back packing with Calumet c1

[Percy]

Hi.
I've read and heard of people (not often) back packing with this camera.
I was wondering earlier today, "what the hell back packs with this thing?" Yes, I wondered what, not who.
And what the hell does it pack the thing into to carry it?

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Well, unfortunately I can't remember the guy's name, but a now deceased friend of mine, Howard Ross (inventor of the color enhancement filter), told me of a guy who was of very slight build and not terribly tall, who carried a C-1 mounted on a Majestic tripod with gear head. He would shoulder this combo and carry his holders, lenses, etc. in another bag and hike all day long, shooting some 25 or more sheets of film per day. Having once owned a C-1 and being very familiar with the Majestic, all I can say is that I wouldn't want to be the coyote who crossed this guy!

[Jim Rhoades]

You can fit just about anything into a Duluth pack. I really think it has more to do with youth and money. Many years ago I backpacked with just a square tarp for shelter. Tie one end to a tree, the other three pegged to the ground. No foam pad or air mattress just a canvas tarp for a ground cloth. I was always covered with bug bites, cold, wet and even at eighteen, stiff. It sucked, but that's what I had.

[Donald Brewster]

St. Ansel's Burro?

[Johnny B]

Tripd: Bogen 465b –9.5 lbs.
Bogen 3039 quick release head—4.2 lbs.
6 cut film holders—5-7 lbs.?
Calumet c1— 18-20 lbs. (or a pile of bricks)
Two mounted lenses—10 lbs.?
Spot meter—1/2 lb. ?

I have never backpacked with this setup, backpacking to me meaning overnight trips with lots of hiking. I regularly backpack with my crown graphic and 35mm setup. I've hiked upwards of 10,000 feet in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains of Utah with my 8x10 C1 on long day hikes.

I carry the camera, film holders, lenses, and spot meter in a Granite Gear 5500 cu. in. pack along with water and a few other necessities. The tripod gets slung over my shoulder. I have even stuffed the old C1 into an REI Vagabond backpack for hikes in the mountains too, but the Granite Gear pack fits me better and distributes the weight better.

I don’t consider myself super strong but I do a lot of distance running on trails at elevation so that must help.

[David Karp]

I borrowed a friend's C-1 for a while. It fit into my Kelty Redwing (barely). It sure was heavy. Film holders went into an Arctic Zone cooler bag carried over my shoulder. Only two of my lenses worked with the camera, a 300mm Nikkor M and a 450mm Fujinon C, so I was able to find a place in the backpack for the lens that was not mounted on the camera (covered with a protective wrap).

That experience made me decide that if I ever buy an 8x10, it has to be lighter than the C-1.