Saturday, April 26th, 2008...8:51 pm

Packing it down

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Been spending some quality time with our Pelican bags, trying to configure the kits to make sure that everything crucial gets to Nepal in one piece, and that we can carry all the really key stuff on the planes with us.

To that end, I’ve been configuring our two Pelican 1510 carry-on sized roller bags. These are killer bags. You give up a little space (compared to a roller bag of less robust construction, but what you lose in size you gain in bombproof security. Well, let’s not jinx it by using quite those terms. But these bags are TOUGH.

Packing the Canon XH-A1 into one was a priority, and I didn’t know how much more stuff I’d be able to get in there. I think I did a pretty good job–fitting…

 

  • XHA1 camera with lenshood
  • Canon Wide angle lens and hood
  • Charger and two BP970G batteries
  • Five tapes plus a cleaning cassette
  • Two sets of Sennheiser EW100G2 wireless mic radios
  • Two Audio Technica AT899 wired lavalier mic power modules
  • Two AT899 lavalier microphones (we use a custom cable to connect these to the Sennheiser for better sound than the Senn lav that shipped with the wireless kit)
  • A little box of lav goodies–wind protection and mounting do-dads (Rycote Undercover / Overcover / Stickies are great)
  • An AKG SE300b power module and CK93 Blue Line hypercardioid micrphone mounted in a K-Tek shock mount
  • An AKG CK98 shotgun mic capsule inside a Rycote Softie
  • Short, medium and long XLR cables, plus cables for the wireless kits to feed the camera
  • Eight rechargeable AA cell batteries
  • A case of all manner of little A/V solutioning cables. 

 

I never thought I’d be able to put that much kit into one bag that size. I think I have a reasonable handle on how stuff travels, and I think I was careful about making sure stuff has enough padding/insulation. Still, I hope nothing eats itself or its neighbor for lunch on the long plane rides ahead.

2 Comments

Filed under Gearhead Disease, Production/Logistics, Video/Multimedia

2 Comments

  • Pelican 1510
    February 9th, 2010 at 9:58 am

    I prefer the Pelican 1510 with the Padded Divider set. The Pick N Pluck foam falls apart fast, and can only be customized once.

    http://www.pelicanonline-ralphs.com/1510-carry-on-case-with-padded-divider.htm

  • squire
    February 9th, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I agree with our commenter (who evidently runs a business from which he wishes to sell you the bag he’s describing–for only about $13 more dear than the well-known B&H’s price as of this writing):

    The padded dividers are very useful, and we use them in our other Pelican 1510. However, the pick-n-pluck foam in our video bag has lasted pretty well

    –now nearly two years on it is tired and could use replacement, but to Pelican’s credit, it is not all crumbly like I feared it might be when it gets old–

    but more to the point, when used well, customized to fit individual pieces of gear really snugly, it works incredibly well for protection.

    The only damage any of our gear sustained in the Pelican bag is the small antennae of the Sennheiser wireless mics got pinched in the O-ring channel when the lid closed on a couple occasions.

    So, over the long-term, day to day, the padded dividers are superior, but if your needs are maximum protection over relatively short term, get the pick-n-pluck.

    The stuff that bag went through on that Nepal trip (and subsequent Africa and India trips)? Holy crap it’s tough.

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