Packing photo equipment suggestions

[Bogdan]

I generally travel with 2 Inon strobes and a Nauticam housing plus wide angle and macro ports and I find like everyone else that airline weight restrictions are becoming increasingly problematic. I think this pretty much eliminates the possibility of using a dedicated equipment case like a Pelican. I end up packing the ports and strobes in my carryon and wrap them in T shirts, but I always worry about them coming loose and getting scratched or damaged in my bag. I was wondering what creative solutions people might have come up with in protecting their equipment while traveling. Are there any light weight neoprene or foam alternatives out there? Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Steve_C]

I also use a rigid carryon. Camera and lens wrapped with beanie, gloves which are light weight neoprene in a soft padded camera bag along with computers that goes into the carry on. Other key equipment like regs and a SMB and reel go into carryon outside camera bag.

 

[WetLens]

I stopped by a local pro camera store and picked up a divider set. I use it in a standard carry-on roller bag. Consistently weighs in at around 36#, but have not been challenged and I've done a fair amount of international travel with it. I've posted a photo of it previously - see if I can dig it up.

 

[Bogdan]

This is a great idea. I was thinking of sewing some neoprene together to hold the lens ports but this may be a lot easier. Thanks again WetLens!

 

[diver 85]

I use the 'small bubbled' bubble wrap material for wrapping my strobes, FIX housing, & video lite in,---in a dedicated backpack(built for carrying cameras in--made by Sumdex)......You know what I'm talkin' about---like this...

 

[PatW]

I have a rigid photo case with wheels and dividers. I put my strobes, housing, arms, and ports in it. It goes into the overhead compartment. By the way, for some reason, it is endlessly fascinating to airport security. They inspect the thing about four out of five times. As if anyone would place anything problematic in something that they nearl always search.

By the way, pack your Nauticam Allen wrench set in your checked luggage. For some reason, some officials view Allen wrenches as contraband. I had a set confiscated in Cozumel.

i also have a backpack. My camera and lenses go in there as well as my regulator and dive computer.

i check a bag with my scuba gear and clothes inside which goes at about 50 lbs.

Now on some small connecting flights to "out islands", they charge you for total weight including carryon. In that case, I just have to bite the bullet.

 

[Akimbo]

I made this combined dome and housing cover out of 7mm wetsuit material, mostly for soaking the housing in camera tanks. It also works well to protect the camera and housing in my soft-sided carry-on. I can get the housing, two strobes, two regulators, one mask, primary and backup computer, batteries, dive light, and some tools in it. The carryon is about 40 Lbs but doesn’t see the baggage handling system.

 

[KeithG]

my carryon bag is a lowepro camera backpack. it has a sleeve that my laptop fits in. it is small enough profile that it will fit in the overhead on the small regional jets. sometimes i need to pull the laptop out to get it in the hole, then the the laptop sits on top for the flight.

my personal carryon item is a second smaller camera bag.

since both bags are designed for carrying camera equipment, they have lots of velcro padded dividers.

 

[kombiguy]

I use a ThinkTank carryon, but my friend wraps his ports in a t-shirt, then puts them into Tupperware containers for protection. The Tupperware then goes into his carryon.

 

[Stoo]

I still use my Pelican 1510. It holds my Aquatica housing (with camera inside), two 161s, macro port and extension ring, a couple of chargers, arms, three lenses, 45° viewfinder, two sync chords and odds and ends. And it weighs in at 42#. "So far", I have only been challenged twice and in each case, it was only due to the large amount of carry-on on a smaller plane. One of those times, it led to a gate-check and the other I kept it after I explained it contained about a $zillion bucks worth of stuff. I carry a small backpack with a second body and lens. My 8" dome has a neoprene cover, then gets wrapped in a neoprene vest and then my wetsuit or clothes. In this pic, the arms are not shown, but they lie between the other bits.

Two things about the Peli case... First, it is heavy, but regardless, the stuff inside is over the 20# some airlines enforce, so even if I put it all in paper bags, it's still going to be overweight... And secondly, the case looks compact, compared to the large number of overstuffed soft bags. Compared to many carry-ons, it's downright dainty.

And if do have to check it, I know it will be protected!