Aeronaut packing list for 2 weeks in Europe

[GuyB]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my packing list and travel experience from my trip to Europe back in April.

This was my first trip with my new Aeronaut - so I was really excited to test it out!

My goal was to travel light – one carry-on bag – while still taking everything I needed for a business trip to the International Lighting Fair in Frankfurt and the annual Salone del Mobile (Furniture Fair) in Milan.



Due to the variety of different events on my schedule, my gear needed to be really versatile, good to wear schlepping around museums and galleries, neat enough for furniture showrooms & trade shows visits and smart enough for fancy “design” events in the evening, including cocktail parties, dinners and even a visit to a nightclub (which I was WAY too old and introverted to endure for long!)

Plus, the temperature ranged from 9C/50F to 26C/79F so the gear needed to cope with conditions from chilly Germany to warm Milan…and cold, windy Lake Como!

With some careful planning, selection (tip: lots of black, a very versatile colour) and weighing of my gear (I’ve become a light weight travel geek!), I managed to come up with a packing list which coped with all the scenarios above…and still only weigh 7kg (15.4 pounds) total!

In fact, I could have left a few pieces of gear at home and not missed them!

Here's a shot of my gear...full packing list below.



The Aeronaut worked beautifully, looked smart and was a pleasure to carry with me both on the airplane, train from Frankfurt to Milan and walking through the city streets thanks to the great design, beautiful fabric and the amazing Absolute shoulder strap.
Funny, even the water-resistant zippers with their rubber seals gives the Aeronaut a very sleek, sophisticated look that regular bags just don’t have.

I also purchased TB packing cubes, organiser pouches and a travel tray that kept everything in its place both inside the bag and when unpacked in the hotel room. Having everything in a cube – and not loose in the bag – makes a world of difference. Just brilliant. And they fit into the Aeronaut like hand-in-glove.

In summary, this trip proved to me that you CAN travel light and still pack gear which looks good on the streets on Milan, works for business meetings and after work at smart bars, restaurants…even nightclubs!

Thanks Tom Bihn!

PS. My next trip is to Bali, Indonesia for 3 weeks…my Aeronaut and I can’t wait…and this time the goal is 6kgs!

Here's a shot of me (far right) with the gang at Milan airport on the way home to Australia. Aeronaut discreetly slung over my shoulder and hard to see in this shot...but my colleagues couldn't believe it was the only bag I took!



7kg Packing List (left to right from the top of the picture)

• My awesome TB Aeronaut (black/Iberian) with TB small clear organiser pouch attached to key strap inside
• Black messenger bag (my day bag)
• iPad 2
• red neoprene iPad sleave
• black silk tie
• black leather belt
• Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 Trail running shoe (worn on plane)
• Cashmere scarf (black/blue)
• TB Snake Charmer containing ipad/iphone charger, camera battery charger, usb camera cable, ipad camera adaptors, converter power plug (Aus to European)
• TB mini clear organiser pouch (Iberian)
• Lowepro camera case for Canon Powershot S95 (used to take the photo, and an awesome camera!)
• TB clear quarter packing cube (Iberian) with toiletries
• iPhone 4
• small black draw-string bag containing eye patch, neck pillow and compression socks – for plane
• Earth Sea Sky silk weight T-shirt (green)
• Stack of business cards
• running skins (blue)
• Nalgene 1 litre water bottle (orange)
• TB medium clear organiser pouch (solar)
• TB large packing cube (steel)
• TB travel tray (Iberian)
• Black cotton dress pants
• Ex Officio Nomad convertible pants (olive) – (worn on Plane)
• Wool beanie
• American Apparel black nylon rain jacket in pouch
• Paddy Pallin Polartec lightweight fleece jacket
• Snowgum Coolmax long sleave shirt (olive)
• Snowgum Coolmax long sleave shirt (black) – (worn on Plane)
• Bag locks x 2
• 2 x gifts for hosts in Italy (wrapped in brown paper)
• 2 x TB small packing cube (slate)
• TB end pocket packing cube (slate)
• Icebreaker Merino Wool Legacy trench coat
• Macpac short sleave merino wool T-shirt (worn on plane)
• Macpac long sleave merino wool T-shirt
• 3 x pair merino wool underwear (worn one pair)
• 2 x Bridgedale socks
• 2 x Bridgedale liner socks
• Black leather dress shoes

[tbessie]

Eye patch? Is that for those times you just gotta let your inner pirate out? ;)

[pocketsize]

Impressive! That's quite a haul!

Wondering: what were the host gifts?

[Badger]

Amazing first post, gotta say. And that photo of all your stuff laid out just captured my heart, asked it out on a date, met my parents, and then proposed.

Ahem. Anyway. I'm totally blown away that you were able to fit in your messenger bag (which looks almost as large as the Aeronaut). One thing that occurs to me as you embark on your next trip might be to consider a Café Bag as your EDC while on the ground. Assuming you're carrying a lot of the same business stuff, it seems like you'd be able to fit the iPad, your camera, water bottle, business cards, and chargers into a Medium with no problems. At 14 oz. empty, it's not really that heavy, and you can roll it up and tuck it into one of the end pockets if you so desire. Another option might be a Ristretto for iPad. It's a bit more structured, but you could lose the neoprene iPad sleeve then.

Out of curiosity, what would you have left behind for this trip?

[GuyB]

Eye patch? Is that for those times you just gotta let your inner pirate out? ;)

Yargh!!!

What is it called...that thing they give you on the plane to cover yr eyes?

[GuyB]

the host gifts were the logo of my company cut out of lightweight foam. The logo is the letters WMK (wmkarchitecture.com) in 3D.

Weird I know but appropriate for my hosts and easy to carry!

[GuyB]

Hey Mr B, thanks for your romantic message and bag advice! I like you already already :-)

The messenger bag is not as big as it looks in the shot...it packs down real flat and went into the aeronaut last after all the packing cubes were in place. The bag's a samsonite actually...has a thin red logo thing fixed to the front flap like knight rider's red eye...it's thr bag a use for work in Sydney so it kinda worked well for schlepping around Frankfurt and Milan...

I've since bought a Lightweight Courier from Patagonia in black which I love. I know it's not TB and it's completely unstructured but it's like a feather and has been great using around my home town so far. It's 17L capacity and weighs only 7.3oz. But I do need the neoprene ipad sleeve.

However, I am lusting over a TB Synapse. And I really appreciate your other suggestions and will investigate the other bags you mention...you are obviously a bit of a guru so I'm pleased to have your advice!

btw, I think I'm turning into a gear junkie...is there a support group forum for that?? ;-)

As far as leave-behinds: the long sleeve macpac merino t-shirt, the AA black nylon wind jacket (its crap, doesn't breathe at all, I've thrown it out and bought a Houdini instead), bag locks (didn't use them), running skins (used them once at the hotel gym for a comical session on a german-speaking treadmill which kind of got out of control...) and the trench coat. This last one I wore and needed in the cold but I've not worn it since, it's really heavy and would prefer to travel with lighter layers. But it got me into swanky restaurants etc in Milan so I guess it was good to have.

thx again, Guy :-)

[tbessie]

Yargh!!!

What is it called...that thing they give you on the plane to cover yr eyes?

Sleep mask. :)

[Badger]

Hey Mr B, thanks for your romantic message and bag advice! I like you already already :-)

The messenger bag is not as big as it looks in the shot...it packs down real flat and went into the aeronaut last after all the packing cubes were in place. The bag's a samsonite actually...has a thin red logo thing fixed to the front flap like knight rider's red eye...it's thr bag a use for work in Sydney so it kinda worked well for schlepping around Frankfurt and Milan...

I've since bought a Lightweight Courier from Patagonia in black which I love. I know it's not TB and it's completely unstructured but it's like a feather and has been great using around my home town so far. It's 17L capacity and weighs only 7.3oz. But I do need the neoprene ipad sleeve.

However, I am lusting over a TB Synapse. And I really appreciate your other suggestions and will investigate the other bags you mention...you are obviously a bit of a guru so I'm pleased to have your advice!

btw, I think I'm turning into a gear junkie...is there a support group forum for that?? ;-)

As far as leave-behinds: the long sleeve macpac merino t-shirt, the AA black nylon wind jacket (its crap, doesn't breathe at all, I've thrown it out and bought a Houdini instead), bag locks (didn't use them), running skins (used them once at the hotel gym for a comical session on a german-speaking treadmill which kind of got out of control...) and the trench coat. This last one I wore and needed in the cold but I've not worn it since, it's really heavy and would prefer to travel with lighter layers. But it got me into swanky restaurants etc in Milan so I guess it was good to have.

thx again, Guy :-)

Hey Guy, thanks for your response. I also have the Patagonia Courier, which I bought years and years ago when they first came out. It's a great bag and the weight really can't be beat—but then, I love Patagonia products and have given them more money over the years than I would prefer to dwell on for any length of time. The Courier does nice double-duty as a shopping bag and the unstructured quality is a big plus, as far as I'm concerned. It sounds like it will serve you well in Bali. However, as a Synapse owner, I gotta tell you: best bag ever. As some of the actual bag gurus (I'm looking at you, Lani) will tell you, it holds a surprising amount and is super-comfortable to carry. Plus, the Dyneema is sharp sharp sharp.

I'm not surprised the AA jacket was crap (not criticising, just agreeing). The Houdini looks like an amazing jacket; so lightweight and compressible. Patagonia also makes (or used to make) another ultra-lightweight jacket called the Dragonfly which I think is/was even lighter, but it looks very—athletic, if you know what I mean. The Houdini seems much more versatile when moving in and out of urban environments. I imagine the trench (which I'm now lusting over, so thanks for that) is probably not practical for everyday in Sydney, but hopefully it will be useful for years to come on your Europe jaunts.

I hope you'll post pictures of your Indonesia trip. KmK's photos from her time in Jakarta were beautiful and amazing.

BTW: this is absolutely the wrong forum if you need support regarding gear obsessions. In fact, we're the worst enablers on the planet (cough cough, LaniandJanineandeveryoneelseyouknowwhoyouare).

[Janine]

BTW: this is absolutely the wrong forum if you need support regarding gear obsessions. In fact, we're the worst enablers on the planet (cough cough, LaniandJanineandeveryoneelseyouknowwhoyouare).

Hey, I resemble that remark! :-D

[nukediver]

BTW: this is absolutely the wrong forum if you need support regarding gear obsessions. In fact, we're the worst enablers on the planet (cough cough, LaniandJanineandeveryoneelseyouknowwhoyouare).

You say it like its a bad thing.......

[Badger]

You say it like its a bad thing.......

Nahhh—I think we all know that I'm totally complicit here. I'm the worst enabler on earth; case in point:

Mrs B.: I want a sweater dress.
Me: Okay.
Mrs B.: I like these sweater dresses. (displays four of them)
Me: Okay.
Mrs B.: I can't decide.
Me: Eh. Just get all four.
Mrs B.: I couldn't possibly.
Me (incredulous): Why ever not?
Mrs B.: Because that would be like $600. In sweater dresses.
Me: Oh. (pause) Are you sure you don't want all four?

[backpack]

If one finds a product that fits perfectly and make oneself feel like a million bucks, it is always better to buy them in multiple.

Who knows when that particular design and color will be available again, if ever.

I have never regretted buying clothes in multiple because I am hard to fit and won't compromise on what looks good on me.

Tom Bihn Bags look gorgeous on me and I know where to find them. If a particular look is needed and I want to see the full effect, I was given the ok to visit the factory.