Way to piggy-back Co-Pilot (or Pilot) on Tri-Star (or Aeronaut)?

[katlaoesk]

Not nearly as elegant as the other methods posted here, but this works with a not-too-heavy Co-pilot. It works best if the Aeronaut is pretty full. I think it might stress seams too much if the Co-pilot where heavy, but it could free up a shoulder in a pinch.

[katlaoesk]

I don't have an Aeronaut (yet?), so I'm having a hard time picturing this, but the more approaches the better!

I will try to post a picture this weekend.

[jmoz]

So, it works! Pretty decently, really. I've attached pictures of my Tri-Star and my brand new Pilot piggy-backed on it. The length of the connector straps is completely adjustable, but this seemed about right.

I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better off carrying with opposite shoulders, but it DOES work, and reasonably decently. The "connector straps" are 3/4" "belts" with two snap hooks on each. The picture should be big enough for you to zoom in if you want to see more details. If anyone needs more info, just let me know!

You can also see one of these luggage tags, though I blanked out my identifying info....

[jmoz]

This idea isn't quite as neat as some of the other ones here but I think it is doable. If you undo the snaps on the top carry handle of the Aeronaut, pass one side of the handle through the channel meant for a wheelie bag on the back of the Co-pilot then redo the snaps the Co-pilot will sit partway on top of the Aeronaut when the Aeronaut is carried with the shoulder strap. Not sure how much weight it would handle this way...

I don't have an Aeronaut (yet?), so I'm having a hard time picturing this, but the more approaches the better!

[katlaoesk]

This idea isn't quite as neat as some of the other ones here but I think it is doable. If you undo the snaps on the top carry handle of the Aeronaut, pass one side of the handle through the channel meant for a wheelie bag on the back of the Co-pilot then redo the snaps the Co-pilot will sit partway on top of the Aeronaut when the Aeronaut is carried with the shoulder strap. Not sure how much weight it would handle this way...

[jmoz]

As promised above:

Step 1: Absolute strap "modified" with Cheater D....



Step 2 will need to wait until the straps I ordered came in, and Step 3 won't be possible until my Pilot comes in. (I don't have a Co-Pilot.)

[Trailhiker]

Wait, do you mean the Co-Pilot fits inside that bottom pocket on the front of the Synapse 25? I'm stunned; the Synapse 25 must be larger than I imagined!

Not the bottom front pocket.
Inside the main cavity on the bottom.
I'll try and post a picture this evening.
:-)

[jmoz]

OK, backpack and tpnl- thanks for the awesome idea and the excellent implementation. Although that seems to work quite well, it gave me an idea that I like even better based on it that I thought I would share.

I have a pair of the 1.5" Cheater D (see the parts page) and a few 1.5" Tri-glides that I bought for a project that I ended up abandoning. (Apparently, I'm not really content to leave well-enough alone, am I?)

I'm thinking of using the Tri-glides to attached the Cheater Ds to the absolute strap. This means the height is adjustable, as opposed to the bag just being wherever it is. I'm thinking that if I make something like the simple strap, but adjustable to be much shorter by being a closed loop rather than a shoulder strap configuration), I can use one of those on each side of the Absolute strap to attach the Pilot to the Cheater Ds. I should be make each of these with a short length of webbing, a pair of the snap hooks, and another tri-glide. Although this is more complicated than your elegantly-simple approach, I like the adjustability, especially because the hook-mount-point-thingees on the Tri-Star are offset from each other.

Thanks, all, for the inspiration. Once I make this work, I'll report back.

[BJ Nemeth]

The copilot fits perfectly into the bottom (horizontally) of the synapse 25.

Wait, do you mean the Co-Pilot fits inside that bottom pocket on the front of the Synapse 25? I'm stunned; the Synapse 25 must be larger than I imagined!

[tpnl]

In the Accessories page, there is a Parts page. There the 1-1/2" Metal Snaphook: as The Crew uses on the Absolute Shoulder Strap can be bought separately.

Because let's say somebody tried a Simple Strap on their Large Cafe Bag and it didn't do so, the person installed the Absolute Strap bought initially for the Aeronaute. So, I was left with those Metal Snaphooks, you might be able to install two pairs of Metal Snaphooks on your Absolute Strap.

Backpack - I really liked this idea and decided to try it out and was surprised by something I had not expected. I originally had envisioned the two attached bags being side by side. However, because the snaphooks were on the same shoulder strap, I was able to put one bag on top of the other and everything was still stable - just like putting a bag on top of roller luggage. It kept things neat and no becoming a "wide load" walking through the airport as Jmoz wrote! I was even able to use the Co-Pilot handle to carry the whole assembly (both bags).

I took some pictures of the setup and with the Co-Pilot on top and on the side of my Aeronaut. BTW - the extra snaphooks I used were parts I bought from MEC (an Canadian Outdoor Activity Store). But, I think I will buy the TB snaphooks in the future as they are metal and high quality.

Closeup of the two Snaphooks



The two TB bags - one on top of the other (which I was surprised worked so well)



The two TB bags - side by side




Thanks Backpack for the idea!

Cheers

[backpack]

In the Accessories page, there is a Parts page. There the 1-1/2" Metal Snaphook: as The Crew uses on the Absolute Shoulder Strap can be bought separately.

Because let's say somebody tried a Simple Strap on their Large Cafe Bag and it didn't do so, the person installed the Absolute Strap bought initially for the Aeronaute. So, I was left with those Metal Snaphooks, you might be able to install two pairs of Metal Snaphooks on your Absolute Strap.

Another alternative would be to install two 1-1/2" Triangle Metal Hook: as used on the front of the Brain Bag to secure an Utility Strap the square part to each Triangle Metal Hook and the clip side to the Pilot.

You will need the two 1-1/2" Triangle Metal Hook and two Utility Straps.

[moriond]

Jmoz

I think the Think Tank Camera Support Straps might work too:
Camera Support Straps V2.0

Hook one end to the Absolute Strap Webbing and the other end to Pilot / Co-Pilot Shoulder Strap attachment points. What do you think?

To those wondering as to the wiseness of doing this, I agree that this is doing something that the bags were not intended to do. However, for me, the reasons are more for convenience - just like hooking the handle of a briefcase over the telescoping handle of a roller piece of luggage - not perfect (ie you would prefer a passthrough as is on the TB bags) but the gets job done - to accomodate the convenience of not having to carry 2 bags separately.

Cheers!

Probably a better solution than my suggestion for heavy loads. there are lots of Op Tech connector options for heavy camera equipment that would fit into the standard webbing connectors.

[moriond]

Skoop- I don't agree. Most of the time, I can likely carry the Pilot IN the TS or one bag at a time. But, when one ends up with extra stuff during travel, you might need to carry them separately. One of my goals is to avoid carrying 2 (relatively heavy) straps. The other is to avoid being a "wide load" walking through the airport, which seems like a real risk with opposite shoulders. There are lots of ways of carrying bags. It's possible that opposite shoulders is best, but I'm not sure that's true. obviously, the goal here is to avoid building a monstrosity, but the Pilot (or Co-Pilot) is small enough that it wouldn't necessarily be absurd piggy-backed on top of a Tri-Star.

@jmoz I would try using the Double Carabiner clips that were announced with the Knitting Tool Pouches, and that can also be separately purchased from the Parts section of the Accessories page. I'd actually be more inclined to use this with a smaller bag like the Western Flyer, carried either by the handle or with both bags secured to the Absolute Strap and shoulder carried. Hook one end of each Double Carabiner Clip to location you would normally attach your strap on the side of the Co-Pilot, and then hook the other end of the Double Carabiner Clip to the location on the Western Flyer where you would normally attach your shoulder strap. If you're actually using an Absolute Strap to shoulder carry both bags, I'd attach the other end of each Double Carabiner Clip to the clip end of the Absolute Strap. This works for either model of the Western Flyer, if you want to save on weight and be able to use the back pocket of the model with the Rolling Luggage Handle Pocket. (I have the model with backpack straps, but I admit to being curious about the other model once the Dyneema options appeared, especially because of the additional weight savings. Nordic anyone?) Here's what this looks like, just securing the Double Carabiner Clips to the shoulder strap attachment sites for hand carry:


For the Tri-Star, because the bag is wider and the position of the shoulder strap loops are staggered to accommodate the width of the bag, I'd modify this scheme by using one of the webbing straps with the gate keeper clips at the end to attach to the shoulder strap loop that is set further back on the Tri-Star. I'm not sure which of my bags the two different end straps come from, but this is the size of strap that you can use as a waist band for the Side Effect. I think the shorter buckle insert strap end at the right might be from another bag, but you can certainly order these combinations separately from Parts, and you might also experiment with the Triangular Metal Hooks. These are all 1" webbing straps I am using with the webbing already attached to 1 end of the double Gatekeeper clips. Here's what that strap looks like attached to the left side of the Co-Pilot that is sitting on top of my Tri-Star:

Hook the free end to the loop for the Tri-Star Shoulder Strap and tighten the strap to take up the slack. However, I think in practice you may get better results passing the end of the Absolute Strap through both the strap loop on the Tri-Star and one end of the Double Carabiner Clip. I'm sure that Tom could design something better.

I think that one of the key points in this type of carry is to not actually have a lot of weight in the Pilot or Co-Pilot bag being piggy-backed. Although the Co-Pilot in the pictures is Steel Ballistic Nylon, I'm looking to get my Pilot in 400d Dyneema.

Also, the strap attachment I showed can be used to secure other bags to the handle of a rolling luggage bag or travel cart, if attached to a Side Effect or other bag. (I've separately ordered the Lead's Pocket in Navy from the Guide's Pack accessories, and this can also be secured to the top of a Smart Alec through the Annex Clips, or you can use the strap to secure to a rolling luggage handle or cart -- none of which I am using.)

I also have to add that some of the Knitting Tool Pouches are wonderful for non-Knitting, general purpose use. If you carry small items like the tool for popping out sim cards or the adapter plug for using the new Mac laptops with the older power bricks, you can slip these in front of the end guards of reinforced ballistic nylon and still have those items visible, separately secured, and have the rest of the pocket's contents visible through the clear window. This is only called out as an aside in the product description: "An added bonus of those reinforced ballistic ends? You can tuck a small item like a button, memento, stitch marker, or even a label of contents between the ballistic and the clear urethane." Also, if you keep a spoon or fork (or both) handy while you travel - even something you pick up while dining en route -- the size 2 knitting tool pouch is conveniently sized, let's you secure one end under the reinforced ballistic ends to keep things from shifting, and fits completely within the Side Effect. (Darcy, please make more of these pouches in Kiwi, as was requested in the original forum thread for the New! Knitting Tool Pouches.)

[tpnl]

Jmoz

I think the Think Tank Camera Support Straps might work too:
Camera Support Straps V2.0

Hook one end to the Absolute Strap Webbing and the other end to Pilot / Co-Pilot Shoulder Strap attachment points. What do you think?

To those wondering as to the wiseness of doing this, I agree that this is doing something that the bags were not intended to do. However, for me, the reasons are more for convenience - just like hooking the handle of a briefcase over the telescoping handle of a roller piece of luggage - not perfect (ie you would prefer a passthrough as is on the TB bags) but it gets job done - to accomodate the convenience of not having to carry 2 bags separately.

Cheers!

[Trailhiker]

By the way,
The copilot fits perfectly into the bottom (horizontally) of the synapse 25.
With room up top for your pillow and flight box lunch.
;-)