Western Flyer

[dorayme]

Thanks for the picture. I definitely do not have those in my May 2011 WF. I would like them though. Darcy, are these not on the backpack version?

[gmanedit]

I don't have a Western Flyer, but I would think open pockets in a horizontal orientation would be impractical in a backpack—the contents would fall out in vertical orientation.

[dorayme]

What about the original curved water bottle pocket on the original sling WF? I think the pockets would be useful for organization and the contents would be fine as long as the bag is zipped closed.

[moriond]

What about the original curved water bottle pocket on the original sling WF? I think the pockets would be useful for organization and the contents would be fine as long as the bag is zipped closed.

I have the original WF with curved water bottle pocket and sling, but that model does not have the two pockets shown in the photo.

moriond

[dorayme]

@moriond, I was commenting on gmanedit's supposition of the usefulness of a horizontal pocket on a backpack bag. I guess I should have quoted what I was responding to. Sorry for the confusion.
That and the pockets on the backpack version may be horizontal when the bag is set down or carried by the top handle and then change to vertical when it is carried by the backpack straps, or by one of the end grab handles.
My WF has been carried in 3 directions and placed in 4 that I know of when we were traveling last weekend. Also if it weren't meant to be carried horizontally, I don't think Tom would have put on the shoulder strap attachment points. I guess what I am saying is that the bag is meant to be carried in many orientations, so those pockets, imho would be useful, and when the bag is loaded and zippered, I would think the contents would remain secure, regardless of the orientation.

[Darcy]

Thanks for the picture. I definitely do not have those in my May 2011 WF. I would like them though. Darcy, are these not on the backpack version?

I asked Tom, and he said:

There aren't open-top pockets on the back of the Western Flyer Backpack Straps version for two reasons:
1) The pockets (and their contents potentially) would ride against your back when you use the bag as a backpack, instead of the smooth fabric and foam padding that's there now.
2) And, as gmanedit noted, the pockets are designed to be used when the bag is in the landscape orientation (as the Western Flyer roll-aboard pocket version is always), not in the portrait orientation of a backpack: stuff would fall out when you use the bag as a backpack. We could put zippers on the pockets, but then the zippers might be uncomfortable against your back.

[dorayme]

Yeah, I figured he had thought it through. . . I guess if I want interior pockets on my WF I need to look to my pouches, and stuff sacks. Thanks Darcy for the quick response.

[thisisme]

I wanted to present a packing list that shows what a woman who's around 5' 5" and 120 lbs can carry in the Western Flyer.
I actually have two lists: the maxed out list, where I crammed in as much stuff as possible, and the comfortable list, where things fit comfortably. The maxed out list involves sitting on the bag to close it. I wouldn't recommend it.

One notable thing is that you **can** get two bulky pairs of shoes in. In my case, it was a pair of runners and a pair of heels. I managed to get these in AND overpack my clothes.

The maxed out packing list
====================
6 tank tops
8 tops
2 sweaters
5 pr jeans
2 pr shoes (heels and runners)
7 undies
3 bras
4 socks
1 rain jacket
electronics for phone and iPod
toiletries
hairbrush

Here is a picture:


The comfortable list
===============
2 tank tops
6 tops
2 jeans
2 sweaters
1 jacket
2 socks
5 undies
2 bras
2 socks
1 shoes
toiletries
brush (not shown)
electronics for phone and iPod

Here is a picture:


You could easily add a dress and a pair of flip flops.

[blackfungi]

I wanted to present a packing list that shows what a woman who's around 5' 5" and 120 lbs can carry in the Western Flyer.
I actually have two lists: the maxed out list, where I crammed in as much stuff as possible, and the comfortable list, where things fit comfortably. The maxed out list involves sitting on the bag to close it. I wouldn't recommend it.

One notable thing is that you **can** get two bulky pairs of shoes in. In my case, it was a pair of runners and a pair of heels. I managed to get these in AND overpack my clothes.

The maxed out packing list
====================
6 tank tops
8 tops
2 sweaters
5 pr jeans
2 pr shoes (heels and runners)
7 undies
3 bras
4 socks
1 rain jacket
electronics for phone and iPod
toiletries
hairbrush

Here is a picture:


The comfortable list
===============
2 tank tops
6 tops
2 jeans
2 sweaters
1 jacket
2 socks
5 undies
2 bras
2 socks
1 shoes
toiletries
brush (not shown)
electronics for phone and iPod

Here is a picture:


You could easily add a dress and a pair of flip flops.

haha, i had to laugh at the comment that you had to sit on the western flyer for the maxed out packing list. that was indeed a lot of clothes but even the comfortable list is not too shabby either, quite a lot of clothes there.

did you use any of the t.b. packing cubes? or did you use the bundle wrap method?

[dorayme]

thanks for sharing thisisme, isn't the WF a WONDERFUL bag? I love it for the types of trips I usually take, 1-5 days. I could probably do longer though with creative wardrobing and washing.

[thisisme]

did you use any of the t.b. packing cubes? or did you use the bundle wrap method?

Yes, I did use packing cubes, not the bundle wrap.
I really think that the packing cubes are the way to go with the WF, for this reason:

You know the front divider thing? If you leave that zipped up, then you can't flatten the bag out to pack it. The only way to pack the front without cubes would be to unzip the divider, pack each side, and then gingerly zip up the divider. <--that seems annoying. However, with the small packing cubes, you can pack everything into the cubes first and then slide the cubes into their pre-zipped slots. It works really well.

The other nice thing about these cubes, specifically the Tom Bihn cubes, is that they fit exactly your bag. You are truly maximizing the space in the bag. I don't think you'd get that with bundle packing.

Lastly, you can take out the cubes and "live out of them", which seems really convenient to me.

I actually only got 1 small packing cube, and 2 large. I figured I would only need 1 small packing cube because the other side of the divider would be for shoes, which don't need a cube.

I got two large cubes. The reason is that I will occasionally want to use the WF for my kids' clothes. In this scenario, I'd want to use 1 cube per child. That works well too :-) The large cubes can more than handle my kids' clothing.

[thisisme]

thanks for sharing thisisme, isn't the WF a WONDERFUL bag? I love it for the types of trips I usually take, 1-5 days. I could probably do longer though with creative wardrobing and washing.

It is! And I got the same one as you: ultraviolet and steel :-) For the life of me, I can't seem to capture the exact steel or ultraviolet colour for some reason! It either looks too washed out or too pink...

Anyway, yes I agree with you. The great thing about this bag is how, with a few small touches (like the un-zippable front divider) the bag becomes incredibly versatile :-)

With regards to creative packing for longer stays: yes, I agree, and it doesn't even need to be all that creative! My feeling is that you can wear a shirt at least twice before washing (if it's not too hot) and pants and least 4 times. So really, 6 shirts should last 12 days, and 3 pants should last 12 days, so this combo should, in theory, last for a 12-day trip... :-) This amount of clothing can easily fit into the WF.

[ncb4]

Wow! It's incredible how much you were able to pack in your Western Flyer. I've got a Tri-Star, and I wouldn't have thought it possible to get that much stuff even in the bigger bag. I don't have a trip planned for a while, you've inspired me to do a test pack of the TS to see if I can get as many clothes in it as you did in your WF. I normally carry a laptop and electronic gear in its center compartment, but for this challenge, I'll leave those out.

[dorayme]

You are most definitely right if you can rewear your clothes. Can you imagine thinner, lighter travel specific clothing? You could pack so much more!

[Lani]

The comfortable list
===============
2 tank tops
6 tops
2 sweaters

Holy moly, you pack a lot of clothes!!!

Do you think you could pack with fewer tops?