aeronaut and ruck's sac on the shatabdi express train in india

[maverick]

i ended up carrying the aeronaut and ruck's sac on my trip to india, and this worked out quite well. the ruck's sac only came along as a last minute decision was made for me to carry my macbook inside a soft cell inside the ruck's sac. but i'm glad i brought it because i packed everything i needed in-flight and in-train in the ruck's sac and left the rest of the stuff in the aeronaut (even though i didn't check in the aeronaut).

i also carried my liquids and other bathroom items inside of a clear quarter packing cube, and i was able to put this through the security screenings at washington dulles, and paris charles de gaulle airport without needing to move the liquids into a separate ziplock bag.

inside the aeronaut was a packing cube backpack. this worked out really well, because i did a little shopping while i was in india :). so i checked in the aeronaut on my way back, and i carried the packing cube backpack and the ruck's sac as my carry-on's.

by the way, the aeronaut doesn't look the same. functionally, it's still perfect - but it looks beaten up and stained. it's sad what airline travel does to your bags.

pictured below is the red aeronaut and blue ruck's sac sitting on top of it. as you can see, they fit nicely in the overhead storage area you are provided in the shatabdi express. i guess that doesn't mean an awful lot - people put big 30" suitcases up there. it's a scary accident waiting to happen, though - because if the weight is not properly distributed, the bag can come crashing down. you don't have to worry about that with the aeronaut, however, which fits nicely on that storage rack.

sorry for the poor picture quality. the only camera i had was the one built into my iphone.

-m

[maverick]

i took this picture from the train. kind of an ironic scene. you have sadhus in the foreground. and in the background, you have big army tanks. while i'm well aware of the fact that india has armed forces, seeing a train that went on and on with tank after tank made me a bit uncomfortable. i've just never come across such a scene. and i encountered such a fleet at two separate train stations that morning.

-m

[timothy]

Cool pictures!

What airline did you fly? Did any part of your journey require you to part with your bags for very long, other than the flight home? (That's the time when I most prefer to check a bag, too -- I went around China for a few weeks with a quite-small backpack, but the last few days filled up, by plan, my duffel bag with the interesting non-fragile souveniers I wanted, and that bag got checked.)

How did the staining you mention occur? Hmm, I wonder whether Bihn Bags take well to Scotchguarding ...

I'm pondering a trip to Israel in a few months (not sure yet, still in the pondering stage), and if that happens I think an Aeronaut is in my future first, possibly also with the backpack packing cube. Would you be willing to post a packing list illustrating what you carried through India in those two bags? How did you carry them? (Ruck's Sack on back / Aeronaut by handle?)

timothy

[Darcy]

Those are great pictures, maverick - I can't wait to post them on the blog!

As for cleaning the dark stains - you could try using some dry cleaner-like stain removers. (I'm assuming you've tried dish soap, a stain stick, etc.) The whole bag can't be dry cleaned, but it can be spot cleaned with those chemicals. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be pretty nasty chemicals. :(

[maverick]

Cool pictures!

What airline did you fly? Did any part of your journey require you to part with your bags for very long, other than the flight home? (That's the time when I most prefer to check a bag, too -- I went around China for a few weeks with a quite-small backpack, but the last few days filled up, by plan, my duffel bag with the interesting non-fragile souveniers I wanted, and that bag got checked.)

How did the staining you mention occur? Hmm, I wonder whether Bihn Bags take well to Scotchguarding ...

I'm pondering a trip to Israel in a few months (not sure yet, still in the pondering stage), and if that happens I think an Aeronaut is in my future first, possibly also with the backpack packing cube. Would you be willing to post a packing list illustrating what you carried through India in those two bags? How did you carry them? (Ruck's Sack on back / Aeronaut by handle?)

timothy

hi timothy,

i flew air france from new delhi to paris to washington, dc. i think the bags just rub up against whatever other bags are around it and the some bags must have dirt and grime on them.

i packed a little more than i needed, but less than what i packed last time. on the outbound flight, my aeronaut held (as best as i can recall):

* a soft shell jacket.
* 3 long sleeve t-shirts (i ended up not needing these).
* 4 short sleeve t-shirts.
* 1 pair of pants.
* 4 pairs of underwear.
* 8 pairs of socks (4 white, 4 dark - i didn't need so many).
* 1 pair of footed pajamas and cloth for have 2 more stitched just like the one pair.
* shampoo, conditioner, face scrub, face lotion, body lotion, facial soap, shaving gel, razer, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, deodorant.
* phone charger and us-to-india ac adapter.

my ruck's sac held:
* macbook in softcell.
* ac adapter for macbook.
* moleskine notebook.
* food items.

i did not part with my bags other than for my return flight.

-m

[maverick]

Those are great pictures, maverick - I can't wait to post them on the blog!

As for cleaning the dark stains - you could try using some dry cleaner-like stain removers. (I'm assuming you've tried dish soap, a stain stick, etc.) The whole bag can't be dry cleaned, but it can be spot cleaned with those chemicals. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be pretty nasty chemicals. :(

hi darcy,

i haven't tried cleaning the aeronaut yet. i'll try the dish soap and let you know how it goes.

thanks,
maverick

[moriond]

hi darcy,

i haven't tried cleaning the aeronaut yet. i'll try the dish soap and let you know how it goes.

thanks,
maverick

Also, an old household trick, but using old toothbrushes to scrub textured surfaces is a good way to deal with ground in dirt. I just recently cleaned my Aeronaut that dates from the first production batch, and it's still looking good. (This was far less dramatic than the YouTube shower movie that zephyrnoid posted, and that Darcy linked to the product page -- just mild soap and water.)

[pretzelb]

i did not part with my bags other than for my return flight.

-m

Just curious, did you do that by choice or were you forced to check it? If by choice, why not take it with you?

I think the ruck was a good last minute choice. When I travel I like having a small backpack with me for shopping and to carry stuff like my camera.

[maverick]

no, i wasn't forced to check it in - i did it by choice. the aeronaut, the ruck's sac and the convertible packing cube carried as a backpack would have been a bit much for me to carry onboard.

Just curious, did you do that by choice or were you forced to check it? If by choice, why not take it with you?

I think the ruck was a good last minute choice. When I travel I like having a small backpack with me for shopping and to carry stuff like my camera.

[Darcy]

maverick - your pictures were incredibly popular on our blog! Do you have any more India trip pictures? :)

[maverick]

maverick - your pictures were incredibly popular on our blog! Do you have any more India trip pictures? :)

hi darcy,

hehe - well, as it happened, i had ordered the leica d-lux 4 because i wanted a small point and shoot for this trip. it didn't arrive in time, so the only means i had with me to make pictures on this trip was the camera built into my iphone. while it's great for a quick shot here and there, i don't make a lot of pictures with it.

having said that, let me share with you a picture of the $10 plate of fries.

yes, you read right - that's a plate of "vegan fries" for about ten US dollars.

most of my meals cost less than $1 and were absolutely delicious!

even in new delhi, at really nice restaurants, i was able to get a fine meal (spinach with paneer, lentils, roti, desert, and lassi - which is a yogurt drink) for about $10.

on the night i was to leave, i wanted to have dinner at the hotel where i was staying for convenience. the only restaurant that was open at 6pm was the pavilion (open 24 hours). all of the other restaurants at the hotel don't open for dinner until 7:30pm. it is common in india to have late dinners.

the pavilion has a buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the dinner buffet doesn't start until 7:30pm. but you can order from the menu at other times. i had the breakfast buffet at the pavilion and enjoyed it very much. so i thought why not have dinner there.

i saw the vegan fries and other yummy eats on the menu. i was a bit surprised at the price of 500 indian rupees (a little over $10). but i ordered it anyway, along with a chinese dish for the main course - broccoli, mushrooms and tofu in a black bean sauce. i learned that this is made in their chinese restaurant (the humble house).

when the vegan fries arrived, i was a bit shocked at the portion size. i understood why it cost 500 rupees. it was just a lot of food for one person! don't get me wrong - i enjoyed them very much! i was just full before the main course arrived :).

in addition to fried potatoes, there were hash browns and various breaded and deep fried veggie eats on the platter.

-m

[Darcy]

even in new delhi, at really nice restaurants, i was able to get a fine meal (spinach with paneer, lentils, roti, desert, and lassi - which is a yogurt drink) for about $10.

Wow! That sounds like a perfect meal. Hey, have you ever visited the National Parks in northern India? Maybe Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or Dudhwa National Park? I've heard really great things about them.

Those vegan fries look really good...mmm, fries.

[pretzelb]

when the vegan fries arrived, i was a bit shocked at the portion size. i understood why it cost 500 rupees. it was just a lot of food for one person! don't get me wrong - i enjoyed them very much! i was just full before the main course arrived :)

I had a chuckle reading about the portion size. We just went to a monthly dinner event at our favorite German restaurant where the main meal was Eisbein. It was not vegan or small. It literally means ice leg/bone I think and it's a giant ham bone. Nearly everyone had a to go box except on guy I met that night who ate the entire thing and was very skinny.

On your comments about the images with the iPhone, while I agree the quality isn't that great for the iPhone, I have to say it's nice to have that around for a quick shot like the one of your meal. If I had the iPhone and not the iPod Touch (no camera) then I could share an image of the eisbein! If I can only find someone to pay me to travel the world and report back with pictures.

[maverick]

If I can only find someone to pay me to travel the world and report back with pictures.

that sounds like a good gig! let me know if you find such an opportunity :)

[maverick]

Wow! That sounds like a perfect meal. Hey, have you ever visited the National Parks in northern India? Maybe Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or Dudhwa National Park? I've heard really great things about them.

Those vegan fries look really good...mmm, fries.

hey darcy,

i haven't been to those places. i have visited a bird sanctuary some place between bangalore and mysore on another trip. let me dig up some pictures to share from that trip...

-m