Gear Bag recommendations

Peter C.

Peter C.

Veteran
Any recommendation on shoulder duffle bags to transport equipment. Many of my jobs this year I often need to be able to put together different combinations of gear to be packed in my car then transported by cart or hand depending on the job. The gear mostly consists of cables, lights, batteries, etc.
 
There are usually a few on the B&H DZ every week.

I used to buy the fancy expensive Pelicans and Porta Braces, but then just used suitcases from Kohl's or Chinatown.

Amazon has a ton of duffel bags. The Nike ones are really nice. (I'm sure their competitors make similar quality.)
 
I currently use a carry-on luggage shoulder duffle to transport my two cameras. The advantage is it has more space and lighter than a traditional camera bag. I can carry my pair of camcorders with headphones, batteries and mic all in one bag. Of course it has no padding so you need to be careful and can't stack other equipment on it. I have traditional Porta Brace bag for another camera. The bag is padded and built like a rock but the bag by itself is like 5lbs. Put in a 10lb camera and it gets heavy. It's also rigid so you can't squeeze in anything that is slightly larger.

Maybe I'll just get another travel duffle.
 
I have an old Kata CC-195 PL (now discontinued I believe) very similar to this Manfrotto one and it comes with me on every shoot. I can fit my camera, a slate/small panel light, batteries, headphones, wireless Rode kit, XLR mic, and still have room to spare depending on my configuration. I like to leave my camera 'built' so setup is as fast as possible and this bag ended up being a main stay for me. Perhaps might be a style worth looking into on eBay if it suits your needs.

Edit: It's rigid and padded on all sides and is very secure with the double zippers, velcro, and buckle.
 
I tend to use..

Really Useful Boxes.. they stack but you wont get many in a car. Or bigger stronger Euroboxes that are really too big for cars.

For bags I pick up used Tamrac that used to be $300 in 1995 and are now $60 - found some lovely ones with seatbelt strapping for straps and suede handles.

Tamrac for sound and cameras and lenses - I also have 2 billingham packingtons for RnG work.

Also mining the seam of diy/traders/builders bags which are in UK brands toolstation and B+Q - Stanley, Dewalt - tougher for grip bits/batteries.

Basically anything but something marketed as a modern camera bag made by vitec!

I dont like back packs as you cant get in them while shooting and they dump your toys on the floor if you cant be bothered to do them up. I do have my laptop and drives in an old Lowe Pro rucksack.
 
Peter, Porta Brace makes all manner of run-bags, sling-bags, etc.

High quality, rugged, with padded shoulder-straps.


https://www.portabrace.com/production-gear


As far as a backpack for carrying lenses, batteries, etc, the Cinebags CB25 is the most awesome thing ever. It has a built-in rain cover and even has a cover to go over the main compartment for when you are working out of it and do not want to have to zip it closed.
 
morgan_moore said:
I tend to use..

Really Useful Boxes.. they stack but you wont get many in a car. Or bigger stronger Euroboxes that are really too big for cars.

For bags I pick up used Tamrac that used to be $300 in 1995 and are now $60 - found some lovely ones with seatbelt strapping for straps and suede handles.

Tamrac for sound and cameras and lenses - I also have 2 billingham packingtons for RnG work.

Also mining the seam of diy/traders/builders bags which are in UK brands toolstation and B+Q - Stanley, Dewalt - tougher for grip bits/batteries.

Basically anything but something marketed as a modern camera bag made by vitec!

I dont like back packs as you cant get in them while shooting and they dump your toys on the floor if you cant be bothered to do them up. I do have my laptop and drives in an old Lowe Pro rucksack.
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I agree. I don't use backpacks and for the same reason larger storage bin/boxes are at a disadvantage because if you need to pull one item but it's at the bottom, you need to pull everything out.
 
morgan_moore said:
I tend to use..

Really Useful Boxes.. they stack but you wont get many in a car. Or bigger stronger Euroboxes that are really too big for cars.

For bags I pick up used Tamrac that used to be $300 in 1995 and are now $60 - found some lovely ones with seatbelt strapping for straps and suede handles.

Tamrac for sound and cameras and lenses - I also have 2 billingham packingtons for RnG work.

Also mining the seam of diy/traders/builders bags which are in UK brands toolstation and B+Q - Stanley, Dewalt - tougher for grip bits/batteries.

Basically anything but something marketed as a modern camera bag made by vitec!

I dont like back packs as you cant get in them while shooting and they dump your toys on the floor if you cant be bothered to do them up. I do have my laptop and drives in an old Lowe Pro rucksack.
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Peter C. said:
I agree. I don't use backpacks and for the same reason larger storage bin/boxes are at a disadvantage because if you need to pull one item but it's at the bottom, you need to pull everything out.
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Most backpacks aren’t good while shooting, but for transporting, they are great. I have four of these Petrol bags(now rebranded Sachtler):
Petrol https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/686506-REG/Petrol_PC303_PC303_Deca_Campack_Plus.html?fromDisList=y
Sachtler https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1115058-REG/sachtler_sc303_campack_plus.html

They’re monsters, but they’re built well and heavily padded with built-in dividers.

Another backpack option is to go with military/tactical style backpacks, because they are usually “squared off” and the larger compartments fully open/unzip so that you can lay it down and get to whatever is on the very bottom, without having to dig through or remove other items. Of course, there is zero padding and usually no type of divider system like purpose built backpacks. But, lots of companies make removable protective inserts and the like for that purpose. I actually just bought a bag off of Amazon and insert and I’m trying to make a lighter weight, smaller transport system for when I don’t need everything I carry in my Petrol.
 
filmguy123 said:
Thinktank.
I sound like a sales rep, but they are just hands down the best made and most thoughtful bags on the market.
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Uh...no. Just no. I cannot sit idly by while such blasphemy is disseminated to the unsuspecting. The Cinebags backpack is inarguably the best camera backpack, period. :D And it isn't even close.

Merely looking at images of Think Tank vs Cinebags one can see that the CB is more beefy and "serious". Think Tank is comparatively flimsy, weak sauce:

thinkthin.jpg

cbBIGorange.jpg

Everything is more robust. Even the zippers:

Think Tank...

thinkzip.jpg

Cinebags...

cbzip.jpg


Cinebags is the ARRI of camera backpacks. There is all sort of ingenuity / clever design in their backpack. The dust-cover for the main compartment. The bright color of the interior that assists in finding wee bits in low-light. The rain cover with a heavy-duty cordura strap attachment, stored in a dedicated, pocket labeled "RAIN COVER" so anyone can find it easily. The CB25 has an ID-card holder and the sleeve for the laptop is lined with soft fleece. The backpack is also available in some crazy-bright colors, which is counter-intuitive to the whole "camera-black" thing but can come in handy when you are looking for your back pack among a sea of black gear or trying to find it among a mound of black backpacks belonging to the rest of the crew. It even has an innovation that might be in want of need: ability to remove the Cinebags logo from the backpack. They also have available different logo-patches and zipper-pulls if you want to customize.

I can fit a Canon 24-70mm in the side pocket of the CB25 if I want. And strap a light-weight tripod or Ronin S to the outside using the substantial exterior straps. There is also elastic cord webbing on the outside for clothing, raincoat, or other light-weight items.


Cinebags cb25 is THE bomb. The shizzle. The best of the best. Accept no substitutes.

CINEBAGS.jpg
 
filmguy123 said:
1. I will check out cinebags!
2. That was a picture of a Mindshift bag, which was a subsidiary of ThinkTank and not as robust as their main line, so it's not an accurate comparison.
3. Have you used them side by side? I have a couple SMALL cinebag products and thought they were very nice, and felt equitable in quality to Thinktank, but I haven't compared their higher end bags.
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I was trying my best to use a fair comparison bag. None of Think Tank's bags have the pockets on the sides like the CB25. I picked a rear-loading bag of comparable price.

Point to the Think Tank bag you think is comparable, so I can destroy it here. ( j/k ) I've just always been disappointed in any camera backpack designed for still photographers.

Thanks for informing me about Think Tank. I know they have a loyal following, seems their following overlaps with the following for Really Right Stuff products. Which I hear are also excellent.
 
Im pretty aware of Thinktank and thier camera rucksacks draw no complaints.*

The linked Thinktank bags look no different from the '$50' dewalt bags which does indeed make them $49 for the bag and $100 for the label.

===

Most backpacks aren’t good while shooting, but for transporting, they are great..Another backpack option is to go with military/tactical style backpacks,

If one has smaller shoulder bags for more serious hiking (klimanjaro, cotopaxi) one puts the shoulder bag in or ontop of a proper militatry 'Bergen'

==

*wheels (like thinktank) are a bit of a thing. I think there is a divide between a 'carrier' like me or a 'wheeler' like some of my chums. Ive done much work on beaches and hills and little in a city. My chums the other way around. I can see wheels are good for cities - they are useless in the country.
 
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think tank stuff seems better made than cinebags IMO and I'm a huge cinbags fan (I own the skinny jimmy and CB35 stryker). I plan on picking up a cinebags CB25 the second they come out with a limited edition "fuchsia" aka lean purple colour. I really like both brands and you'd struggle to go wrong with either.

This is one of the most popular equipment bags out there - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1431289-REG/lowepro_lp37177_protactic_bp_450_aw.html
 
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NorBro said:
Back in my day, if you saw someone with one of these he/she was legit...:happy:

View attachment 143171
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I still have and use two of them. But black, of course, as soon as PB started offering the option. All of the stuff I bought in the 'old Beta days was Porta Brace Blue. Everything beginning in the HD days has all been black. My VariCam's fit nose to tail with lens, but no batt(I needed as small as possible when I used to fly with them) and my F55 will fit ready-to-shoot with 17-120 and brick on the back(that's actually what is in there right now in that pic).

I hated dragging it through the airport(still do). When I traveled all the time, the best thing I did was buy a second camera and leave it on the road to travel on the truck, so I didn't have to fly with it. Soooo freeing to only walk through the airport and get on a plane with only a normal backpack.

PB SB.jpg
 
Anyone remember Kata Bags or Petrol?

They were the first alternatives to Porta Brace.


Kata was started by someone who made bullet-proof vests for media in conflict-zones, in Israel in particular. Or at least that is the legend.

They are still in operation. But I rarely hear them mentioned these days. They were purchased by Vitec Group, like so many other companies in our industry. Lowe Pro was eaten by Vitec. I believe CineBags has thus far avoided being gobbled up.


https://www.kata-bags.com/photo-by-carrying-type-backpacks.htm
 
As it happens I’m just loading for a motion and stills shoot - Paul is mr bag and I’m mr box - my boxes are less than £20 and stack

I just put a couple in Instagram/sammorganmoore-can’t post pics on my phone :)
 
Morgan, the industry-standard here in the U.S. are milk-crates. Not that you or anyone has to follow any industry-standard. I am merely pointing out what is most commonly used.

Hollywood Lighting and Grip trucks have shelving lined with milk-crates, the plastic crates containing grip-heads, clamps, mounts, stingers, etc.

I do not personally use them. My stingers and bnc cables are in Porta Brace “sacks”. The small amount of clamps / grip-hardware I have is in Porta Brace run bags. I work out of a full-size suv. A Chevy Suburban, the de-facto vehicle for ENG Camerapersons here in the U.S. Although the small “Sprinter” type vans are becoming more popular with Owner / Op camerapersons. The large suv made more sense than vans because you often were transporting the Field Producer in addition to yourself and your Sound Op, vans only having seating for 2. And a luxury SUV is much more comfortable than any van for traveling. Vans can also mean parking issues due to their height. Too, if you only own the one vehicle an SUV is better for personal use than a van. I also like having 4WD. I’ve been on some locations out in the swamps / marshland where I would not have made it without 4WD.
 
JPNola said:
Anyone remember Kata Bags or Petrol?

They were the first alternatives to Porta Brace.


Kata was started by someone who made bullet-proof vests for media in conflict-zones, in Israel in particular. Or at least that is the legend.

They are still in operation. But I rarely hear them mentioned these days. They were purchased by Vitec Group, like so many other companies in our industry. Lowe Pro was eaten by Vitec. I believe CineBags has thus far avoided being gobbled up.


https://www.kata-bags.com/photo-by-carrying-type-backpacks.htm
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Yep. I believe all the Kata stuff was made in Israel(at least originally). They had some nice, innovative features. I had a few of their rain covers that I really liked, too. Petrol made really nice stuff, as well. I still have a bunch of their stuff. All of my audio bags are Petrol. Along with four backpacks and two or three rolling cases. And the Flanders case on my big field monitor is just a re-branded Petrol/Petrol design. Vitec rebranded Petrol as Sachtler.

My Kata camera bag. It's a monster.

Kata.jpg
 
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