I know – carry on is handy in a way but a big pain in the you-know-where at most times. You end up hanging around airports with all your luggage and then worry about not getting space in the overhead bin. Maybe the flight is really full so they offer to check your baggage and then you have to start rooting through your possessions to move stuff out.
Or else maybe your carry-on is a bit on the larger size and some bossy check in agent (sorry guys – I didn’t mean that – it was just for atmosphere) tells you to fit it into this ridiculously small metal frame. Who invented that? It doesn’t take into account zippers, luggage straps or labels. So you squeeze and push and pant – my goodness – it’s like trying to get into a pair of Spanx. You ladies out there will know what I mean.
Yes – you finally get the damn thing into the frame and get a caustic nod from the gate for you to carry on and board – and then you can’t get the frigging thing out. Oh my …..
I could write books.
But the best story I read just recently was about a scam that is happening where an organised ring are robbing carry on bags – right in front of the other passengers and crew!
I first saw this in a story just a couple of days ago. A business class passenger found that someone (also a passenger in business class) had opened up the overhead bin and had taken out his bag and removed some cash and valuables. Read the full report and watch the video
I was really surprised to read this and then did a bit more googling (what did we do before Mr Google came along?). It seems that this is a common occurrence and so various airlines and advisory groups recommend keeping an eye on your carry-on and not putting valuables in them.
Maybe this is why the fanny pack has come back into fashion. (We called it a bum bag – fanny is a rude word in England). This was a hot item during the 80’s – maybe some of you will remember. After a podcast by Joe Rogan it suddenly became popular again – and it seems to make sense. Kinda like a money belt but more.
It’s not a new idea though – as per wiki –
“Bags attached to belts have been in use since antiquity in many cultures. One origin was the Native American buffalo pouch which was used instead of sewing pockets into clothing. Buffalo pouches may also be worn on the wrist or carried on the front of the chest via a neck strap or lanyard. Ötzi had a belt pouch 5000 years ago. The European medieval belt-pouch is another antecedent which was superseded as clothing came to have pockets. The Scottish sporran is a similar belted pouch that survived because of the impracticality of pockets in a kilt.”
So maybe we will be seeing more of these bum bags (I know bum is not a nice word either – neither is fanny – could we call them waist bags? But that might be confusing!) Of course with anything coming back into fashion there is always going to be somebody who is going to come up with a twist ….. like this