Lewbronski

Eating airport, (most) restaurant, and hotel food for half the week until age 65 will dramatically increase your chances for diseases of lifestyle like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, etc and will take years off your life. But, to each his own. I choose to mitigate that risk by bringing my own food because I’ve seen and heard how bad it can be to slowly die in those ways. Sure, we’re all going to die somehow, some day. I prefer to minimize the chances of dying earlier than I need to in those ways. That’s cool if you don’t have the same preference.

at6d

I’ve seen many pilots with a Strongbags cooler. The most common complaint is having to carry too many bags. Finding a cooler with dry space for headsets and such is the challenge.

ZapBrannigan

I don’t understand how the headache bag works. I fill it with ice, but it still doesn’t seem to be cold enough to keep food cold if there wasn’t a fridge in the hotel the night before.

Guess I need to ask one of the FAs to show me.

I agree re: the dry space problem. I bought a lunchbox cooler at Costco and I’ve been using that. Still carying 3 bags, but the lunchbox can go in my suitcase once it’s empty.


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Karnak

I carry a Johnny Quest metal lunch box (with thermos), stuffed with Space Food Sticks and Tang.

Std Deviation

The fact that a large percentage of the pilot population is out of shape and overweight says that the guys squawking about carting food aren’t buying salads three meals a day. Healthy issues aside, I get tired of the Sysco mass processed crap dumped from a can into a warmer and thrown on a plate. Even that “healthy chicken” on the salad got pumped with preservatives and got pulled from a frozen zip lock bag a week ago. As a guy with culinary training and a passion for BBQ and cooking I can rock some pretty good meals. But yeah, without a fridge about 2 days is all the travel I get.

e6bpilot

I have the LW cooler tote combo which is not great at being either.
I bring 2 meals and some fruit with me. I figure it saves $30 a trip and I consume less crap than I would otherwise.
I am considering the jump to a bigger cooler (third bag) but I don’t know if I want the extra luggage.
To each their own.

ZapBrannigan

I have an Aerocoast flight bag which I love.

So I’m thinking of getting this Aerocoast cooler bag.

https://www.**************/aerocoast...t-bag-395.html

Looks great but again, where do I keep my dry items like headsets, ball cap, first aid kit, flashlight, Passport and other junk that I carry with me?

Also looks like it needs an accessory to attach a water bottle holder to the side.

E6BPilot - What folds do you pack and how do you keep them cold at night if there’s no fridge in the room?

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Zard

I’ve got the strongbags cooler. I toss two cooler shock lunch freezer packs in there. Shoving those against the back of a fridge (with no freezer) set on max will freeze them up for the next day. If that doesn’t work I can always toss them in a bucket full of ice prior to heading out the next day and then throw them in the bag.

I usually grill up some flank steaks or pork tenderloins and throw fruit, carrots, hummus, and protein bars in my bag. The bag fits outboard of the FO seat.

I toss a backpack for my headset and iPad and random commuting crap on the handle and hang my food bag off the j hook. It hits the spot when a PM slides or Skeds hooks me up with one of those -9 minute MDW turns. I’m still figuring out what to pare down. The downside is it doesn’t carry the EFB or my headset conveniently....hence the backpack.

e6bpilot

I always freeze my meals prior to packing them. This goes a long way in maintaining a cold environment in the bag for the first day. This also helps keep produce and salads cold.
If there is no fridge, I refill my ice bag (Walmart headache bag size large) before I go to bed and when I wake up. I put it on top of the food. That generally does a decent job of keeping stuff cool. If I have a lot of bulk or I am concerned, I will put extra ice in a plastic baggie or trash bucket liner in there.
All my food is generally gone by the second day since I only pack two meals. The fruit can be kept under questionable refrigeration since it is fruit and it will survive just fine. Sometimes I bring yogurt or hummus as well and it always stays cold enough that I am not concerned.
For breakfast I generally bring healthy instant oatmeal or steal Belvita bars from the plane if I forget. I supplement with blueberries from home. The oatmeal can be prepared in a microwave or if I am on an AM I get hot water from the coffee pot.
If I am near a Trader Joe’s or grocery store, I will generally pick up a salad or other healthy, easy meal while I am out on a walk.
Being Houston based, I do run into the unfortunate situation of going through customs a lot. In that case, I plan accordingly.

None of this is to say that I don’t fall into the airline pilot trap of getting a fatty Airport lunch, but by packing meals and forcing myself to eat them since I hate wasting food, I definitely cut down on those instances.

There have been a few times where I have thrown away food if I felt it got too warm for too long or if it somehow makes it to day 3 and I don’t feel comfortable with it.

bitatasg

I’ve had this rtic cooler for 6 months. It ain’t small, but it keeps my stuff cold. It fits outboard of the FO seat nicely. They have a sale occasionally for $80.

https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/coo...ft-Pack-20-Tan

Oh yeah, I bring most of my own food so I don’t end up looking like 90% of you.

Thanks.