Inevitability

There comes a time in every young mans life when the inevitable question arises: how do I pack my French press so that it will survive a trip by plane without shattering?

For the sake of all men, I took it upon me to explore how this possibly disastrous turn of events could be avoided. Unsurprisingly, it turns out duct tape will once again save the day. Heres how:



Step 1:
First, wrap some kind of cloth around the piston-rod. I used a scarf. I then proceeded to stuff all of it into a heavy-wool sock. Note: unscrew the filter and put it in the bottom of the pot before doing anything else.

Once this is done, insert the sock-clad piston into the pot. The idea is for it to be a tight fit, so that the structure is supported from within. Granted, there isn't much give in glass, but somehow it feels sturdier (and you are also not wasting any space!).

Step 2:
This is where it gets exciting!

First of all, secure the lid by pulling the second woolen sock down over it. Fasten the sock to the pot by using sparse amounts of duct tape(it lives nasty glue-marks that are hard to wash of).

Now, fixate a shoe to the sock/pot-construction using liberal lenghts of duct tape. Make sure the shoe fits the pot well. A well-fitting shoe will fit snugly to the pot. A good idea would be to make sure each of the pots' legs is supported within the heel cap of the shoe.

For this I recommend shoes made out of cloth with rubber soles.

Step 3:
Fixate the second shoe to the pot using the method described in step two. I would recommend that you place this shoe directly opposite to the other.

Again, use liberal amounts of duct tape. If the heel caps of the shoes touch at the base of the pot, you are on the right track.

Step 4:
Using the method described in step #2, fixate a second pair of shoes to the pot.

It is of some importance that the shoes match somewhat in type, materials and size to avoid obvious structural weaknesses.


Your finished, travel-ready french press should look something like this upon completed assembly:

Bottom-view:

In other words: welcome to my new blog.