What Camera bag for serious trekking

ghibbett · 17-07-2007, 2:33 PM

Hi All

Just after some views / opinions.
I'm off to Nepal in Feb and (obviously) plan on taking the camera. However it's not a photography trip but a trekking trip (I'm trekking to Everest Base Camp) so I need to carry the camera along with a decent sized daypack. I currently have a Lowerpro 100AW which would be hopeless for the task. Therefore I'm looking for something that can satisfy the following criteria:

Able to carry:
400D
EF-S 10-22 w/lens hood
EF-S 17-55 w/lens hood
Spare batteries & mem cards
35-40 litres spare capacity for my day pack gear (waterproofs, med kit, food & water etc etc).

Any ideas?

allymac123 · 17-07-2007, 9:06 PM

My Tamrac adventure 9 has extra carrying capacity. Don't know if it will be enough for you though...

hongkonguk · 18-07-2007, 5:51 AM

Just a thought but how about a smaller shoulder bag to just pop into a larger normal rucksack? I have one with the capacity for a 350D and two lenses with pockets for cards cloths etc and it fits nicely into my walking rucksack. Then you also have the benefit of two layers of protection for your gear also.

Like I said,just a thought.

ghibbett · 18-07-2007, 6:15 AM

HongKongUk - what bag do you have?
Allymac123 - Do you have any pics of your Tamrac bag? (Their website is rubbish for pics)

h4rri · 18-07-2007, 7:02 AM

I use a Tamrac Exp 7 and it's bleeding heavy, a mate recently bought an Exp 5 and he took it on a 4 mile hike without it getting too heavy. The Lowepro range of backpacks does look good too.

davepuma · 18-07-2007, 7:22 AM

I've just bought a Tamrac Adventure bag from ebay but that's probably too small. You can see pics of the Tamrac gear here

hongkonguk · 18-07-2007, 7:46 AM

Mine is just one from Jessops (our local one was closing so got it cheap-ish). A Kamala or something like that. It has the usual padding/adjustments etc and does the job. When I put it in my backpack I put the less used stuff at the bottom then have the bag towards the top so I can access it easily. I have space for some sandwiches,a drink,waterproofs and a bit left over for my gorillapod. If I needed more space I could just buy a bigger walking/trekking bag.

Maybe not as convenient as a dedicated photo backpack but for both bags it would come out a hell of a lot cheaper. Especially for the amount of space you need.

ghibbett · 18-07-2007, 9:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h4rri

I use a Tamrac Exp 7 and it's bleeding heavy, a mate recently bought an Exp 5 and he took it on a 4 mile hike without it getting too heavy. The Lowepro range of backpacks does look good too.

Hmmm, a 4 mile hike. I'm going to need something that's comfortable for a wee bit more than that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davepuma

I've just bought a Tamrac Adventure bag from ebay but that's probably too small. You can see pics of the Tamrac gear here

Cheers but the pics are the same as on the Tamrac website.

So far all the photo backpacks I've seen will carry a load of camera gear and not much else. I need something that'll carry my dSLR, 2 lenses + batteries & mem cards and also have room for lots of other trekking gear. Am not having much luck...

denno75uk · 18-07-2007, 9:44 AM

Seems to me the most important criteria is the trekking bit which says that going for a proper rucksack is the way to go and then try an fit the camera gear in in a secure manner that allows you to access it easily.
35-40 litres is quite a requirement and a dedicated camera bag with that capacity is likely to be geared too much toward camera equipment and not enough toward the general gear you'll be taking. The camera has to be seen as a bonus, even if you have to limit yourself to the body and one lens.
As a guide, I've got one of these and my 30D with kit lens on fits nicely in the recess formed by the top closing flap. If you put the camera in a secure waterproof bag then you could probably fill the rucksack with all your trekking gear and still put the camera on top nicely before securing the drawstring.
The only issue I can think of may be temperature.

coachdriver · 18-07-2007, 5:11 PM

I've been searching for somehting similar and not had any luck. The bags are too focused on the camera side.

As an aside, you will be walking at altitude which is much much harder so any extra weight you are carrying you will certainly notice. Have you been given an indication of how muh kit you will be carrying and how much you give to your porters ? You will probably be limited to 5Kgs or so to the porters and any extra to yourslef. I woudld think carefully about exactly what you need to take.

ghibbett · 19-07-2007, 6:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartinT

I've been searching for somehting similar and not had any luck. The bags are too focused on the camera side.

As an aside, you will be walking at altitude which is much much harder so any extra weight you are carrying you will certainly notice. Have you been given an indication of how muh kit you will be carrying and how much you give to your porters ? You will probably be limited to 5Kgs or so to the porters and any extra to yourslef. I woudld think carefully about exactly what you need to take.

Hi MartinT,

Yeah it's looking that way. May start looking for a smaller case that I can put in my main pack. Fully appreciate the weight issue and am briefed on the altitude problems (AMS anyone!?). Porters will be carrying 15kgs - i have to carry the days rations, waterproofs + extra layers for when higher up, first aid kit, water and then the camera. Will probably just take body with 10-22 and 17-55 as this stage.

Right, now off to start looking for a smaller case!

Thanks for everyones help and opinions.

Cheers,

ghibbett · 30-08-2007, 6:29 AM

Just an update on this thread - ended up buying a Crumpler Pretty Boy XXL to fit in my Berghaus Freeflow 30+6L pack.

It's a squeeze, but should give me 2x protection for the camera. Off training in Chamonix in Sept, then the Lakes in Nov so will be sure to post some pics once back. Oh yes, and they'll be Everest pics come March next year.....

py6km · 30-08-2007, 10:29 AM

I have a Deuter back pack for this kind of thing. They're proper hiking/mountaineering kit (and are priced accordingly), but as such they are top notch. I can't remember the exact one I have, but it has a seperate compartment in the bottom which is ideal for camera kit, and is the reason I got it. I'm not sure it would take all your kit, but they're bound to do bigger versions which would be suitable.

ghibbett · 30-08-2007, 11:14 AM

Yeah I looked and tried a load or Deuters (as well as the entire Berghaus & Lowe Alpine ranges) but it was the Berghaus that fitted me the best. My g/f ended up with a Deuter mind. Nice well made day-sack!

However the bottom pocket on the Deuters, as well as on my Berghaus, is not big enough to fit the Crumpler with kit in. Not to worry - other stuff can be fitted in that pocket with the camera bag in the main compartment.

Liquid101 · 30-08-2007, 3:25 PM

Plenty of good adice here re: bags. The only advice I can offer is regarding cold and damp. This trek is could be quite cold in Febuary and possibly quite wet - you're going to need plenty of protections for your batteries to prevent losing charge too quickly.

On a practical note - take more clothing than you think you'll need - especially socks. When I was in the Anapurna region in late September a few years ago, I was completely unprepared for just how cold it was going to be. Got stuck for 3 days in heavy snow - and that was only at about 12,000ft. It was fairly unusual weather, and I just didn't have the clothing for it. I was carrying all my own stuff, so I packed fairly light. Big mistake

Because of the delays, my treking permit was about to run out, so I had to cover 25 miles downhill in one day. I could barely walk the next day.

Depite the headaches from thin air, painful blisters, seriously bad knees - constant tiredness, dodgy guts, and endless walking, I'd do it again tomorrow. Seeing Annapurna 1 being lit up at 6am through the clearest air you'll ever see is somethign thats still with me.

Wishing I was going with you

ghibbett · 31-08-2007, 6:35 AM

Hi Liquid

Thanks for the advice

Yes it's going to be one tough trek, especially as we're going up to 18,500ft. All I can do it train like mad and hope I don't get altitude sickness

How did you protect your batteries from the cold? I will be trekking for 12 days and am planning on taking 4 batteries. Do you think this'll be enough (esp. with the cold sapping their power)?

Cheers,

Liquid101 · 31-08-2007, 7:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghibbett

How did you protect your batteries from the cold? I will be trekking for 12 days and am planning on taking 4 batteries. Do you think this'll be enough (esp. with the cold sapping their power)?

I was using a Nikon F3 back then - it only took a watch battery. This only powered the lightmeter and viewfinder display - locked up on me once when it dropped to -15, but came back to life later in the day. It spent most of its time exposed to the elements hanginf off my shoulder - they made cameras tough in those days.

4 batteries should be fine, store them in socks in plastic bags inside your main bag - should be OK.