Backpacks, again

[severian]

Recently I've seen ALICE backpacks on surplus and Army Navy websites. Seems they would be very good for lf gear. There much less excpensive than the Lowe Trekker bags. Anybody use an ALICE backpack?
Jack

 

[Steve Smith]

What a good idea. For those of us in the UK, have a look here:

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I think I will buy one of the smaller ones.

Steve.

 

[viewfinder]

I use an ex British Army 80 ltr 'bergan' without the side pouches. It was £25 from a Gov.surplus outlet. It is just deep enough to carry a folded tripod not longer than 24" inside....in the centre of the bag inside a cardboard tube...other equipement is either side of the tube in snap top plastic 'lunch boxes'....the boxes are lined with high density foam from a sleeping mat,.....film is in a box with reflecting foam lining cut from car windscreen solar shield. The whole bag/pack is impact resistant and completely waterproof. The lid of the bag contains a German Army poncho and 7x35 glasses.

The whole pack is excellent and many times better and cheaper than the purpose made photo packs,...also, no body knows that you are carrying photo gear.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Just received my new Gregory Z pack. 54 liter capacity and weighs 1.5 Kg empty.

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I've loaded it up with my full 8x10 kit and will try it out in the local mountains tomorrow.

 

[raucousimages]

For 6 years and hundreds of miles I humped ALICE and ALICE II packs with 23rd Marines. They can be very uncomfortable compared to a civilian pack but they will carry a very heavy load and take a hell of a beating. They carry the load away from your back and high, this helps with cooling but it makes you "rear heavy" with a heavy load. Make sure the frame including the rivets are in good shape. The pack, belt, and straps can all be switched or repaired but the frame must be in good shape. I like the ALICE II. It is larger with 3 additional small pockets. Just the right size for a pair of socks, important for a grunt. Remember they are unpadded so you need to wrap everything. I still have one.

 

[wiseowl]

I currently use a Dell laptop backpack, not ideal but it carries enough kit. On the plus side the camera fits into the laptop area and keeps it separate from lens, holders etc. On the minus side there really isn't a good placde for the lenses to go, they end up wrapped up in the darkcloth.

I like the look of the army surplus backpacks and will investigate further.

And I think that "For 6 years and hundreds of miles I humped ALICE " deserves a schoolboy snigger, or at the very least an "ooh err missus!" ;-)

Cheers

Martin

 

[Kilgallb]

One of the best places to find a back pack is the mountain equipment Co-Op (MEC) in Canada. Actually the back packs are made in Vietnam and are of excellent quality.

I have been using a Brio 70 (70 litre) pack to hold a Calumet 4x5, a sack with my filters lenses and yes the all important survival gear. It is an internal frame pack and has a place for an ICE axe that works perfectly for a tripod.

When I shoot in the City or just off the highway I use 10 year old MEC pack my kid used to use as a book bag for school. MEC also repairs, free of charge all packs. They replaced a zipper on one pack after 10 years use.

Take a look at www.mec.ca. They are a mail order company and I cannot say enough about them.

 

[John Kasaian]

I used a large ALICE and it is an inexpensive alternative, but
1. It is top opening,and
2. There is no protection for your gear.
OTOH the large ALICE is LARGE. You can easily put in more (heavy) gear than you ought to carry(not a good idea!)

I carried an 8x10 'dorf in mine.

I lucked out an got a Lowe AW SuperTrekker on close out from Freestyle a few years ago(any color I wanted as long as its green---which I was used to after the ALICE) and its worked well for me. The F.64 also comes highly recommended for 8x10 cartin' around. For smaller formats like 5x7 I found a Jansport Equinox a great alternative. YMMV of course.

Chers!

 

[naturephoto1]

I had a custom made McHale panel loading internal frame pack made so that I can carry the camera equipment (up to my 4x5 Linhof Technikardan 45S) and lightweight backpacking equipment. I put camera bags into the pack. The pack was quite expensive, but was custom made to fit me. The McHale harness systems are some of the best and most comfortable in the business. My pack is a 5500 cu inch plus backpack is made out of combination of full Spectra fabric and 440 Hi tenacity nylon fabric. My pack was based on the following, but I had an additional side pocket added to carry water:

http://www.mchalepacks.com/packs/detail/CMSARC.htm

Rich

 

[MMfoto]

Here's another enthusiastic vote for Mchale & Co backpacks. I've had three, and you won't find another pack to ferry big loads in better comfort. Bought my first one ~11 years ago. Just got a used (my lucky day) panel loading pack kinda like this one: http://www.mchalepacks.com/ultralight/detail/cm_Alp_2_Bayonet.htm Perfect for photo-travel or whatever.

The harness system Dan created is absolutely brilliant. The load levelling straps run underneath and thus "bypass" the shoulder straps. This allows you to adjust one without effecting the other. You can snug the pack tight against your back while keeping 100% of the weight on your hips if you like. The hipbelts used in many of the packs are also unique in they are full wrap around like external frame packs. They ditribute weight evenly around your hips and BOLT to the very rigid frame.

I have no doubt these are the best packs made, worldwide.

 

[Robert Budding]

For LF, I use a Kelty-modified pack with inserts that I purchased from Dead Link Removed . It's fantastic!

 

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I have an extra large Kelty external frame pack. I took out the internal u shaped frame at the top and it holds my 11x14 system. Yes it holds an 11x14! I was looking for a way to carry this system off of the beaten path. I almost sold this pack and I'm glad I didn't. Has anyone ever replaced the hip belt? I went to my local REI and they gave me the name of a place that they say can do this. I was just wondering if anyone has ever changed the belt or for that matter the belt and the shoulder harness.

Jim

 

[Christopher Walrath]

I use an LC1 for my 4x5 and gear. Haven't found a practical way to affix the tripod yet so I generally switch back and forth from hand to hand. Mine might be a replica because it is in great shape. I love the lower lumbar support and the adjustablilty of the straps, et al. And I have a seperate pouch I sling over my shoulder to carry my film holders and light meter, anything I want to keep handy.

 

[jeroldharter]

I have the Kelty brand backpack modified by Photobackpacker. Works really well and I like it. To save money, just buy the modified pack and arrange it with improvised gear rather than the Photobackpacker gear (works well but a bit pricey).

 

[Christopher Walrath]

I'm thinking about getting some smallish packs I can add onto the sides of the pack and the belt by using some 'Alice Clips', they're a dime a dozen on eBay. Of course there are period correct packs with the clips already made into them. But this way I can customize it a little more. Looking to add two packs at first for things I want to be more accessible; my film holders and my Zeiss Ikon Contiva III.