We’re all goin’ on a summer holiday, no more emails for a week or two
15 July 2008
Fun and laughter on a summer holiday, we’ll take the iPod too-ooo, for me and yooooou (with apologies to Cliff and The Shadows!)
At Hayes Towers it is holiday time, so suitcases are being packed with care and frugality. Being a conscientious mother of a cub and boy scout, a first aid kit goes in, but the pet rock does not. All but Hayes Minor has a mobile phone, so they come with us, complete with three chargers and one continental adapter. The Ninetendo DS goes in, with a cap on the number of games; MP3 player apiece, of course, flights are long and airports are sooooo boring... and the camera, one each for Hayes Major and Minor and my own; in goes the holiday paperback and a pack of cards... what else?
In a survey by TNT Magazine Travel Show, the iPod or an MP3 player was the most essential travel item for nearly a third of backpackers (32 per cent), over and above a mobile phone, a toothbrush and deodorant. Around the EPD office, most people rated a credit card as the single most important item; most things can be bought if forgotten and, as one chap reasoned “that’s beer and food sorted”. Others listed a passport and driving licence as precious items, reasoning that they need to be produced on so many occasions not related to crossing borders. A mobile phone and an international power adapter were high on the packing list, together with a book for holiday reading. Only one listed a laptop for online reading; as Amazon’s Kindle, electronic reader has not hit the UK yet, that didn’t make the list.
Cameron Hewitt, editor of Rick Stevens’ Europe through the Backdoor cautions against taking a laptop with too much data that is sensitive. What if a laptop with family photos gets stolen? He recommends visiting local internet cafes to send emails or check news online instead of paying carrier continental tariffs. A phone can double up as a camera these days, so why take both? It can be a case of doubling up on gadgets to reduce the batteries, chargers and adapters that need to be packed. One traveller’s essential is another traveller’s luxury I suppose.
Another holiday dilemma is getting the jam-packed suitcase to and from the airport and then the villa. Here, a UK engineer promises to save a lot of pulled muscles and strained nerves. Live Luggage has developed a power-assisted suitcase, the PA Series, with electronics and motors stored in the suitcase wheels. An intelligent torque control system powers the wheels when the handle is tilted and powers up only when a little extra help is needed. It can go for one and a half miles, uphill fully-loaded without you having to break into a sweat. The tilt switch/sensors power the wheels at certain angles, for example up a ship’s gangway, when the slope is 15 to 35 per cent and if the handle should be dropped for any reason, the power to the motors is cut off. It is powered with a rechargeable 12V NiMH cylindrical 10-cell battery in the base of the suitcase.
The motors and batteries do translate into a weight penalty, the PA Series case weighs 10.6kg, which is 3kg more than a standard hard luggage case of comparable capacity/volume, claims Live Luggage. The company points out that while that may be a consideration on airlines, in other circumstances, the weight is not an issue as the motors make the 30kg payload feel like 3kg, even when going up a gradient.
The case is moulded from a PC ABS material and glass-filled nylon and is supplied with a charger and power adaptor. The handle can be adjusted to three heights and there is an over-ride lock for the handle to be locked during a flight.
Looking at what has been put out for packing, I don’t know so much about power-assisted luggage but I am making the junior Hayes put their electronics, books and other essentials, i.e. sweets, in their carry-on luggage, arguing that the spare room in the suitcase is for souvenirs, by which I mean shoes! For Mr H, as long as he has a book and a toothbrush he reckons he can get by and will pick up anything else he needs while he is away, even if it means buying another bag to bring it all home! Right, as long as we understand each other, I think we will have a wonderful time!
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