Ruck Sac in Alaska

[Shiva]

So I had a fantastic trip to Alaska....went with the Western Flyer and the Ruck Sac. Also shared a garment bag with the rest of the group for my two jackets. I carried all else in the WF and Ruck Sac for a weeklong cruise + shore excursions. Did a wonderful dogsled ride on top of a glacier--alas they would not let me bring the ruck sack with me there; went on a train ride in the Yukon Pass at Skagway; and went whale watching in Victoria. So here are some pics...nowhere as good as Maverick, but we all try! hehehehe.

I loved the Ruck Sac. I think TB should give Maverick a special thank you gift: he sold me on this one as the others. The more I used it, the more I appreciated the size, the usefulness, and the practicality. Mostly, I am very pleased with my ability to clip all things sundry in there and not misplace anything, or fish for anything, while everyone with me stood around digging all thru bags for things! Only suggestion would be side compression straps for the Ruck Sac--it wd help with load balance; and also double as a space to carry an umbrella!

[maverick]

hi shiva,

great pictures! could you share others?

if you like, you can resize the images before posting. 800 to 900 pixels on the longest side of the image is a good size to aim for.

thanks!

[Shiva]

Hey Maverick: I don't have the software to resize pics :( my hard drive crashed and lost photoshop!

[KarlJ]

Sorry to read of your hard drive failure. But for quick resizing, Irfanview is available free of charge, and is a very handy program to have.

[Shiva]

ruck sac in alaska

trying to resubmit with resized images!

Since the Ruck's Sac gets so little photo space on this forum, I am trying to do my part here to promote this wonderful TB bag!

[maverick]

thanks, shiva!

trying to resubmit with resized images!

Since the Ruck's Sac gets so little photo space on this forum, I am trying to do my part here to promote this wonderful TB bag!

[Shiva]

I wanted to write in with a bit more detail about what I took on the trip and what I learned. I had the Western Flyer and an old Patagonia Burrito suiter--which is the best thing ever! I was travelling with a family--they had two 28 inch suitcases, plus 22 inch rollaboards, plus other carry ons!
My burrito suiter carried all of their outerwear and fleece jackets in addition to my stuff! My WF had a big packing cube with 2 pants, 4 tops/shirts, 3 sets of Indian clothes, and a lightweight shawl. Zipped without a problem and place to spare. The front pocket had two half cubes: one with all underclothes, and the other had nightclothes and some miscellaneous items. The outer zippered pockets had basic toiletry, medicines, and a book. The Burrito suiter carried two pairs of shoes for me; a fleece jacket and a shell; cap, gloves.
The Ruck Sac was a veritable Christmas tree: I had hung it with 5 organizer pouches --all small! One had cables and such; one had receipts; one had extra $ and credit cards; one had my passport and tix; and one had basic toiletry. They all hung inside the compartment and it was truly the best thing: I could keep it all safe and organized; and did not have to remove anything as I boarded on and off the ship.
I had the TB wallet in the front zippered pouch; and misc items inside the others.
I used the Ruck as my daily bag--at various times it held up to 2 fleece sweaters, a pair of shoes, a 1 liter sigg bottle, goodies collected and it all managed to get in there. I had my friend's very old big video camera...and it was pouring rain at Victoria..and it stayed totally dry inside the ruck.

I was not entirely sure how I would feel about the two pieces...but having travelled with them for 10 days, I can say they truly are versatile. The WF in particular is very adaptable, and I found myself always being able to put in that one extra thing and shut it!!! I have had some difficulty quickly zipping/unzipping the divider in the front compartment..is there a trick to this?!!!

Alaska was incredibly beautiful. We went on the Norwegian...I had had my usual stereotypes about cruises, but this was very laid back and friendly..I wd highly recommend it. Fantastic service; beautiful rooms; great food and entertainment on board. We lucked out with good weather. We stopped at Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan en route the Inner Passage. The glaciers were stupendous...but also heartwrenching to see the slow destruction. We did a dog sled ride on top of the glacier..was thrilling. Took a train ride at Skagway--thru the Yukon Pass; and went whale watching at Victoria..and saw a pod of 24. Quite something else to see whales flipping out in the ocean....rather than at Sea World!!!
My only minor suggestion would be to add some kind of "snap" or "flap with snap" to the open pocket of the WF. It wd make it far more versatile...even a simple button snap or flap would be great--especially when carried as a backpack which I did a lot. I know there is the Tri Star design..I like the quick accessibility...but it was a pain when you had something in there and had to carry it as a backpack. I am thinking like a small hook and loop closure might do the trick....

Rucksac wd be even better with cinch straps. I realized that there are no cinch straps on the Smart Alec either...I think cinch straps make the load easier to balance--at some points, I had a lot stuffed into the Ruck and it was not well balanced or tended to flop!

Fab trip...highly recomend it to folks....and I am most thrilled with the bags. A note about the packing cubes: I have been an ardent user of the Eagle Creek PackIt folders and cubes for over 15 years..and I have to reluctantly admit that the dyneema cubes are truly a league apart!!!