150 D Cuben Hybrid Material vs. Airline Baggage Handlers and Daily Off Trail Travel

OMG people must love to read what they type.

The answer is……….. NO.

My dream of a one bag trip is shattered but probably for the better. No need to stress on a 10 hour flight about whether my pack will make it back to me in one piece.
I will be taking some sort of luggage or duffle to contain overflow and likely will take a smaller sized pack as a carry on with the important stuff.

Dan: Great info, much appreciated. If I decide to continue looking for a new pack I think xpac or 150 d cuben are the best materials for the conditions I would expect to encounter.

Xpac does sound like it will fit my needs as a pack material for my intended use but since it is relatively unfound material outside of MYOG or custom packs, I wonder if the price is something that is meaningless compared to getting a HMG pack for example. This is just a guess as I have not inquired on a custom pack price, but I do not expect it to be cheap.

I'd have thought the main threat would be a strap catching regardless of material.

I'd be happy with a tyvek pack cover protecting my HMG ice pack. But then perhaps airlines flying out of Australia treat bags better!

Main thing I notice is bags come back with black stains. (Though today I did notice a very angry fellow with a snowboard that had snapped in half.)

Well, I'm sure it was a freak accident, but my husband's duffel bag fell off the baggage-handlers cart (not a problem) and then was dragged on the tarmac underneath the cart all the way to the terminal (TRASHED). Delta told us to go buy replacement items, send them the receipts, and they'd send us a cheque. I'm guessing that they got scammed on values one time too many, although it does seem odd to destroy someone's possessions, then have them front 100% of the money to replace them.

They "gave" us a cheap roller-duffle as a replacement for the bag they ruined. Maybe if we had argued, they might have paid for a more suitable replacement for the original bag, but by that time, we were jet-lagged, grumpy, and we just wanted to go home!

When he told a whole bunch of people about it later, one guy said that the same thing had happened to him some years ago.

It's all about luck, I guess.

LMOA re: below (the "armored car" of suitcases!)

If you are more concerned about theft of your checked bag, then put a big plastic bag around it, seal it up, and put a big sticker on the outside that shouts MEDICAL WASTE.

–B.G.–

I fly southwest airlines. They will NOT provide stroller bags for backpacks. They also make you sign a 100% damage waiver for any bags that have non removed shoulder straps. They also don't warranty against grease stains getting on your bag.

I went to several other airline gates nearby (American, United ?) and asked for a stiller bag. Also no luck… I also asked about bags with non removed shoulder straps. Same policy…

Personally, I'd put my pack into a cheap nylon bag to keep the straps from catching on machinery, and protect it from grease stains. Walmart and Target have nylon laundry bags made of 300-denier(ish) nylon fabric that are like 24×48" pillow cases with a drawstring closure for about $8. They are probably 1/3 the weight of a cheap duffle bag since they don't have straps, a bottom plate, or a zipper – so you could carry it with you for the bus trips.

Arn, checking a 150D cuben hybrid pack is (as mentioned) a bad idea for all the reasons mentioned above, only some of which have to do with the material itself.

As far as being strapped to the roof of chicken buses and so forth, I think it'd do fine, provided you take care to pack hard stuff away from the outside and are ok with the occasional seam grip patch on wear points. The weatherproofing and tear strength are ideal for this application, the abrasion resistance only moderately good. VX42 would be another good choice.

What I may try this year, with goal being to not have to leave any gear anywhere (all gear goes on backpack).

1. Use backpack as carry-on, only taking gear that is TSA allowed of course and taking enough that my trip is not ruined in case my checked gear does not make it to the destination. Backpack must be able to be cinched down to carry-on size.

2. Check remainder of gear in lightweight sack/duffel.

I checked out the nylon laundry bags at Target/Walmart as mentioned above. Both sites named them as nylon but then call them polyester either on packaging or in description…lol.