Backpacks - how do you protect your gear?

What do you use to protect your camera/lenses when you have them in a pack?

I'm getting rid of my photoback pack and moving to a more comfortable Osprey pack. Plan on carrying 2 smaller lenses and a body.

I know there are a lot of backpackers on here. How are you hauling your gear with you and protecting it while on the trail?

Thanks

I bought a "cube" from Mountainsmith -- basically a padded insert that fits in. Its on their website, also its cheap but well made and fairly light.
If you haven't seen, Click Elite makes some really nice bags...

I put my gear in a wine bag that has shoulder straps. Very lightweight with padded protection and cheap. I then slip it into my main backpack. Some backpacks come with fanny packs but were never big enough for my gear.

I use an F-Stop pack and have been very happy with it. I have done everything from rock climbing to snowboarding to hiking and international traveling with it and my photo gear. Check them out.. at the very least you can purchase one of their ICU (Internal Camera Unit) to fit any pack you like and it keeps your gear safe.

http://fstopgear.com/

Paul - have you been happy with the cube from Mountainsmith? What size of pack do you have it in?

Click Elite's camera capsule looks similar. I'll have to investigate that.

Has anyone used the Domke wraps?

I'll probably always do the pack-within-a-pack set-up, so I can set up camp and then strike out for nearby locations. I still use my monstrous Gregory Denali pack, which used to fit my large camera backpack with LF or MF gear, so now I just end up with more room to stuff way too much crap around the smaller digicam pack.

I haven't done anything beyond a quick t-shirt wrap or the like for years. Most of the time the body+lens gets put in a beanie and tossed in to whatever cavernous sack I'm carrying - and extra lenses just get wrapped in whatever extra clothes I'm carrying.

I use the photobackpacker case for my 4X5 and one of the lenses. Others go into lens wraps. I carry the kit in a deuter zero 40 daypack which leaves enough room for jacket and snacks. When backpacking, the same kit goes into my Gregory Palisade. If I'm dayhiking from the campsite, I carry the deuter lashed on the outside of the big pack. One thing I want to replace is my darkcloth as its bulky. When backpacking, I'll usually use my rain jacket or something like that.

Before I seriously switched to the 4X5 I was using a Tamrac messenger bag for my 35mm kit. It fits inside the deuter or my big pack and kept the 35mm kit organized and accessible.

When I am out for long hikes I also forgo the photo backpack for an Osprey Kestrel 32. Much more capacity, stability, and comfort. Also a panel loader for ease of gear access. I can easily carry camera equipment, food, water, extra clothes, etc. I think its a bit too small for backpacking (I am not an ultralighter) but could maybe do overnights with a bivy sack and ul down bag.

I use a LowePro Omni Sport to hual most of my essential kit and put that in the Kestrel. It will fit 50D (forget bodies with battery packs) with 10-20 attached. A 17-50 and either my fisheye or my tiny Sigma 55-200. Plus cards, remote, batteries, etc. The only two pieces I cannot really get into that are the Singh-Ray ND grad filters and the Canon 70-200 f/4. I have a lens case for the latter but its pretty bulky. More often than not, I have taken to wrapping that in a fleece top. That gives me equipment padding and also something warm to slip on if its cooler out when I stop hiking.

BTW, another plus about the OmniSport is it has a shoulder strap and I often wear it while carrying the backpack and wanting to photograph as I walk. I think it rides much better than the chest mounted camera bags like the LP topload zoom bags which are too bulky IMO.

I would basically use this same set up with a bigger pack for backpacking.

FWIW when I used the OmniSport with Oly OM system I could put 2 bodies and 3-4 lenses in it. When I used Mamiya 645, it would hold my 4 lenses (35,45,80,150) plus film and the body got wrapped in fleece. I think its about perfect sized for a small kit, offering ease of carry and decent padding.

Todd - that Denali is a beast! How many nights out are your typical trips? What camera bag are you packing inside?

I picked up an Osprey Argon 85...am I going to regret not getting a larger pack?

I guess I hadn't thought about wanting to just take the camera gear and not haul the big pack with me, good idea on the smaller bag inside the larger one.

Darren - I looked at a Kestrel, was thinking that would make a good day pack. I don't think the Omni sport will work for me because I have a 1 series camera.

For the past couple of years I've been hauling around a LowePro Photo Trekker AW II full of gear. (You know, the suitcase they call a "backpack.") After tromping around Canada with it last fall I realized it was silly because I never use 90% of the stuff in there.

I'm planning on just hauling a 1 series, 16-35, 24-70, and a couple of filters; and of course my tripod which I plan to lash to the outside of the pack.

For day hikes I've been using a photo vest and like the accessibility to everything. So many pockets! For longer hikes I have used my Lowepro mini trekker for a decade and love it. Of course a longer hike for me is just a few miles.

Add another vote for fstop gear. I recently got their Tilopa pack because I wanted something I could snowboard, snowshoe and do long hikes with. The main interest was the ability to carry a bladder without the worry of my gear getting wet. I done a few snowshoe outing and a couple of hikes and the bag is very comfortable.

I got a Tenba Messenger insert that is supposed to slide into a messenger bag but it fits both in my daypack and also my 65L backpack. Best of all it was really cheap! Anything that doesn't fit in it usually gets wrapped in shirts or beanies. It seems to work fairly well, however I may end up getting some Domke inserts in the future just because I can get different sizes for different things.

http://www.tenba.com/products/Messenger--Removable-Photo-Insert.aspx

Luke I really like the Kestrel 32 for a dayhike. Substantial enough for a real fit. Too many day packes do not fit right, this does. It also holds all the stuff I am likely to take for a day.

With a 1 series body, the OmniSport is probably too small, although you might be able to configure it sans lens, or as a lnes and filter bag.

And if you think the Photo Trekker is a suitcase, man you gotta try the Super Trekker, its a luggage trunk! Worst piece of equipment I every got. Its really more for checked luggage than a backpack. It was so bad I reconfigured my PhotoTrekker to haul 4x5 stuff as it was a vacation to carry compared to the SuperTrekker. To put it another way, 80 pounds in my Dana Designs Terraplane was easier than 35 in the Super Trekker.

Now a half way decent small digital kit photobackpack is the LP Flipside 400. Carries decent and never have to take it off to get your gear. Still not good enough for long hikes, but decent for shorter ones.

Luke, I just got it and just used it for the first time and it worked great -- though I don't think a 70-200 would fit inside. I just used a Lowepro lens case for that lens and stored it in an external pocket. I have a 75 liter pack, I think its a "Boundary"

I use the Osprey Eclipses 25+5 backpack. I modified a little bit to fit my cameras and lenses in there. I am able to fit my Fuji G617 medium format pano camera and a Canon 5D, 2 lenses, accessories, tripod. Still have room for hydration system, food, jackets, and other small items. It weighs quite a bit though, but the hip support system is fantastic, so I am able to hike/travel with it over long distance without getting tired too soon.

Luke,

I use Tamrac padded lens cases to carry my lenses in my Gregory 95 liter pack and a Think Tank Digital holster and harness for the body + attached lens for quick access. This setup seems to work quite well for me.