I found an unusual piece of travel gear that looks either completely ridiculous or surprisingly clever. Even the flight attendants I asked couldn’t agree.
Through the years, we’ve come across some travel gear that made us wonder what, exactly, the person who invented it was thinking.
There was what we thought was the strangest piece of luggage we’d ever seen. Then there was the most annoying piece of luggage we’d ever seen.
But I recently came across an article of clothing made for travelers, and for once, I genuinely can’t decide which category it belongs in.
Is this thing absolutely ridiculous…or kind of genius?
It’s a hoodie.
With a backpack built into it.
Yep. The back of the hoodie essentially doubles as storage.
And in this day and age, when most airlines generally allow you one carry-on bag and one personal item, my first thought was:
Well, that’s clever.
It’s not another bag if it’s your CLOTHING, right?
Right???
Genius?
I can certainly see the appeal.
If you’ve already got a carry-on and personal item, here’s a way to potentially get some extra stuff onto the plane without carrying what looks like a third bag.
Except there’s one little problem.
Airlines tend to be rather particular about what you can have on your body during takeoff and landing. You may have encountered this with a fanny pack/bum bag; depending on the airline and flight attendant, you can be told to remove it and stow it.
So what happens when the “bag” is literally part of your sweatshirt?
And that’s where things get interesting.
Or Stupid?
I have a few friends who are flight attendants, so naturally I asked them what they’d do if somebody boarded their flight wearing one of these babies.
They were split exactly 50/50.
Two said they’d consider the backpack portion an additional bag and tell the passenger to consolidate it with their other belongings.
The other two essentially said that as long as the passenger could sit properly and fasten their seat belt, they’d be fine with it.
Well THAT clears things up. 😉
And apparently this isn’t something flight attendants encounter very often. None of the four I asked had ever seen a passenger wearing one.
The hoodie/backpack combination doesn’t appear to have exactly taken the travel world by storm, either.
Search for one and you’ll find a handful scattered around the internet: AliExpress has one for about $10 for new customers, Walmart has versions around $20, Kicklo sells one for a whopping $130, and there are a few others from companies I’ve never heard of.
So clearly somebody is buying these things.
But Would It Actually Work?
And that’s what brings me back to my original question.
If you’re buying one because you think you’ve discovered the ultimate airline carry-on loophole, I wouldn’t count on it.
There’s apparently enough gray area that even the flight attendants I asked couldn’t agree on how they’d handle it. One crew might not give your hoodie a second glance. Another might decide you’ve essentially strapped a third bag to your back and tell you to consolidate everything before you board.
And if you’ve stuffed the thing so full that you can’t comfortably sit against your seatback, that’s probably going to create another issue entirely.
But if you just want a hoodie that happens to have a ridiculous amount of storage?
I mean…
I kinda want one.
And THAT’S my problem with this stupid thing. Every time I decide it’s ridiculous, I think of another reason why it might actually be brilliant.
So I’m throwing this one out to you guys:
Stupid or genius?
Because apparently even the flight attendants can’t agree. 😉
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