Hi all, I'm leaving tomorrow for a weeklong conference and will bring some coffee and gear with me. I'll be in a hotel and doubt I'll have anything beyond the minimum room stuff.

Plan on taking:
-lideux w plastic catch jar
-aero press
-small immersion heater
-coffee
-AP scoop (approx 18g)
- non digital meat thermometer

Questions:
- able fine disk or paper filters?
- what can I bring for a cup ?
- can I reuse a plastic bag w a valve w different coffee?

I bought some stump town from the corner store and it doesn't come in a good bag (paper bag with no foil lining and not heat sealed). I want to reuse a better bag (for example, I like the mountain air roasting bags)

Trying to keep items and weight down to a minimum.

Any tips from experienced travelers welcome

For a cup, I'd recommend a steel double walled thermos. I'm typically on the go for trips, so it works great. If you use the inverted method, it can be a great "kettle" for the hot water. If you like the regular method, it's best to bring 2 thermoses. Just make sure the aeropress brew area fits within the thermos you bring.

BTW, 18g (approx) seems high. I get between 14 and 16g, but I guess that is why a lot of posts end in "YMMV."

Paper filters equals less clean up, which I appreciate when on the road. I bring a tiny gram scale, but then again I am anal like that.

Metal thermos cups stand up best to abuse, but plastic ones are lighter. I often bring the latter when I am aeropressing.

I tend to carry more items than is necessary, including:

• small scale
  compact quick read digital thermometer
  3 oz stainless espresso "pitcher" for dosing
  bamboo spoon for stirring
  paper filters with an Able disk fine as backup

If you use a scoop at home, by all means pack one. I have one in my travel kit, but never use it-probably because I don't use the ones I have at home. I usually just use the thermometer once or twice per trip to gauge how close to boil I want to take the water (or how long I want to wait post-boil before pouring). I also find cleanup easiest with the paper filters, but have had to use the backup metal disk on a couple trips after running out of paper filters.

While I travel with a double-walled stainless cup, it isn't necessarily the best tool for the job-unless you also need a vessel for heating your water in. With an inverter AP method, you can heat water in the cup, then press coffee into the same vessel. Pretty slick. Just make sure the mouth of whatever you use is wide enough for the AP.

thanks for the tips all--I didn't bring a scale since I only have the hario and it is not only too expensive (should my luggage take a big hit) but too big for my tiny carry on. I tried to bring bare bones essentials...

Anyways, at hotel and there are only paper cups but they look sturdy. Have some bottled water hand and am tempted to brew a cup. Will the paper hold or should I walk the mile to the grocery store to find something sturdier? I might try a really coarse grind and longer steep...

Do a "blank" press (only water, or even dry). Should give you an idea on the cup's sturdiness. Probably worth it to ask the front desk about a cup too.

Thanks! It ended up working fine (with the paper cups) with a coarse (1+8 on the Lideux...perhaps beyond FP) and a 3:30 steep time...a bit thin but it was in the ballpark.

Asked hotel for a (ceramic) cup but they were tiny so I just walked to a Walgreen's a bought a $2 cappuccino cup. I'll just leave it here when I'm done.

Okay, over and out