internal camera unit

This is a follow up on my previous post from 2016, after having made more experience and more thoughts about this topic.

Here is just a not so short recap on this topic:

I’ve always been struggling with a good solution to pack away camera equipment during long hiking trips which might take several days. On the one hand it’s practical if you use one of the present ICU systems by f-stop or Mindshift backpacks , however it has the disadvantage that those backpack internal camera bags are note very flexible when it comes to only carrying them for a couple of meters. Let me give you an example:
On a multi-day hike camp is set up in the afternoon, the tent is pitched and all camping related stuff resides in the tent or next to it, while the camera gear needs to be available for sunset or night shooting which might happen 1-2km away from the camping spot. Surely you can empty your backpack completely and only carry the camera gear in it for strolling around next to the camping area, however it comes with additional effort of re-packing which can be quite annoying on a week-long hiking trip. ICUs from f-stop at least can be detached from the backpack and carried with both hands or with a simple shoulder bag. This already gives a lot of flexibility for different packing styles and workflows, but it’s not there yet. I’d like to have the flexibility to carry an ICU either in the backpack or outside of the backpack, for example in front of me, like a slingshot shoulder bag or a bumbag. This gives you the freedom to have quick access to your camera gear during the hike and might enable you to get photos you otherwise wouldn’t have taken because of the hassle to get the camera gear out of your big backpack.

Back to today:

I’ve been on several long hiking trips since 2016, like on Yakushima in Japan and Tasmania in 2017, several multi-day hiking trips in the Alps and my recent 8-day hike trough the Drakensberg area in South Africa.
I’m still using the solution mentioned in my previous post, having a big Deuter 70L backpack and cheap shoulder bag which I can either carry in front of me by hanging it on the backpack carry system over both shoulders

What I noticed on each hike is the strap of the shoulder bag compromises the carry system of the backpack by putting weight on the load balancing straps next to the shoulders and hence prevents the carry system from putting more weight on the hip belt, which might be convenient at times when you want to carry the backpack away from your back. This is not catastrophic, but not good either, especially on very long hikes.
That’s why I recently looked into other solutions which allow you to carry a camera bag on your waist like bumbags. I want to try out the bags listed below and will update the post once I have new insights or decided to change mit kit by choosing one of those bags.

Waistbags / Bumbags:

• Manfrotto Street CSC camera Sling/Waist pack
  • Exterior dimensions (L x W x H): 32 x 12 x 23 cm
  • Interior dimensions (L x W x H):  30 x 11 x 20 cm
  • Weight: 0.58kg
  • Thoughts: TBD
• Crumpler JP5500-001 Jackpack 5500
  • Exterior dimensions (L x W x H): 35 x 21 x 15 cm
  • Interior dimensions (L x W x H): 32 x 20 x 12.5 cm
  • Weight: 0,8kg
  • Thoughts: TBD
• Mantona ElementsPro 20
  • Exterior dimensions (L x W x H): 19 x 24 x 17 cm
  • Interior dimensions (L x W x H): 17 x 22 x 15 cm
  • Weight: 0,72 kg
  • Thoughts: TBD
• CAMSLINGER Outdoor
  • Exterior dimensions (L x W x H): 22 x 17.5 x 11 cm
  • Interior dimensions (L x W x H): 19 x 16 x 9 cm
  • Weight: 0,48 kg
  • Thoughts: TBD