling set was openly admired by a photojournalist who was sitting next to me. He took down the name and website of the bag, so if a photojournalist from Texas buys himself a TriStar you people at Tom Bihn owe me-- hear that Darcy?!
Other people eyed the bag with envy. One woman was impressed I had five days worth of stuff on me. She couldn't believe it. A little girl said it was a pretty color. A soldier admired the toughness of the fabric. Seriously, I have never had so many people comment on my bags before.

Now to the night flight.

3. The night flight handles very good when carrying it by hand. Even stuffed as it was, and very heavy it was well balanced in the hand. I found that impressive. I used the shoulder strap when hiking a while in the airport, otherwise I carried it by the hand handles.

4. It fits nicely under the seat in front of you, with space for feet if you don't have big feet. I flew a really big plane on my way to Los Angeles from Dallas-- it was going on to Tokyo I think, and the night flight left room for me to squeeze my feet in around it.


5. It's best to put the stuff you need for your flight in the side pockets. It's easier to get to during the flight especially once you snap that handle thing together.

6. Those side pockets? Beast I tell you. I added more yarn, an apple, a sack of candies and the side pockets just kept growing. They reminded me a bit of Hermione's purse.

7. It is a little brick like when carrying, in the sense that it is very rectangular but after a while it didn't bother me.

8. I left the padded section in, which was likely a good thing because the bag was pounded on by someone's toddler who had decided to throw a little fit while disembarking.

9. I wish that the was a zippered pocket along the long end of it, for airline tickets. I folded mine up and smashed them in an end pocket but they looked a bit rough from the abuse.

10. Overall, it's a really good set, especially if you are traveling without a computer (my iPad went in the Tri star). It's light, but carries enough and I think the Night Flight is growing on me. It won't work for when I need my computer or papers, but I have a pilot for that. Overall, I am super pleased with the purchase.

[sdophoto]

what was it like carrying both? did you use the tristar as a backpack. It is the one thing I have been debating about. I usually am carrying tristar and a messenger camera bag. I don't usually use it as a backpack. I was wondering if the NF would be too much