Traveling with my Scarlet for 18 months or so

[Nik Harper]

I'm going to be traveling the world starting in March of 2018. One of my bigger concerns is the size and weight of my bag making it inconvenient for that long.

I would love to hear from anyone who has traveled for a longer period of time with a Red and what bags/cases might be best for the job.

If possible it would be nice to be able to wear the bag on my back. In my experience that makes it easy to walk around with the camera out and still have all the other stuff I need while I'm shooting.

Anyways, what does everyone think?

 

[Kwan Khan]

My favorite pack since version 1,
http://www.cinebags.com/cb25-revolution-backpack-tactical-camo

 

[Björn Benckert]

This is by far the best one I had so far. It´s perfect slides trough customs and passing thieves like it´s just a boring carry on business bag. But inside you got all your camera gear and not only that it also holds a back pack that stil has all the hard shell and protection in it. So good on flights, inout of cars and then leave the shell on your hotell and stroll off with the backpack liner. Also has a water proof rain coat thingy that I used not on the bag that much but to cover the camera.


Also as you can rearrange the liner and the departments you can fit what you need, I find all the foam padded pelli cases etc to be a huge waste of space and catch way to much attention in customs etc.

Anoter good tip. Buy batteries that does not need a charger, the Vlock chargers are way to big for traveling and much easier to have a little tap charger.

http://store.lowepro.com/rolling-cases/pro-roller-x200-aw

 

[David Battistella]

I'm partial to the LowePro as well.

I have this one.

http://store.lowepro.com/flipside-500-aw

I'm liking this one because I do not have to completely detach it in order to get at stuff. If you leave the belt attached the bag never is detached from your body, which is a bonus because you don't have to take it off, set it down, etc, and you can shoot with it on and get to stuff quickly. I generally can carry, Ready to shoot EPIC dragon with Mic etc already attached. two Vlock batteries. lenses, cards, and a bunch of bits and it has a decent sized back pocket for bits as well.

 

[Will Ainsworth]

if you already have a peli case and want something that will keep your camera kit safe in a hard case then these are really handy. I have one on my 1510 hard case and its great. only downside is you cant use the rollers when you have the backpack strap on.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/983541-REG/rucpac_rucpac_hardcase_backpack_converter.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-VNx1jHVgo

 

[Josh Melin]

I had a shoot last year up in a Mountain range in British Columbia. Generally we travel with hard cases but for this shoot it was not an option. After much research I came ended up with the F-stoppers Shinn backpack. This is by far the most comfortable and most versatile pack I have ever used. Aside from fitting a mostly built brain, 5 - 6 lenses, bricks, cables, matte box, FF, filters and on and on, it is water proof and rugged. It won't fly in an overhead bin but the ICU which is the internal storage comes out of the pack and will fly in the overhead bin. This is handy when you can thrown the other items in the empty pack and check them. I recommend getting an REI bag pack to protect it during transport. Everyone has their own preferences but I highly recommend this one having used in extreme elements for over 10 days. http://shop.fstopgear.com/us/shinn.html https://vimeo.com/100866817 this is a video of a similar pack.

 

[David Grigorian]

Over the years I've had a lot of bags and cases. My go to backpack was the Cinebags CB25 up until about 6 months ago. the CB25 is Great in terms of protecting your gear but I have to say it has some drawbacks. first its very limited in terms of space inside of the bag because of the thickness of the pads, Second the pockets do not expand at ALL! Third issue is the build quality, some of the stitching on the inside has started to come undone. My new favorite bag is The GoRuck GR1 and GR2. First off it is by far the toughest and best made backpack I have ever owned. I also love the way it opens up like a suitcase so you can easily pack, and to organize things even further it has molle webbing on the inside. The bag is designed to carry very heavy loads and it sits high on your back making it very comfortable over long periods of time. It has a padded laptop compartment and padding bottom, but that is all the padding the bag comes with as it is not specifically designed as a camera bag. However that is not an issue for me as I simply add more padding when needed, my favorite being Domke Inserts. The combination of the GoRuck GR2 with Domke Inserts and Porta Brace Stuff Sacks has been amazing, something that I can endlessly customize for different shoots and trips. Also these great bags are handmade right here in the USA just like our RED's.

P.S. I was just looking through the website and it seems like they now offer a camera bag variant of the GR1 called the GR1 Shooter which is more camera/gear specific design that has Velcro on the inside. http://www.goruck.com/gr1-shooter-coyote-brown-/p/GEAR-000928

http://www.goruck.com/gr2-rucksack-black-/p/GEAR-000509
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/785508-REG/Domke_720_60R_Insert_for_Domke_Pro.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/co...pi=1876,{creative},{keyword}&is=REG&A=details

 

[Marc Baitz]

Hi.
I can highly recommend the thinktank backpacks, using a couple of different ones, but if I take one backpack for travelling with my equipment it´s the airport accelerator. I get everything I need in there and it´s very comfortable to wear.
https://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/airport-accelerator-camera-backpack

 

[Anders Højrup]

I'm considering either the Lowepro Whistler 450 - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1163433-REG/lowepro_lp36897_whistler_bp_450_aw.html
But Kwan Kahn made me curious about the http://www.cinebags.com/cb25-revolut...-tactical-camo

I'll be using it for both the regular jobs but also hiking in snowy mountains and occasional climbing trips (probably not climbing with the bag tho..)

Can anyone else pitch in about the bags?

 

[Josh Becker]

I had a shoot last year up in a Mountain range in British Columbia. Generally we travel with hard cases but for this shoot it was not an option. After much research I came ended up with the F-stoppers Shinn backpack. This is by far the most comfortable and most versatile pack I have ever used. Aside from fitting a mostly built brain, 5 - 6 lenses, bricks, cables, matte box, FF, filters and on and on, it is water proof and rugged. It won't fly in an overhead bin but the ICU which is the internal storage comes out of the pack and will fly in the overhead bin. This is handy when you can thrown the other items in the empty pack and check them. I recommend getting an REI bag pack to protect it during transport. Everyone has their own preferences but I highly recommend this one having used in extreme elements for over 10 days. http://shop.fstopgear.com/us/shinn.html https://vimeo.com/100866817 this is a video of a similar pack.

I came in to recommend F-Stop bags, as well. I own both the Tilopa and the Shinn. Here is how I use them in various ways:

Studio/Location shoot:
Tilopa -- Holds lenses, set of 4x5.65 filters, and 6 PAGLink V-mounts across the bottom. Various other knick knacks in other pockets.
Shinn -- Holds built Epic-W w/ Mattebox and FF on 15mm rails. EVF, SmallHD monitor, other support gear.

Flying:
Tilopa (Carry-on!) -- Lenses, Epic-W body, and PAGLink batteries. PAG Travel chargers and other essentials (media). This bag is carry-on size. I've traveled internationally with it. It also looks like a hiking bag, which airlines tend to let be a bit "bulkier" (stuffed pockets, etc).
Shinn (Checked) -- Mattebox, rails, follow focus, filters (inside a smaller case) and other support gear. Lens cleaning solution.

Then when I land, I build up the camera and switch everything around into the "on location" mode above. Works pretty well if you have the resources to haul an extra bag. If you can only bring one, Other Josh's suggestion of pulling out the ICU is a great suggestion. Oh, and I learned the hard way to use an REI protective bag on my Shinn. TSA banged it around and punched a few holes through the waterproof fabric Had to pick up a patch kit along with my bag. Cool thing about the REI cover (this is the one I have) is that the protective bag folds into itself and zips up into a pretty small pouch. So it's easy to cram into a pocket on the Shinn and then pop back out when you get to the airport.

Really the most important thing I would emphasize about the F-Stop bags is that they are actual hiking bags. They have internal aluminum frames, chest and hip straps, lots of really great features. A ton of pockets and areas to strap things to. If you're doing any remote location stuff, you're going to appreciate how well you can strap and rig tripods and other things to the outside of the bag. If the bag is going to live on your back for extended periods, I'd recommend checking these ones out.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

For me after several tries I found the Lowepro Pro Trekker 450 AW Backpack to be my best and most favorite choice, TreckPak added for better space management

 

[Nik Harper]

Thanks for all of the responses.

I'm going through all of the bags and checking them out to see what might work the best for me.

My big hope was that I might be able to get the amount of gear I have for the camera down and be able to have it assembled except for the lens. Then some of the bag could be filled with clothing or something else. That was always something that I didn't think was necessarily possible.

This bag will most likely live on my back while in transit as well as on some hikes or other physical activity and I'd be shooting during those times. My girlfriend and I are going to travel together but I'll be leaving our travel route to do jobs. I'm a director and the production usually rents a camera, so mine isn't necessary but I can't leave her with it. So that's why I was hoping I could just have ONE bag with the camera, laptop, toiletries and some clothes.

 

[Nik Harper]

This is by far the best one I had so far. It´s perfect slides trough customs and passing thieves like it´s just a boring carry on business bag. But inside you got all your camera gear and not only that it also holds a back pack that stil has all the hard shell and protection in it. So good on flights, inout of cars and then leave the shell on your hotell and stroll off with the backpack liner. Also has a water proof rain coat thingy that I used not on the bag that much but to cover the camera.


Also as you can rearrange the liner and the departments you can fit what you need, I find all the foam padded pelli cases etc to be a huge waste of space and catch way to much attention in customs etc.

Anoter good tip. Buy batteries that does not need a charger, the Vlock chargers are way to big for traveling and much easier to have a little tap charger.

http://store.lowepro.com/rolling-cases/pro-roller-x200-aw

This one is really interesting. So the inside "backpack" part comes all the way out?

Can you use the shell of the other bag as a rolling suitcase if you remove the backpack part?

 

[Nik Harper]

Over the years I've had a lot of bags and cases. My go to backpack was the Cinebags CB25 up until about 6 months ago. the CB25 is Great in terms of protecting your gear but I have to say it has some drawbacks. first its very limited in terms of space inside of the bag because of the thickness of the pads, Second the pockets do not expand at ALL! Third issue is the build quality, some of the stitching on the inside has started to come undone. My new favorite bag is The GoRuck GR1 and GR2. First off it is by far the toughest and best made backpack I have ever owned. I also love the way it opens up like a suitcase so you can easily pack, and to organize things even further it has molle webbing on the inside. The bag is designed to carry very heavy loads and it sits high on your back making it very comfortable over long periods of time. It has a padded laptop compartment and padding bottom, but that is all the padding the bag comes with as it is not specifically designed as a camera bag. However that is not an issue for me as I simply add more padding when needed, my favorite being Domke Inserts. The combination of the GoRuck GR2 with Domke Inserts and Porta Brace Stuff Sacks has been amazing, something that I can endlessly customize for different shoots and trips. Also these great bags are handmade right here in the USA just like our RED's.

P.S. I was just looking through the website and it seems like they now offer a camera bag variant of the GR1 called the GR1 Shooter which is more camera/gear specific design that has Velcro on the inside. http://www.goruck.com/gr1-shooter-coyote-brown-/p/GEAR-000928

http://www.goruck.com/gr2-rucksack-black-/p/GEAR-000509
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/785508-REG/Domke_720_60R_Insert_for_Domke_Pro.html
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/co...pi=1876,{creative},{keyword}&is=REG&A=details

This is interesting. I like how rugged it is. The pics on their site don't give me a great idea of how big it is when trying to fit a camera in there. Would you mind posting a pic of your set up?

 

[David Grigorian]

These images should help you get an idea of how much the bag can carry, this is the smallest size GR1 which is a 21 liter, they also have a GR1 at 26L. But the GR2 is what I would recommend for you and it can carry double this at 40L, it also has dual compartments so you could store your clothes in one and your gear in the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXg0XjXYuA4

http://www.goruck.com/gr2-rucksack-black-/p/GEAR-000509

[/url]bag by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4967 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4966 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4971 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Nik Harper]

These images should help you get an idea of how much the bag can carry, this is the smallest size GR1 which is a 21 liter, they also have a GR1 at 26L. But the GR2 is what I would recommend for you and it can carry double this at 40L, it also has dual compartments so you could store your clothes in one and your gear in the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXg....goruck.com/gr2-rucksack-black-/p/GEAR-000509

[/url]bag by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4967 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4966 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]IMG_4971 by david grigorian, on Flickr[/IMG]

Thanks a lot for posting the pics.

Do you comfortable with the amount of padding you have? I'm just wondering if you end up setting the bag down extra carefully. (Not that I just throw my shit around but you know what I mean)

 

[David Grigorian]

I hear you but honestly I have no issues with the amount of padding, I don't throw my gear around but I definitely don't baby it either. I think it's kind of silly to have a lot of padding in a backpack set up just because when the gear is on my back it's not really bumping into a lot of things, I don't throw it in the back of trucks where other gear or really anything can destroy it, If I did it would be in a hard case. For 90% of my use I don't add extra padding at all, the padding built into the bottom of the bag itself is actually pretty good. I really only add the extra padding if I'm going to be traveling in a plane where I'm worried about other luggage bumping into my backpack in the overhead. But the beauty of having a really small set up is you can always put it under the seat in front of you.

 

[Björn Benckert]

This one is really interesting. So the inside "backpack" part comes all the way out?

Can you use the shell of the other bag as a rolling suitcase if you remove the backpack part?

Yes thats right.
The shell comes of so when you reach your location you got the padded square backpack and then you still have the hard shell with wheels. Which gives you a second case when needed.

Saved me a few times when traveling and packing everything tight when leaving.... then on the way home with extra hard drives, gifts for the wifie etc, then that hard shell comes handy.

 

[David Battistella]

also,

Bookmarking the space is probably a good idea.

http://travel-made-simple.com/carry-on-size-chart/

David

 

[Cicero A]

For me after several tries I found the Lowepro Pro Trekker 450 AW Backpack to be my best and most favorite choice, TreckPak added for better space management

I trust your judgement so think I'll go with this bag. any reason you went with the 450 instead of the 650? 650 seems bigger and is only $9 extra. any possibilities that the larger bag cant be checked on flights or something?