Looking for Western Flyer (and steel pictures)

[pretzelb]

While trying to make up my mind, I am about to drive myself crazy reviewing the same images on the product page and in Flickr. So if anyone can share some pictures of a Western Flyer and/or images of bags that are totally steel like the WF, I'd appreciate it. I'm not so sure I'd like a bag totally in steel and I'm also a bit concerned the WF is too big for under seat storage / everyday briefcase use. Oh, and I'm bad at making decisions. :)

[rabergnc]

I have a WF in steel and will try to post some pictures later - I only have a phone camera at the moment and resolution is not good. I can say from experience that putting the WF (and any other bag for that matter) in the overhead is always my preferred mode. I can also say that the WF will fit under a standard coach seach but may stick out an inch or two in the your foot space depending on the specific airline and plane configuration. It will also work on regional jets but stick out 2-3 inches more than a typical briefcase/messenger bag unless you have an empty seat next to you in which case you are fine. - the ID is my comparison bag. You should be aware that if your seat has an entertainment unit, the WF may not fit - especially in an aisle seat. Sadly, center seats are best in this case!!

I have never used the WF as a briefcase - I find that I am not able to self-edit my junk enough to be able to carry all my toys and clothing in the same bag. (Might be able to do it for an overnight trip but haven't done one of those by air in more moons than I can count.)

[pretzelb]

I have never used the WF as a briefcase - I find that I am not able to self-edit my junk enough to be able to carry all my toys and clothing in the same bag. (Might be able to do it for an overnight trip but haven't done one of those by air in more moons than I can count.)

I might be trying to hard to multi-task with the WF. At first I was just looking to try a briefcase style bag for everyday back and forth to work. But since I take coffee and water with me, being able to separate the thermos' from my laptop (and having the room) seemed like a good idea. The two compartments in the WF looked like a good way to do that.

Then I also though the WF might be a good second bag for the Aeronaut when I fly for pleasure. This is where I'm pushing it. I do take a DSLR so I need something with a bit of padding and some width.

I think I'm trying to the WF to do too much. While it might work it may not be as enjoyable as something more focused.

[rabergnc]

If you have not already done so, there is a new TB blog post with excellent pictures of a steel WF - much better than anything I could provide. Gives you a good idea of what the WF is capable of. I am not sure the WF has enough padding to make you feel good about carrying a DSLR without something else to put the camera in. The separate compartments would probably work for a thermos/water bottle pair. I don't envy your decision. My needs are a bit simpler and my ID carries all the electronics, bottles, etc I need.

[pretzelb]

Thanks for directing me to that blog link. But I have to rant a bit on a pet peeve of mine. I think I'm getting too old for the internet because I am amazed at the poor quality of images that some people will post these days. Not all of them were bad but some of those pictures were not focused on anything. I guess if you can't re-take the image you're stuck but sometimes I think people need to edit a bit more. Yea, I am getting too old.

Still, that did show the bag (even blurry) in a different light with different background images. For example, the pictures of the bag on a table near a simple chair gave me a better fix on it's relative size. So all my complaining aside, thanks and I do appreciate it.