Floating your camera kit.

[Graeme Hird]

I am planning a trip to a place where I know I will have to swim with my gear to get to the best sites.



Does anybody have experience with keeping their whole kit dry while they swim stretches of water?



I am also seeking advice on how to ensure the kit floats. I need some sort of raft which is light, inflates and deflates quickly and may need to be used several times on a trip. Has anybody heard of a system that allows CO2 / NOx canisters (for soda fountains or whipping cream) to be hooked up to an inflatable device?



I am in Australia, so please remember that brand and store names of American products are not necessarily available. Good descriptions of any products would really help.



Cheers,
Graeme

[Bob Fowler]

Try these guys:

http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.com/

It beats the hell out of swimming... :-)

[Capocheny]

Hello Graeme,

I've stored meters and film in Glad Kitchen bags with the zip-lock seal before and when they got dumped into water... the items stayed dry. But, they weren't in the water for very long either.

What kind of gear are you talking about? Large format, MF, or 35mm?

You gave me assistance on one of these forums a while back when I was just starting to get into 4x5 photography. And, I appreciated your lending a helping hand. So, if there's something that I can do to return the favor...let me know. I live in Canada and I know there's probably some items here that you may not be able to access in Australia. Keep in mind though that shipping is quite expensive. I sent over a couple of Contax G2 lenscaps, a Nikon calendar, and a couple of sheets of 4x5 to a friend in Adelaide and the shipping cost was CDN$95. But, if I can help... let me know, ok? Feel free to email me off forum.

Cheers

[John Kasaian]

Graeme,

Just a thought---in the caribbean there are alot of instances when private pilots are required to have marine survival gear aboard for inter island flights. This stuff is pretty expensive so there is an outfit (called Eastern Aero Marine I think,) that rents these types of inflatables---all different sizes and they inflate with co2 cylinders.. I would think there would be a similar operation in Australia with all those islands down there. It might be worth checking out. Also companies that supply rescue units that specialize in swift water rescues might have something that would keep your kit dry. I'm sure the military would have developed a pretty good way to protect equipment being transported by swimmers, so there would be another resource to tap. Good Luck and don't feed the crocs!

[james mickelson]

Over here they make small rubber rafts that can be inflated by mouth and deflated quickly. They are light enough (4 pounds) to be worth looking into. They come in different lengths the most used is about 5 feet long. They are used around here to surf on. Hope this helps. Most sporting goods and Walmarts have them in spring and summer.

[Ralph Barker]

I believe that standard Pelican cases are water tight and would float, as would most similar cases, I'd guess. Most of these are air tight, so water wouldn't be much of a challenge. I've also seen waterproof bags used for storing gear, food, etc. for white-water rafting trips, but can't find any references at the moment. So, you might check at outfitters who deal with that type of sports activity. You may also find small inflatable kayaks at such a place. Most would use foot-operated pumps, however, as the compressed gas cylinders are quite heavy.

[Graeme Hird]

"What kind of gear are you talking about? Large format, MF, or 35mm? "

Only LF gear - if I'm going to go through that sort of hassle to get a shot, I wouldn't bother with the toy formats.



Thanks for the offer to get things from Canada. C$95 for a few light-weight sounds exteremely expensive!!!



Ralph,

Thanks for the tip. I'll check with the outdoors type shops here, though I should have mentioned I'm in outback Australia - no standing water most of the year, let alone water that may tempt a kayaker to town. A pelican case would not be suitable for the hiking I have to do between dips.

I think I saw some sort of vacuum-sealed storage system for clothes and blankets at the local K-mart. They might come in a large enough size for me to use, if I'm very lucky.



Graeme

[J Conrad]

I have used Storm brand iM series cases and can say without a doubt the ones I have are waterproof and float. I traveled with my 8x10 outfit in two of them for 3 weeks of rain and white water and they were banged around, completely submerged and held underwater on more than one occasion. Not a drop of water got in. Try www.cases4less.com

Good luck!

[QT Luong]

You can get a cheap inflatable boat, put your gear in it, and tow it in water. I've used one to work in the Everglades and Biscayne, although I didn't have my full kit in it, and used the boat mostly to have a place to rest the gear. The one I have is light and small enough to be used on backpacking trips.

[Ed Eubanks]

When I worked in photo retail, I remember the Pelican hardshell cases were a big plus for rafters, sailors, etc. because they were watertight and the floated. They also come in a great selection of sizes, and they are customizable with foam inserts. One guy I sold to bought two extra sets of foam inserts, and basically built three different customized cases for use in the one outer shell. It seems like these might suit your needs, if you're not talking about swimming very long distances.