Big Rides: The Size of Life @ 2009 North American International Auto Show – Part 2
February 17, 2009 11:36 amThe Size Of Life featured on TravelCommons Podcast
February 10, 2009 3:08 pm
A while back, I began writing a series of articles about flying as a Big & Tall man. I sent off a note to Mark Peacock over at TravelCommons asking if he had any tips for the best seats on planes, etc. Mark sent us a big shoutout on his TravelCommons Podcast #71 and let us in on a little tip… the window seat of the second exit row of an Airbus A319 as configured on United airlines is the best seat to stretch your legs. Looks like Frontier Airlines also has this setup on their A319, according to seatguru. I had stated in Part 1 of the Flying the (Big & Tall) Friendly Skies series that the Airbus A319/A320 had the most room in standard seating for Big & Tall guys, but have never noticed that seat in all my time on Airbus craft. We appreciate Mark’s shoutout and look forward to attempting to snag one of those great seats in the future!
I’ve been listening to TravelCommons since 2005 and have listened to every show Mark has ever produced. If you are a frequent business traveler looking for tips and tricks of the trade, subscribe to TravelCommons. I no longer travel regularly for business, but I find Mark’s common sense approach still helps to make my personal travel just that much more efficient and enjoyable.
Thanks, Mark!
Big Rides: 2009 North American International Auto Show – Part 1
February 5, 2009 3:32 pmPart 1: Introduction / Cars
Show Floor
The 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit was, as always, a fantastic time. It was my second visit to the Detroit Auto Show and, despite the down economy, was still impressive… though not as much as last year.
When I began researching for this article, I felt that I couldn’t write a “Top 10″ style post. I was convinced (and still am) that my personal bias towards a certain type of vehicle or certain lifestyle would sneak in. I do my best to not allow that to happen when doing any kind of review, but keeping a clear mind when testing something made by a company that has left you with bad experiences in the past is hard to do.
Full disclosure: I had a terrible run with some American vehicles during their bad era, but I see them doing great things these days, so I’m very open to what they’ve put on the market in the last few years. Also, I tend to be an active and outdoorsy type person, so vehicles with higher functionality for those types of activities will always be at the top of my list. I also like sporty vehicles with more power than any one person usually needs, so that tends to create higher fuel costs. All that being said, I think I kept bias (mostly) away from these recommendations and hope that big guys will find them helpful.
The criteria with which I judged vehicles pretty much stems from my experience of owning and driving vehicles of all shapes and sizes… So take it that I am not an expert, I’m just very picky. Some very specific things that I look at when judging vehicles are the following: ease of entry/exit, does the emergency brake handle location interfere with comfort, will the car’s upper windshield line be high enough to view stoplights and overhead highway signs, is my shoulder and hip room limited due to plastics in the vehicle, etc. I could go on with these, but I think you get the idea.
So, in part 1, we’ll go ahead and take a look at the cars that I felt would best accommodate big & tall men. Please keep in mind that I wasn’t able to review EVERY car at the show… there were many with long lines that we didn’t have time to wait through or that just don’t really fit in with the target audience of big guys. Also, we avoided cars over a certain price point or anything that just didn’t fit the mold. Some manufacturers we’d like to have spent more time with were Hyundai, Jaguar and Nissan/Infinity. The cars we were most interested in with Hyundai (Genesis coupe and sedan) had long lines and we ran out of time trying to get a seat on one, as was the case with Jaguar. Nissan North American (which includes Infinity) did not have a booth at the auto show this year.
2009 Chevy Malibu
If we were doing a top ten, the Malibu would definitely be in contention for the top spot. Great interior build quality, seats and rear seat accommodations make this a value leader for the big and tall man. The rear seats have special molded plastic cut-ins that allow for more legroom for rear seat passengers while still allowing the big guy in the front to have enough room to be comfortable.
2010 Buick LaCrosse (speculative edition!)
We haven’t sat in it yet, but the new Buick LaCrosse is based on an evolution of the same chassis as the current Malibu. A GM rep on the show floor confirmed that the LaCrosse is just as spacious, if not more, than the current Malibu. The reason we speculate and go ahead and add it to the list is that I feel like it looks phenomonal and will be offered with all wheel drive in a configuration that will cost less than $45,000 MSRP. This is where I want my bailout money being spent.
Volkswagen Passat Komfort
This mid-sized car offers big room and comfort. Thinking about a Cadillac just on size? Don’t bother… the Passat Komfort has more room for the driver than the Cadillac STS and is significantly cheaper.
2009 Volkswagen Rabbit 4 door
This little car was a huge surprise! I fit in it well enough to drive it to work everyday and then some. Very little room left for rear-seat passenger, but definitely worth a closer look. This car was even more comfortable than the Mazda3, which made our list below.
2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI
Good enough, not great, but a good compromise for fuel mileage and cargo.
2009 Audi A8L
This car is huge… and hugely expensive. It has all the right equipment, of course, but the price point for this vehicle is outrageous. Starting at just over $74,000, the price is insane. Stand up and take note, Cadillac: You can build a car this good for $45,000. In fact, you already do… It’s called the STS. But the interior is laid out poorly. Borrow the engineers who designed the interior of the Chevy Malibu for a few minutes and get that sorted out.
2009 Mazda 3
It’s just big enough. Adequate, efficient. I wouldn’t want to be a rear seat passenger behind me in this car… but lots of cargo room in a small package and a great daily driver. I had one of these as a rental car on vacation in Colorado this past summer and the interior of the 2009 model is largely unchanged from the one I drove. You couldn’t put a large passenger behind the driver’s seat with a big guy at the wheel, but it can carry 4 in relative comfort including a few big guys up front without too much trouble. I spent 6 hours per day in this car a few times while we were out and about in Rocky Mountain National Park and while it’s not perfect, it certainly does a fantastic job for the money. Fuel mileage is good and the starting price is even better.
Subaru Forester XT Turbo
We’ve never been very impressed with the Subuaru lineup, they’ve always been more cramped than they should be. Tribeca and forester just OK, but not great. There are just always always a few minor things keeping a subaru from being good for the big guy. The Forester XT Turbo, however, takes it to the next level and should be considered. It has adequate room and a few more amenities for big and tall men (such as a telescopic steering wheel, better seats) that other models lack. According to a Subaru rep on the show floor that I spoke with, Subaru has heard these cries and is increasing the size of the new Legacy… it has rear seat cut ins like malibu and BMW X5 for added room for rear seat passengers as well as more room up front for the driver.
A note about Honda…
In recent years, Honda’s cars have gotten bigger and heavier while the interior volume for a big guy has shrank. I haven’t found a current model yet that I fit properly (except one, as I explain in just a moment). If you can find a Honda you fit in comfortably for the long haul, buy it. The legendary reliability is no myth, I’ve owned 3 Honda Civics and they are excellent values…. but until their designers realize that not everyone is under six feet tall and weighs less than 200lbs, they only vehicle they will sell me is a Honda Element… which we discuss in Part 2 of this series!
Continue to Part 2 of this series… Trucks, SUV’s and CUV’s.
Post-Holiday madness!
January 7, 2009 4:05 pmObnoxiously Big & Tall – Novelty shirts for the Big Guy.
December 29, 2008 2:22 pm
For years, the funny tshirts at tshirthell.com come up as an occasional, if not redundant, source of humor. Every once in a while, someone will send me a link to a funny shirt on their site. Most of the time, I spend about 10 minutes on the site laughing profusely at the obnoxious t-shirts and move on with life.
Recently, I noticed a shirt I actually wouldn’t mind having for once. So, in my normal skeptical fashion, I dig through the sizes… and wow! They carry big and tall sizes! And wow, they do it in a big way!
Beefy Tee to 5X, Vintage Tee up to 4X, Jersey 3/4 Sleeve up to 4XL, Men’s Hoodies to 3XL, and most importantly for the truly Big & Tall… Tall Tees up to 5XL-Tall! Check out their sizing chart for a full list of sizes.
Also, they have an affiliates program, so I’ve signed up as a click-through affiliate and a little money will go towards the website if you click through from here and buy a shirt.
Happy Holidays!
December 24, 2008 1:08 pmNFL tackle Ryan Sims on shopping Big & Tall
December 11, 2008 10:46 amTampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Ryan Sims was interviewed in a recent article in The Saint Petersburg Times where he briefly discussed being Big & Tall and shopping for clothes that fit. After reading the article, I felt it necessary to share a few excerpts.
Ryan Sims
He starts out by saying something that I’ve always believed, but “sloppy” is a pretty broad term.
This is a weekly question: What Web site do you think you visit most?
Anything that has to do with movies and shopping. That’s my thing. I like to see what movies are new and about to come out. And with shopping, I like to say I’m the fliest guy over 300 (pounds) in the league. I have to represent for the big guys. We’re not all big and sloppy.
One person’s “sloppy” is another person’s “acceptable”. A guy in a suit might think a guy in a hoodie and jeans is “sloppy”, even if he was a clean cut and well groomed man. Every man’s dress and style are different, and differentiating big and sloppy from clean cut is completely a matter of perspective. A perfect example of this is Comedian Drew Hastings. Hastings is not a big guy, but at six foot five he certainly fits the tall category and would be damn hard to find a suit for in a normal shop.
Drew Hastings
This guy dresses in very classic, well cut suits and does a great job of accessorizing with classic British and American menswear styling. Occasionally he goes overboard with the ascot or some other piece of flair, but more or less he’s a style icon and should be respected as so. Except guess what… he’s sloppy. He’s tall, probably slouches a lot (as I always do) and is generally sloppy looking. His hair makes him sloppy, but he still looks good. Big and sloppy? In the eye of the beholder. Back to the interview.
Okay, as for your stylish side, how would you describe your style?
Well, I think my swagger level is up there on the same level as Diddy or James Bond. I try to keep it fresh. I see what the little guys are wearing and see if I can get it in my size.
I don’t know about the swagger comment, so I’m just going to leave that alone. It’s a word I’ve been hearing a lot lately, and it’s the branding used on a new line of pimp-daddy wannabe Old Spice deodorant products. The commercials are amusing for a half-second, after which they become annoying and redundant.
Anyhow, the second part of his comment is key. He takes a look at what the “little guys” are wearing and goes on the hunt to see if he can find an equivalent in his size. I’m not the most fashionable person in the world, but if I see a style or look that I like in a magazine, I’ve been known to attempt to duplicate it using what I can find in my own wardrobe or at the big and tall store. This is something a lot of big and tall guys tend to forget… there are options. Perhaps they’re not always easy (or cheap), but you can and will find good clothes in your size if you try. Sometimes jeans and a sweatshirt is just fine. Sometimes you need to dress better than that, and you can if you just look around a little.
Speaking of looking around a little…
So, how hard is it for big guys to shop?
It’s real tough. The big-and-tall store is really for like the 45-year-old white guy. You just have to search. A lot of stuff I wear, other big guys will ask me, “Yo, where did you get that?” It’s just from doing a lot of work searching on the Internet. Luckily, my feet are kind of small. I can wear a 13. So, I can get me a pair of Guccis or Louis (Vuittons).
The image that the big and tall store is really for the “45-year-old white guy” is an image that Casual Male XL (and other stores that cater to our size) has noticeably been trying to break for a number of years. Although there are days when I’d like to slap the person making marketing and purchasing decisions over there sometimes, they appear to be trying.
The latest collection of printed t shirts on Casual Male XL site are pretty decent. They’ve been offering limited run shirts of decent bands, beers and other pop culture type things for some time now.
There are a lot of new places that are expanding their maximum sizes and knowing where to look is where most people get lost. Recently I’ve discovered a few new places to buy big & tall clothing which we’ll discuss in the next week or so in an upcoming article. My plan is to bring each new discovery of sources of big & tall clothes to you on this site, so stay tuned.
As a twenty-something big and tall guy looking for decent clothes, shoes, etc. I can see where Sims is coming from… but the big and tall stores aren’t all bad (or good for that matter). He might be a little off base on the whole Gucci and Louis Vuitton shoes thing for the average guy, but he is right on one thing: You’ve got to work a lot harder to find what you want as a big guy, no matter what you are buying. Making that just a little bit easier is why I created this site.
Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome… send us an email at tim@sizeoflife.com or drop us a line in the comments section.
Of all the things I do to prepare for a trip, by far the most stressful (to me) is actually researching my route and purchasing the ticket. The reason I have so many issues with this portion of the process is attempting to route flights to and from my destination through a halfway decent layover point (if necessary) on planes I’m comfortable riding in. This can prove challenging at best, but a few key websites can be really helpful in this area.
Researching and booking flights
Two of my go-to websites that are very helpful are Kayak and SeatGuru.
Kayak is a travel site that lets you select destinations, dates, times and a myriad of other options to help you plan your route. It is less traditional than most travel sites because it even draws information from other larger travel booking services. Kayak does not have it’s own travel booking service, it’s simply a search engine for the best price on travel and has some really great features to help you nail down the perfect travel schedule for the big and tall guy.
I’ll try to be brief, but a few of the great things about Kayak are it’s ability to show you pretty much up-front (after hitting the details button) on your flight search what kind of plane you will be riding on (so you can beware of the dreaded CRJ Regional Jet or the much hated D95 Narrow-body Jet). Also, it allows you to modify and narrow your focus on departure and arrival times, layover time and location, as well as many other great things.
A site I use that is always open in another browser tab or window is SeatGuru. If you are unfamiliar with your plane or flight, SeatGuru is an absolute must to help you plan and prepare for your trip. SeatGuru has seating layouts and information on most major airlines and their floor plans for each type of airplane (example pictured below). This can be particularly helpful during the booking or check-in process when selecting your seats. Some of the great little details of SeatGuru is the lengths they go to detail seat comfort. From “lacking legroom” for whatever reason to “next to a commonly drafty window in this type of plane, don’t sit here if you get cold easily”, SeatGuru never fails to provide me with the knowledge I need to book my flight with confidence.
A huge part of the hassle and annoyance of travel is just making it through security and getting to my departure gate. The travel experience can be a real downer if things don’t move along quickly and efficiently. While doing some business travel for a company I used to work for and searching for tips on efficient travel, I discovered the TravelCommons Podcast. Although I don’t travel for business much these days, I do like to travel for leisure. Finding ways to reduce stress and hassle at the is a huge help, as flying is generally an uncomfortable experience for the big & tall. The TravelCommons Podcast discusses a wide range of topics relating to frequent travel, it’s perils, technology that travels well and how to overcome tough situations on the road. If you’re a frequent traveler, or even an occasional traveler looking for tips on how to make your next travel experience less painful, give the TravelCommons Podcast a try.
In defense of layovers…
When researching and booking my trip, I use the sites mentioned above to get myself the best big guy-friendly seating and planes. Unfortunately, your destination requires a few bad planes along the way and there is no avoiding it. If such an occasion arises, take a layover to stretch your legs (and you may get a bit of a discount on the flight, too). Layovers really don’t bother me, as I’ve already convinced myself that the day is lost to travel. Once I accept that a two hour layover isn’t really going to make much of a difference, I take advantage of that time to stretch my legs and relax in the large seats at the gate. I usually enjoy this time, mostly on longer 2-3 hour layovers as it gives me a chance to get some “real” food as well as use the restroom without worrying about people waiting or having to fold myself in half just to fit in the tiny bathroom.
On the other hand, I do appreciate direct flights within the continental U.S. if they are held to around 4 or 5 hours… but only if I’ve got a decent seat on one of my “preferred” planes, as referenced in Part 1 of this series “Choosing your plane wisely.”
In Part 3 of this series, we’ll talk about seating and boarding. Have any travel tips, stories or experiences for your fellow Big & Tall man? Drop us a line in the comments section or at email us at tim@sizeoflife.com.
2009 North American International Auto Show
November 25, 2008 11:40 am
I attended the show last year for the first time and really enjoyed the opportunity to get inside the automobiles and evaluate so many all in one place. Having some metrics by which to compare these vehicles would be handy, so we’re going to work on that in the coming month, as well as focusing on models and brands where we’d like to spend the most time.
If you have suggestions, ideas, or a specific vehicle you’d like to request that we review? Email to tim@sizeoflife.com or leave it in the comments section below.
In a few news articles released today, Jack Black expanded on some comments regarding difficulty finding a tux due to his size made at a black tie affair in honor of his friend and “Tropic Thunder” co-star Ben Stiller.
Jack Black (Image from Wikipedia)
During an opening for the ceremony, which honored Stiller for the Museum of the Moving Image, Black stated that he had been shopping for a Tuxedo and was snubbed by Bergdorf Goodman and walked to a nearby Rochester Big & Tall where he was apparently very well taken care of. From Fox News Article:
After a weirdly stiff video greeting from Tom Cruise, Jack Black kicked off the show by announcing that he’d been rejected by Bergdorf Goodman while tuxedo shopping when they measured his neck. “Eighteen a half inches! It’s too big for this store. You might want to go down the block. I walked three blocks to the big and tall store where I was welcomed with loving arms by my people!”
(In fact, Jack went to Rochester’s.)
In an article just posted to People.com a few hours ago, Black expanded on the subject a bit:
“The lady there was like, ‘Your neck … it’s too big. It’s too big for this store! I’m sorry Jack Black, but you might want to go to Big and Tall.’ “
“My face became flushed with humiliation and shame,” he continued, his speech taking on all the makings of a comedy routine.
The truth hurts, and when being dealt this blow at a later age it can be a bit rougher on people. Depending on your mentality, experiencing this “humiliation and shame” can be a real bummer when shopping for anything as a big and tall guy. You tend to get the “try the Big & Tall store” line a lot when shopping for clothes and shoes.
After a while, it can become downright insulting to hear from the average height / weight person working retail hell that “they can’t help you” when in fact, in most cases, they just don’t want to. I’m sure I’ve experienced my fair share of thinly veiled discrimination and failed to recognize it… however most of the time, they are being honest.
It’s very good to see an actor/musician talk openly and publicly about the challenges and struggles that many of us share. To do so in such a favorable light with the media is rare, and I felt it was important to highlight this as it may go largely unseen by the Big & Tall guys who don’t happen to follow entertainment news.
