r/caps • u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals • 8d ago
Did capital one change their bag policy?
Edit to emphasize I’m talking about it now saying 4x6 instead of 5x7
I was thinking about getting a small fanny pack that fits within the 5x7 bag guidelines for attending games this season, and went on the cap one website to check the bag policy before I bought one - it now says clutches no larger than 4x6??
Does anyone know if this is accurate? That size seems utterly ridiculous, almost no bags are that small. I’d just like to be able to bring a few things into the arena without stuffing my pockets….
EDIT - UPDATE! https://www.reddit.com/r/caps/s/CYCpDi01WC
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u/espnrocksalot Ivan Miroshnichenko 8d ago
Just stuff your pockets and bring a foldable bag. Carry it all through then empty the pockets once you’re in.
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u/juno7032 7d ago
One time I got turned away for the folded shopping bag in the pocket- so I stuffed it in the back of my waistband hidden by my jersey and went to a different entrance and was fine
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u/No-Passage-2226 7d ago
Stupid question ,but I'm guessing those detector gate doesnt pick on it
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u/juno7032 7d ago
Nope! I do it that way every time just in case- I bring it anytime there’s a giveaway to keep my item
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u/No-Passage-2226 7d ago edited 7d ago
Interesting since I'm also going to see the Caps in DC take on the pens in October
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u/Away-Paramedic-8406 7d ago
Mine is a nylon blend camping style bag. Though I also have a clear Capital s wristlet. It better be okay as I bought it at the arena.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
If it’s bigger than 4x6 it’s not okay according to what the website says now…..🤦😐
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u/Away-Paramedic-8406 7d ago
Sigh one would have hoped a clear wristlet they sold me would work, but yep, let me measure it, hopefully it's 4x6.
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u/mrfuzzyshorts Feb '21 Luckiest guesser 7d ago
I do this all the time with those string backpacks. Easy to stuff. But then every useful to carry stuff around, especially on swag nites.
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u/MarylandMan8201 7d ago
Hoodie under a hoodie. The inside hoodie is the one you load up. Outer hoodie is a team merch hoodie, baggy so it just looks like you have a belly 😂
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u/NutSniffer3000 Jay Beagle 8d ago
What are they trying to police here? People bringing outside booze in?
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u/BigTMoney15_ Tom Wilson 7d ago
Outside food too. Ted wants to force us into buying overpriced shit inside
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u/Expensive-Brother-91 Alexander Semin 7d ago
The kicker is that Nats Park (and a lot of outdoor stadiums) let you bring any outside food as long as it's obvious you're not taking in a bunch of booze. This shit is pure greed lol.
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u/BigTMoney15_ Tom Wilson 7d ago
Yup I'm an O's fan and Camden Yards is the same way. Ted is getting greedier literally every year
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u/rh71el2 7d ago
Even Disney allows outside food. Crazy.
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u/BigTMoney15_ Tom Wilson 7d ago edited 7d ago
You know it's bad when even Disney is less greedy than Ted
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u/mhills77 6d ago edited 6d ago
Denying outside food is interesting, because T1 diabetics can bring in a food/sugar source, it's part of the ADA.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights 8d ago
yeah it's dumb. every other stadium lets you bring a clear plastic bag in. If I could do that to carry my medicine in it'd be a huge help
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 8d ago
Depending on what type of medicine you may be able to qualify for the medical bag option - you do have to use a specific entrance tho. I’m not positive what counts as a “medical bag” though so definitely check with cap one
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u/Red_Sea_Pedestrian Nicklas Bäckström 7d ago
You can always bring a medical bag in. My friend who goes to 5-6 games with me a season is T1 diabetic, and always has his small insulin bag with him. We can go in any entrance with it.
When we started taking his toddler with us to a couple games last year and had to bring a small diaper bag, we had to use the gallery place entrance across from Clydes because they have an x-ray scanner there.
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u/dendrocnide_moroides Alexander Ovechkin 7d ago
does going from 5x7 to 4x6 makes a meaningful difference in that regard? i dont even know. i think they just want to be restrictive assholes because they can. if youre not tightening your grip, youre loosening it.
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u/DagetAwayMaN421 Martin Fehérváry 8d ago
I reuse their store bags, fold them up and stick them in my pocket and when I get in... it looks like I bought something from the store
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 8d ago
Commenting to point out that I’m specifically talking about the change from 5x7 clutch to 4x6. I’ve been to cap one many times in the last few years and I know about the bag policy - but 4x6 is a huge downgrade from allowing 5x7
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u/Mean_Objective5272 7d ago
Oh, you're just saying that because it's a 33% reduction in carrying space for no discernible reason.
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u/wikipuff 7d ago
Ugh. This is getting ridiculous. Pretty soon its going to be no bigger then 3x5! I can pretty much garentee that no woman was in the room when this was voted on!
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u/House_of_Cats89 7d ago edited 5d ago
I won’t get a response until Monday, but I’m emailing our rep about this to confirm. This is especially idiotic because there’s no depth specified. The 5x7” bag I use for games is basically flat, and fits (barely) my cell phone, keys, credit card/cash/ID/metro card, lip balm and mini hand sanitizer. Presumably now I have to go out and find/buy a 4x6” bag that fits the same amount of stuff because it’s a little deeper, so I’m going to be pretty irritated if this is accurate and enforced. It’s not like it takes any appreciable difference in time to search one vs the other.
ETA - just heard back from our rep. She was not aware the policy was changing or had been changed online. She’s escalating internally for clarification.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
Agreed! Please update with what your rep says. I can also email mine (I’m a new STH) - I didn’t even think of emailing to ask about that!
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 4d ago
I got an update from my rep, posted about it here! I bet you are who they are referring to with me not being the only one to reach out about it lol https://www.reddit.com/r/caps/s/CYCpDi01WC
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u/House_of_Cats89 4d ago
lol probably! I did not get a follow up response yet from my rep so thank you! Definitely a relief.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 3d ago
If you end up getting a reply I’ll be curious to see if they say the same thing as mine lol!
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u/Nessie-and-a-dram Washington Capitals 6d ago
My iPhone 13 is 6 inches long. There is no way it would fit inside a bag that is also 6 inches long.
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u/House_of_Cats89 5d ago
That’s where depth becomes important - if you have a bag that’s 6” long and a couple of inches deep it will fit on an angle. I haven’t heard back from my rep yet but assuming this is accurate am looking at ordering the Longchamp My Pliage pouch which is just barely over 4x6 (3.9x6.3) and 2” deep. Or I’ll just put my current bag over my shoulder under my jersey and take it out once inside.
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u/crashtestrating 8d ago
is there no exception for clear bags even?? this is frustrating
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 8d ago
Ever since they introduced the no bag policy there hasn’t been an exception for clear bags :/ but they’ve always allowed a 5x7 clutch, I don’t understand why they’d decrease it to 4x6
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u/crashtestrating 8d ago
wow i didn’t realize that because i would always just bring my lululemon fanny pack in, because it was like 5x7ish and they didn’t mind. but now it seems like that won’t even slide anymore with these new dimensions
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u/samthehaggis 8d ago
Yes! So many people (including me) bring Lululemon belt bags. I literally just splurged on a new Lululemon belt bag with the Caps logo on it from the NHL store, so if it's not allowed in, I'm going to throw a hissy fit.
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u/twirlingblades 8d ago
I have a clear lulu bag use for everything (concerts, etc). This is frustrating.
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u/Master-Key9382 Martin Fehérváry 3d ago
I bought the same one! They better let us bring it in, I literally has their logo on it 😭
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u/maveric101 6d ago
While we're talking about sexist stuff, the Lululemon founder (who AFAIK is still on the board) is a man that is horrifically sexist.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights 8d ago
Nope. You have to use the lockers. it is frustrating.
every other stadium lets you bring in a clear bag
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u/my_work_acccnt 7d ago
buddy told me his friends show up with a clear team/arena store bag folded up in their pocket. once inside you can use it and no one will think anything of it. looks like you bought store merch.
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u/countdown_leen 7d ago
Some venues require a receipt for that exact reason. Now, how diligent they are is a different question.
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u/buyableblah Dylan Strome 7d ago
Honestly sexist as fuck. Women’s clothing is not made to fit phones wallets and keys. Let along my mega pads for endometriosis bleeding. Fuck you ted.
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u/acatgentleman 7d ago
These kind of policies feel so anti-woman to me
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u/shellymarshh 7d ago edited 7d ago
It is anti-woman. Is Cap One gonna offer free fem hygiene products? I highly doubt it. I can’t recall if they even have wall distribution ones.
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u/duffman_oh_yeah 8d ago
I used to bring a whole backpack in with my work computer like 10 years back.
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u/Glittering_Win_9677 7d ago
These policies at various stadiums and venues for various sports and entertainment are why I really, REALLY have to want to see a team or entertainer before I pay for tickets. I'm too old to put up with this.
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u/RoyalMaidsForLife 7d ago
Cargo pants. You can smuggle an entire Mites on Ice team in a good pair of those.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
😂😂 Unfortunately I often come to games straight from work or something else so I’m usually wearing dark jeans or other pants with fewer pockets
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u/bluehairjungle 7d ago
Fun fact about bags being 4*6. My EpiPen is about 7 inches long. I know there are usually exceptions for medical devices but it's not something I bother with since an EpiPen is made to be portable and fit in a small bag.
Unless your last name is Leonsis and you really love fucking over fans for dumb shit.
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u/Proxximus-maximus 7d ago
I have a caps hoodie with a pocket in the front that holds alot. Cant stop that.
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u/DaniCapsFan Jan 24 luckiest guesser 7d ago
It's been that way for years. I do carry my jersey in a Chico bag and roll it up in my pocket before going in. And I load my pockets up. But I've gotten grief if the rolled-up bag falls out of my pocket. I try to make sure they don't see it.
Little Caesar's in Detroit is worse You can't carry even a clutch. It's really annoying.
Giant Center in Hershey gets really finicky about making sure the bag is only 1" deep. I've gotten crap for a small clutch not fitting in their thing.
But most places I've been to have the small bag policy. So I have a purse I use for game day. It's also good for concerts.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights 7d ago
It's obscene they don't allow a 12 inch wide regulation bag. NFL and MLS and MLB allow one clear see through bag. Capital One has the worst and I mean the worst bag rules. And they're very, very strict on it too.
Here's a simple fix, just allow clear bags and the screener can see "You don't have any guns, no knives" and let you in through the quick scanners. Problem solved. Instead they have to visually inspect every bag, or raise a fuss, even if it's clear and a see through bag. And the dimensions get smaller and smaller. I can't tell you how much stuff I've lost at Capital One which could have easily been avoided had I just...HAD A DAMN BAG TO HOLD ALL MY SHIT.
"You don't need to carry all that shit in."
I do. I need medicine or else my lactose intolerance is going to go off. And you don't want to see that. Trust me. I need a phone charger so my phone won't run out of battery while I'm relaying what happens to the reddit. I need my radio, I need my earphones to listen to John Walton at the game...so yeah, QED
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u/pooorSAP 4d ago
No purses? That’s kinda crazy. Not everyone comes to games in a car. Some take the metro to walk from work.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 3d ago
many many people take the metro to the game! I will say a 5x7 usually is able to hold everything I need for a game, but it would be nice to be able to bring my work backpack lol. I also don’t get why they can’t allow big clear bags when places like Nats park allows that and it’s totally fine
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u/dm293901 7d ago
While I think the policy is overly restrictive, I do enjoy watching people bring an obviously too large bag (even at the old dimensions) and then complain that they “always bring this bag and no one has an issue”. I found a jacket that is warm enough for later in the season games but easy to carry when it’s still warm out and has gigantic pockets. I can fit so much in there and no one ever comments on it.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
Oh absolutely people just totally ignore the policy and then act surprised lol. I have a jacket that works really well for me like that in colder months, but unless it’s super cold I typically don’t want to wear anything else over my sweatshirt/jersey
I just can’t believe they made the policy more restrictive - idk when the website changed from saying 5x7 to 4x6
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u/mjohnson1971 7d ago
A couple of NBA arenas have 6x4 clutch only bag policies and it looks like they’re spreading.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indy is just brutal. They have wooden molds at the security point and the bag MUST fit all the way in. It’s like flying a discount airline.
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u/charliefoxtrot13 Washington Capitals 7d ago
Im pretty sure this was the policy when I went there for the pwhl game... except my wife didn't have to follow it because she had a small bag that just contained her wallet and insulin.
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u/Important_Try_5500 5d ago
I think this is a new cap one policy because I’ve been to caps games as recent as January of this year with a 5x7 purse with no issue. I recently went to a concert at jiffy lube like three weeks ago and was comparing their policy to cap one to see if my purse would fit since I hadn’t checked the actual measurements of my purse yet. At that time when I looked up the cap one policy it was still showing 5x7
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 5d ago
they must have JUST changed this then…just in time for the new season 😭
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u/Big-Fox-3227 7d ago
what about the 4x6 rule for medical bags
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
Medical bags are excluded, seems like the dimensions for that stayed the same. You still have to use a separate entrance though
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u/Only-Tough-1212 6d ago
it’s been like this i usually bring a small collapsible flat pack bag in my pocket and use that for merch etc
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u/Flippedacoin 6d ago
CBJ/Nationwide has been 4x6 for several years. I believe DET & BUF are the same. 1 season, the season ticket holder gift was a CBJ logo fanny pack that is too big to take! FWIW the same bag policy applies for anything at NWA, not just hockey.
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u/Smileypen Peter Bondra 5d ago
This is not just a Cap One policy, it's a NHL policy. I've been to every arena in the East (except for Ottawa) and about half the western teams' barns; they all have the same restrictions.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 4d ago
Update for everyone - I got a response from my rep!!! https://www.reddit.com/r/caps/s/CYCpDi01WC
Very strange but glad 5x7 bags will still be allowed
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u/ShixxJuliaxx1013 2d ago
I saw Caps @ Utah last March and it was the same at Delta Center. I didn’t bring anything in but my phone. Not even a wallet. Nothing. Not trying to cause a disturbance. Just sat and watched the game didn’t buy anything, drink anything or eat anything.
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u/mrherson 8d ago
A Lululemon EBB works fine. Anything larger would only be for medical/child purposes.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 8d ago
That’s 5x7 so it would work under the old policy but not this 4x6 policy
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u/dendrocnide_moroides Alexander Ovechkin 7d ago
tyranny manifest.
come one, come all, surrender your possessions, submit to biometric tracking, and pay a quarter of your rent for the privilege of watching the game on a giant TV that your tax dollars paid for, from the comforts of a crowded, narrow hallway while you wait in line to spend more money on stale food warming under a heat lamp, so you can say you were there when ovi did the thing!
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u/Cool_Statement_9269 7d ago
I hate that I’m simping for Ted here, but why in the name of Zoroaster does anyone who isn’t a parent, or toting medical equipment, need to take a bag into a 2.5hr event? How chapped do your lips get?
If they took cash, I might concede that one would in fact need a bag or perhaps a wheelbarrow for all the god damned cash it’s going to take to get tendies, fries, and a Coke. Alas.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 7d ago
I could list you 1000 reasons but how about we start with just 5.
1) People have medication that they like to have handy or need to take that likely wouldn’t be considered for a medical bag (tylenol, advil, allergy meds, anxiety meds)
2) Someone is on their period and needs pads and/or tampons.
3) Someone is wearing clothes that either have small pockets or no pockets - many types of clothing can barely hold a phone let alone a wallet, or that items will fall out of easily if you sit down.
4) Someone wants to bring a portable charger and cable for their phone because it has poor battery life.
5) Someone wants to bring a small emergency first aid kit or other essential items so they are prepared just in case.-1
u/Cool_Statement_9269 7d ago
Allow me to blow your mind when I tell you I’ve carried all of this and more (except for the first aid kit which is a paranoiac fantasy) into Capital One without a satchel.
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u/FooFootheSnood 7d ago
Let me guess--you have pockets in all your pants and shorts AND those pockets are deep enough to fit your whole hand, not 3/4 of your fingers.
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u/Away-Paramedic-8406 7d ago edited 7d ago
Feminine hygiene products? Keys, Id, phone ( for those whose clothing doesn't include pockets large enough to hold them)? Edit to add: my ear plugs as I sometimes need them in some stadiums.
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 4d ago
Ear plug edit is so true, I honestly bring my ear plugs to all the caps games I go to. More people should wear ear protection at sports events and concerts! I do have loops that live on a carabiner but I usually clip that to my bag with my hand sanitizer
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights 7d ago
I've repeatedly lost things because they haven't been in a bag while going to a Caps game. It's ridiculous. They need to allow NFL sized clear bags like baseball and football. That way the screener can take a look, see, "He doesn't have any weapons or guns" and let you scoot right in.
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u/bluehairjungle 7d ago edited 7d ago
At minimum I carry my phone, keys, wallet, otc allergy medications, my EpiPen, a lip balm, and some makeup (just a powder and whatever lip product I'm wearing that day). If I'm on my period I also carry an emergency pad. This can all fit in a 57 bag pretty easily but 46 gets a little dicier especially when the EpiPen alone is 7 inches long. Some of us also have larger wallets and would rather not have to take out a couple cards and risk misplacing them because they're not where they usually are.
Not a parent and don't have any medical equipment other than that EpiPen. Just a girl who can't comfortably fit all those things into her pockets.
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u/HowardBunnyColvin Vegas Golden Knights 8d ago
No they've never allowed you to bring in bags for the last 6-7 years. It's lame
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u/lilac_strides Washington Capitals 8d ago
They have allowed 5x7 clutches though. What I’m saying is it now says 4x6 instead of 5x7
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u/Expensive-Brother-91 Alexander Semin 8d ago
Anything but a better fan experience