Product Review Recap

A few thoughts about the products I reviewed in January. I promised a recap once I had actually used them and here it is.

One of the first posts in this series is about some travel gear that I bought.  I gave my initial impression of the gear with a promise to revisit them once this trip was over so here goes.

The Magellan VaultPro Convertible backpack.  Magellan describes the bag as, ”Carried over your shoulder, sling-style, or on your back, this sleek, ultra-secure bag is the ultimate in convenience for travel. Security features include stainless steel cable-reinforced, slash-proof straps, RFID-blocking card slots, and lockable zippers. Perfectly sized to hold an iPad or another tablet it has three zippered compartments for accessories, plus plenty of pouches and pockets to keep you organized. It even includes a detachable mini LED flashlight for easy identification of contents. Made of durable crinkle nylon. (12½ x 10¼ x 3½'; 15 oz).” My initial review discussed some negatives with the bag, such as the iPad compartment lining being zipped into the zipper, and the two small snaps which keep the bag together being broken from the get-go, and for the price of the bag these are definitely negatives, but all in all the bag is great.  I am a generally aware traveller.  I know that I need to be aware of my surroundings and who is in them at all times.  I am also aware that there are places that you need to be hyper-vigilant like Rome and Paris, but this bag took the guesswork out of purse security.  I locked up my zippers with the hooks and slung my bag on my back, something I wouldn’t normally do in places like Rome or Paris, and went on my merry way.  I felt several nudges and bumps over the course of my trip and even found the front flap of the bag open a few times, but the “fiddly” little hooks for the bag did their job and nothing was ever missing from my bag.  I wouldn’t say it would allow you to be laissez-faire about your belongings but it did provide a certain level of comfort.  I added a larger carabiner to the handle to be able to hook the bag to chairs and tables and this would be a good addition to the general design but overall the bag is really good.  Another thing I didn’t really like was the over-the-shoulder strap.  I may be totally round-shouldered but this was very uncomfortable and the bag wouldn’t stay on my shoulder.  I found it to be a bit better if I unzipped the straps and used only one, but I don’t think that was the design.  I also have to say that I did not carry it cross-body so I couldn’t report on that style.  As a backpack, it is quite comfortable even when filled with daily essentials like a water bottle and my iPad, wallet, and camera.  Speaking of water bottles the bag would be better if there was a dedicated water bottle pouch on the outside of the bag. The material is durable and washable, a few times I got dirt on the bottom from setting it down but it wiped right off.  I would recommend this bag if you are worried about having your wallet stolen.

Magellan's Vault Pro Convertible Back Pack

The other big purchase that I made was new luggage.  My former set of bright red Swiss Gear that my dad bought me had finally seen one too many flights and we really needed to upgrade.  I reported on was the 25” and 29” Genius Pack hard side spinners. As Genius Pack describes them, "We designed this crush-proof luggage to infuse hard-side design with our signature "genius" features. We're proud to release the first hard-side luggage with an interior organizational panel. Extremely lightweight & durable. Roll 360 degrees with 8 silent-gliding spinner wheels. Click in the zipper pullers to the integrated combination lock. Interior panel engineered with designated category compartments, permanent packing checklist to ensure you packed it all, and secluded laundry compartment to keep your unclean clothes secluded. Relax & let your luggage do the work with this innovative hassle-free solution! If you're packing it- there's a spot for it." I have to say that I love this luggage! The integrated pockets were amazing, no need to root around in your luggage for socks or undies, and the pockets keep piddly little things all in one same place.  I liked the zippered separate laundry compartment that keeps dirty laundry away from clean and your clothes smelling fresh.  I still prefer the four-point cinch system to the elastic in this bag but while using packing cubes it isn’t that big an issue. The only downside that I can actually report is that since the bag is so roomy it is actually easy to over-pack it and end up with overweight luggage.  Something I really had to watch. It has held up well through twelve flights this year alone and I am really loving the spinner wheels rather than having to drag my luggage through the airport.  Though the spinner wheels need to be a bit bigger if they are going to adequately tackle European cobbles. All in all, I think I will be looking for a sale at Genius Pack to purchase their 21” carry-on spinner. They retail for $248USD and $288USD, which is pricey for luggage but I waited for a sale and got both pieces for about $200USD. Worth the price in my opinion.

Genius Pack Interior

Another new product that we tried out on this trip is the High Altitude Flight Bag. Also from Genius Pack, they say it is an “Innovative patented design wraps around the airplane seat so you have quick access to all your flight needs. Recharge your smartphone directly from the pack by integrating the Portable Mobile Charger. Designated compartments for your iPad, magazines, headphones & more.”  Bought this bag for Brett as a Christmas present and it didn’t really look like much. A small-ish black nylon bag that had a number of small compartments in the front zippered pouch and a larger back section that held a tablet, magazines, etc. And then we used it and it is so amazing.  Using the integrated straps it wraps around the tray table in front of you.  It does not in any way affect the use of the tray table and it keeps all of the little things you might wish to have handy in one place. Earplugs, headphones, my kindle, the latest copy of The New Yorker, mints, and candies, my iPad etc., etc., etc..  Absolutely awesome bag. It comes with a shoulder strap so you can carry it alone on the flight if you desire.  Never flying again without our High Altitude Bag. Though with USB charging stations at most seats I don’t think I would recommend buying the integrated mobile charger.

High Altitude Flight Bag

Something else I don’t think I am ever travelling without is a set of packing cubes. Wow, can you stay organized with these little suckers.  I packed all of my clothes save for a single sweater into three packing cubes to help organize my luggage better.  In the large cube I packed; 4 pairs of pants, 2 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of leggings.  In the medium cube; 2 button-down blouses, 2 t-shirts, 3 coloured long-sleeved tops, 2 sleeveless t’s, and 2 turtlenecks.  I am not a small girl and I was shocked at how much fit into these cubes. I didn’t pack the largest cube and the smallest one held scarves, a light jacket, and bathing suit and cover-up.  Shocked at how useful these were.  Held up to daily use and kept me organized.

My Pink Packing Cubes

Okay, so this is already longer than I really wanted so more about lessons later.  

Cheers,

Rachel

Ordinary Oradour

By the looks of any road map, Oradour-sur-Glane in the French countryside outside Limoges is just another small French town. It doesn’t even have a major road to get to it, just a secondary one.  By any description, it looks like it will be another ordinary French town, and could easily be bypassed, without actually missing anything important.  But Oradour hides a secret that you would never know unless you visited, or unless you are like my husband and I and are very much interested in WWII history.

On June 10, 1944, some say in retaliation for the storming of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, the small village of Oradour sur Glane, in the Haute-Vienne region of France, was the site of a massacre and war crime. The village had been far from any centre of conflict, was not, nor had ever been an active resistance stronghold. Yet on that Saturday, starting at about 2:00 PM, men from the Der Führer Regiment of the 2nd Waffen SS Panzer Division Das Reich, drove into Oradour and killed everyone that they could find, a total of 642 men, women and children. The village was then looted and every building, set on fire. To this day there is no universally agreed explanation as to why they chose Oradour for their attack. All the principal characters on the SS side are now dead and the few French survivors of the village were not given any clues by the troops as to why they were acting as they were.

The 2nd Waffen SS Panzer Division Das Reich sealed off Oradour-sur-Glane and ordered all the inhabitants – and anyone who happened to be in or near the town – to assemble in the village square to have their identity papers examined. The SS also arrested several people who did not even live in the village but merely happened to be riding their bicycles through when the SS unit arrived.

The women and children were locked in the church and the village was looted. The men were led to six barns and sheds, throughout the village, where machine guns were already in place.  According to a survivor's account, the SS men then began shooting, aiming for their legs. When victims were unable to move, the Nazis covered them with fuel and set the barns on fire. Only six men managed to escape. One of them was later seen walking down a road and was shot dead. In all, 190 village men died.

The SS men next proceeded to the church and placed explosive devices beside it. When it was ignited, the women and children tried to escape through the doors and windows, only to be met with machine-gun fire. 247 women and 205 children were murdered. The only survivor was 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche. She escaped through a rear sacristy window, followed by a young woman and child.  All three of them were shot, two of them fatally. Marguerite crawled to some bushes and remained hidden overnight until she was found and rescued the next morning. About twenty villagers had fled Oradour-sur-Glane as soon as the SS unit had appeared. That night, the village was partially razed.

The SS unit then spent the rest of the weekend and all day Monday trying to get rid of the evidence.  Bodies were so badly burned that almost none of the 642 victims would be identified, making mourning and closure impossible for their families.  

After the war, General Charles de Gaulle decided the village should never be rebuilt but would remain a memorial to the cruelty of the Nazi occupation. From my understanding, no one was ever really held accountable for the massacre.

The new village of Oradour-sur-Glane has a population of about 2,475 citizens, northwest of the site of the massacre, was built after the war. The ruins of the original village remain as a memorial to the dead and to represent similar sites and events, throughout France and Europe.  Massacres were routine when the SS was in town.

Today I visited the Centre de la mémoire d'Oradour, opened in 1999 by then French president Jacques Chirac, near the entrance to the martyred village. It is the only way into the village and helps to put the events leading up to June 10th, into perspective. The museum includes items recovered from the burned buildings, personal effects, pocket knives, sewing thimbles, children's toys, glass bottles melted from the fires, and watches stopped at the time their owners were burned alive.  Most powerfully someone has spent a great deal of time amassing pictures of the victims of the village and village life from around the time of June 10, 1944.  These pictures show a vibrant village, with weddings, store openings, cafe scenes, school pictures.  The most haunting pages are the blank ones, pages where no photographs of a victim could be found, these empty frames call to mind what was lost here.

I feel today like I have come full circle.  I started this trip on the Normandy beaches, and have mostly finished in a haunting site that exists as a retaliation for the victory so richly purchased in Normandy.  And yet there is the constant question about the lessons we should have learned from these two places and seem to either failed to heed or have completely forgotten. How did so many lose their lives fighting a regime of hate and bigotry without a single lesson learned that showed any staying power? What will it take before we learn to live together regardless of our religion, our political view, our sexual orientation, or colour?  How many more will have to die?

Rachel