More Bumpf About Bags

This seems as good a time as any to chat a bit more about bags.  Who can survive without them?  Nobody nowhere.  But for the Road Warrioress, toting your life and livelihood around the planet, your luggage is just about your - and your "stuff's" - most crucial survival tool.

Your luggage has to fit your needs.  And a primary need for a Road Warrioress is durability.  Well, my Western Pack brand wheeled computer bag did not pass my most modest test.

Another bag passes with flying colors!  I have a Hartmann bag that I love and have been using extensively for months.  Ironically, it's my only bag without wheels.  Still, it has proven amazingly useful.

I have no idea how old this Hartmann bag is - decades, probably.  I'm sure I've had it at least a decade now myself.  A friend, cleaning out the attic when they moved, gave it to me as they had new sets of luggage and no longer wanted their old Hartmann bag.  You'd never know by looking at it that it must have lasted at least a couple of decades by now!

It's plain-old Hartmann classic tan ballistic nylon with tan belting leather handles and trim.  No clue to its age there.  This stuff seemingly lasts longer than the Ice Age.

What I love about it is its organization.  There are three zippered compartments, and you can open each compartment flat, one at a time, to pack and unpack.  One compartment I reserve for things I need, but do not use daily.  Here goes a dress with matching jacket, a pantsuit with a more formally styled blazer, slips, hose, dress shoes.  The "good" clothes, business clothes, dinner dress sort of attire all fit in here.  I only open this section when needed.

The middle section holds my daily wear, which for me is casual slacks and shirts.  Most of the time, I hardly need anything very "fancy," just plain and durable cotton knits.  My travel wardrobe happens to be exceptionally casual, for the most part.  Still, this compartmentalization would work well for anyone.

Nightie, light cotton robe or duster, and undies go in the third compartment.  As I use up clothing during the week, these go into the main compartment, and this section becomes my laundry bag.

On one side of the bag is a gusseted flap pocket with latch.  Here go a shawl and sarong, clear plastic TSA-required toiletries bag with its little bottles of everything. 

On the other side is a large open slash-pocket which can hold a magazine or paperback book (my "airplane reading), a legal pad or two, and a pair of flip-flops or ballerina slippers wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.  Accumulated "mish-mash" seems to get stuffed in there while traveling, too.  Then there's a small zippered pocket which holds a travel sewing kit, travel first aid kit, manicure set, and such like.

It easily holds a week's worth of clothing and whatsits.  It's easy to keep things neat and organized.  It's easy to pull together an outfit to dress quickly and pack up in a rush.

Despite the lack of wheels, it's easy to carry - and I have a miserable wreck of a back.  I do admit to not carrying it any great distance, however!  But it certainly has been hauled up and down numerous staircases - where wheeled bags dare not go.

With this, a handbag and "office on wheels" - the wheeled computer bag, now deceased - I can keep going for months at a time.  And I have been doing exactly that!

Hartmann has a long-standing reputation for durability.  I can attest to that!  My Hartmann bag is about the best luggage I've ever had in my life.  Even though it was a used bag when it came to me.  Even though it lacks wheels, which I consider among the most essential features of any travel bag.  It's extraordinarily useful and far more convenient than I ever imagined it could be.

May your road rise to meet you - and may your luggage live long!
Ann

Defend Your Bags Against the Totally Scurrilous Armada

There's no telling what might go missing from airline baggage.  Items reported stolen in recent years include golf balls, a fresh-caught halibut in a cooler full of ice, and an endless array of laptops and other electronic equipment. 

Your valuables are not covered by insurance for checked bags.  Jewelry, laptops, camera equipment, money and other monetary instruments, and other types of valuables are expressly denied any coverage when you fly.  Your homeowners insurance might cover some things, but you have to check your policy to be sure.

So your first line of defense is carry your valuables in your handbag or carryon bag.  Get a jewelry roll and pack it in your purse or carryon bag.  Be sure your wallet holds your Social Security card (if you need to bring it all - better to put it in your safe deposit box at the bank), ID's, whichever credit card you need, and a second currency when traveling internationally.  Keep your laptop, Kindle, camera and other electronics in your handbag or carryon, and hang onto both of them tightly!

Locks can be broken.  TSA routinely opens locked bags.  Get TSA approved locks anyway and use them.  They do not deter TSA, but don't make things too easy for anyone else.

List exactly what is in each bag: carryon and checked bag(s).  Ensure your detailed list is accessible to you wherever you might go, and have a back-up list.  Email your list to yourself, or save a list on your computer or flash drive.  Keep a copy at home.  Make sure you have serial numbers for valuables.  If something goes missing, you need to know immediately so you can act.

Inspect your checked bags carefully when you retrieve them at baggage claim.  Note any damage and/or missing items.  Put in a claim with the baggage agent immediately.

If a bag does not spew from the carousel, likewise put in a claim with the airlines baggage agent immediately.

Airlines are supposed to provide urgently needed change of clothing & toiletries.  Don't let them pawn you off with a 24-hour wait "to see if it arrives on the next flight."  They are also required to reimburse purchases of immediately needed items, so keep your receipt for things purchased within 24 hours of your flight.  Use your list to detail "black & white striped cotton knit jacket with 3/4 length sleeves," not just "jacket."

Reimbursement limits of $3300 for domestic US flights do not apply for international flights, even on a US carrier.  International limits go by the kilo of baggage weight, not the depreciated value of the items contained in the bag(s).  The international insurance reimbursement limit runs about US$650 per bag. 

It is not unusual for the airlines to blame TSA on any flight which goes through any US airport.  And TSA of course blames airline baggage handlers.  Insurance reimbursement for lost (or stolen) bags, and for items stolen from checked bags, is likely to be held up.  You need to document everything thoroughly, and follow up diligently. 

No idea what they did about that stolen halibut, however....