ryandeean
Member
I recently had to do a shoot that took me to five different countries across three continents. It was a one man band operation with me needing to be able to carry all of my equipment and clothing for a month from place to place. I used the Kata HB 207 to carry my equipment and i thought it may be useful for people to hear my experiences.
To begin with, in the bag I was carrying my camera, a digital SLR, a 17" Macbook Pro, headphones, a couple of small microphones for interview, chargers for all equipment and a boom mic with all the wiring.
So I'd say quite a lot of equipment and my first major concern before going away was transporting it all in hand luggage. I was checking in my Tripod (though making sure to check it in as fragile) and obviously my clothes. The Kata HB 207's actual dimensions are a shade over the requirements on almost all airlines which I find slightly strange. These dimensions are also when the bag isn't filled. Once packed with all my belongings it was both way over their weight restrictions and definitely over their size restrictions.
Despite this I was able to travel with my luggage on board with absolutely no problems on all the airlines except Easyjet. My gut feeling is that the budget airlines are far more likely to cause you a problem and so in future I will do my utmost to avoid travelling on these airlines.
What was also interesting is that it was only on the budget airlines that I had a problem actually fitting the bag into the overhead locker. There was an anxious moment as i stood on my flight from Berlin to Barcelona where i was really struggling to squeeze it into the space. Fortunately, I managed to get it in with a bit of a struggle.
Overall the bag kept my equipment safe. Most worrying for me was my laptop. I felt that it was sure to be damaged with the amount of movement. But it was absolutely fine and I had no cause for concern.
I would highly recommend this bag for any work that requires travel. The customisable space inside allows you to fit a huge amount of equipment and the little nooks and crannys all around the bag allow you to stuff things that you need to grab quickly.
As I was a bit nervous before i went away I thought this little review may be of use to people in a similar scenario and for those who are considering picking out a case to travel with.
As an extra bonus I had a little trolley cart that my family use to move things around the farm. This worked as a means of trolleying my kit around perfectly and i highly recommend it if carrying a large amount of weight.
Cheers
Ryan
To begin with, in the bag I was carrying my camera, a digital SLR, a 17" Macbook Pro, headphones, a couple of small microphones for interview, chargers for all equipment and a boom mic with all the wiring.
So I'd say quite a lot of equipment and my first major concern before going away was transporting it all in hand luggage. I was checking in my Tripod (though making sure to check it in as fragile) and obviously my clothes. The Kata HB 207's actual dimensions are a shade over the requirements on almost all airlines which I find slightly strange. These dimensions are also when the bag isn't filled. Once packed with all my belongings it was both way over their weight restrictions and definitely over their size restrictions.
Despite this I was able to travel with my luggage on board with absolutely no problems on all the airlines except Easyjet. My gut feeling is that the budget airlines are far more likely to cause you a problem and so in future I will do my utmost to avoid travelling on these airlines.
What was also interesting is that it was only on the budget airlines that I had a problem actually fitting the bag into the overhead locker. There was an anxious moment as i stood on my flight from Berlin to Barcelona where i was really struggling to squeeze it into the space. Fortunately, I managed to get it in with a bit of a struggle.
Overall the bag kept my equipment safe. Most worrying for me was my laptop. I felt that it was sure to be damaged with the amount of movement. But it was absolutely fine and I had no cause for concern.
I would highly recommend this bag for any work that requires travel. The customisable space inside allows you to fit a huge amount of equipment and the little nooks and crannys all around the bag allow you to stuff things that you need to grab quickly.
As I was a bit nervous before i went away I thought this little review may be of use to people in a similar scenario and for those who are considering picking out a case to travel with.
As an extra bonus I had a little trolley cart that my family use to move things around the farm. This worked as a means of trolleying my kit around perfectly and i highly recommend it if carrying a large amount of weight.
Cheers
Ryan
ryandeean i'd like to see a pic of your bag setup. just curious to how you place your camera in it.
