Traveling with EX3

[Atticus Culver-Rease]

Hi folks,
After much deliberation, I'm picking up an EX3 tomorrow and preparing to take it out on the road in a couple weeks for a job that will have me in some undetermined number of countries around the globe. So I'm looking for the best way to travel with the camera and mission-critical accessories (drive, laptop, etc.). So far I'm leaning towards the Kata BP-502 backpack, which looks like it would be able to hold the camera, cards, batteries, charger and macbook pro. Has anyone used this with the EX3? I haven't been able to check one out in person yet. The Kata CC-195 and the Portabrace CTC-1B are the other options I was considering, but I'd be interested in any other suggestions too.

I'm also looking for an exernal drive to offload footage to. What do people like for this purpose that's reliable and as portable as possible? I was hoping to get a 2TB RAID 1 drive (so 1TB storage after mirroring) rather than 2 separate drives.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[dpryke]

Have you checked out the OMB (One Man Band) series from Kata Bags. They are designed to carry everything you need including a laptop. I chose the CC-196, which is a new bag they just released.

[kgimedia]

I loved the look and style of the Kata. When I actually got to hold and touch one I found the zipper had some unwanted resistance and at certain angles was hard to open and close. When the salesman came over I asked which one he liked best. He told me that he liked the style of the Kata but that they were hard to open and close. The Lowe Pro Trekker and Compu Trekker open and close like butter. It does seem like the Kata would be more comfortable as a backpack for the long haul. As for my uses I need to get in and out with speed. Just my 2 cents!