BEST BAGS AND TRAVEL TIPS
This is all about bags and travel, and you should read the whole article before you make a purchase.
Just like you hopefully own different pairs of pants for different occasions, Camera bags fall into this category and unless you simply do one style of photography, you need more than one bag.
Upfront over the years my favorites have been, Domke which for years have been photojournalist preferred. Because of the soft side and body conforming style, they don't bounce all over the place while running after a shot. But my business today might be more inclined for mil-spec gear.
LowePro and Tamrac who have the largest selection of quality products on a par with each other. Pelican Products for hard shell, turtle like working professional cases for tough on the go transport. And Blackhawk and MaxPedition, Mil-Spec quality products able to survive the worst in the "shoot em up" environment.
WHAT TO WEAR and BARE
When you see the words BEST in the header, it is because I have used and abused these products. At one time I posted everything relating to camera bags from all the firms but after twenty years of trade shows and basically looking, buying, and using everything imaginable, several companies stood out and outfoxed, out engineered, and out-designed the competition. I use the same judgement and criteria for bags as I do for tripods and brackets. I use the airlines a lot and In the shot above I am dressed for travel, small cameras and minimal gear, food bars and loose fitting clothes. They all thought I was a Flight Marshall dressed as such.
LOWE PRO OUTBACK 200 - GREAT PRODUCT
For photographers who carry their gear to the limits—on foot, bike, hike or on assignment—Outback modular beltpacks provide protection and freedom of movement. Unzip the fast-access lid and immediately “work out of the bag” plus grab memory cards from the built-in pockets. Each of the three beltpack models come with two interchangeable lens/accessory cases attached by SlipLock™ loops and secured with sturdy, yet lightweight compression straps.
Gear up multiple ways by adding or subtracting cases. Outback 200 also includes: webbing loops on front to attach additional pouches or cases via a hook or carabiner; and large, U-shaped zipper pulls and zipper tabs for extra leverage—even in wet or cold conditions. Fits a D300S with 70-200 2.8 and lens cap. Plus four other lenses, 17-55/2.8, 35/1.8, 1.7 converter, and flash with battery pack.
The nice thing about it is it may be worn front back or on the hip with or without the two optional accessory bags.
MSRP 89.95 on LowePro site
B&H 48.00 plus shipping.
get it for 48 dollars , no shipping with Black Box purchase.
REALITY CHECK
What do you really need? Leave "impressing the other folks and your ego home" your pictures should tell the story. How much can I carry, do I want that much to drag along and what do I really need to complete the mission. The main categories are shoulder, backpack, fanny pack , belt pack, or belt SWAT gear type.
Picking a bag is like picking a friend, if it's a good pick, it's a good friend, make a poor choice and you'll lose your shirt and your friend. Unless you return it, the resale value on bags is horrible.
But the biggest mistake a bag buyer makes after misjudging needs and what it holds , is quality, how is it made and used. I see bags that made the gear look pretty but slipped off shoulders, poor quality polyester straps, cheap Velcro, and after they were loaded really couldn't carry the weight, distorted and so forth.
You have to list the real requirements, not just the gear. Big mistake, to buy a big bag as you will find yourself filling it. I laugh at Photo Conventions by all the attendees who have to drag their gear with them.
Years of attending the PMA conventions, this is a trade show for buyers only, I would see an attendee or guest, someone usually not a store owner, or store employee, most likely a friend of the owner or good customer, walking the floor loaded with a backpack equipped to handle the next Everest assault. That 400mm. Nikkor won't work in a show with about two feet clearence from the next guest. And who brings the new Komoflex 200 to a show with the newer model 300 soon to be released on display. I call them posers. Looks great, but unimpressive at a trade show. I never understood why you drag a backpack to a trade show. Show and tell. Look at me!
Today I am usually equipped with two cellphones, a small camera like a Nikon L24, Canon G11, or a Nikon 3100 with a. 1.8 in a shoulder case, mil spec. and a fold up coat. I-Pad pencil and business cards, a water bottle and two food bars, and I bring pre-paid addressed USPS labels and folded boxes in my luggage and I just mail all the brochures and goodies from the trade show. Light is right. Less at the airport for conflicts.
So lets go back for a second and talk about style. There are a ton of bags out there but you need the one that holds the gear and makes it easy to work from for the situation you are in. And please avoid the Bling bags that say steal me. The favorite hit bag in the sixties and seventies was the Leica bag that had Leica spelled out on it.
BACKPACKS
Backpacks are great from point A to point B, they
are definitely not for working out of. That’s their unique downfall. You were not born with hands on your back.and one of the biggest problems is the bigger the bag you buy, the more you have a need to
stuff it.
That’s a stupid idea and is easily explained by the Gremkin-Flugals laws of Physics which states “the more you pile on an ass to carry, increases in weight and when the ass dies, Your ass is next in line to haul it”. I totally agree with that hypothesis.
With a backpack you need a hand for the pack, one for the body of the camera and one for the lens, that’s three or you'll wind up using the sidewalk or forgetting the backpack.
Some places I just don't lay the pack down to get something out. Situational awareness, as in a riot, outside the green zone, Bagdad, the movie theatre in downtown Kabul or some parts of my city or at a concert.
No time, no place. It's also makes a thief's job easier as his point of attack will be from the rear. Think about that. In a crowd I swing my bag to the front. Sometimes right above hiding my Glock under my shooting jacket. In the badlands, where the mission can change in an instant, I prefer Mil-Spec gear like the harness shown above. My Camel Back mil-spec water bag and my fanny pack both hook to this gear as well as lens cases. It is modular and fits over body armor. Just as many guys got it wearing blue helmets and no protection other than the word press. Bad guys don't play by the rules.
Now if you do landscape and scenics, who cares, the backpack is the perfect tool. For a PJ guy suicide unless you bring food and water. You see one bag doth not make a good approach. You might look at a variable approach. You need stuff that suits the needs and the occasion.
I have backpacks and in this Florida
heat sweated the labels off them, but for trekking and doing the OJ through
airports a backpack is fine. But you might have to empty all that stuff on a table and miss the flight. Black backpacks here turn white with sweat. The
better packs by LowePro and others have a protective barrier to allow a little air
through.
ROLLING ROAD WARRIOR TRIPS:
THE TRAVELER - IDIOTIC IDEA or COMMON SENSE:
How to pack for an airline road trip. This is the kind of work that is either planned or you get one of those phone calls and you have to bolt, like I had to yesterday. You’ll be spending time having to find either transportation or accommodations so you really want your gear close, up front and personal, portable and not out of sight. No checked baggage.
This is when I drag the LowePro Compu-Trekker BackPack if in the USA or my regular three day rough backpack by Blackhawk. I made smaller bags to fit in my field pack heavily insulated for lenses. I also have one of those mini-hand trucks that fold to nothing. Best $94.00 I ever spent ten years ago in a camera store. Now they are $23.00 at Sams.
It has big rubber wheels that absorb bumps and vibration. I do not like the combo roll on backpack aka roller, aka luggage, aka bag. Like a multi-tool, they do something, but nothing great. Those small non-absorbant wheels do nothing but jar the crap out of your gear when on tiles in the airport.
That will kill your lenses. It will kill your wallet when you replace them as they score and wear and are proprietary. Once again the great brains of luggage, meaning profit before common sense really miss the important things. For the casual traveler they are OK. I like my cheap hand cart, period.
ROAD TREK KIT (AIRBORNE)
GEAR
My work road kit is composed of the D3S, and a D300. For lenses I carry my standard kit group; The 17mm-55mm; the 35mm1.8; 12-24mm; and the 70-200mm VR with the 1.7 tele-converter. That’s covering 12-420mm by one means or another. But wait there is more, we add flashes, a few external drives, cell phone batteries and download stuff.
I also have a road trip light for a short assignment, family, boat outings, travel or fun use. A Nikon 3100, with the 18-55, 55-200, SB400, small flash pack, flashlight, pocket knife and Gerber tool.
SUSTENANCE
Also I added a small insulated bag that clips on with my "meds" and usually two sandwiches from SUBWAY with chips, Kasha bars and chewing gum. It's called the Frickin Airline Survival Totem Bag In Transit Expeditions. (FAST BITE) because you supply your own food these days on USA flights. Overseas the foreign airlines do treat you better and the fare is not bad. I had all I wanted on Quantas and they are a well run airline. Singapore is incredible. Virgin was Ok too. Domestically, I am a SouthWest fan and tolerate Delta, the others have been big disappointments.
MY FRIEND TOM
If you are familiar with a TV travel show, "Traveling in Europe with Rick Steves" I have a friend who is a big fan of his travel philosophy. Tom and I have been friends and traveled to trade shows for 35 years. From Toms blog... he writes for his camera store, I gleaned the following.
Dear Friends,
I own
one piece of luggage, a 22 year old Rick Steves Rucksack. If it doesn't
fit in there, it doesn't go. I have done 30 days in Europe with just that
bag. Travel is more fun the less you take. There are some tricks to the trade
however.
I do not need extra shoes, now I know this is a touchy point with some of the ladies. My question is if you are traveling how will the waitress at Denny's know you wore those shoes yesterday and will she care? So for me no shoes in the bag, I wear the one pair. Comfortable, broken in shoes. I will be doing a lot of walking at trade shows.
For shirts and pants, I pack some that are reasonably wrinkle resistant and place them on hangers; place them in the bathroom in the shower. Turn on the shower to hot, let the bath room fill with steam, turn off the water, leave the room closing the door and go exploring the hotel, town or whatever. When I return the shirts are wrinkle free. A chair next to the room heater is the dryer.
When I go to Europe I might need a suit / sport coat for business meetings. So I take an old sport coat, and have a dry cleaner treat it with water repellant. I wear this on to the plane so it is not taking up space in the bag. This gives me my business attire, a light jacket for cool evenings and a rain coat for light showers.
A friend who travels Europe every year always takes his old clothes and throws them away before coming home. Good idea and you "look" less prone to thieves and pickpockets. Less headaches at Customs when you get back and you might be wearing some of those fancy clothes with the "euro cut" that make you ten pounds slimmer.
Med's and Bathroom: Guess what anything you can buy here, you can buy in some form there. I recall visiting an Apothecary in Germany once looking for Vicks NyQuil, and I found it. Of course the label said it was Vicks Medinight, but it is the same stuff.
In the rucksack goes a Promaster camera bag containing a Nikon DSLR, Tamron 18-270mm, 2x, 10-24mm, and a 10.5mm Nikkor since most of Europe is wide angle. Just for a backup, I also carry a good compact digital camera as well. You may not believe it but I still have room for socks which hold the lenses. One last important item, 2 large drum size trash bags for rain gear.
ROAD WARRIOR TRIPS - (GEAR BY CAR)
ASSIGNMENT WORK
If it’s PJ extended interview, Wedding or Event work and we are driving, I include several of the the battery packs I make, extended cables, two six volt batteries, cables that can combine to twelve if I must run the laptop in an emergency, SB-800-900's, Metz's, possibly stands and AC units, and backups.
Bag two, the usual pens, reporter notepad, interview recorders (2), CREE or Sure-fire flashlights, all purpose Gerber tools. I have one with the sharp blades ground down to screwdrivers, all sharp blades removed for airline, and one domestic, no fly normal model. They have been replaced with two multi-tools by another company, airline OK.
Only MacGyver could work miracles with these all in one tools thats why I made the change. I take small 7 gal garbage bags for the car, for garbage hanging from the glove box, bad weather protection for the gear and laundry. I use the larger garbage bags for raincoats, even though the Lowe has a rain cover. I don't. Water kills cameras and I don't need a cold or chills.
In states applicable to Concealed Carry Permits, a Glock .40 and a .380 Kel-Tec cover the gamut. It brings new meaning to the word "shooter" and in these tumultuous times very important. Once or twice a month at the range is just as important. I stay very current.
A second duffle bag contains tripod, monopods, umbrellas, both for light and rain, reflectors, if I think I need it and rain gear. Nice quality dry insulated rain gear, first aid kit and other odds and ends.
If I’m driving to the assignment with a partner and we are within, say within 500 miles, or Tampa to New Orleans, Louisiana, we add a huge cooler with drinks, dried fruits, nuts, snack and fruit energy bars, lots of breakfast cereal assortment and a few airline size mood changers for social reasons and the end of day in the motel room or tent. Your call, but a good brandy is very warming. Helps you sleep too.
MEDICATIONS:
Medications for the trip are in sealed pouches marked for each day by the vacuum freezer machine which produces small airtight, waterproof, and clearly marked packs. The peel off prescription labels they give you extras of
on the bag from the pharmacy are pasted into the packet and onto one sheet of paper and another in my ID case, another in the personal bag with shave gear and my wallet.
That’s so the TSA guys at the airline terminals don’t think you are the local ecstasy dealer on holiday. I learned how to make seals both directions so I cut out each day as needed. I also take some currency in small denominations and seal a small bag of it.
Another thing I carry with my meds is a sealed printed condensed version of my meds, medical history, blood types, ALLERGIES, operations etc. and so forth marked “for medical emergency use only”. It just might save your life one day ina foreign country like Georgia. (PS...it's near southern Russia.
HEAVY TRANSPORT - PELICAN TIPS
I have Pelican cases that I use for travel, can ship to a site or location working from the car. Nothing protects like a Pelican case. In fact if I’m not on the job, the bigger one has become my standard car travel carrier in the trunk, just remove the photo insert and use those plastic HD clothing bags.
But weight will kill you with the big Pelicans on the airline. Limits are fifty pounds, and a 26 pound empty Pelican kills the deal. Expect a 50-100 surcharge. You ship and pray.
No Gorilla, even Norwood (see Picture) ever damaged my Pelicans. They (two of his human friends) did however destroy two of my wife’s brand new American Tourister Classic Fancy Paisley GUCCI matching bags at Denver Airports brand new computer driven state of the art baggage system.
What a thrill, after the system went dead for thirty minutes and came back like a volcano. Nice to watch your entire wardrobe come flying out like an unscheduled release of flatulence, spilling out all over Denver's automated carousel, on their second day of operation. So much for the design of that great baggage handling improvement. So much for my wife's great packing job. So much for her temper. The only time in thirty years I saw her mad. It ripped the bags wide open, destroyed the zippers, and threw the clothes all over the place. Airports - Ughhhhhh!.
They first wanted to fix the zippers, and pay only for the other repairs. Bull manure, who pays for the dry cleaning, the rubber marks ruined some stuff and I took on the "No Way Jose" attitude, this was arbitration at it's finest. By that time I had the whole thing on film and my mini-tape recorders. You'll love the article I told them on their day of grand exuberance. It was called "Disaster in Denver, Millions Wasted.
They realized the dilemma they were in, I got a $400 hundred dollar credit for the two pieces of luggage in swap for that film not seeing daylight. Two free tickets as long as the Airline was not mentioned, it was really the Denver Authorities blame.
This is called "Journalistic Extortion" and I replaced the luggage later on with better ideas and better less decorator quality, all looks and no guts. We duck-taped what we had usable to get to the rental car, found a laundromat, cleaned what we could, threw some out, and duffle bagged the rest of the trip from a Army surplus store. I shipped 50% of our stuff that was usable back via UPS. The ruined clothes were gone and replaced when we got home. We carried on with the rest of the trip. I carry a small roll of duck tape as standard equipment now and it comes in colors.
First stop home was a nice discount mall outside the Orlando airport and we refurbished with smarter luggage this time. Since then when traveling alone I am a duffle bag, mil-spec fanatic since the bag only gets clothes and they can be replaced.
PELICANS:
So it's obvious I like Pelicans for the protection they afford and I have shipped everything from seminar projectors to weaponry in them. They are very useful and I only buy them with adjustable dividers, that foam is for the birds for me, but OK for one shot deals, like a 600 mm Nikkor to protect an investment like Enron....
I have a spare insert for both. But I caution you, the larger cases weigh half the allowance in weight for the airlines which is 50 pounds thus a 1620 weighs 26 pounds and you better be under the 24 lbs. of usable or you get slapped with $100.00 dollars in add-ons.
For most of you doing local stuff and short hauls the Pelican 1510 is an excellent choice with the wheels, carry on guarantee and stable interior if you get the dividers. It's just big enough for my kit above and little else. As I wrote above I hate small wheels but sometimes you put up with it. The only problem I had with the Pelican is the back handle support s got loose, the screws were stripped. I removed them, used one size larger and a liberal dose of five minute epoxy. It will never come apart.
BLACKHAWK
Now I rethought my travel after the Denver issue. As to clothing, now I find I use my load out gear, also called deployment bags and I have some from Blackhawk and they are tough. And they get checked and the camera gear stays with me. Nothing like cameras or personal gear goes in them, only clothes, boots etc.
I also have a slew of Blackhawk accessories, holsters, magazine packs and backpacks.Blackhawk like the Pelicans are a lifetime investment. For the airline I also have some HD soft bags from BlackHawk for travel.
If someone wants to steal my underwear, have at it. Nothing but clothes go in it. I close the zippers with zip ties so I know if it got opened. I carry twenty spares in the side pocket. Usually it's not opened on checked since the X-ray just shows clothes.
Many times I just buy my throw away toiletries at a CVS or Wal-Greens like a razor and use the stuff the better hotels provide. In the better ones they have toothbrushes and combs, just ask the concierge. I just pitch the half empties before I head home. Less hassle at the checkins and the TSA.
Nothing valuable goes in the checked baggage. Thus the load out bags work great and they don't say steal me. A friend of mine in Italy told me GUCCI is STEAL spelled backwards. Duh, I asked,
"ICCUG in text is "I Cana Cee U Gold.
SCENARIO – MOBILE TRANSPORT (MY BACK)
BlackHawk Industries harness gear, pictured way above, puts gear weight on my waist and partially on my back but has mesh on the water carrier for circulation. I have used Blackhawk merchandise for years with the work I did with the Rangers. It helps to know the difference between a 50 Millimeter and 50 Caliber. They also make soft travel bags which are great for overnighters.
On harness gear, LowePro makes the civilian versions, so does Tamrac. Less intimidating than the Blackhawk as shown. That’s the best for those doing zoo-spec work at the local Zoo. War zones are different.
Military slang is "Indian Country", no offense meant, it's slang and means hostile territory. Working in Bosnia, South America, or Iraq is another story of what you wear and what you carry like the pot on your head and that Velcro, Kevlar, Plated sport Jacket by CYA.com
I have fitted one of the Blackhawk three daypacks adapted for S & R and photo by adapting a base, again lightweight, form fitted aerated plastic for shape and added lens cases.
Unfortunately in some countries or places you might get mistaken for a live
target with web gear on. A 70-200 has the same frontal profile as an RPG except it reflects light and is an easier target. Thats you!
MAXPEDITIONS,
MAXPEDITIONS have great CQ concealment options for a bag. My Jumbo Versipack (shown above) is my day-office fitted with recorders, flash gear and a NIKON D3100, plus the usual stuff you thrown in a day bag, like a Glock or Kel-Tec, CQ knife, Surefire, Cree, and a Gerber useless tool. Just count the number of journalists and civilians lost in the latest IRAQ conflict or in Chicago for that matter. At one time the count in Chicago was higher than the theatre of war we were engaged in. It still is, and a alot of it is kids.
Shoulder bags, single shoulder, waist bags are easier to work from. But get good quality and you sleep better if you know the straps and padding are sufficient. Also the attachment points. Plastic or Metal...more choices. Metal is strong and plastic is quiet.
But shoulder bags are easy to work from and some create a panel you can balance a few small things on. (Tamrac) good shoulder bags have bumpers on the bottom so you don't wear the fabric. Lowepro and Tamrac lead the pack when it comes to assortment, quality and pricing. There must be a hundred to choose from. The one shoulder sling convertible models are the most popular.
BEN FRANKLIN:
You have to do a Ben Franklin. He was a smart man he wrote down the pros and cons, on one side of a sheet of paper and then looked again and again at them before making a tough choice. The difference is one bag is not enough and you will need an assortment if you travel to location, use the airlines, go by canoe, or camels. Thats why there are a lot of different bags and you need to go to the manufacturers site because I have no clue as to what your gear looks like or the scope of it.
These are good reliable companies. You got LowePro, Tamron, Domke, BlackHawk and Maxpedition, and others. Stay away from decorator bags by luggage makers with branding. They are made for looks not usage, they are made to be robbed.
There is really overpriced stuff by the so-called brain trust, designers out there because of limited production, high CEO costs and expense accounts combined with great story telling commonly called "a sales pitch". They are still imports. These brands I mentioned have been around, have good reputations and are made of good materials like YYK zippers etc.
Yet, they’ll all be out of China, VietNam, Malaysia, India and prices will come down slightly, LowePro always was a US company but they are off-shore now....just because the competition drives the market share to stay competitive.
What have we learned; One bag, one style, one method, one brand does not cover all the bases. You need a selection, just like a baseball team of runners, hitters, designated hitters, and fielders are diversified. some bags sell because of the cheerleaders, not the players.
ASK YOURSELF:
Do I want a shoulder working bag or back pack?
Will I be carrying a laptop, iPad, and other electronics?
Will I be trekking in the woods or street journalistic photography?
Smelly socks or no socks, roughing it or hotels, cruise ship?
Bulk of my work is:_____________________Write your own questions.