Thanks - yes, I do wear compression socks when I fly but I really dislike them. I made sure not to get them too tight but they are just uncomfortable to me. I just saw the Facebook ad and then did some googling and reviewing on Reddit and they look interesting. They do run on a lithium battery so you have to take any extras on the plane with you. I don’t know if I’m allowed to link a product or not, it didn’t mention it in the FAQ so this post may get deleted. https://www.recoveryfirefly.com/
I’m no help. I’ve only worn compression socks on one trip - a 15.5 hour flight to New Zealand (OK, maybe 2 - I don’t remember if I wore them on our way back). I can fly from the east coast to Hawaii without problem, but figured it was a good idea when we went to NZ. I wore my husband’s and maybe they weren’t tight enough. My ankles were a little bigger than normal, but fine.
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Thanks everyone for your help on renting a place.
I found a place but it rented in the 1/2 hour that I sent the listing to my daughter for her approval. Everything happens for a reason, she decided she would like to be on the lake instead of in town so we rented another place.
Nothing is perfect, this place doesn’t have ac but it’s northern Michigan on a lake. In September. Should be fine!
The host only had 2 reviews on this place but he is a super host and had lots of great reviews for his other rentals. Never did find that he has another website. Rented through Airbnb.
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Question for you flyers…I have compression socks. BUT I also have THREE sets of those compression things they give you when you have surgery…you wrap them around your calves and the things compress and release.
Wondering if those might be a good thing for my 18 hour plane ride?
Sounds like a miniature TENS device…
Wow I just posted a question about this a few posts up on this thread. How do you like them? I’m looking at usig them for a long flight to Europe but wanted to see if anyone on here had used them. What did you think?
How long would they stay charged?
I do not think the compress/release things are right for a long trip…hoping someone else has an opinion. I will say, they are sort of bulky.
Honestly, I’m not sure how long they stay charged, but I have THREE sets. I think they stayed charged for an out six hours. And most international flights have power outlets.
I just read about them and they don’t exactly do what compression socks do. The things you get after surgery that compress and release are really to prevent blood clots.
And I think compression socks are to help reduce swelling.
Anyone know?
They say they are only good for 30 hours and they are not rechargable and no replacement batteries, you buy new - so, not cheap as I think they are around $60 (that may be for the starter pack which includes more, not sure. I’ll see if I can dig around more on the internet.
That is what these are for - to stimulate the nerve that makes the muscles contract and blood flow. They are for medical, athletes, and sedentary times.
I have three sets of these, but not with the heat function. I’m not sure they are are for air travel…
Oh my, that’s some system. The Firefly is a small strip that sits on top of the nerve. Kind of like a giant band aid. It goes under your slacks on your shin or wherever that nerve is (looks like just below the knee). It is also lithium battery powered and once started only lasts 30 hours and can’t be recharged.
I actually have a set of the leg massagers that I do use (it does your feet as well) when I get really tired and feel like my circulation just isn’t moving much. The heat doesn’t work very well, if at all but the pressure gets pretty strong - I can’t do high. But these are not for an airplane.
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I wear compression leg sleeves as soon as I start wearing sandals (early for me–I like to wiggle my toes). Can post a photo if desired.
Nothing compares to this:
https://www.rei.com/product/227762/hyperice-normatec-3-legs
But is NOT for plane use.
We have something like that at our house but have never traveled with it.
My daughter just wore compression socks on her 19+ hour direct flight to Singapore. At first she didn’t put them on but then randomly stretched her legs and got the worst Charlie horse of her life. I texted her to try the socks and her legs felt better after that. She put them on right away for the flight home.
Also on her flight, use of anything with a lithium battery was forbidden, so no portable chargers or anything else that contained a lithium battery. They made the announcement several times.
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I don’t have a recommendation for compression socks, but based on my experience going from Boston to Auckland, New Zealand, wear something to prevent your feet from swelling. I didn’t and also made the mistake of taking off my shoes. I couldn’t fit my feet into them when we landed.
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No idea about the kind of compression socks that they supply in hospitals. Are they battery powered?
I wear compressions socks by Sockwell, Bombas, and Cloudline. I love the Cloudline Merino wool hiking socks. I wore them on the plane to Asia and will wear them back again. Then to London a couple of days later.
I have compression socks and my DH has some compression things he has used for running. When packing for a long trip, I try to keep bulky things to a minimum.
I am back from my Yosemite Road Scholar solo trip and overall am very glad for the experience. My top expectations were to see Yosemite for the first time, and take tons of pictures, and those expectations were fully met.
Going solo was absolutely the correct choice - husband would not have been happy. The extensive time on buses (my body is still buzzing) and some of the sub-par food and lodging issues would have made him quite unhappy. And noisy. I was happy to make all my own choices and decisions and changes of plans etc.
It was a group of 22 and there were about a half dozen women solo; the rest couples. For the most part everyone was very friendly and many of them were extremely well traveled. I thought I made one friend but realized too late (she joined me for my single dinner reservation at the Lodge) that she was extremely annoying - a non stop complainer about almost everything. So after that I tried to take her only in smaller doses.
The best and worst of the trip were outside Road Scholar’s direct control (although I wasn’t very impressed with the group leader). The actual program experiences were great - we had a very wonderful (albeit almost too erudite) Yosemite Conservancy ranger - Paul has been there 30 years and people knew him everywhere we went. I did two independent programs which were worthwhile- the Night Sky (where we laid down in a field and let our eyes adjust to the stars and coincidentally led by Paul), and a Valley Tour on an open tram. Even though it went to the same places I had already been twice by bus, it was fantastic to see in the open air.
All of my experiences seeing the sights of Yosemite were great - stunning place; I will slowly post on the photo thread as I download and go through my hundreds of pictures. Because of the timing of our excursions, I wasn’t able to experiment with lighting at different times of day, filters, tripod pictures, etc. But Yosemite is so beautiful that even plain old daytime pictures are impressive.
I had low expectations for food and those were met. I didn’t realize that we had fixed meals in most instances (no choices). Otoh, I lost 3.3 pounds. Part of that was from walking - I am not really an exerciser and walked over 20 miles in four days, which is a lot for me. (That does not count arrival and departure time and airport walking.)
I also had low expectations for the lodging, having read reviews of the Yosemite Valley Lodge, which were also met. It’s a stellar location, best possible for this tour, but Aramark does not do a good job with cleanliness and staff efficiency.
I do not at all regret going on this trip. But the experience would make me wary of other escorted trips which in effect make you captive to a location - where neither you nor the trip provider have many choices for lodging and dining.
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