A fresh article on the USA Today website, “Smaller jets squeeze big and tall fliers“, caught my attention this morning as I was digging through my daily news feeds.  I especially like this part, which I find to be quite interesting…

Macsata says airlines’ “fat tax” overlooks the fact that seat size hasn’t kept up with increasing girth. From 1960 to 2002, Americans have become on average of about 25 pounds heavier. The typical seat width — at 17 inches to 18.5 inches — hasn’t changed since 1958, he says.

They haven’t changed the seat geometry since 1958?  Wow.  Not only does that make it tough for Big and Tall flyers, it also just goes to show that they really aren’t working much on the ergonomics of the seats…  which is something that has probably advanced quite a bit since 1958.  No wonder I’m stiff when I walk off the plane.  Ow.

There are a few good tips in here, which have been mentioned on this site before in our travel series:

Tealer has simple strategies for air travel: book as early as possible; fly during less-busy hours, such as early in the morning or overnight; and avoid exit and emergency rows where armrests don’t go up.

But there’s something in here that I’d like to specifically address, especially as a tall person, that I believe is not true:

SeatGuru’s Daimler says legroom in regional jets isn’t less on average than on mainline aircraft. But the ceiling is lower, and the aisle is narrower. “There is a feeling of being tighter overall. For those sitting in window seats, the wall curves earlier.”

If I fly Northwest out of Port Columbus International to the west, I usually end up on a Canadair regional jet to Minneapolis where I lay over and hop on a bigger plane to head to points west (Omaha, Salt Lake City, etc).  I’ve spent my fair share of time on them, and I disagree with the above statement.  I think you feel tighter overall because you ARE tighter overall, especially in the legroom department.  Go take measurements from the seat to the back of the upright and locked seatback in front of you on a Canadair CRJ-900 and then do that same measurement on an Airbus A320 variant.  I haven’t done this, but I’m guessing there’s a difference…  Sure, narrow armrests add to an overall feeling of discomfort…  but when my knee will literally not fit in the regional jet, but has enough room to wiggle around on an A320?  Yeah, there’s a difference.

I have to admit that I often consider driving anywhere (and often do end up driving there) if it’s less than 500 miles.  By the time I drive to the airport (1.5 hours), trudge through security (30 minutes to 2 hours), fly there (1-2 hours+), de-board and grab my luggage, rent a car (another 1-2 hours) and drive to my destination, I’m already at a point where I could have done 400-500 miles in that day in a car with a lot less stress (depending on traffic) and a lot more freedom to do as I please.

Regardless, air travel is a necessary evil that I often fight, but I’m always taking notes on a way to make the experience better for me and for those who would have to sit near me on the plane.

Comments, questions or otherwise?  Leave us a note in the comments section below!

Categories: Big & Tall Lifestyle, News, Travel
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A while back, I was listening in to a tech podcast of some kind with the ever famous podcaster Leo Laporte, as well as one of my favorite characters, Chicago Sun-Times technology columnist Andy Ihnatko.

Andy, for some reason, had made a point to mention about his favorite new pants.  Sounds weird, I know, but I was intrigued.  Upon a little more investigation, it revealed some pretty interesting information as well as an observation I should have already made.  That observation is that manufacturers of tactical clothing for police and military are forced to carry a wide and varying amount of sizes to appease the needs of those government agencies.  And they also sell them to the general public.

Andy Ihnatko was specifically mentioning a company by the name of 5.11 Tactical and what he referred to as his Internet Tactical Pants.  You can take a look at their selection by clicking the following link:

5.11 Tactical Big and Tall Section

Andy Ihnatko, explaining the origin of the “Internet Tactical Pants”:

Look at all the crap he packs into those in this video!  Unreal.

Further exploration of 5.11 Tactical’s website reveals a pretty decent big and tall section, although some amount of ordering and trying things on may be necessary to figure out what your actual size is with these folks.  I haven’t ordered from them yet, but I intend to, and I plan to let you know how it goes.

A few things of note:

Pants aren’t the only thing they sell…  5.11 Tactical appears to have a selection of Polo Shirts ranging up to 5XL-Tall as well as other shirts, undergear and other big and tall items.

Some of the pants, specifically the ripstop nylon variant of the Tactical Pant, come in sizes like “XXXL” rather than standard waist inch measurements.  Your mileage will definitely vary with these, so do your research.

The 5.11 Tactical pant in most big sizes is only available with an unhemmed inseam/length.  This can be challenging for those with a “normal” inseam of 32″ or less, however this could be seen as an opportunity to get that custom fit by having them hemmed at your local tailor.

Personally, I see this as an advantage…  I ride motorcycles and pant legs tend to be too short once I’m sitting on the bike and feeling the wind hit my ankles because my pants are not long enough to reach down there once seated on the bike.

All needs aside, this looks like an excellent new source for Big & Tall clothing that fits an active lifestyle (or particular career) and I hope to be trying their products out soon.  Once I have an idea of how their sizing fits me, I hope to report back and give a review once they’ve seen some action.

Categories: Apparel / Clothing, Big & Tall Lifestyle
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