Traveling to Zim in Sept (first time). I have read that many travel in a vest to carry "heavy stuff" so that their carryon does not get too heavy in case it is weighed. Any recommendations on which vest and a source? Thanks.

drj:

I am beginning to sound like a commercial for Boyt, but they make a couple of excellent safari vests. www.boytharness.com Also, Tag Safari, Cabelas, Orvis etc. all make travel type vests.

I had a Boyt vest but gave it away after my last Zim hunt and will pick up another one for this years hunt for the reasons you mentioned.

The only downside that I see with a vest of this type is that you can stand out as a hunter in the crowds. You can easily spot the first time hunters in the terminal due to all the Cabelas safari clothes! I prefer to keep a lower profile if possible. You will figure fairly quickly when chaecking in who is hunting.

Good luck!

RCG

djr

I have a vest made by Tilley, and it packs small but you can carry lots of magazines and even a laptop on the inside vest. It is like having another carry on, their website is www.tilley.com. They make their own clothing made for the world traveller but perfect for hunting and you wont stand out in the crowds.

Congratulations,

The enjoyment of planning that 1st of many trips is great. A lot can be learned from this site.

Excess baggage charges, checked & carry-on, can be expensive. But don't get too excited about it unless you're taking everything but the kitchen sink. South African Airways has a 50 lb. limit for checked baggage. You can tote a bunch of stuff at 50 lbs. (I think most hunting camps have daily laundry - no need for a whole lot of clothes).

The carry-on might contain: your personal toiletries, any medication you might need (us old farts with blood pressure, chlosterol etc.) a nice digital camera, one change of underwear (in case your luggage takes unscheduled route).

A little thought & leaving the kitchen sink at home & you probably won't need a vest.

I'd suggest three days hunting clothes as they can't get them dry when it's raining and you never know.

Take a look at Filson vests, and 511 vests.

I have and use both, for general purpose use, even when traveling in my own vehicle... and for EXACTLY the reason in your post.

On average my carryon when traveling to Africa, weighs around 44 to 49lbs.

I can get nearly half of that weight into my vest when necessary...

Tag Safari has a decent travel vest, and it's not $350.00 like Tilly. I remember when Tilly was peddling his hats at the Dinner Key Boat Show so many years ago. They make great hats, but $350.00 for a travel vest is outrageous, IMHO, and I don't care how much money you have.

The Tag vests are great and are cut large, so if you order one, be aware of that. Tag's stuff is made in Zim. www.tagsafari.com

350.00 dollars????????????????????????????? Is the US dollar that weak now??

quote:

Originally posted by white north:
350.00 dollars????????????????????????????? Is the US dollar that weak now??

Yes it is, and wait until they downgrade the US's credit rating,
then you will see a whole load more drop in it's value.

.

Sure, just encourage travelers to CARRY on more stuff into the aircraft cabin. Its already a joke with what people bring onboard because they don't want to pay checked bag fees to the airlines (thats an entirely seperate issue)and can't be bothered to follow the airline rules on carry on items. Nothing like the stress of flying and then it be compounded by folks trying to schlep 3 or 4 bags into the cabin and trying to stuff it all in the overhead bins, Oh was I supose to be courteous and leave room for the next passenger who might be following the rules and is only traveling with one carry one item. And by the way sir, could you help me lift my large and heavy bag into the overhead bin(typically, but not always asked by the women). usually gets blank stare from me, I'm of the mind set, if its yours and you can't handle YOUR bag(s) then maybe you packed to much and should have checked them instead of relying on some one else to help you out.

No sarcasm in this post, just one of my pet peeves when I have to fly.

I hear you bison hunter. I fly 200,000+ miles a year for work. I carry a small day pack and get very frustrated by the people that carry all of their worldly possessions as carry on and want me to put my pack under the seat. Come on guys, we spend thousands on a hunt and balk at an extra baggage fee?

For the topic, the Cabela's vests are great.

Scott E-vest is what my wife likes.

Lots of pockets for E devices, passport, cash, earbuds, etc. etc. etc.

quote:

Originally posted by swampshooter:
I'd suggest three days hunting clothes as they can't get them dry when it's raining and you never know.

Zim in September . . . no rain in the forecast.

You will be on the plane about nineteen hours straight. Whatever you decide, try wearing it sitting down awhile first, and see how much you really need. I wore a lightweight "hoodie" and a vest, and carried on a bag about the size of a medium gymbag. A change of socks/underwear and personal toiletries; along with some jerky and cheese and crackers and my Journal & camera.

Have fun, Zim is really old style Africa.

Rich
What Allen Day said.

After looking, the Scott-E-Jacket range is the best value for $$ I just purchased their Expedition Jacket and has 37 pockets, some inside some outside.

They are also on their 'Daily' Special today, 20% off this paid for the postage to Australia.

Cheers,

Jeff Gray

If you fill all those pockets, I hope you ain't trying to squeeze yourself and all that stuff into a coach seat. You'll need to coat yourself with 30 weight before you board...

Idaho Sharpshooter has the right idea.

Filson travel vest worked well for me. Just got back and wore it most of the time on the journey over and back.

I looked at a lot of different travel vests prior to my first trip to Africa in 2009. My favorite was the Orvis travel vest. It is excellet!! It has over 20 pockets, and is very functional. I used it for heavy stuff,..cameras, batteries and the like. It was a little funny because the vest probably weighed 20 pounds after I loaded it up. It was really important on our 2009 trip because Lufthansa weighed our carry-ons. They made us lighten the carry-on luggage to 17.6 pounds (8 Kg's)....and that is when my vest got heavier.

In 2010, we flew the same airlines but no one weighed our carry-ons.

I just checked the Orvis website. It appears they quit selling the vest I have. I paid about $140 for mine. They now have a model called "Ultimate Travel Vest". It looks nice, but it is $275.

Since our experience at airport check-in in 2009, I have bought some light weight carry-on bags that weigh 2 pounds. I love my Filson Pullman, but it weighs at least 4 pounds more than my LL Bean Travel Backpack. When you have a Lufthansa person weighing your carry-ons and demanding it weighs no more than 17.6 pounds......just can not afford to loose 4 pounds due to the weight of the bag itself.