We get a lot of questions about how we pack for our photo trips. Last year we had over 70 flights and visited six continents, a normal year for us. Over the years we have fine tuned how we carry our photo equipment depending on the location. And living in Alaska, every trip gets a little longer starting in Anchorage. Here is a quick breakdown of how we pack depending on the trip.
National Park Trip. We teach a lot of workshops in the parks, and these generally require lenses from a 14mm to 400mm. For this trip we would carry our camera gear in a Think Tank Roller, the Airport Advantage. This roller only weighs 6 pounds, can hold two bodies and 3-4 lenses, and it fits in a CRJ commuter jet overhead bin. In addition to the roller we would carry a normal 29″ suitcase (lots of brands) with a Mindshift Backlight 18L or 26L inside with our clothes. We just stuff our small clothing items into the backpack in the suitcase so you don’t loose much space. Sure, you could just pack your camera gear in a backpack and carry it through the airport, we have done this frequently. But when we have the space and luggage allowance we put our backpack inside our suitcase because we get tired of walking through airports all day long with a backpack on.
Europe Travel Trip. Same as above, unless we are restricted with baggage allowance. In this case we might have to carry our Mindshift 26L backpacks and pack a smaller bag. We really like the Patagonia Black Hole 70L Rolling Duffel. Backpack easily fits in the overhead.
African Safari. These trips require big lenses and are restricted on weight due to small flights in country. We will carry from 24mm-600mm super telephoto on this trip. For this we use our Gura Gear 30L Kiboko backpack for camera gear. On one side we will put the 600mm F4, and on the other side we put two bodies, 24-70mm and 100-400mm. For clothes we use a 55L Patagonia Black Hole bag (without wheels) to keep our weight to a minimum for the small plane. We only carry 3-4 sets of nylon safari clothes and do laundry at our camps.
Wildlife in the US. If we are flying domestically without Africa bag restrictions, I often put my camera gear into a Think Tank Airport Security. This large roller fits in standard overhead luggage compartments, and can carry my 600mm with bodies and extra lenses. If I am taking a commuter jet and have to gate check my roller, no worries. I have done this multiple times without a problem. Remember the trick when traveling with camera gear is to make sure your camera bodies are not attached to lenses.
Antarctica. I carried 2 bodies, a 24-70mm, 100-400mm and a 600mm F6.3 in my Airport Advantage Roller. I carried my clothes in my Black Hole Patagonia roller duffel (70L). To carry my camera gear on zodiac rides and shore excursions, I packed an Osprey waterproof backpack, the Transporter 30L and carried this in my duffel to the ship. See my previous blog posts on Antarctica photography.
There you have it. The main goal is rolling through the airports, and not backpacking through the airports. We have waited for hours in security and immigration lines, so much nicer to have a roller with your camera gear. Happy travels!