Packing cubes- TriStar vs Aeronaut

[Darcy]

Very nice. Any chance of having the bag name included as well - like TS for TriStar, WF for Western Flyer etc.? That would make it easy to dig into our pile of packing cubes to find the right one.

Hmm, perhaps! I'll check with our factory crew on that one. If we decide to add a label with the bag name -- that's one of those things that might take a little while to appear.

[Fat Crip]

Miking, that's excellent. Not just colours, but textures too!

[Miking]

What about coordinating the zip-pull on the cube with the one on the pocket it matches with... or am I taking this too far now?

http://forums.tombihn.com/customer-pictures-video/5760-paracord-pulls-my-brain-bag.html

Nope!

[lotuseater]

¿Qué?

A little trivia for you: For the Spanish dub of the series, Manuel's character was renamed Paolo and his nationality switched to Italian.

I still don't know how they got the hotel sign in episode 11 past the censors.

[ceb]

... And then there's my current favourite, Oishii in the west end of Rose St. ... Oddly, the waiter is Spanish and the rest of the kitchen staff are a mixed bunch!...

Is his name Manuel and is he from Barcelona?*


*only Fawlty Towers fans will get that reference.

[ceb]

also, i would simply keep the corresponding packing cubes permanently in each matching bag and keep them there when traveling, even if i am not using it. but thats just me. thought id throw that out there.

That's exactly what I do. I just don't like squishing them down in there if I use no cube or another cube.

[jeffmac]

My favourite hotel is the Balmoral (formerly the North British). Right next to Waverly Railway Station... Not cheap, but I like the best! If you're looking for very good, but want a bargain, The Roxburgh on the corner of George Stret and Charlotte Square is very good, but often does some good deals. Alternatively, on a budget, there's a new Travel Lodge right on Princes St. Which must have great views.

I realise this is a cliché, but you have to visit the castle. The views of both the old and the new towns are stunning. Hollywood House (the queen's official residence in Scotland) and the new Parliament are worth a visit. They are at the opposite end of the Royal Mile to the castle.

Scottish beer is rubbish! Horrible sweet stuff!

If you just want a drink, stick to what we do best... single malt scotch whisky, literally 'the water of life'! Please, however, note: 1. there is never an 'e' in whisky, 2. There is never ice in whisky and 3. A little cool water brings out the flavour, but don't drown it! Island malts are, for my money, the best, with the Islands of Islay (pronounced eye-la) Shetland and Jura being my favourites. If they are too peaty and salty for you, try The MacAllan which is a highland malt, so much lighter and finer with neither peat nor salt, but still very drinkable. Just watch what you're being charged - two glasses of a 1984 Isle of Jura cost me £36 the other day, and the waitress assured me she'd discounted it!

Anything else I can tell you? Just ask!

Why are you coming? Business or pleasure?

Eric

Eric, you should write travel books! Thank you so much for the wealth of info here!

The Balmoral indeed looks lovely but I think the Roxburgh hits my price/performance ratio perfectly.

I love old castles and old churches so your list looks lovely! Sometimes things are cliche because they are that good.

I am with you on the wine, but the UK tends to have me think beer first. Thanks for the restaurant and wine suggestions.

My real last name is McPherson so my challenge with whisky is to STOP drinking it. I think my forebears may have emptied the Stewart's storehouse more than once!

I am doing a trade show in Frankfurt but I have a meeting with somebody on a Monday in Edinburgh. Planning on flying in on a Saturday, playing tourist on Sunday and working on Monday.

Thank you so much for all the info!

[Fat Crip]

What about coordinating the zip-pull on the cube with the one on the pocket it matches with... or am I taking this too far now?

Actually I don't seem to have a problem telling them apart simply by size and shape. The main Tri-Star one is long and thin, whereas the aeronaut ones are square. Although the medium TriStar cube is also square, it is also much smaller. The aeronaut end pocket cubes are all Dyneema, whilst the similar packing cube shoulder bag has a pocket on the side and D rings on the ends.

That being said, if I could have got each in a different colour, As I did with my stuff sacks, Then it would've been easier to say to my wife 'oh yes that's in the wasabi coloured cube' or 'that's in the red stuff sack', rather than to say 'oh it's in the long, thin one with no mesh on the sides, but a zipped pocket and D-rings on the ends!' But, other than the PCBP in Iberian, the choice was steel or steel!

[Miking]

I do wish that TB would label the packing cubes for which bag they go with.

You could always use different colored zipper pulls on the different packing cubes. This chapter of "Knotty fun with Miking" shown here.

[JLE]

I love packing cubes..

+1! Do I have a problem?

[melonpan]

also, i would simply keep the corresponding packing cubes permanently in each matching bag and keep them there when traveling, even if i am not using it. but thats just me. thought id throw that out there.

[melonpan]

since you have an older one without the newer labels, you could simply use a fabric marker or a extra fine sharpie and label your packing cube's care label a tiny "ts" or "a".

[Fat Crip]

i have a trip to Edinburgh coming up in April. Any hotel recommendations or any sites I should make sure to see?

Or just any local beer that is too good to pass up!

My favourite hotel is the Balmoral (formerly the North British). Right next to Waverly Railway Station... Not cheap, but I like the best! If you're looking for very good, but want a bargain, The Roxburgh on the corner of George Stret and Charlotte Square is very good, but often does some good deals. Alternatively, on a budget, there's a new Travel Lodge right on Princes St. Which must have great views.

I realise this is a cliché, but you have to visit the castle. The views of both the old and the new towns are stunning. Hollywood House (the queen's official residence in Scotland) and the new Parliament are worth a visit. They are at the opposite end of the Royal Mile to the castle.

There's a great restraurant called The Witchery by the Castle (can you guess what it's next to?) or just up from Holyrood there's a great Mexican called Pancho Villas. In the New Town (Princes St./George St.) there are lots of good restraurants. On George St. there's a tapas place called Café Andaluz, a vegetarian place called Hendersons is on Hanover St. (Just north off George St.), on Thistle St. (Parallel to George St) there's a really good fish restaurant called Fisher's in the city (a quarter owned by an American lady called Tia), back on George St. There's a couple of smart Italians, Ameroni on the corner of St Andrew's Sq. and Cento Tre at, would you believe 103 George St.? And then there's my current favourite, Oishii in the west end of Rose St. It's a small sushi restaurant, with some very mixed Trip Advisor reviews, but it's run by a proper Japanese sushi chef called Katsuo. He makes just the best sushi. Much of the rest of their fare is fairly standard, but the sushi is exceptional! If you go there say Eric sent you and if he looks puzzled, which he usualy does say big, fat, bald with an electric scooter! He's been making me sushi for a dozen or more years. Oddly, the waiter is Spanish and the rest of the kitchen staff are a mixed bunch!

Scottish beer is rubbish! Horrible sweet stuff! However, if you see any of the Broughton Brewery ales (Broughton, Greenmantle, Merlindale, Old Jock) give them a try if only because as a student, I worked there for a few summers and Christmases! I'm more of a wine drinker, so I recommend Marques De Cazares (not sure of the spelling, but it's number 54 on the Cafe Andaluz wine list), Cloudy Bay at Fishers, the house Chiante at Ameroni, and the Japanese Green Tea of a Japanese beer at Oishii. God only knows what you'd drink at Hendersons as I'm not a vegetarian so haven't been there since my vegetarian step-father died almost 20 years ago - people tell me it's good though!

If you just want a drink, stick to what we do best... single malt scotch whisky, literally 'the water of life'! Please, however, note: 1. there is never an 'e' in whisky, 2. There is never ice in whisky and 3. A little cool water brings out the flavour, but don't drown it! Island malts are, for my money, the best, with the Islands of Islay (pronounced eye-la) Shetland and Jura being my favourites. If they are too peaty and salty for you, try The MacAllan which is a highland malt, so much lighter and finer with neither peat nor salt, but still very drinkable. Just watch what you're being charged - two glasses of a 1984 Isle of Jura cost me £36 the other day, and the waitress assured me she'd discounted it!

Anything else I can tell you? Just ask!

Why are you coming? Business or pleasure?

Eric

[ceb]

I love packing cubes. It is not only easier to pack with packing cubes but also so much easier to unpack.

Yes, the one end of the Aeronaut is great for shoes and the other end is perfect for electronics/shaving gear and your 3-1-1 bag.

[jeffmac]

All in all, you'll get best service using the right cubes for the right part of each bag.

Eric, I love you for being an enabler!

On an unrelated note...i have a trip to Edinburgh coming up in April. Any hotel recommendations or any sites I should make sure to see?

Or just any local beer that is too good to pass up!