Aeronaut in Dyneema vs. standard ballistic nylon

I'm contemplating the purchase of an Aeronaut for those times when the Western Flyer isn't quite large enough due to needing extra shoes when running multiple marathons over a 2-4 day period. From what I've seen, the standard Aeronaut seems to hold it's shape pretty well, even when not stuffed full. I can't stand the "floppiness" of some partially loaded bags, which has always been my biggest complaint about bags like the one from Rick Steve's or the LL Bean Quickload that I have used. I love, love, love the idea of saving a little weight by going with the Dyneema, but will this cause the Aeronaut to suffer from floppy bag syndrome when less than fully loaded? I have a Synapse in Dyneema on it's way via UPS right now :) , but with the holiday and the weekend I won't get to play with it until next week :( .

Thanks!

Forgot to ask: will a Dyneema version of the bag bulge more than the regular version if overloaded? Thanks!

Red, I'm glad you asked this question and am looking forward to the responses. Wondered about this too.
I'm making up my wishlist for my first ever Tom Bihn order.

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Originally Posted by red

I'm contemplating the purchase of an Aeronaut for those times when the Western Flyer isn't quite large enough due to needing extra shoes when running multiple marathons over a 2-4 day period. From what I've seen, the standard Aeronaut seems to hold it's shape pretty well, even when not stuffed full. I can't stand the "floppiness" of some partially loaded bags, which has always been my biggest complaint about bags like the one from Rick Steve's or the LL Bean Quickload that I have used. I love, love, love the idea of saving a little weight by going with the Dyneema, but will this cause the Aeronaut to suffer from floppy bag syndrome when less than fully loaded? I have a Synapse in Dyneema on it's way via UPS right now :) , but with the holiday and the weekend I won't get to play with it until next week :( .

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Hi Red -- I almost can't believe you posted this, because it looks like a set-up question.

Next month, I'm heading to Walt Disney World for the half-marathon. Hubby signed up for the full, but we have a friend of ours who loves competing against my husband... and when she heard that he signed up for the full, she just HAD to sign up for the Goofy.

For those who are unfamiliar with "the Goofy," the official name is "Goofy Race-and-a-Half Challenge." You run the Disney half-marathon on Saturday, then on the very next day, you run their full marathon. That's 13.1 miles on one day, and 26.2 the next, for a total of 39.3 miles. She's busy doing those back-to-back weekend training runs now.

Last year, she did a half on Saturday, and did another half on Sunday during Disney's inaugural Chip & Dale marathon relay (which they decided they wouldn't do again next year), and she was lamenting how much she had to pack... because she ran into trouble when Disney temporarily lost one of her check-in bags on the way to the hotel from Orlando International, and it was the bag with all her running gear in it.

So...

For 2013, she has agreed to try traveling light and going without checking in any bags. We've discussed how we're planning it out, and we're hoping to get everything written into a nice article for other people who need to pack for multiple running events in a single trip.

You actually have two options. The Aeronaut will definitely work, but since you already have a Synapse coming your way, it's possible for you to distribute your stuff between the Western Flyer and the Synapse. Things like your toiletry bag and your running gear, you should be able to pack into your Synapse. That leaves your running shoes and your regular clothes to go into the Western Flyer.

What do you normally take for a marathon? Do you have a packing list you can share? And a lot depends on the weather for the marathon. Will you need to wear multiple layers? Or will it be relatively warm? Finally, are you open to rinsing your running gear in your hotel room sink? You can either use a washing machine, or wash by hand. There's a way you can wring the clothes so they're dry for the next day (I took one set of compression shorts and a tech T-shirt with me this past weekend and got in 3 workouts across 3 days).

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Originally Posted by red

I love, love, love the idea of saving a little weight by going with the Dyneema, but will this cause the Aeronaut to suffer from floppy bag syndrome when less than fully loaded?!

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I don't have a Dyneema Aeronautso I can't answer specifically to this, but I can tell you that the Dyneema Western Flyer holds up GREAT. Definitely no floppy look, but then, you know that the WF has a really good structure on its own.

One option you might consider; do you already have a Tri-Star? If you like the style of the WF but you want more room, the Tri-Star is its bigger cousin, with a middle compartment between the main and front compartments (think of the two main zippered areas in the WF as the chocolate cookies, and the center compartment of the Tri-Star like the stuffing in an Oreo). It's more compact than the Aeronaut but has all the structural integrity you love about the WF.

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Originally Posted by Lani

Things like your toiletry bag and your running gear, you should be able to pack into your Synapse. That leaves your running shoes and your regular clothes to go into the Western Flyer.

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This would work for a lot of people, but if I am carrying a bag verses rolling it, I can only handle 1 bag at a time due to a persistent shoulder issue. There's not enough room to shove the Synapse into my Western Flyer with the rest of the gear I need. Also, I will be carrying an 11" MacAir & an iPad and all the power cords, etc. in the synapse as well, so that will impinge on my capacity a little also. If I got the Aeronaut, I would have room to throw the Synapse in it while carrying the bag.

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Originally Posted by Lani

What do you normally take for a marathon? Do you have a packing list you can share?

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Race day:
Brooks Ghost (Shoes)
ExOfficio briefs
Reebok shorts (compression)
Asics Socks
Race Ready Shorts
MM or 50 State Singlet
MM Short Sleeve Shirt
Gloves
Visor
GPS/Charger
Glide
Bandaids—spots
Safety pins
GU
Vespa (for my wife)

weather/race dependent:
MM Long Sleeve
Long Asics Socks
Brooks Jacket
Running Pants (only if below zero wind chill)
Stocking Hat
Gaiters (if a trail run)

Non-race related:
Underwear
Socks
Shirts
Pants
Shorts
iPod/earbuds/charger (for the plane, I don't wear these when running)
Deodorant
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Razor
Fingernail clipper
Face lotion
Phone/Charger
Laptop/Charger
iPad/Charger
Camera/Charger
Packing Cubes
Grocery sacks (1 for each shoe)
Garbage bags (1 for each of us to wear for each race if it's cold at the start)
Pen

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Originally Posted by Lani

And a lot depends on the weather for the marathon. Will you need to wear multiple layers? Or will it be relatively warm?

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We run races every month of the year, so it can vary from 100+ degrees (our hottest race so far started at 98 degrees and just got worse from there) all the way down to negative 10 degrees. The running clothes are relatively compact either way, the real issue is needing to carry extra shoes. I've ran enough marathons in torrential downpours to know that I don't want to have to rely on 1 pair of running shoes for multiple races. Also, wearing wet shoes on the plane ride home after running 50+ miles is something that you have to experience to understand just how awful it is.

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Originally Posted by Lani

Finally, are you open to rinsing your running gear in your hotel room sink? You can either use a washing machine, or wash by hand. There's a way you can wring the clothes so they're dry for the next day (I took one set of compression shorts and a tech T-shirt with me this past weekend and got in 3 workouts across 3 days).

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No chance. I could get probably get away with sink washing my running gear if I was running only 3-8 miles. It takes more than that to wash out the stench of a marathon & we have so little time between races as it is. A normal double marathon weekend would go like this:

Friday: Drive a couple hours to the airport, get on a plane, make connections, get to City A, pick up our rental car, drive to City B in time for packet pickup (hopefully!), check in to our hotel, sleep (hopefully!)

Saturday: Walk/drive/take the shuttle from our hotel to the start line/parking area about 20-30 minutes before the race starts, line up, run 26.2 miles, wave and thank all the volunteers and police officers along the route, finish the race (yay!), get medal, walk/drive/take the shuttle back to our hotel. Shower as quickly as we can. Check out of hotel, drive as efficiently as we can to city C in time for packet pickup (hopefully!), eat (finally!!!), check into our hotel, sleep (definitely!)

Sunday: Repeat everything we did Saturday, but after checking out of hotel, race back to City A to airport to catch flight (hopefully!) and get some food in the airport. Fly, connection, fly. Drive back home. Sleep a few hours, then get up and go to work Monday morning.

Did I mention that the races are in 2 different states each time? A popular double is Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday and Mobile, Alabama on Sunday. It's about a 3&1/2 hour drive between the two, so timing is everything. Open jaw flights would be great, but it's not very often that it works out (plus, the rental car people rake you over the coals on most one-way rentals).

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Originally Posted by Lani

One option you might consider; do you already have a Tri-Star?

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I like the Tri-Star, but I want a "1 bag to carry" solution while incorporating the Synapse for in the plane or when I want a day bag. The Tri-Star doesn't really work for that mission. If I ditched the Synapse and carried the laptop & stuff in the Tri-Star it could certainly work most of the time, but I really would prefer to have the Synapse seat side and the main bag in the overhead bin. This is what I have been doing, only it's been with my roller bag and a simple school backpack. Did I mention that I can't wait for my new Synapse to arrive this week :)

As a followup: my Synapse was delivered a day early (Yay!!). I didn't realize how much more structure and firmness the Dyneema bags had compared to the packing cubes. After examining my new bag, I have no doubt that the Dyneema Aeronaut would be rigid enough. This Synapse is great. Not sure why I thought that a Snake Charmer would fit in the side pouch though? Guess I'll find a different use for it :)

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Originally Posted by red

As a followup: my Synapse was delivered a day early (Yay!!). I didn't realize how much more structure and firmness the Dyneema bags had compared to the packing cubes. After examining my new bag, I have no doubt that the Dyneema Aeronaut would be rigid enough. This Synapse is great. Not sure why I thought that a Snake Charmer would fit in the side pouch though? Guess I'll find a different use for it :)

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That item has also be refereed to as a Diaper Charmer (perfect for Moms). over the years, I have seen many use for it on the blog and the customer pictures, think of it as mesh, oblong Clear Quarter Cube, as a color coded mesh oblong Kit.

I think the possibility of color coding makes it ideal for corralling children things: cars, legos, plastic or plush animals in small size, action figures, fashion figures and accessories, crayons and markers, scissors and scrapbook things...

Well... a Pouch with a Purpose!