Western Flyer Arrival

[Moose]

Hi everyone,
I ordered a black/steel WF on January 23rd. It safely completed its 3,000 mile journey and arrived last Friday. It is a thing of beauty. I initially thought it wasn't going to be big enough. I have a four night trip planned for later this month. I've figured out it will hold everything I need and then some. My "personal" item will be a plum Synapse. I'll be flying the smallest regional prop/jets known to man. It will be interesting to see if both will be allowed as carry ons. I'll report details after I get home.
Moose

[helder_jb]

The Western Flyer is my favorite bag! I hope it serves you well.

If the Icelandic volcano permits, I'll be flying to Europe in 10 days with my WF as a sole carry-on for 18 days. If it works out well, I'll tell the experience here.

[Moose]

First trip with WF & Synapse

I took my new WF & Synapse on a four night trip. The WF fit easily in the overhead and under seat of both regional (30+/-passenger) planes. Neither bag was given a second look by security or the flight crews looking for bags to gate check. I packed 1 set PJs, 1 short sleeve & 1 long sleeve shirt, 2 short sleeve & 1 long sleeve t-shirts, 1 tank top, 1 pr of dressy pants and a pair of shorts. I had one packing cube with socks, underware and other bits. I also took a packable tote, just in case. All this, my 311 bag and a hard back book weighed 12 pounds. The shirts were packed in an Eagle Creek folder. My Synapse contained my Side Kick, was about 2/3rds full and weighed 8 pounds.

I obviously have some work to do to cut back the weight. All in all it worked really well for the first run. One somewhat anyoing thing was that I wore an ivory Lands End Marinac jacket. My WF is black and was pretty much covered in ivory fuzz. I'm not trading in the bag so I guess I'll be buying a black jacket or something not fuzzy. On the return flights, no book but I did have a new pair of running shoes so the loafers were in the bag. I do wish the Synapse grab handle was the same as the end handles on the WF. I was quite happy to be able to carry on everything. No waiting for bags, just grab and go. My contents list needs perfecting. I would love to do weeks with just the WF & Synapse. I have an Absolute strap for the WF. What a dream, it really does take the weight off, its amazing how it works.

[Shiva]

Hi there:
This is great to know--that you could take WF and Synapse on board. I have often wondered about that! I love my WF--I do think it is my fav TB bag. I just wish that the open pocket had some kind of button closure so I could keep something there and keep it somewhat secure. I hope the next iteration will have something. I do not want a zippered pocket..just a flap or a hook and loop closure.
I am a bit surprised the jacket rubbed off on the WF--since it is ballistic nylon and usually quite smooth.
Would love to see some pictures!

[Moose]

Hi Shiva,
You shouldn't have any trouble with taking both bags on board with you. I'm pretty sure the WF would not fit under the seat on the one seat side of the smaller planes. It would need to go in the overhead bin. The Synapse would fit under the seat on either side. I could not fit the Synapse on top of the WF under the seat in front of me.

I too would find a water bottle pocket handy on ocassion. I seldom use them though. I'm afraid something will fall out and be lost. I appreicate the security of the zipper pockets.

As for the ivory fuzzy patches, the black fabric of the Synapse does the same thing. The purple part does not. I love both bags and will replace the jacket long before I replace the bags.

About the pictures, well, I have yet to move into the digital camera era. Silly I know. Its way past time that I do. I was at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Pictures of the Synapse sitting in a beautiful basket of soft fluffy wool would have been wonderful.

Over the next few days I'll be working on reducing the weight of the bags. While 12 and 8 pounds isn't much I think I can do better. As I mentioned earlier the Absolute strap is a wonderful must have addition.
Take it easy,
Moose