Traveling with Photo Gear - the 15lb limit

I'm flying to Nepal next month via Thai Airways and just learned they have a 15 lb weight limit for carry-on bags! I've never had to deal with such lunacy before (having always flown internationally via United or American), and would love suggestions as to how to pack my camera gear for the trip. I know photo vests are a popular way to get extra camera gear on the plane, but I'm wondering if there are any other suggestions and also what exactly the best method is.

I'm planning to bring the following:

• Canon 5D Mark II body
• Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS
• Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS
• Canon 17-40mm f/4L
• Canon 580EX flash
• plus chargers, batteries, memory, filters, etc
• Gitzo 3530S tripod with RRS BH-55 ballhead
• Gitzo 1541T tripod with RRS BH-30 ballhead

Additionally, I have a few other items I might bring if space permits:

• Canon 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens
• Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens
• Zoom H2n audio recorder

So, any tips as to how to pack for this trip? Also, since I don't yet own a photo vest, are there any particular recommendations? Thanks a bunch!

I personally would take only one tripod and check everything except for the lenses and camera. If they have a problem w/ the weight put the 5d 17-40 around your neck.

Gura Gear Bataflae 18L (amazingly light, but spacious) for the body, lenses, flash. Tripods, heads, chargers, etc go in checked luggage wrapped up in your clothes for padding. I'm traveling around Asia right now, here's a blog post about what I'm carrying: http://www.ethanmeleg.blogspot.com/2013/01/asia-bound-whats-in-my-pack.html . This is my typical setup for international travel, although when taking a bigger lens (eg. 500-800mm I'll use a 32L pack instead of the much smaller 18L). 

Very tough to stay under weight on the carry-on, but I've rarely ever had one weighed in my travels.

Can you get a 300/4 instead of the 2.8 or don't take a 300 and just take a 1.4x?  That would help a lot.  You might want to drop the fisheye.  If you can keep it on your back and it's a small enough backpack and not take it off near any gate or ticketing counters, there's a good chance it wont get weighed.

Photo vest and small backpack..

I was travelling in S. America recently and both LAN and Aerolineas Argentinas enforced an 8 kg (17.6 lb) carry-on limit.
I put my 5D with the heaviest lens in a ThinkTank chest holster which I wore, and the rest of the essentials in a ThinkTank Airport Ultralight which I carried on. Tripod, head, spare chargers etc. went into the checked luggage. My wife did likewise with her T2i, but her carry-on contained essential medications, the laptop, and enough stuff to get us through a couple of days if we lost our checked luggage.
It is difficult. It is important to choose luggage which is lightweight itself.  A vest is a good idea that I am looking into also.
And it can be worse: A friend recently went on a safari where the flight into the bush had a 28 lb. TOTAL luggage limit.
-Dave Kocher

I always have extra weight on my carry-on. But I was never asked to put it on a scale (because I believe that by keeping things in small inconspicuous backpack they don't bother asking me to do that).
I just returned from an African trip who made me take 7 flights in different companies and I never got asked to weight my lowepro mini trekker that was carrying arround 25 lb. I did checked my tripod though. My checked luggage was 47.3 lbs.

so as a complete Off Beat solution you might look at renting a m4/3 system ie EM-5 ...ok after now that you have picked yourself up off the floor from a roaring laughter you might want to actually check into a system. :)

I have recently read and seen images from two separate m4/3 users that spent a month trekking in Nepal.  If you look at DPReview and do a quick search in the Micro Four Thirds talk forum for Nepal you will come across the links and images.   One entry is called “Nepal trekking with OM-D”  the second is called  “Nepal with Em-5”   Some interesting images and different styles from these two users that were in Nepal roughly the same time and reported on their trips roughly the same time on the forums.

the one draw back is the learning curve for the EM5 and if your trip is close may not be good.  
From personal use the EM5 as a system is well worth a look at for this type of trekking.

Doug

Thank you for all the tips and suggestions. I will check my tripods and heads, as I always do that anyway, but prefer to carry on all my fragile electronics and glass if possible. The 300 2.8 is obviously my main concern, as it is the largest and most expensive of the items I own and would consider bringing. I did have a friend check in with another friend he knew who flew Thai Airways and did not have his carry-on weighed. My concern is that my fully loaded carry-on camera bag usually weighs about 30-40 lbs loaded, and there is no way I can make that look like 15 lbs when I'm lifting it overhead. I'm not too worried about the bag actually being weighed and security nitpicking a few pounds, but I will probably have to cut the weight to 20 lbs or so so it does not create suspicion.

Doug the m4/3 suggestion is a good one but it doesn't work for me personally. I just sold a Panasonic GF-1 and 14-45 lens and have zero interest in investing in m4/3. I had that setup for backpacking and group trips where photography was not my primarily purpose, but the interchangeable protruding lens still was not compact enough to make it truly portable for me. I find I either want to carry the weight and bulk of a full frame DSLR to get the amazing quality I am after or I want something very portable that can take high quality pictures in a pinch (something along the lines of a Canon S100 or Leica D-Lux 6 that is pretty thin and flat, but still can get the job done in the right conditions). M4/3 is expensive and carrying around and switching lenses is not what I want to do when photography is not the main goal of my trip. In this case, the purpose of the trip to Nepal is photography oriented and I am on assignment to document the trip itself, so bringing the big rig is a must!

I didn't see an extra camera body on your list and that's something you should take on an assignment or any trip for that matter (Murphy and his law never rest on these trips) :).   I'd leave the 300 f/2.8 at home and as EJ suggested use a 1.4X or if you can swing it, a 300 f/4 and still take the 1.4X.

If it is not enforced, I would just practice lookig like your carrying something super light, if you are dealing wth Thai people onboard, politeness is mega important and you will get you a very long way.

I am assuming you will have a backpack and another carry on, My scheme is to pack the backpack and have another bag for toiletries etc that I keep lightly packed so I can transfer stuff.  Work out exactly what you need to do to get the bag to weight by transferring lenses etc.  Weigh them and add it all up if you need to.  Carry the photo vest in that bag if you don't want to wear it and get it out if you need to.   Also getting your backpack ultra light is a good idea.  I would azard to guess that the only place it likely to be enforce dis in the US.  I very much doubt you will hassled in Nepal or Thailand, assuming your are connecting through Bangkok.

You can always bring a purse or another bag as a carry on. This is what I found for Thai Airways:

Passengers can bring the following items free of charge :

• Handbag/wallet/purse with the maximum length 37.5 cm (15 inches), width 25 cm (10 inches), depth 12.5 cm (5 inches), or the total of three dimensions do not exceed 75 cm (30 inches) with the total  weight not exceeding 1.5kgs(3.3lb).

So you should use a light photo bag large enough for the 300 2.8 and other stuff up to the allowed weight (and maybe a little more). You should put the small pieces (pancake lens, fisheye, chargers, batteries, etc) in your purse. I don't think they will weigh a purse...

If you still need room somewhere for a 70-200 or a flash, put them in your coat pockets. You can buy a photo vest but any coat with large pockets will do.

I would also consider bringing a second camera...

In my experience the weight limits are more likely to be enforced outside of the US than inside. The real question is just how stringently they are enforced. On numerous trips to Africa the only airline to ever check the weight was S. African Airways. Some airlines will require you to pay a fee for overweight items. The weight limits are similar to what Aerolineas Argentina has. On two Antarctica trips the weight limit was enforced very haphazardly. Not at all in Buenos Aires heading to Ushuaia, but was sort of enforced on one flight from Ushuaia to BA, where the person "in charge" was making people take gear out of carry-on packs. What happened there was so bizarre it's not worth trying to explain, but it wasn't so much weight related as she never weighed anything (it was totally irrational what transpired).

Usually weight limits are enforced or checked when you check your bags (that's where the scales are), but also could be done at the gate (the Aerolineas Argentina situation I mentioned, but that's usually based on size, not weight). Once you are on the plane you should be OK. A vest with pockets sufficient for a camera body or two, and a lens or two (or more) is a good "emergency" option if you have to take gear out of your pack (I personally use the Domke vest, and started loading it up on that flight from Ushuaia I mentioned). The Gura Gear recommendation is a good one (but not inexpensive) as they likely are the lightest practical camera backpacks around, and look fairly compact. Often times the personnel enforcing weight limits will do so based as much on the size of the pack as anything, so going with something that doesn't "look" so heavy can improve your chances of avoiding closer examination.

You may also want to try to do additional research into just how closely Thai Airways enforces its "rule." Some airlines will make exceptions for camera gear, though it also could depend on the personnel there. Another possibility for an exception is group travel - the rule might be waived for larger groups. For Kari, who apparently is traveling to document the travel itself, I would assume the travel company might be able to provide some insight into how the airline actually operates, rather than what might be published on its website.

Finally, if you have no other options, and the weight limit is strictly enforced, you may want to have space capacity in your checked bag, along with something to wrap equipment you may end up having to check (e.g., you could stuff a lens or two inside hiking boots, assuming your not wearing them on the flight). You could even bring some bubble wrap in your checked bag.

P.S. I did not see a laptop included in your list of equipment. Obviously how you deal with that, if you are taking one, is another factor you'll need to consider.

All good suggestions so far.
My experience is that:
1) if the bag limit for the hold is 20kg, keep your bag under 17kg. Most folks have a 5 kg suitcase, which is ridiculous. Travel light. If your suitcase is near the limit you are drawing attention to yourself.
2) keep the carry-on small. The Gura Gear Bataflae or the small Kiboko are good. For the last trip through Sth. America to Antarctica I used a ThinkTank Airport Antidote. I was never asked to weigh it and it took:
5DII
550D
16-35 2.8
24-105
70-300 F4-5.6
400mm f5.6
2 primes
2 folding film cameras and 15 rolls film
Batteries, hard drives etc
14” laptop

One suggestion that hasn't been mentioned. Instead of a photo vest get a travel vest. Less obvious. As mentioned above, I always know which items come out of my guar gear bag and into my travel vest to make the weight limit. I haven't been checked very often, but when they do it can be a pain.
Mike

mikeojohnson wrote:One suggestion that hasn't been mentioned.  Instead of a photo vest get a travel vest. Less obvious.  As mentioned above, I always know which items come out of my guar gear bag and into my travel vest to make the weight limit.  I haven't been checked very often, but when they do it can be a pain.  
Mike

Mike, what travel vest would you recommend? I am planning to take my Domke photo vest on my trip to Tanzania but it does look and feel ugly. However, it can take two pro bodies in the front pockets and a big 70-200 2.8 lens in the back one easily.

The Filson seems very nice but one  reviewer said it cannot carry a lens. Any experience with this?

Thanks,

Pradeep

I wouldn't worry about ugliness, I would only pull it out if I my pack was going to be weighed.

Kari,

I used to go with the photo vest for trips on non -US airlines, but accidently found another solution that works better for me.  My Goretex rain jacket has all kinds of large pockets , both internal and external.  I just load up the pockets with camera gear and wear the jacket until I am on the plane.  I carry a large, expandable "handbag" along with my carry-on.  I also buy a magazine or something at the airport newstand and ask them to double bag it in large bag.  Airlines seem to not count the reading material as a carry-on.  When I'm on the flight, I can remove the photo gear from the jacket and place it in the handbag or my carry-on, or shift stuff to the magazine bag, which will be empty, since I leave the magazine on the plane after reading.

Just try to find a rain jacket from Northface, Marmot or whoever, with lots of big pockets.

Hope this helps.

Liz

ChrisRoss wrote:I wouldn't worry about ugliness, I would only pull it out if I my pack was going to be weighed.

Chris, I wonder if they would create a fuss if you pulled out the jacket right there and started stuffing it with items from the carry-on that they've just objected to. Technically they should not, since it is part of your clothing. It would be like saying a fat man cannot board the plane because he is 'carrying more weight'. I've never had to do this, the only time I had a problem in Nairobi I pleaded ignorance and smiled a lot, which worked. I suppose the only way to avoid unpleasantness is to preempt it and wear the jacket with the heavies in it and then transfer them once you are on the plane.

Pradeep

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I talked to a friend who has done a ton of traveling with all types of photo gear (he shoots multiple formats and still uses a lot of film), so he had some great ideas and suggested to look as discreet as possible when traveling overseas with a ton of gear. One thing he mentioned was how bad an idea it could be to look like I'm carrying a lot of expensive photo gear, particularly as a lone female traveling in foreign non-English speaking countries. Liz, I love your idea of an ordinary jacket with big pockets. I definitely have some rain gear that could easily hold a few of my smaller lenses leaving me to pack the bigger items in a carry-on bag. Not only will I not have to buy or borrow an expensive photo vest that I'll likely not use, but it will look far less obvious that I am carrying photo equipment on board the plane.