Planning an African safari in Kenya? Gear up at U.N. Luggage first.
Here's the detail that nearly sank me. The weight limit on domestic flights inside Africa is 15 kg per person. Not per bag. Per person. I worked that out two weeks before we flew, standing in my bedroom looking at a hard shell suitcase that was already over the limit empty.
So I drove down to U.N. Luggage at 175 McDermot here in Winnipeg and threw the whole problem at them.
Jon and his crew were terrific. They laid out the realistic options instead of steering me at the priciest thing on the wall, and I landed on the Osprey Sojourn Shuttle with wheels. Worth knowing my situation: I'm close to 300lbs with size 15 feet, so "fits all my clothes and all my shoes" and "comes in under 15 kg" normally fight each other. Not this time. That bag went to Kenya completely full and still made weight. BOOM.
The extras ended up mattering as much as the bag did. I picked up carry on approved bottles so I could bring my own shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste, and then there were the Eagle Creek compression cubes, which I'd put near the top of anything I've ever bought for travelling. I have ADHD, and packing has always been my least favourite job on earth, because three days in my bag is a disaster. With the cubes, every shirt rolls into one, you squash it flat, and you can put your hand on anything in seconds. Big guy note for anyone like me: I assumed I'd need the Large and I didn't. Small and Medium with the mesh fronts did the entire job, roughly three to five items per cube.
Out on the walking safari through Tsavo West and Tsavo East, three more things earned their place every single day.
The Osprey 3L water bladder. A travel towel e sack. And a daypack that folds away insideitself.
One last thing. We stuck Canadian flag pins on everything so nobody mistook us for Americans. :-D
I'm genuinely delighted with all of it. The advice at U.N. Luggage made the whole trip easier. Thank you. read more
