As I have mentioned numerous times over the years, I try to avoid checking my baggage whenever possible — to the point where I usually only travel with one bag which I carry onto the airplane with me…
Would You Wear Your Belongings to Avoid Baggage Fees and Mishandled Luggage?
…but what if you are carrying more items with you and want to avoid paying baggage fees at the same time; or perhaps avoid having your luggage thrown around by baggage handlers — such as with this incident which occurred in the spring of 2014 at the international airport which serves the greater metropolitan area of Toronto back?
Since I first wrote this article pertaining to wearing your belongings to avoid baggage fees on Sunday, April 20, 2014, more airlines seem to have not only embraced the concept of charging passengers a fee for checking baggage — or even carrying a bag aboard an airplane — but also tightening the restrictions as to the maximum size and weight of each bag by either decreasing those maximum limits; increasing the fees; or both simultaneously.
Well, one way to avoid paying baggage fees is to earn elite level status in your preferred frequent flier loyalty program — but even that is becoming more difficult for many customers in recent years with the spate of perceived devaluations.
Another option is that you may want to consider “wearing” your luggage to avoid paying baggage fees. A company named Jaktogo offers a line of “clothing” which has many pockets where you can store items which you would normally pack in a bag and possibly check before boarding the airplane for your flight.
This concept is not new. Back on Thursday, January 28, 2010, I first reported in this article on how FlyerTalk member PTravel was pleasantly surprised that Scott Jordan — the founder and chief executive officer of SCOTTeVEST/SeV Travel Clothing, which also offers clothing where you can store your belongings in an effort to avoid paying baggage fees — personally responded by posting to a discussion on FlyerTalk with a video specifically addressing FlyerTalk members by asking for a wish list on how to improve his company’s products.
Controversies
Perhaps the products of SCOTTeVEST/SeV Travel Clothing — which also offers a line of “technology enabled clothing” — might have proven to be too successful. Later that year, a controversy was created where Jordan alleged that Delta Sky Magazine rejects ad from Scott eVest because it markets its products as a means to “stay organized and avoid extra baggage fees” with “the most stylish way to beat the system,” possibly threatening to jeopardize Delta Air Lines from profiting on collecting those ancillary baggage fees. Sky magazine is the official on-board magazine for Delta Air Lines.
I hardly doubt that since that controversy first surfaced that the products of either SCOTTeVEST/SeV Travel Clothing or Jaktogo have significantly impacted the revenue to Delta Air Lines derived from the collection of billions of dollars of fees to check baggage — but that did not stop Jordan from posting this video back in 2011 with an update pertaining to a supposed response by the Transportation Security Administration which was published in the Washington Post:
That might not be the only problem, as FlyerTalk members had reported issues with the quality of products manufactured by SCOTTeVEST. FlyerTalk member stairclimber posted a list of similar products manufactured by alternative companies…
…but despite that, FlyerTalk members have posted when there is a sale on Scottevest products in the Travel Products forum — and occasionally in the Women Travelers forum as well — on FlyerTalk.
Summary
Both SCOTTeVEST and Jaktogo are still in business today, so they must be doing something right — and I have not heard about anything controversial from either company in recent years.
I originally wrote in this article that I am not sure I personally would want to wear something that can tend to be too heavy to wear — especially when loaded with enough belongings to fill up a piece of luggage. Whenever I travel, I want to wear something comfortable. I do not even like wearing a jacket when I drive a car because I tend to get hot — even during a cold winter.
“I have never worn a garment such as the ones manufactured by the companies mentioned in this article; so I cannot give an opinion or a recommendation”, I wrote. “If the day ever arrives where I can try ‘wearable luggage’, I will let you know how I feel about it”…
…and the day finally came earlier this year when I traveled to eastern Europe; and in full disclosure, that was with a SCOTTeVEST vest which I received for free as a gift from the company at a meeting for the “bloggers” of BoardingArea last year. It was an unexpected surprise; and I was excited about trying it out and testing it. A photograph of it is at the top of this article. I intend to post a review of my experience with the product in a future article.
I still intend to continue to travel in a manner which has been simple, tried and true for me: with one bag containing all of the belongings I want and need with which I can carry onto the aircraft — often with a small camera bag with which I have never have had to pay ancillary fees to airlines to carry it with me…
…at least, as of now. Who knows what the future holds…
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
