Excellent list, Martin. I'm a neurotic "Equipped" packer also. Here's my travel tips site, which you might enjoy:
http://www.roblester.com/travel/index.html

And here's my agonizingly detailed annotated packing list:
http://www.roblester.com/travel/travel_packing_list.html#annotated

I can picture you and I standing at the terminal looking at other passengers muttering a good-natured "amateurs" under our breath. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Regarding #4 (spare cell phone battery)

Rechargable battery packs tend to self-discharge (that is, they discharge whether or not you use them) on timescales of a week or two. If you simply carry a battery with you for weeks or months, it will almost certainly be dead (and certainly not at full capacity) when you need to call it into action.

The solution I use is to keep switching back and forth between the two batteries - I use one, while keeping the other "topped off" in the charger. When the current battery gets low (below half), I start to carry the spare with me, and swap out when necessary (the dead one goes into the charger to remain until it's needed again in a couple days).

Alternately you could keep one battery in full use, and "top off" the backup every couple of days, but I'm unsure whether that'll have adverse effects on battery life. The manufacturers say the memory effect problem has been solved, but in such an extreme case (always top off at 90 % and never properly use), I'd still worry that the battery won't be available when I need it.

This is certainly true of NiCd and NiMH batteries. Lithium Ion, though, is better at keeping a charge:
Radio Shack Battery FAQ
"Storage Life Loses less than 0.1% per month."

Compare this to NiMH, which can lose up to 70% / month:
NiMH Battery Retention Curve

(edit) Actually, the 70% figure assumes storage at 40C (104F). It's only (!) 30% at "room temperature". The Radio Shack source says "4% per day" in storage, but doesn't give a temperature.

I'd trust a fully charged LiIon cell phone pack for a couple of months, anyway. Which is a lot longer than I'd want to be away from home. :-)

Thanks for an interesting topic! My post 9/11 travel has been limited but I had gone the other way regarding air travel - eliminated my carry-on luggage and checked everything I could, simply accepting the additional hassle and delay (and loss of access to penknives, etc.). Your way definitely looks better!

Some questions:
The vest that you've presumably got packed with stuff - do you take it off at the security station and run it through the x-ray belt, or do you walk through with it? Has it caused any delay there (hand searching, etc.)?

What carry on bag do you have (or recommend)? When you say to get one that you can sit on, do you mean just a good sturdy one or specifically a hard-sided one?

Thanks to all for the great posts!

- Cliff

I use an American Tourister roll-on bag. Nothing too fancy, when you go to buy one, site on it empty and see if it feels secure. They have a WIDE RANGE of quality, so be careful. I've used more expensive stuff (like Tumi and Zero Halliburton) and found that the expensive stuff says "steal me" more that the stuff that says "dirty socks and hotel shampoos in here".

Another point for the eVest or photographer's vest as your best piece of luggage - you take it off, you put it in the tray, it goes through, you put it on again. Since it's a plain black vest, not a BDU type. for the most part, they are usually mostly interested in my bag, as the first aid kit ALWAYS shows the scissors, and that ALWAYS gets a second look. The vest just goes through

Some other "equipped to fly coach" tips that I'm only now just thinking about.

- Carry on baggage never goes where you aren't. Another reason to ship ahead

- Don't try to use a GPS while in flight. It scares the hell out of the flight crew, however, if you use a PDA equipped with buult-in GPS they don't notice or care.

- If you MUST eat the crud on the plane, order a Kosher Meal or Vegitarian Meal. Not only is the food better, you sometimes get served ahead of everyone else.

- Having "tower" and "clearance delivery" frequencies programmed into my VX5 has made the difference between having the time to eat properly during a flight delay. I can hear the pilots and ground crew talking and I know the REAL time of push-back.

Well that's all for now.

Martin,

My hat's off to you. Thank you for the excellent advice.

I haven't flown since Sept. 11, partially because I haven't thought through how to be equipped in such an environment, and partially because I'm well, scared, to be perfectly honest.

I didn't like flying beforehand and I sure don't like it any more now. The advice laid out here in such practical fashion, however, will help take the sting out of having to put my beloved folders in my checked luggeage.

How many of each size safety pins, may I ask? Also, large or small paperclips?

But they allow you to have scissors. And safety pins are tools. What about keychain items such as the SwissTech Micro-Plus, Latshaw Pocketwrench II, or even an eyeglass repair kit?

Thanks for the answers! Time to look at some new roll-on luggage.

The eVests look neat, but looking at their site I didn't like their styling - more "outdoorsy", whereas I think a more "indoors" looking vest might suit me (though they do have a spiffy new sport jacket). I'm thinking of the Filson vests that another poster here uses - with the wool fabric and shorter length they look more businesslike. But they aren't as sleek or pocket-filled. Now I'm torn...plus I have to come up with the money for either one...<sigh>

- Cliff

I have had both safety pins and sewing needles confiscated and trashed since the attack. I have not tried in the last year.