What do you take on tour?

[170']

Just got back from a tour and started to unpack looking for anything I didn't wash before leaving the jobsite.

My wife likes it when I come home with clean gear and.....
I get rewarded :)

So I was wondering what other tour pilots take along on a tour of say 6 weeks...?

Anyways, this is what I pulled out of my own tote this morning...

Assorted chargers and power supplies for:

Video player(8X10)... PDA... Pentax Camera... Cellphone X 2
External Hard drive... MP3 Player
Laptop... Rechargeable AAA Batts for backup GPS
NVG (monocular) ...Automobile GPS

Naturally these were accompanied by the various items to go with them.

Clothing...

7 t-shirts---------------------------------------------------Heavy weight sun screen
5 shirts------------------------------------------------------Shaving supplies
7 jocks/socks---------------------------------------3 type's antibiotics
1 set 'Chino's'----------------------------------------Needles and mainline intravenous catheter
3 jeans--------------------------------------------------------3 shorts
Sleeveless Vest (Barbour)----------------Light weight Gore-Tex Jacket with hood
Gore-Tex boots --------------------------------------Helmet and associated crap thereon,
lip-light etc
Track shoes------------------------------------------- Gloves-nomex
Shower shoes (thongs) --------------------2 company flight suits
2 Baseball caps------------------------------------ 1 bush hat
30 Videos (bootlegs) --------------------------3 language books
3/4 bottle 'Glenmorangie' --------------1 bottle Bulgarian red wine

The Glenmorangie I took on tour and the Bulgarian Red was a gift from an engineer whose family came to visit him at the jobsite. I'm trying it now as my wife called from another room and said " try it , it's really good" That is strong praise for a Frenchwoman to give regarding a foreign wine, trust me!

I use an old Ice hockey bag as a tote. I built the wheel assembly myself with oversized wheels (4) and a T type extendable handle. Just about bullet proof...I built it because I got sick of buying bags, cases etc that fall apart with constant use...

The whole kit and caboodle comes in loaded as above at 24.4 kg .
That’s with me wearing the heaviest boots, carrying the Jacket and with the laptop and some of the chargers in my shoulder satchel....

The helmets a DC shorty and I only bring the shell, the Headset stays with the machine...The shell fits neatly in the tote...

The tote is overweight by 4.4 kg...But no-one has given me a hard time over it yet. Although no matter how dead I feel. I try to put on a smile for the check-in people and joke with them a little..... it seems to work...so far :uhoh:

Yup...Helicopter companies just love coach/economy class don't they?

What do you pack around???

Regards...170'

[Roger2]

Your spare helmet. B lent it to me in your absence .Very comfortable ;-)) Back 11 oct....jejeje. Rog

[purge98]

I pack either a .45
or a Minimi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Minimi
Dude.

[SASless]

A box brownie, luau shirt, and a large straw hat.

[Ioan]

I pack either a .45
or a Minimi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Minimi
Dude.
The moral of that is... stay away from purge98 when he's in a bad mood! :eek::eek:

[papa68]

Guys,

As a young 'Padawan' I was lucky in that when I started touring, I was given some great little tips to make life easier from Yoda himself. Some of his pearls of wisdom included:

1. Never count the days (either on or off tour).
2. Pack heavy and not light as you spend almost half your life on tour - you might as well have your stuff with you.
3. Always unpack your gear when on tour and and then hide your bag(s) away.
4. Have a routine otherwise you'll waste a lot of time achieving nothing.

And the list goes on...

My favourite though relates to 170's problem of unpacking and washing stuff. Try this. All your clothes, toiletries etc stay in your bag and then you just put the bag away under a bed or something. You can wash all your dirty clothes when you go back to work thus not wasting valuable home time doing stuff that doesn't really matter.

It'll mean you'll have to duplicate a few items but I reckon it saves about 30 mins per tour. Doesn't sound like much but over 30 years of touring...

Gold!

Papa68:O

170' - I like the fact that bottles of wine make it into your list of 'must travel with' items - restecpa!! For me, my iPod, a pair of running shoes and a good book rate very highly.

[John Eacott]

Anyone ex Okanagan would probably remember the Dirty Harry touring kit.

On arrival in Bombay for his 2 month tour, Harry would arrive with one brown paper bag, containing his passport, a book, and a spare pair of jocks.

He believed in travelling light, did Dirty Harry.......:p

[cmwangs]

John,
Thought I recognised the name. The Gold Seiko watch died a long time ago! Good times were had by all.
Good to know you are still with us.
CM

[Ascend Charlie]

A Penthouse magazine and a velvet glove.....:8

[remote hook]

I too just unpacked from a summer away, and was rather surprised at some of the things in my bags....:eek:

Amazing what sort of crap finds it's way into you stuff when you're hell and gone for ages.

RH

[heliduck]

I have duplicate toiletries, socks & jocks etc at home so all my touring gear stays in the bag where it belongs - helps to keep the mind off work & prevents me from leaving something important behind.
Last trip I was chewed by some unknown bugs which had me scratching my ankles all night, so a big tube of paraderm cream goes in the bag for next week!!

[800]

Ah, the luxury of having 2 places of residence!
2 of most things as heliduck said.
The touring bag usually only gets half unpacked so its ready to go again.
Don't forget the duty free (for those that tour internationally).
And all the things you can get at the big home that you can't get in the second home.
:eek:

[TukTuk BoomBoom]

Yeah great thread,

I have a lockable hard plastic suitcase, cheap version of Samsonite. I call it my anti-Chappell Corby luggage, can put stickers on it too (probably the most important thing). Sports bags get squashed , the "squeeze until you smell toothpaste" baggage handler tie down theory.

One of the best things i ever bought for touring is a Bose noise cancelling headset for the plane trips, great on airlines with good entertainment systems and really cuts out the plane noise.

I have a eye mask from Vietnam Airlines for getting a bit of shut eye when the guy next to you has his light on at 3am. Emirates hand them out too but i noticed Singapore Airlines dont now.

Last tip, those tiny bottles of Shampoo/body wash/cream you get in hotels, you can fill them up with the good stuff you use at home and take them on the plane. Better than the dishwashing liquid you get when overnighting on the way.

And finally, Fly Emirates. Great Entertainment system, email and txt msg in flight and good food. Unfortunately Dubai must be one of the worlds worst new airports. Go to the hotel gym and have a swim/spa while waiting and stay off the pakistani/filippino strewn terminal floor

Keep it Real
Rob

[nothing better 2 do!]

Righto guys/girls

Am sick of going on tour and having bags suitcases fall to bits .:ugh:
What is working for you?

[Gordy]

Timbuk2 (http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/home)

[helisdw]

From a generic travel point of view, I've found my North Face Duffel bag to be near-indestructible... It's been on numerous trips to inhospitable parts of the African continent, all over Europe and North America. The material is truly waterproof - as discovered after someone dropped it off the side of a dinghy on the West Coast of Scotland!

Downside, I guess, is that it doesn't have a rigid frame, so contents liable to being squashed. Plus side of no frame means that storage of the bag is much easier when it's empty - it can be rolled up into a fairly small package. It's got carry handles and a back-pack system so humphing it around isn't too arduous.

After 12 years with the same bag, it is certainly not a thing of beauty - but then neither is its owner! I've had one zip-pull come off, but the zip itself still works fine; plenty of scuffs and marks but all stitching remains intact.

Four sizes available - S: 42L / M: 70L / L: 90L / XL: 140L

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz92/helisdw/north_face.png

I'd say it offered value for money - and a Scotsman's fiscal prudence is not to be questioned! I must point out that I have no vested interests in North Face, even if this appears to be a bit of a sales pitch!

Simon

[2leftskids]

Chopper Bag..... Says it all really

Have seen these around a bit and recently bought one myself. Seems quite rugged and well made.

Chopper Bags - Dominant Leathergoods Australia Queensland Chopper Bags and Leather Items (http://www.leathergoods.com.au/chopper.htm)

[Heliringer]

Chopper bag for me too, I got it as a gift in early 2002/3ish and am very happy with it. What fits in the bag and my laptop are all I need for 28 day tours.

[GPS user]

Those chopper bags look really good and on a tangent what about swags.
I use a medium weight canvas sheet about 6' by 8' and an ex army segmented mattress. Cotton sheets and a doona. Well broken in pillow (wornout). There are eyelets on the canvas so that I can tie it together over me on real cold nights.

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Impressed by the look of the Chopper bags - could do with something that will stand up to being off-loaded by the deck-hands and (occasionally) dragged across the high-friction (ie rougher-than-the-roughest-sandpaper) ship's helideck. However, the manufacturer's site makes it clear that they're never going to be affordable up here. Hope they've survived your recent horrendous floods - wasn't Toowoomba one of the areas hit hardest?

[spinwing]

Mmmmm ....

The one thing you must never forget to pack .... is your sense of humour .... forget that and the tour becomes IMPOSSIBLE!


:E

[2leftskids]

GPS User,

Still using the first swag I bought although thankfully no longer for company accomodation.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj77/2007sprint/Wayne1842.jpg

[moosp]

All of the above but also 2 catheter kits, with extension tubes, three 3ml and three 5ml syringes with 22g needles. Should be enough to get me out of the country and into a medical area where they don't re-use this stuff by giving it a quick rinse in unsterilized water..

[EESDL]

Bit of a cheat as always go back to same company house every 28-days so suitcase is left locked in bottom of wardrobe out my
back-to-back's way - so not a true tourer......

Ideal bag for flight home is the Ikea Family (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50112458)ruck sack which can split into 2 when not allowed to have as 'carry on' due to weight restrictions on 1900D flight along coast - as other half of bag goes into hold.

Bag should have fallen apart by now but is showing no signs of such.
Padded sides and plenty of straps for comfort and ease and big enough for laptop to go in smaller section with zippable pockets for shades and power cords and solar charger etc