How do you carry your tripod over hill & dale?

[Andrew O'Neill]

I carry it over the shoulder, or in my hand. Easier to get it down on the ground to mark the spot.

[Vaughn]

For all of you carrying the tripod over your shoulder, how far are you comfortable carrying it like this?

As far as I have to go! Total pack & tripod is about 60 pounds, so while I may walk and photograph most of the day, the distance varies with the terrain, temperature and the number of set-ups. But rarely would I do more the 10 miles, usually half that. Often it is not how far I go, but where I go...most often off-trail.

If the light dies, or I run out of film, and I still have a long way back to car or camp, then the tripod head goes in the pack, reducing the weight in hand/on shoulder.

[tgtaylor]

I always carry my tripod attached to the outside of the pack. I find that its weight is more tolerable when its evenly distributed balancing the weight of the tent, air mattress and water bottle. Also it leaves both hands free for hiking poles and scrambling when necessary.

A few years back when I was a 'one tripod photographer' and that tripod was in for repair, I bought an ancient Gitzo Studex that weighed a ton at a local camera swap and hiked out to Ten Lakes in Yosemite with it. The feet were too big to place into the mesh webbing on my Gregory Reality as I usually do so I hand-carried it alternating from one shoulder to the next. I hated it; it was torture all the way out and back. Should I find myself in a similar position again, I'll spend some time figuring out a way to attach it to the pack.

Thomas

[Tim k]

In the back seat of my truck. I read somewhere that there was nothing photogenic more than 5 ft from the parking lot. That seemed pretty reasonable to me.

[Dave Jeffery]

I use a cheap folding chair bag for my tripod on long hikes and it is really comfortable to carry.

The Eddie Bauer folding chair bags seem to be the strongest.

I cut off the cheap original strap and sew on an adjustable, nicely padded shoulder strap from a duffle bag.

As the shoulder strap would eventually chafe my neck on long hikes I made about a 6" long adjustable strap with webbing and a quick release clip. This strap wraps around the tripod bag strap and the backpack strap at the top of my shoulder which holds the two straps together away from my neck. It's fast and easy to remove -just pop the quick release to remove it and clip the short strap around the tripod bag strap for quick retrieval later.

The tripod is quickly and easily removed from the bag using the draw string.

The tripod can still be guided through the brush a fair amount without taking it off. I like this setup better than mounting the tripod on my pack as the tripod would catch on things going through thick brush and my pack has a little more clearance and flexibility without it. I just point the bag into the brush and push through which I find easier.

The bag also protects the tripod and head from getting beat up, and scratched, and leaves my hands free to climb or use hiking poles etc.

The beat up bag also looks like it contains a cheap folding chair rather than a nice tripod.

The bag is also not very bulky and is easily stashed in my pack when it's not needed.

[letchhausen]

Since I don't have a car and often ride a city bus somewhere I carry my tripod in a Tundra tripod bag in my hand which allows me to maneuver it so I don't bump somebody and the padding helps if I do. Same thing on crowded city streets, best to switch from hand to hand depending on how I'm cutting through the crowd. The tripod is a Gitzo 3541 XLS and I don't want that extra weight on my back either. In the city the Lowepro backpack is already enough hanging back there and that Ebony SV45U is heavy enough. If I'm trekking through some industrial buildings etc somewhere or if I accidentally end up in that place with all the trees....ummm....the woods I think they call it....then I usually forgo the bag but still carry the Gitzo in my hand. I've seen that movie Grizzly Man and in that case I want it up front for protection......which can come in handy in some industrial areas as well.....

[Dave Jeffery]

I've seen that movie Grizzly Man and in that case I want it up front for protection.....

I watched the movie "Girly Man" before I made my "man bag" for my tripod




It's nice not to carry a tripod by hand on very long hikes.

If your time is worth nothing you can Google "Indian Thriller Girly Man" and also watch other Buffalaxed videos

[picker77]

In the back seat of my truck. I read somewhere that there was nothing photogenic more than 5 ft from the parking lot. That seemed pretty reasonable to me.

I use a modified version of Tim's method for my Sinar F2. Big aluminum case and tripod strapped in the cargo bed of my Polaris Sportsman 500cc X2 ATV. Plenty of room for lunch and other stuff back there, too. Admittedly, there are some trails too narrow for this rig, but in that case the modified parking lot rule applies: There's nothing photogenic that a 4x4 ATV can't get close to.

[Jim Shanesy]

In its case, with the strap slung over my shoulder. The camera's in my backpack. I'm getting old enough so that I can't go as far as I used to, but I'm still good for about 2 miles each way.

[E. von Hoegh]

9, 8, 7, 4, & 1.
When hiking with a pack, either tripod gets tied onto the pack. Short distances in my hand.
Small tripod, Marchioni Tiltall.
Big tripod, Camera Equipment Co. Inc. with "Pro Junior" spring head. 16lbs. Now that I'm 50 I'll be making a lighter head, I can cut the weight at least in half.