Hey all! So I am a photographer and I travel A LOT. I am working on minimizing down to just one carry-on bag with my camera gear, laptop and clothes. Why do I want to travel like this? Because it makes everything so much easier! I often am in countries where renting cars is not an option or it's just crazy expensive. Lugging around a backpack plus a suitcase is a pain! The cost is another factor. I can save a ton by flying with just carry on and in many cases if I just have one backpack I can fly extra light and save even more. I have been slowly trimming down the amount and sizes of my photo gear that I need for the type of work I do. It's still a work in progress but I'm getting there. I recently bought an ultrabook and I can say from experience it was one of my best investments yet! It saves so much space and weight! I have also been working on my clothing situation. It is a little challenging as I can't wear shorts all the time for what I do. I need dressier clothes for when I go to my corporate work. I am working on simplifying all this though. I currently have an Incase Pro DSLR backpack and a small duffel bag but I would like to combine the two. Currently I am working on figuring out the best bag for this. I am currently looking at the FStop gear Tilopa, Peak Design Travel Backpack and the bag that Peter McKinnon made. What travel tips do you have? How about traveling like this but with a knife? Normally I would pop any multi-tool or knife I might need for a trip in my checked luggage but in this case I wouldn't be able to. What do you do in this situation?
I either travel with a Pelican 1510 and check it when I have to or stop at Walmart when I get to a new place and get another $4 knife. I am usually pleasantly surprised by how good these can be these days! They also usually have the Ontario RAT1 at Walmart and these are great knives for under $30 and I either gift it to someone that I know there or mail it home to myself for later use. This is ALWAYS in addition to a pack or bag for carryon too and having the Pelican also gives me some piece of mind as I can tether it in my room to something fixed and feel a little secure leaving gear in it in the room if I don't want to carry everything around whenever I am out. I like the Bihn Synapse or Brain Bag depending on how much stuff I am carrying of course. These never look outwardly like I am carrying pricey things to steal like most Camera bags do. You can also order from Bihn and try the bags at home to see if they might work for you and return them if not which is a great option to me. Most Photo purposed bags also have much too much space taken by padding that I don't think I usually need so I have moved away from the ThinkTank or Gura Gear bags that I used to use. I also still really like the TT ShapeShifter bag,it is the only Camera designed bag that I keep coming back to as it is so flexible and really more secure too for walking around in high theft areas I think.
The Air hardly seems a game changer to me? Maybe a little lighter empty but when loaded they will both be too heavy and the Air seems to look a little bigger but when you really dig into the differences in the construction it seems to mainly be just cheaper for them to make at my greater expense? Exactly like the lighter weight SKB version of the same max carry on cases,not as good as a 1510. If its not broke I do not plan to fix my 1510.
Aside from a backpack, you might also want to invest on photographer chest rigs like Newswear or those belt based setups to help you carry your camera stuff without having to take it out from your backpack.
In my experience single bag carry is good for those trips where you are flying out one evening and returning the next. In those cases, I've packed my closes, laptop, and everything I need to work that day into amy TAD Gear FastPack. I don't like having to work around my closes to retrieve items from the bag, particularly if I'm in a meeting. With regard to the knife, I worry about it for day trips. I don't like it though. For multi-day trips (domestic), I just send the knife ahead to my hotel via FedEx or USPS Priority Mail Flat rate. Same for the return trip.
As EZDog mentioned, I would also look at some of the bags that Tom Bihn has. While their not photography/camera oriented they are travel oriented. As far as not being able to have a knife for carry-on, I always travel with a Leatherman Style PS. I don’t get a knife but I do get scissors and some other useful tools. Then if I do want an actual knife, I pick one up when I arrive. Another site that might help you that I came across a while ago, but don’t own any of their stuff, is https://www.wandrd.com. They seem to have some camera focused gear that is meant for situations like you describe.
I rarely travel these days. One of the mixed benefits/curses of retirement... When I did, I was - in my mind - a road warrior. Pretty much every Monday got on a plane; most Friday nights back on the plane to home. Those days were divided into 'pre 9/11' and 'post 9/11'. Pre 9/11 I never ever had a problem with a knife or two in my briefcase; often as large as a Buck 110... I kid you not. Post 9/11 of course was different and still is. Most times, I'd stop at a 7/11 or a gas station or.... you get the picture. Pick up a cheap blade or even a box cutter. Sometimes, if I was in the right area of the country, stop at a sporting goods store, a hardware store, or even a Tractor Supply and pick up a more traditional little slip joint or similar. Usually left it at the client site for my return the following week; when the project was done just give it away. What can I say? I just like having a blade. On the rare occasion now when I end up driving into NYC (gasp!) or similar, I make a point of carrying some sort of SAK or ALOX. Those places sometimes have aversions to blades but I've never had any issues with these. Am Yisrael Chai! Moshe ben David
