Packed depth of Western Flyer

[Tancata]

Hello, I'm thinking of buying a Western Flyer. I notice the specifications give the depth as 18cm (7"). I very often fly with Ryanair, who have a rather strict 20cm limit. I'm wondering if the quoted 18cm is when the bag is reasonably full, or if it is for the empty bag. Can I pack it pretty tightly, and still stay within the limit?

More generally, does the WF retain its shape and dimensions when packed full, or does it tend to bulge?

Thanks a lot!

[Darcy]

On the left is a mostly empty Western Flyer. On the right is a fully packed Western Flyer.

Fully packed it's about 20cm (7.8") standing up and 18cm (7.0") laying down. Completely overstuffed, the bag measures about 26cm (10.2").

Does this help?

[ceb]

The non-backpack version (ie - rolling bag sleeve) is slightly trimmer and lighter as well when packed. Packing cubes help in keeping the bag from bulging.

[Fat Crip]

Ah, the joys of Ryanair! You're spot on with RyanAir's biggest problem. O'Leary says he wants everyone to carry on so he doesn't have to pay for baggage handling and then he imposes a particular restriction that catches out all but the most careful one bagger, forcing hem to gate-check! I'm not their number one fan, but they do offer cheap prices and on time flights - irritating, but true, they offer both!

Now all that being said, TB bags are great for Ryanair. This is because, being unstructured they can be packed to fill the given space. I don't have a Western Flyer (unfortunately), but I do have the Tri-Star and Aeronaut. The Aeronaut actualy does the job better because it fills the other two dimensions better being 5cm too long in the dimension that Ryanair doesn't really measure very well, and it can be packed flatter than 'standard' filling the width better and keeping to the 20cm depth more easily. But it is also squishy so easily pushes in to their frame, even if you've over packed a little. Dyneema helps with this too. See the pic below.

The Tri-Star, is really just a Western Flyer with an extra middle pocket. Now there there is an opportunity to stretch rules to the limit. You really do need to pack the Tri-Star with care, because, if you don't it will quickly become barrel shaped and not fit. However, we've flown with it four times on Ryanair so far, and not had a problem yet. I don't have a pic yet, but, even if you pack as badly as my wife, you'll still be able to squeeze it in to the frame. So, it follows that the Western Flyer will cause you no issues unless you really try to pack it full, hard and badly. As you pack, think about keeping it rectilinear. It's tempting to keep stuffing the middle and then using the internal straps to tie it all down. All this achieves is making a barrel shaped bag. Keep it square and a little squishy and you'll be just fine.

[dorayme]

Wait, some Western Flyers have tie down straps? My Steel /UV backpack version has none. Are the straps in the rolling luggage version?

[moriond]

Wait, some Western Flyers have tie down straps? My Steel /UV backpack version has none. Are the straps in the rolling luggage version?

@dorayme No, Fat Crip is describing the tie down straps in the back compartment of the Tri-Star. He doesn't have a Western Flyer (as he stated in his post). No need to wonder about yet another feature of the rolling luggage version of the Western Flyer (along with the two pockets and lighter weight that Lani asked about I another thread.). There are no tie down straps in the WF AFAIK.

moriond

[dorayme]

Thanks moriond for clearing that up. I was about to get excited but then I remembered how much compression I get from my packing cube back pack and I wasn't worried anymore on what I may have missed out on if the tie downs would have been real.

[Fat Crip]

Sorry, didn't mean to mislead... though, I'm not really a fan of the tie downs anyway as a packing cube doesn't really need them.