I’ve learned the hard way to never assume that a) your flights will all go off without a hitch and b) there will be food/beverages available in the airport.
I’ve had some really nasty layovers that turned into sleep-on-the-floor experiences. Most restaurants and fast food in the airport closes around 11pm or so, and after that your only options for food are whatever you can find in a vending machine.
When I travel, I always pack my carry on with an eye towards having to sleep over in the airport. To that end, I bring a compact blanket to sleep under…the Kifaru Wooby, and a small stash of freeze drieds and the necessary gear to prepare it. What does that look like? Glad you asked.
First, everything packs into a Blackhawk utility pouch.
Opening it up, we get this:
A graduated metal cup, a couple Mountain House entrees, a Platypus water bladder, some plastic tableware, and an electric heating element. I don’t drink coffee, but theres room for some small packets of freezedried coffee (or tea) in there.
The Platypus is so I can load up on water and not have to roam around the airport hunting down a water fountain once I’ve settled in and nested down for he night. Why not a hard Nalgene bottle? Bulk, thats why. The Platypus rolls up flat for compact storage when youre not using it and I recommend always having one in your bag because you never know when you’re gonna suddenly develop the need to have some way to keep water portable. Make sure your cup has graduation markings on it…when the freeze dried meal calls for a particular amount of water, its nice to have the markings on the cup so you dont get too much or too little water.
A slightly larger utility pouch would let you stuff maybe one more meal in there, but at that point youre taking up too much space for something that, hopefully, you won’t need to use. From a truly practical standpoint, you could always just head to the McDonalds in Terminal B and stuff forty chicken nuggets in your pockets for later (they’ll keep at room temp for about a day), but why live on CluckPucks if you don’t have to?
Following. This is actually a smart operational posture and kit to have at hand any time you are out of the house and away for any reason or extended durations. Those dwelling in those box store sized communities may have Ample commercial food outlets or retailers, but all is contingent on those computers working properly or the utilities services not being cut off as well. Pulling out your packed in rations in any such denied services scenario is an alpha tiered level of propper planning.
A different operational note to consider is do not entrust the preparation and serving of food and beverages by strangers. Sure I love a served up greasy cheeseburger and fries like the next fellow, however, in these uncertain times and it no longer being a high trust society it would be strategically big picture wise more prudent to eat your own carried and prepped food. Gnawing on some m.r.e. entrees or boiling up freeze dried grub is still way better than getting a case of food poisoning from substandard businesses or inferior hired help employees. This is in addition to a schizo theory of malicious poisoning by a disgruntled employee putting some fentanyl in your food, because you look like a MAGA person. Oops! you just overdosed and are laying on the floor of a fast food outlet, dying out right there. Things to consider as you slowly and methodically chew your food at your next meal. Stay healthy, stay frosty.
Excellent article. Having flown for the airlines for 25 years I can say that your assertions are correct. I didn’t have a dedicated kit like you, but they were all in the suitcase along with a small Swayer water filter.
I would add the following advice concerning the flights themselves:
1) Never get on an aircraft hungry or without water,
2) Never get on an aircraft needing to use the restroom,
3) Never get on an aircraft without something to read,
4) Don’t travel in sandals or flip-flops, they would suck if you had to rapidly evacuate a burning aircraft or into the snow with them.
Matt
I go the opposite way – I never eat or drink before or during flights. I don’t want to risk air sickness, and it precludes me from having to shuffle amongst the masses to use the bathroom.