Backpack for Hiking with an 11x14 View Camera

[Greg]

Am interesting is hiking short distances with my 11x14 Chamonix. The system is currently housed inside a large Sinar Norma case. The case is no problem to haul around using a wheeled luggage carrier, but using the luggage carrier on a trail here in New England just not an option. I am looking to hike not more than a half mike from the car and usually more like less than a quarter mile. Camera, maybe 2 lenses, max 2 holders, etc. will have to be carried on my back. Ries tripod over the shoulder. So what I believe I am looking for is a backpack that will be able to carry the camera, 1-2 lenses, 1-2 film holders, and some accessories. Minimal padding needed to protect the equipment, but a good harness to support the weight a must.

I want to begin a project of re-visiting some 12 waterfalls here in New England and photograph them with my 11x14. Most I have already photographed over the years with my 8x10, but now want to re-photograph them with my 11x14. Good thing is that most of the time I will need to carry only one lens with me. Unfortunately the backpack that I used to carry the 8x10 system can't be expandable to carry my 11x14.

Have looked into bulk "backpack" carriers for canoes, but so far they seem to have rather flimsy and uncomfortable harnesses... hopefully someone out there with some actual personal experience with these can prove me wrong on this point.

Suggestions and comments most welcome as always...

[Duolab123]

Mule. Seriously, this sounds like a job for a USN Seal.

Only thing I can think of is a modified aluminum bike trailer.

I've got an Eastman 11X14, and a Samson tripod. I can make it to the shade in our backyard.

[Peter Collins]

Recommend that you be young. And strong.

[Michael Roberts]

https://www.mekko.net/photobag/backseri.html

My 11x14 Rochester King fits with three lenses, focus hood, and two holders. I’ve got one of the bigger bags, obviously. The C39, I think, since my camera is 16x16 closed and fits perfectly with room on top for the three lenses.

I bought mine on eBay years ago. The last time I tried to email Mekko direct, I got no reply.

It’s a great bag if you can find one.

[Audii-Dudii]

How about a modified golf bag cart?

They can be found readily both new and used for not too much money and the ones with large-diameter wheels should roll over most obstacles without too much difficulty; if not, then they can be easily lifted over them instead.

[Vaughn]

I have a Chamonix 11x14. I found a pack that fits it, lenses, and 2 to 4 holders.

https://www.rei.com/product/867832/granite-gear-superior-one-portage-canoe-pack?CAWELAID=120217890000770608&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=16033120240&CATCI=pla-308606747401&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C404_61082%7C8678320002%7Cnone%7C460deb13-b76a-4760-a85b-2808e21aab8c%7Cpla-308606747401&lsft=cm_mmc:PLA_Google_LIA%7C404_61082%7C8678320002%7Cnone%7C460deb13-b76a-4760-a85b-2808e21aab8c&kclid=460deb13-b76a-4760-a85b-2808e21aab8c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2rPri6bj5AIVSr3ACh2sjwh7EAQYAiABEgJHafD_BwE

The only problem with it is that it is made for shorter people than me (6'3") -- it still works, but not a perfect fit. "Fits torso: 18 - 21 in. "

I carried it across the sandstone formations in eastern Zion...that was a good stability test.

[Peter De Smidt]

How about an external frame? Lash whatever case you need to the frame.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Greg, the pack that Vaughn mentions in his post is what I have for my 14x17 and it swallows it up just fine. No problem for your 11x14. Now I'm 5'7" tall and the pack fits me just fine. See if you can find a used MEI backpack. Check them out and I may have one I could let go of for cheap if you are interested.

[cuypers1807]

Here is a photo of the pack Vaughn suggests. I bought one and love it. I can get my Chamonix 11x14, 2 lenses and 4 holders in it. I added padding to the bottom (there is none) and some between the camera and the holders. It works well but the overall weight is limiting.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48757280412_9684d4f240_c.jpg

[Vaughn]

How about an external frame? Lash whatever case you need to the frame.

Actually -- this is the route I might take with my pack above. I am thinking of lashing it to a good external frame if I want to make any distance...rare trips of more than a couple miles out and back. My sister has a couple Kelty frames from the early 70s hanging in her garage.

But I find the weight of using the 11x14 to be not much different than my 8x10 -- after all, it is mostly empty space (and 4 or 5 more pounds, the Chamonix are light and my 8x10 is a Zone VI ). Instead of six or seven 8x10 holders, I'll have two to four 11x14 holders. One (big) lens rather than 3 lenses. I use the same Ries tripod for both 8x10 and 11x14, so no added weight there. So over-all, not much different than the 60 pounds I carry when out using the 8x10. But being a significantly bigger/wider package makes it awkward to carry and handle until it gets on the tripod.

The best thing about the canoe portage pack we have is that it is 11" deep. Deep enough for the camera and a couple padded 11x14 holders -- and an outside pocket that can hold a couple more.

The mekko does look pretty nice. Something like my laptop case that fits 2 or 3 11x14 holders could be strapped to the back if one needed the film. The Chamonix is 17.5" x18.25" (according to website), so probably would not fit.

Edited to add: The canoe bag is fairly light (the mekko is 11.25 pounds!). The canoe pack is built for its speciality use -- large amount of gear over short distances. It is not built for long hauls and rugged conditions. At my age, that suits me fine. I had to hike over some fairly uneven ground (to put it mildly) with the pack last April in Zion. The pack kept close to my body, and my center of gravity was good.

[Michael Roberts]

I stripped my Mekko bag down to 9lbs--no need for all those extra straps and internal dividers. But, yeah, it has padding built in (and a waterproof cover) so it weighs more than an unpadded nylon bag.

[Lachlan 717]

Have a look at the insulated packs the food delivery bike riders use.

[Pere Casals]

William Henry Jackson, an ULF photographer, lived until 99 years old, in part this was due the "backpack" brand he used for 18x22" ULF (and also for whole plate), reaching remote locations with it for many of his 80,000 LF/ULF shots..

Glacier point:

195733

The backpack:

195734


That self-propelled backpack used the green fuel that was found in the path. Today many ULF photographers have to shot near a paved way.

[HMG]

Duluth Packs / Portage Packs like that Granite Gear are great for large, bulky loads over short distances. That Granite Gear one has a hip belt; an improvement over the tradition Duluth pack. It would probably work well for the distances you described perhaps with a bit of padding inside (against your back). But I think you might be better off with a packframe (https://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS-OUTFITTER-FRAME-ONLY/2764782.uts?productVariantId=5705538&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=05072418&rid=20&ds_rl=1252079&ds_rl=1252079&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0tmVvsbk5AIVDMpkCh21Kg_pEAQYASABEgKPEvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) with shelf. You can lash your current case to it. They used to be pretty common at garage sales - no longer. I keep an old Boy Scout one in the attic for eventual use.

[Greg]

Thanks for all the feedback. Gave up looking for a rigid packframe (for another purpose) at garage and tag sales a while back. Several people told me they just threw them away cause "no one wanted them". Bought one online, and it was way too flimsy to trust it to securely carry camera equipment on/with it.

Had considered a Granite Gear Superior One Portage Canoe Pack, but when I saw one in person, it was just too large for my 11x14" outfit. But did go back to the Granite Gear website and discovered that they carry a Granite Gear Traditional #3.5 backpack which is a little smaller than the Superior One. Will have to add on a waist belt to the pack, which is a simple "alteration" that our local cleaners will do.

https://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/canoe-gear/portage-packs/traditional-3-5-portage-pack.html

Turns out it should comfortably fit the following inside it:
Bottom: cut to fit piece of Garage Floor Padding, and possibly the dark cloth on top of it.
Middle: Sheet 1/8" birch plywood (to provide some rigidity to the back of the pack), then the 11x14" camera (with GG protector) sandwiched between 2 11x14" film holders in Chamonix padded cases.
Top: 2 lenses in padded cases, meter in padded case, and 4th padded case for other stuff.

Will post when I get it all together and use a few times this fall.

[tgtaylor]

This pack might work as it is just a couple inches off in one interior dimension: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1077477-REG/lowepro_lp36777_pro_trekker_650_aw.html/specs. If there is a store in your area which stocks it, I'd bring the camera and see if it will work. I use the older version the 600 AWII for day-hikes with the Toyo 810MII with up to 3 lenses, 5 holders, and tripod. It's heavy, of course, but carries the load well and, importantly, protects what's inside!

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

No problem. Look at a large old-school external frame pack or a game carrier frame, which is similar but without fabric components. These can easily be customized. Forget the case, and forget dedicated camera packs.

[Duolab123]

William Henry Jackson, an ULF photographer, lived until 99 years old, in part this was due the "backpack" brand he used for 18x22" ULF (and also for whole plate), reaching remote locations with it for many of his 80,000 LF/ULF shots..

Glacier point:

195733

The backpack:

195734


That self-propelled backpack used the green fuel that was found in the path. Today many ULF photographers have to shot near a paved way.

And best of all, no batteries required!

[Drew Wiley]

Read about Vittorio Sella. He hauled ULF cameras up to 23,000 ft near K2 in the Karakoram, to summits of the headwaters of the Nile, up Mt St Elias in Alaska, all over the Alps and Caucasus. I've got a picture of his pack frame in a book; I think it still exists in a museum in Italy dedicated to his career.

[Greg Y]

Drew, My favourite mountain photographer was Ansel Adams; then I saw Bradford Washburns aerial work..... then I saw Vittorio Sella's photographs. He was in my opinion the pinnacle of mountain photographers. I had the pleasure of seeing his prints, which don't travel out of Italy very often, in 1999, or 2000 at the Whyte Museum in Banff. They are stunning. He also did the first winter ascent of the Matterhorn in 1882 and was (among other adventures) with the Duke of Abruzzi on the first ascent of Mount Saint Elias (after sailing across the Atlantic, sailing up the West Coast and walking in from the ocean.

[Drew Wiley]

Sella also did the first traverse of the Matterhorn. The Duke of Abruzzi was quite wealthy and wanted expeditions in relative comfort, so had brass beds hauled on sleds across the glaciers to the foot of Mt St Elias, greatly multiplying the effort needed! Like you, I really appreciate the photographs of Bradford Washburn too. I personally grew up in the Sierra, so have been to a lot of the same high country as AA, plus probably quite a bit more, but have taken only a handful of shots in Yosemite Valley itself, even though I had property fairly near. I can appreciate his sensitivity to the natural light of the Sierra, and how he poetically rendered it. But I'm more impressed by the earlier work of Watkins and Muybridge there, for reasons I won't elaborate on at the moment. I also have Shirakawa's book on the Himalayas, where in instances he went to great lengths to find specific viewpoints of Sella and reinterpret them in his own style; likewise, Shirahata somewhat later in the Karakorum. Then my nephew had the opportunity go with with Kurt Diemburger - a living legend who is the only person in history to have two first ascents of 8,000 meter peaks (Dhauligiri and Broad Peak), and was the oldest person to ever climb K2 - to a totally unexplored section the Karakorum on the Chinese side of K2. At the same time, one of my nephew's regular climbing partners, John Climaco, was climbing Chogolisa on the Pakistan side, the peak Sella had lugged his big camera partially up; but coming back he got kidnapped and held for ransom, not by the Taliban, but by his own assigned government agent. He published a book about the harrowing episode, titled, Dangerous Liaisons. And thirty years ago another high altitude mountaineering legend, Martin Zabeleta, offered to give me the new high altitude LF camera record getting me as far up as Camp II on Dhauligiri; but if that had happened, someone would probably just have a sherpa lug something to the summit of Everest for a token shot, just like they've hauled a golf club and ball up there. Any such feat would be wimpy compared to what Sella did anyway. Sella and his party were being chased by Gurkha soldiers up the Baltoro Glacier while he took the time to make a quantity of famous shots in spite of the risk. Zabeleta himself, who is a comparatively little guy, became famous because his own sherpa passed out on the summit of Everest, and he hauled him all the way back the mtn on his back; he also did the first alpine-style ascent of Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak, and adjacent to two of Sella's very most famous mtn shots, of Jannu and of Siniolchun. Sella also photographed Kanchenjunga itself from the remote Nepalese side. Nobody can render the gleam of ice and glacier quite like Sella.

[Vaughn]

I'll stick with Peter Britt. Came looking for gold in southern Oregon, did some teamster work, and became a photographer. Photographic claims to fame are the first photographs of Crater Lake, and to tell a daughter of a hotel owner that if she wants to have a photograph of a pretty face, she'd have to bring one.

That and he introduced grapes, wine making, and fruit trees to southern Oregon. I'll leave the mountain tops to the wonderful daring crazies!

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks for that tip, Vaughn. I own the oldest pioneer cemetery in Oregon, and my great grandpa had an astonishing life as first a wounded Civil War hero, then building a fishing fleet in Gualala with just one arm, then going to live with the Nez Perce before finally founding the community which has since become the Tillamook cheese empire along the coast. He was no doubt the authentic character behind the Dances with Wolves novel, which took immense creative liberties based on his memoirs. His interviews with Lincoln have been published, and the other details of the memoir authenticated by scholars. But none of my ancestors seem to have become serious photographers. However, I do happen to love many of the quirky things about the heaps of amateurish photos they took. A lot of long beards with chewing tobacco stains right down them. Some fascinating split-tone effects or "bronzing" due to improperly being fixed. The Tillamook museum does house memorabilia of my Aunt as a well-known WPA muralist, and recently published a book about her. A great grandmother claimed to be the first woman to climb Mt Hood, though there are competing claims. So much has changed. It is still a beautiful area, but not like having certain stunning beaches one could walk on any day of the week without seeing another person, like back then. When Mt Mazama popped and created Crater Lk, it made the explosion of Krakatoa seem like a child's firecracker by comparison. Ash spread clear to Nebraska and buried ancient rhinos. I've taken exactly one shot of Crater Lk, but it was exactly what I wanted.

[Vaughn]

Britt traveled to Crater Lake by wagon -- a couple hundred pounds of supplies. It is only 70 miles, and a 90-minute drive these days...might have taken him a little longer, though. It did take him three trips. There was a military road not too far away and someone else cut the road in to the rim of the crater. He probably brought a sufficient number of bottles of his wine, I am assuming.

[Drew Wiley]

Last time I was at Crater Lk, over 28 yrs ago, I was with with my girlfriend on the way to a "meet the parents" trip in Portland. She's the reason I gave up any plans to partially climb Dhauligiri with an 8x10. We had already decided to marry, and it was more a "inform the parents" situation. We also visited my brother and his wife in Bend. But I personally gravitated more to parts of Oregon even further east - Malheur, Steens Mtn, Lk Alvord etc - "desolate" places my father had taken me as a child when ranging far and wide rockhounding. Speaking of backpacks (as a lame excuse to keep this vaguely on topic), she wanted to try it out at least once, so as part of that same trip, I chose a pretty area on Mt Jefferson. She dropped her pack in less than 50 yards. I picked it up and said, what thhh ... She had a couple dozen large glass bottles of cosmetics etc in there. I had to strap her pack onto my own pack, and ended up carrying over 100 lbs for about six miles. I asked her if she had brought any mosquito repellant along, and she replied that it is bad for skin. But a few dozen bites weren't so good for skin either, and those dang perfumey cosmetics attracted them!

[esearing]

Back to the topic ... Lowepro just released new versions of their pro-trekker backpacks as large as 55L. Lowepro Pro Trekker BP 550 AW II - I assume with 11x14 you would strip out the dividers, dimensions are 13.78 x 20.08 x 9.45" / 35 x 51 x 24 cm and you could strap lenses in a pouch on the outside or top.

[Torontoamateur]

I suggest a stand alone Aluminum pack frame. It is strong light and strady It will protect the equipment form shifting and you may then place the equipment in fabric bags and pouches that you secure to the aluminum frame. I ahve done this wilt 8x10 and found it useful

[Saus]

Pro Trekker BP 550 AW II
Is "Camera Compartment Dimensions 31 x 17 x 46 cm" wide enough? I'm actually on the lookout for a backpack that will fit a Vanguard Supreme 46 inner case for an 8x10 camera.

[Vaughn]

Pro Trekker BP 550 AW II
Is "Camera Compartment Dimensions 31 x 17 x 46 cm" wide enough? I'm actually on the lookout for a backpack that will fit a Vanguard Supreme 46 inner case for an 8x10 camera.

My 11x14 is approx 45 x 14.5 x 47 cm folded up -- too big for this pack. A canoe portage pack is the only thing I have found so far.

For 8x10, I use this: https://meipacks.myshopify.com/collections/hiking-packs/products/trekker-ii (Main compartment : 25x14x9)

It is almost a custom fit for the Vanguard Supreme 46 inner case (18.9 x 13.6 x 7.6") -- actually the size down would work, too: https://meipacks.myshopify.com/collections/hiking-packs/products/trekker-i (22x14x9)

I have been using the Trekker II for the 8x10 for 25 years and it has held up great.

The main compartment is 25' x 14' x 9", the detachable daypack holds five 8x10 holders, and above the camera body goes the lenses, darkcloth and meter. Dividers I made myself.

[Greg]

But did go back to the Granite Gear website and discovered that they carry a Granite Gear Traditional #3.5 backpack which is a little smaller than the Superior One. Will have to add on a waist belt to the pack, which is a simple "alteration" that our local cleaners will do.

https://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/canoe-gear/portage-packs/traditional-3-5-portage-pack.html

Turns out it should comfortably fit the following inside it:
Bottom: cut to fit piece of Garage Floor Padding, and possibly the dark cloth on top of it.
Middle: Sheet 1/8" birch plywood (to provide some rigidity to the back of the pack), then the 11x14" camera (with GG protector) sandwiched between 2 11x14" film holders in Chamonix padded cases.
Top: 2 lenses in padded cases, meter in padded case, and 4th padded case for other stuff.

Will post when I get it all together and use a few times this fall.

Got the Granite Gear Traditional #3.5 backpack. It does all come together and seems to work. Currently in the 90s with humidity so will wait till the weather gets down to into the 70s. Am planning on hiking in with the pack and gear to several locations not more than a half mile from the car. Will post on how practically it all works out.
Greg

[CreationBear]

Very envious of your ULF adventures up there--lots to look forward to, I'm sure.:)

If for some reason you find yourself in need of a bit more in the way of suspension, I'll throw this pack in the mix:
https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/3/ProductID/100
Basically, you could use the Granite Gear pack like an f-stop ICU in the HPG's strap-harness, and then probably find a way to attach a couple of more pouches to hold FAK's and whatever snivel gear you like to take with you. I've owned several HPG packs over the years and have found them exceptionally well thought out, the shoulder harness and hipbelt especially. (That their stays are soft enough aluminum that you can customize them to your lumbar curve can be a valuable feature as well.)

[Vaughn]

The Granite Gear pack is nice -- just not built for tall people. Still usuable.

[CreationBear]

just not built for tall people

The HPG Decker pack I linked to has 24" stays--my previous HPG pack had the same suspension, but didn't give me a lot of shoulder-lift (but IIRC I've got a few inches on Vaughn) which is the reason I went with their taller model once it came out a few years ago. I will say that having a well-tuned suspension--which for me means having the load-lifter straps tensioning the stays a bit and coming down off the top of them at a ~30-35 degree angle--really affects the perceived weight of the load.