How Heavy Is Your Field Kit?

[Doremus Scudder]

I've described my packing and backpacking kits a few times on this forum and others. No one really seems to be using my "system" much, but I'm still an advocate.

For day hikes (most of my photography) I wear a lumbar pack which contains a Wista DX, four lenses, two sets of six filters and a dark cloth strapped on the back. In pockets in my coat or in a fly-fishing vest (depending on the weather) is meter and accessories. six filmholders and another lens is in a pouch slung over my shoulder and I carry a lightweight tripod in my hand. Total - 24 pounds. Plus, my pack has a shoulder strap and never has to touch the ground. I can strap the tripod onto the back of the pack as well to free my hands for scrambling. I've been in some pretty rough terrain with all of this and it works superbly.

Details: Lumbar pack - Wista DX, 90mm SA f/8, 135mm plasmat (Nikkor or WF Ektar), 203mm Ektar f/7.7, 300mm Nikkor M and two sets of six filters in 52mm and 67mm size. (The "extra" lens, which I could do without, is a 240mm Fujinon A and lives with the filmholders.) Vest or coat pockets - Pentax spot meter, Voss filterholder with barn doors, lens cleaning brush, viewing filter, flashlight, cloth bucket, focusing glasses and loupe, etc. Film pouch - six filmholders, exposure record and the "extra" lens plus a few extra filters (Wratten 44, ND, etc.).

I could make this even lighter by leaving a lens and a filter set behind, but don't need to. I can hike in rough terrain all day with this (I do carry a bottle of water and often a sandwich with this kit as well).

Backpacking (which I do less of these days): Usually I'm packing with my wife, so we distribute the essentials between us. On top of that is my lumbar pack, strapped to my backpack, with camera, and small 90mm, 135mm and 240mm lenses. I take Mido holders on backpacking trips (they're a pain in the wazootie, leak light if you don't tape them, etc., but they're light). Also in the little pack are my Pentax meter and one set of filters. The tripod gets strapped to the main pack. I can take the lumbar pack out for day hikes from a base camp as well.

In Europe, where I do most of my "urban" work, I have a Woodman 4x5 and several lenses (90mm SA f/8, 134mm WF Ektar, 210 Fuji L, and 180mm and 240mm Fuji A lenses) plus a Pentax spot meter, two sets of six filters (52mm and 67mm), plus loupe, glasses, darkcloth and accessories. These live in a hybrid backpack/rolling carry-on pack that I can wear on my back when bicycling, but can roll when on the sidewalk. Lightweight tripod is strapped on the bike rack or in my hand. Again, this kit is pretty light (I'd guess 25 pounds tops).

My kits weigh a lot less than comparable MF kits simply because I choose to carry lightweight wooden cameras and small lenses along with a small tripod. The film is still 4x5 though and my lenses are all top quality, so the only compromises I'm really making are maximum apertures and movement limitations (which I can usually get around one way or the other). A small sacrifice for a lightweight kit.

My kit in action on the Oregon coast: http://doremusscudder.com/?m=9&s=40 Note that nothing ever touches the ground.

Best,

Doremus

[Peter De Smidt]

I use a Photobackpacker system for a Toyo AX. Usually, I take 90mm, 120mm, 210mm, and 300mm lenses, along with a spot meter, Tewe 4x5 viewfinder, film, loupe, filters, cables releases, Blackjacket dark cloth, Gitzo Series 3 tripod and head. If I'm not going far, I'll add a 4" back extension for the Toyo. It's fairly heaving, but the back pack does a good job putting the weight on my hips.

[Andrew]

Too much AND not enough.

too much is NEVER enough...

[newt_on_swings]

Car trips I have a bad habit or loading up, my setup for those consists of the extra large f64 backpack, with my wista sp, 4 or 5 lenses and lens boards, compendium bellows, polaroid pack film holder, 10 film holders, 2 or 3 packs instant film, silverstri loupe, Polaris spot meter, and 9 or 12 filter pouch, dark cloth, plastic tarp, vanguard actus plus cf tripod, big ol induro 3 way pan tilt head, misc stuff like pec pads and eclipse solution and cable releases, three axis level, large changing bag ( or Harrison film tent). Usually one backup camera a 6x6 zeiss folder or a small fuji point and shoot. I can't really hike with this setup, I have brought it around the city on the train before but mostly it's for car trips.

This summer I've hiked bear mountain in jersey with a slimed down version, with only my wista, 5 film holders, polaroid holder with only 1 pack of film, 2 lenses, loupe, spot meter, and compact point and shoot, and the big 11 or 12 lb tripod and head combo.

In the past I have also hiked with two fuji 6x9 cameras, spot meter, filters and a ton of film. Other hikes two olympus om4t cameras with usually a 28mmf2 and 50mm1.4 and a 85mm f2 in the bag. Other times two 35mm rangefinders.

Most recently I've gone minimal and have been using my 35mm point and shoot fuji dl mini zoom on the last two hikes. It's been pretty fun to use.

I've beer pretty much all over the place with my setups, I just go for what I feel like, depending on how long and far the trip and how much of a beating my cameras might take.

[Kevin Harding]

I have two field kits - one LF (a Wista Rittreck View) and one MF (Mamiya RB67). Both fit into a Lowepro Transit 350AW backpack.

In my LF, I have:
- camera
- 90mm lens, 150mm lens, 210mm lens (each in separate small padded pouches)
- various filters, meter, and cable releases
- Separately I carry a shoulder pouch of 10x film holders and a tripod

In my MF, I have:
- RB67 and WLF
- 127mm lens and 50mm lens (plus sometimes 1 other)
- 3x film backs
- Meters
- Filters
- Film
- Tripod

Without the tripod, I had to recently weigh the MF pack for travelling on a small airplane, and it came in at 11kg (25lbs).

[DrTang]

don't hike..but my urbane assault kit consists of a golf bag cart with a tripod bolted to it.. a 5x7 tailboard camera, a milk crate carrying holders and extra battery for the Q-flash that is bolted to the contraption on a side rigger with small softbox

I just wheel it up to someone and measure off the preset distance and - bingo.. instant 5x7 environmental portrait/document

[Kirk Gittings]

RPT Photobackpacker, 5 lenses, Phillips 4x5, Pentax Dig Spot light meter, 6 regular film holders, many small dodads I need etc. 25 lbs. plus tripod extra.

[bobwysiwyg]

RPT Photobackpacker, 5 lenses, Phillips 4x5, Pentax Dig Spot light meter, 6 regular film holders, many small dodads I need etc. 25 lbs. plus tripod extra.

Ditto, but I have only four lenses, and my Berlach tripod I believe is an additional 7 lbs?

[A_Tabor]

I'm still working on putting together a field kit, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to end up rebuilding a rig myself and some coworkers put together a few years ago for field research. They were basically half a stretcher bolted to the front end of a cheap bicycle that was hacked down. Re-ran the brake to the handle on the stretcher, and then tore apart old backpacks for their straps, frame, and belts.

Gear was balanced over the wheel as best as possible, but preference being slightly 'forward' so that it didn't want to flip up backwards, and strapping got adjusted so that when the carrier hooked themselves in most of the weight was taken on their hips to straps going to the long stretcher handles, and you would adjust the shoulder straps for comfort throughout the day.

Carts had the bike handles left on for the extra heavy ones, so that two or three people could then manhandle the rigs over exceedingly rough spots. Carrying 500lbs of gear and equipment down hiking and game trails all day long honestly felt more like a 60 to 90lb pack. Little more if going up hill, and a fair bit less if we were going down hill. Things got a little awkward at times in some of the tighter parts of trails, and river crossings needed a tad more logistical thinking, but we were also carrying five to ten times the kit that one could consider as a remotely sane load in a backpack, so I figure it all evened out in the end.

When I go to rebuild one I think I will probably spend a little extra and go with dual disk brakes even if I'm planning to carry less weight. We did have issues with the cheap rim brakes on the heavier units when one failed on a guy while he was going down a long hill, and it would probably be a lot more comfortable being able to apply the brake with both hands rather than squeezing only on one side. Would also want it with some kind of quick release on the wheel, and design it to 'pack-flat' when not in use.

I can also kind of think of some design modifications to it that might allow the frame to be broken down in the field and converted into a nice cot like setup. (Back in high school I considered even a full sleeping bag kind of an optional camping luxury, but with my 30s around the corner and a decade of a desk job without getting around to any camping, I'm starting to reconsider the idea of sleeping on the ground with just a basic bedroll.)

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

I carry a Wisner 4x5, a Ries tripod, 2-3 lenses and this and that in the range of 2-15 kg. Good exercise.