If you could plan a trip perfectly...

The Five Minute version of Henry's great Ottoman empire adventure

Imagine planning the trip of a lifetime, and being able to buy new luggage for every hauling need you might encounter. Then imagine taking a couple test drives on "warm-up" trips to be sure you were totally prepared. It's not just a dream, folks: meet Henry Sobieski. He's our latest free gear winner. His insights into maximizing how to pack for an adventure just had to be shared. But we know time is short around the holidays, so here's the five minute condensed version:

Dear Red Oxx, I planned to see a portion of Asia Minor with my wife, following the path of the Ottoman Empire around the Black Sea, down the western Turkey coast thru the World War I battlefields, and end up in some of the more relaxing Greek islands. This would be a long trip and we worried about luggage, airlines, and getting about the countries. Red Oxx was selected as our outfitter, of sort...

A packing blend of rolling, folding and bundling was the answer for us...The Air Boss's capacity is substantial. The Safari Beano PR5 is the king of utility when you need more room. The Mini-Ruck earned its starter spot by being the day pack...We were now ready to refine our list of items that would make our trip more convenient. We ordered two Lil Roy's (Mariner and Saffron colors), a Travel Basket (Saffron), a small Bino Case (Red), a Tote Bag (Bordeaux), and an extra Claw Shoulder Strap....

The real story here is that flexibility in a travel strategy is the key...Here is how we used the luggage:

Lil Roy was used as the jack-of-all-trades...It held our guidebooks, novels and notepads. It fit a 500 cc Nalgene water bottle and lunch. On small busses, the Mini-Ruck, Tote Bag and Lil Roy fit all the overhead bins...The Lil Roy was used as an organizer when packing the Safari-Beano PR 5...to organize small stuff.

Travel Basket, in Saffron, so we could find it in a darkened room...We disciplined ourselves to use it religiously...Its taller in height...easy to find, larger capacity, and wonderful padding that saved my watch as I tossed it in after a too long day.

Tote Bag, in Bordeaux. It was the grocery bag, the extra day bag (even in the overly crowded city Bazaars where pick pockets thrive) and the Museum store purchases bag. We took it everywhere, folded and rolled...Since day trips were our basic strategy, it was very useful as an auxiliary luggage. Can also be used in Duty Free shops if you buy a bottle or two, as a carry-on.

Small Bino Case, in Red...We could fit in this case our 10x40 Zeiss easily and the Zeiss 7x42 (would do better in a slightly larger case). We took the Zeiss 10x40 and found that it was compact enough to place glass-cleaning gear also inside the Bino Case. The side pocket was perfect for a Sommeliers tool. (The mini ruck carried the wine in the side pockets)...We traversed the canals and floating reed areas by small boats and the red Bino Case was easy to keep track of...Our extra Claw Shoulder Strap was used with the Bino Case and made carrying it around a pleasure.

Mini-Ruck, king of the day trip. Red Oxx said it would hold so much, that everyone would ask you to carry his or her purchases until we got back to the hotel. How prophetic...This is the most comfortable way to carry a load. Especially those velvet lined straps...The hidden pockets inside and in the top flap were bonus areas for pilferable items. The side pockets were useful for water -- a one-liter Nalgene and water purifier kit...Sometimes in the bazaars, I used the front carry technique (like a front baby carrier). This was common. The front pocket then became my camera holder. A bonus was the 4-inch top extension for oversized items. A tip from your staff was to run the side pocket zippers...

Safari Beano PR5, in Bordeaux. The multi purpose carry-on bag...I learned to use the two Lil Roy's as organizers for the Beano...The extra pockets on the ends were useful for last minute items. The main compartment is large and little packing skill is needed to have a pleasant journey. The ruggedness of the construction is a special pleasure for the technical minded and the zippers will never fail.

The collapsibility when in a hotel should be noted. Many of the rooms we had were tiny by USA standards. We did seek out the Bed and Breakfast types, which of course had small rooms in the historical context we enjoyed. The ability to fold and collapse the Red Oxx products we used made the rooms more livable.

Air Boss, in Bordeaux...Had more fun learning to pack this item than any of the others. The Doug Dyment design concept is really refined. We used a bundle technique and did really well with wrinkles. I treasure this luggage, because sometimes you need a jacket and trousers, and this definitely is the way to go.

The tri fold design with internal straps on the outside sections and fold flat capability make loading and unloading very easy. The internal structure helps keep the shape even if you have to stuff the bag onto a shelf. The capacity is surprising, almost always allowing one more item inside. The external pockets keep tickets and magazines readily available. It is surprisingly light. The zippers are very strong....

What a detailed analysis, Henry! What a trip! Care to read the whole story of Henry and wife Jean's trip that began in Istanbul?