We travel to remote lodges all the time for our photography. And often this means travel by small plane (as in 4-12 seats), with strict weight limits on luggage and camera gear. Places like Africa, Borneo, Costa Rica and Alaska often have an approximate 40 pound weight limit which includes clothes and camera gear. How is it possible to pack this light? Here are a few suggestions that might make this more reasonable than you think.
Pack only what you need for camera gear. When I go to Africa I normally take two bodies, a 600mm F4 (with built in converter), a 100-400mm and a 24-120mm…that’s it. If I have any extra weight allowance I will bring a portrait lens and speed light. Tripods are optional in Africa (maybe a very small one, you shoot from vehicles), but I bring larger versions to Alaska and Costa Rica.
- To really make this work, you have to scrutinize everything going into your bag. And speaking of camera bags, find the lightest version that will work for you. I often travel using a Gura Gear 30L…at approximately 4 pounds this bag holds a ton. Above is my pack ready for Costa Rica. I have my 600mm F4 on the left side, and two Z9s, a 100-400mm and a 105mm macro on the other side. This is all my camera gear, and the total weight is 24 pounds (including pack). This leaves 16 pounds for clothes in my other bag. If I can I will carry my photo backpack out to the plane, and the pilot will load it up underneath or behind some webbing straps in the back. Other times they take my bag out on a cart. I always tell the baggage folks my backpack is camera gear, but generally they already know since they are used to taking photographers to game lodges. Of course I would love to have all my big lenses in a pelican case, but this doesn’t work for weight restrictions. There are always sad stories about camera gear getting damaged in transit, but in decades of travel to 90 countries I have never had my camera gear damaged. Make sure to disconnect your camera and lenses. Leaving lenses attached during travel, even in overhead plane compartments, can result in lens snapping off or being bent…we have seen both these things happen to other photographers during travel.
- Tripods. Spend big and get a super light carbon fiber version. I use Really Right Stuff tripods, they are expensive, but the last tripod you will ever buy. Super light and durable, with lots of configurations and sizes. The Ascend 14L with head is just over 3 pounds and extends to six feet…a great choice for light weight trips without big telephotos. I bring my TVC-24L with BH-55 for my 600mm when I need it…approx. 5 pounds. For Costa Rica I am packing my TVC24L with BH55, so 5 pounds, which means now I only have 11 pounds left for clothes.
- Luggage weight is critical for your clothes bag. Rollers are nice in airports, but they add five pounds of weight. I use a Patagonia 55L Black Hole duffel which weighs 2.5 pounds. Now I only have about 9 pounds left for clothes. Since Costa Rica is really hot and humid, I will not be packing heavy layers. Instead, I will pack nylon pants, shirts, extra shoes and toiletries. I might bring 4 outfits total. To keep weight down I always plan on doing laundry on the trip. So packed up my Black Hole weighs just about 12 pounds, so total weight for my trip is 41 pounds, which is close enough to the 40 pound mark for me. I always carry my MacBook Air with some cables in a small briefcase I carry onto the plane, which I don’t include in this total weigh. Sometimes airlines will weight this, other times they don’t.
- There are lots of ways to reduce your weight. Choose lighter bodies…for me I could bring Z8s instead of Z9s. Instead of my 600mm F4 I could bring my 600mm F6.3. I don’t need a macro lens…I could bring extension tubes instead. I could bring a lighter tripod, and be more careful using a big telephoto on a smaller head/legs. Hopefully these ideas will help you pack light for your next small plane photo adventure. For me, photo gear always is more important than fashion!