Rob van Ravens shares his tips and tricks for surviving nearly 100 flights per year
Travel Tips for Frequent Flyers from an Expert in Luggage Design
Rob van Ravens knows a thing or two about flying. As well as traveling all over the world in pursuit of design and development excellence for our travel gear, he also commutes between the Netherlands and our headquarters in Ibach, racking up an average 25 hours of flying per month and adding up to nearly 100 flights a year. And as our Director of Product Management for Travel Gear, Bags and Accessories, he also knows a thing or two about packing and luggage.
We asked Rob for his must-haves when traveling by plane.
Carry On
Wherever possible for short trips, I always try to travel with hand luggage only. It’s quicker and easier on arrival and forces me to pack very efficiently. It’s a question of personal taste, but I usually prefer a soft-side carry on and my current favorite is our Werks Traveler 6.0 Global Carry On. It’s smooth to roll thanks to its 8 silent wheels, plus an expandable case is handy on the way home from a trip, when you always seem to have more than when you set off. The removable Pack More totally makes my day since I can separate business items from personal belongings easily.
Long Haul
For longer Asian or transatlantic flights, I prefer an additional hardside check-in suitcase such as the Connex Large Hardside case. Made out of extremely resistant virgin polycarbonate, it offers the protection I need for all my belongings. Connex brings also maximum packing space and is even expandable in case I need to carry prototypes or samples back and forth.
Auriculares
Nunca salgo de mi casa sin auriculares de buena calidad. Inestimables para viajes en avión, ya sea que esté escuchando un podcast, viendo una película o escuchando música (¡Simplemente no puedo viajar sin buena música!), me ayudan a pasar el tiempo cuando estoy despierto o bloquear el sonido ambiente cuando quiero dormir. Por este motivo, me gusta viajar con la Altmont Professional Deluxe Travel Laptop Backpack: su organizador de artículos esenciales extraíble guarda auriculares, cables, etc., y evita que se enreden al mismo tiempo que hace que sea fácil ubicarlos en cualquier momento.
Artículos de tocador
Si sólo llevo equipaje de mano, entonces soy muy disciplinado con respecto a los artículos de tocador que llevo conmigo y prefiero marcas que vendan tamaños de viaje de sus productos. Si viajo por un período más largo, amo el kit de viaje con cierre envolvente porque es relativamente compacto, pero se abre para dar fácil acceso a todos los productos, y además se puede colgar en la ducha. Los tapones para los oídos son lo único que siempre me aseguro de tener en mi bolso neceser: no hay nada peor que un hotel ruidoso cuando se está de viaje.
Trainers
I’m a sneaker freak and love to have at least 2 pairs of trainers with me, preferably a limited edition classic Nike Air Jordan, a Nike Off White collaboration or recently something more luxury from Alexander McQueen. For me, there are very few occasions for which you cannot find the right pair of trainers.
