A TravelPro bag similar to my 25-inch spinner.
A twenty-five inch Travelpro MaxLite 2 Expandable Spinner is a luxury I’ve been without for far too long, a piece of luggage sufficiently large to hold enough clothing for seven days on the links and dinners out, and to accommodate a ride home with the extra stuff that typically accumulates during a golf trip. Provided by a Golf Road Warrior Palm Springs sponsor – – Travelpro – – this size of bag marked a reversal after several decades of light and spare packing.
As a corporate road warrior I always tried to get by with a small carry-on, for the ease of getting off flights without waiting for baggage, and ensuring nothing would get lost. Hotels did any laundry and the rather expensive charges simply went on an expense account. I worked for Big Oil, which could afford it. My wife and I also traveled light on vacation, achieving an apotheosis during two weeks in France with only carry-on.
However, when it comes to golf trips, where you have to check the clubs and wait in baggage claim anyway, I’ve never had enough room in my roller bag, and end up shoving extra things in with the clubs. Even new things got wrinkled, and I’d look and feel like a latter-day Oscar Madison.
Thus, I was quite pleased with Travelpro’s selection of the larger bag. This case is made of rugged polyester that’s water repellent and stain resistant, with “spinner” wheels that rotate 360 degrees, making it easy to weave through a crowded airport while also managing a golf travel bag. It has handles of neoprene – – instead of plastic – – which another good design touch. It also has protective skid guards, corner guards and crash-guard wheel housings that should stand up well during the roughest travel. Marketed as “the choice of flight crews and frequent travelers,” Travelpro’s luggage line includes backpacks, garment bags, rolling duffels, and even a “checkpoint friendly” computer brief.
Wearing The Green
Yet another GWR sponsor is AUR, a Canadian golf apparel company, known for its line fashionable and performance driven designs, the latter of which dry quickly and resist wrinkling – – and I tend to get wrinkled way to much on trips. Along with traditional golf-inspired sweaters, vests, pants and shorts, the company’s strongest growth category is an environmental compatible line of green line of shirts. These include fabrics that incorporate bamboo and coffee grounds into the cloth, which initially sounds odd but is actually quite practical and useful.
A shirt made from one of AUR's environmentally friendly fabrics.
For the Golf Road Warriors, we’re packing three different types of AUR shirts down to Palm Springs. Here’s how each is described:
CarboCool™ fabric contains a blend of Polyester and Bamboo Charcoal. The carbonized bamboo is visual on the inside of this material as a grey tint. The benefits of this fabric include Moisture Wicking and Fast Drying for comfort, as well as Anti-Odor and Added UV Protection for peace of mind. Carbonized Bamboo is environmentally responsible, and offers the same benefits that a chemical finish would without the unnecessary harm to the environment.
S.Café™ uses a patented process that transforms the coffee grounds into yarn, which is then used to produce polos. Most coffee grounds end up in our landfills, which contributes to our overall solid waste management problem. Producing a garment with S.Café™ fabrics helps in easing landfill concerns.
EcoSmart™ is a fabric made from Recycled Polyester Yarn. Recycled polyester yarn is made from plastic post-consumer based products. It is environmentally friendly by reducing fossil fuel consumption and green house gases when compared to regular polyester production. The Ecosmart story encompasses 2 different fabrics: 100% Recycled Polyester and Combed Cotton/ Recycled Polyester, which provides the durability and performance of polyester with the added comfort and breathability of cotton.
These shirts will be arriving shortly before we depart. If they resist wrinkling in the new Travelpro, Oscar is going to be looking a lot better in the photos.
