Best soft gear bag for traveling

[Davide DB 362]

I need a good example of a soft bag (ThinkTank, LowePro and other) for carry your M43 kit as carry-on baggage on airplane or small trips.

Do you have some photos of your gear packed and your toughts?

 

Thanks

[droplet 1]

ThinkTank Airport Accelerator ( 35.6 × 52.1 × 22.9cm)

 

1. 2x Inon Z-240

2. Inon Focus Light

3. Cable Ikelite-Nikon

4. 4x arms ULCS DB-08

5. 6x clamps +2x Inon balls

6. 8x StiX Jumbo

7. Single grip + base

8. NA-EM5

9. NAUTICAM 4" Wide Angle Port

10. NAUTICAM 4.33" Dome Port

11. SubSee Magnifier +5 Diopter

12. NAUTICAM Macro Port 65 + macro adapter

13. NAUTICAM 45° Viewfinder

14. Zoom rings (60mm/9-18mm/12-50mm)

15. Panasonic 8mm FE

16. MZD 12-50mm

17. MZD 12mm

18. MZD 60mm

19. MZD 9-18

20. 8xAccu charger

21. Camera battery charger

22. Notebook+Tablet

 

There is no room for NAUTICAM 6" Wide Angle Port #36133 (Panasonic 7-14)

Unfortunately dimesion of this bag does not obey Ryanair carry-on rules. So I'm playing now with CabinMax bag, 10mm and 5mm foams.

 

 

 

[Davide DB 362]

Wow a lot of gadgets in that bag!

Ryanair as other accepts max 55x40x20cm so you missed only for 3cm.

 

I have to pack the 6" dome for 7-14 and 4.33" dome only so they should fit.

 

Thanks for your photo.

[smk82 9]

I presume this is the accelerator backpack. Out of curiosity - how much does this weigh when fully stocked, and have you ever been stopped at a check-in desk?

[thetrickster 326]

Interesting to hear the 6" dome doesn't fit! (is it too tall?) I was tempted by one of the ThinkTank cases.. maybe not then.

 

I have the Pelicase 1560, but its way too heavy, once fully loaded to carry by just the handle.

So now looking at a cheap plastic roller case, that will accept the 1560 divider set...

The CabinMax cases look good

[droplet 1]

The total weight is about 10kg.

 

I encountered two times in Alicante in Spain with Ryanair during boarding that rude staff check very precisely dimension and weight. No mercy with Ryanair ;-)

[droplet 1]

Interesting to hear the 6" dome doesn't fit! (is it too tall?) I was tempted by one of the ThinkTank cases.. maybe not then.

 

Sorry for misunderstanding. Maybe it fits but not with this my current setup. The case is full.

[Davide DB 362]

In My ideal bag I should put:

 

Gh2 body

Na-gh2

Flexitray with two handles and ball joint

7-14mm

8mm

6" dome

4.33" dome

4x 20cm arms with stix like buoyancy system

Clamps

Maintenance gear.

 

Maybe something smaller...

 

Edit: I forgot two fix aquavolt 3500

Edited August 20, 2014 by Davide DB

[Draq 68]

I can perhaps ad a photo later, but I have started using the Thinktank Airport International (roller) and I put the camera body and lenses in a small shoulder bag that fits within the "personal item" limits. I put a padded photo bag insert into the shoulder bag. I have started doing this because increasingly I see even "legal" bags being forced into checked baggage or gate checked because the overhead bins get full or some gate agent is overly aggressive.

 

I am less concerned about the potential resulting rough treatment for the housing and ports than the camera and lenses. I also figure housing and ports are less appealing to steal than a camera and lenses. So far I have not had any problems with the roller, but I am sure my turn will come.

 

I am able to get an E-M1 housing with tray and arms, two z-240 strobes, 170 dome, 100 dome, 12-50 and 4" ports in the bag along with a focus light and miscellaneous small things (spare parts, fiber optic cables, bulb blower, microfiber cloth, some batteries, . I don't usually take all of the ports and sometimes take different ports and I then move clamps or something else into the bag.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Draq

[roteiro 0]

I use Akona Mesh Boat Duffel which I got from Dipndive. It is 29" X 15" X 9" and very convenient for many purposes. It is also very ragged and durable. Check it out!

[Gary.Makai 5]

Look at fstopgear, lighter than thinktank, more verisitile.

[Davide DB 362]

Look at fstopgear, lighter than thinktank, more verisitile.

 

Which model?

 

I use Akona Mesh Boat Duffel which I got from Dipndive. It is 29" X 15" X 9" and very convenient for many purposes. It is also very ragged and durable. Check it out!

 

No padding no filling

 

Why should I use this duffel bag for my photo gear? And How?

[TimG 62]

Moving gear around has become quite a dilemma.

 

Although both the ThinkTank roller bags (and the Pelican 1510) fit inside the normal airline cabin bag dimensions, for one or two airlines the actual weight of the bag exceeds their weight limit! A couple of airlines operating out of the UK have a 5kg cabin bag limit. Slightly more have a 10kgs limit. On a recent trip I found that my Pelican 1510 plus a Subal housing on its own weighed 12kgs!

 

It has become a case of "load the bag and prey" when you get to check-in especially with the more budget airlines which operate to the dive locations in, e.g. Egypt's Red Sea. Like many, I now have a jacket with me which has loads of pockets which can, hopefully, soak up gear if the dreaded "over weight" command is issued. I find this has all become quite a stressful experience.

 

So the search for light-weight but sturdy cabin and travel bags has become a bit of a quest for the Holy Grail. Like the trickster, I'm keeping an eye out for a light-weight cabin bag which, in my case, could take the Pelican 1510 insert. That should save 4kgs.

 

Interestingly, when I was the dive manager in a resort which specialised in serious photographers, increasingly guests - who were very experienced divers - wanted to hire gear to reduce the amount of stuff they were lugging.

[Aliens 3]

I use the Sony Alpha backpack. Small but light. Put arms and hardy stuff in chekc in. http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod8269.htm

[thetrickster 326]

Got around last night to sort out my ThinkTankPhoto Security V2.0 - It packs a LOT of stuff!