UKC

I've recently invested in a DSLR, and I was wondering what people did to protect spare lens/es when in the climbing pack?

I like to carry the camera with lens externally in its own bag, but would like to occasionally take a telephoto lens if I'm going somewhere it could be put to use. At the moment it's just kind of stuffed in a drybag at the top of the sack, but doesn't seem very well protected against knocks.

Any tips greatly received! Cheers.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I put it in a sock in a drybag. Survived so far...

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I wrap mine in what ever spare clothes are in the pack (a towel if I'm lucky)

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Lowe Pro make a great line of individual lens cases. They are padded and provide a decent level of weather resistance. I carry mine inside my pack or strapped to the outside depending on the situation. Much safer than a sock and more shock absorbent than a dry bag - but I've used those a fair bit too. If Lowe Pro aren't available in the UK there must be another equivalent manufacturer but they are a big co. so I suspect you should be able to find them.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I wrote a blog recently about how I carry my kit. 50p tupawares from a pound shop are by far the best lens cases you can buy. Crush proof / waterproof and cheap.

http://www.chris-prescott.com/blog/2015/6/1/whats-in-my-bag

In reply to chrisprescott:

Thanks folks.

Nice blog Chris! Lots of good info there!

In reply to chrisprescott:

Great blog Chris - very useful info

In reply to Smelly Fox:

chalk bags can be pretty good too....

In reply to chrisprescott:



Elegant solution. Will be taking that up myself, though i'm not sure i'd trust Duck tape and a bit of chord as a strap.

In reply to Smelly Fox:
I wrap a closed cell foam mat, cut to length, round the lens and secure with tape. Not as tough as plastic but all mine have survived. I put a round end in, also secured with tape. Did try a lid but some overlap on the tube seems to work ok

In reply to Smelly Fox:

For about 25 quid, you could get an Optech neoprene lens case, 'snoot boot' from SRS.
http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=op+tech+snoot+boot

Or if a really tight fisted climber, look out for fishermen's neoprene Reel cases, at a third of the price
https://alderneyangling.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=49_17...

You could also wrap up the lens with those nice,soft, high quality microfiber cloths, keep them handy, for removing damp and dust from your setup.

In reply to cap'nChino:

The trick is to use heavy duty duct tape (Gorilla Tape is the best) and then use sling tape rather than cord, you put the tape around the case with enough tape spare to then fold back up and over the duct tape and continue wrapping (hope that makes sense). I've found that to be more than secure enough and i've not dropped a lens yet!

In reply to chrisprescott:

I would suspect your system is as secure (and probably more than) as some of the dodgy tripod-mount strap systems some folk trust their bodies AND lenses to. Nice blog post, it's solved a problem for me

In reply to chrisprescott and others:
I ended up going for a cheap f-stop messenger bag off flea bay, which has a detachable insert that is good for putting in the top of the climbing sack.

I will also be investing in some tupperware for use on the wall.

Cheers for all the good tips everyone.

In reply to chrisprescott:

Cheers Chris.

Looks like you've set a new trend in the outdoor photography world.

In reply to chrisprescott:

I like your style Chris.

Care to mention which pound shop you fould these tubs? So far ive looked in a few supermarkets, B&M bargins and B&Q. Cant find they right size.

In reply to John:

Mine are from Sainsbury's - they're a bit too high but the width is pretty spot on. Got them at a large store rather than a local one, they were next to frying pans and other kitchen stuff I think.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I can tell you how not to carry a 20mm Canon l lens. Dont put it in the pocket of your duvet jacket then climb a grade 11 iced up chimney. I did this last year and ended up with a £180 repair bill.

In reply to cookie-doo:

Sainsbury's 450ml and 750ml do not fit any Canon L Good for Sony thou.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

When I was shooting mountain landscapes and climbing/scrambling shots with a Hasselblad, I had a two-compartment climbing sack - the smaller, bottom compartment, intended for a sleeping bag I think, being unzippable from the outside. I then bought a solid block of quite hard closed cell foam plastic, cut to size to fit the compartment, and then cut holes in it for each of my three lenses, the teleconvertor, my spotmeter, and various filters. The holes were deliberately made to be quite a tight fit. It had a base of foam plastic glued at the back of it so that the holes did not go right through.

The top part of the sack was for spare clothing, food, water etc, and also for the camera, when walking in (though a lot of the time it would be round my neck in a padded case.)

The beauty of this method over e.g a custom made Lowe camera sack is that it just looked like any ordinary climbing sack - there was no hint that it contained a lot of extremely expensive camera gear (though a bit of a giveaway was that I had my Manfrotto tripod strapped to the bottom of the sack - but I guess most people assumed I was simply carrying an ordinary 35mm camera). It also of course had the advantage of being a climbing sack too - with crampon/axe straps etc.

In the field the system allowed an extremely rapid change of lenses, by simply unzipping that outer, bottom lid without having to rummage about in the main sack (always a highly unsatisfactory system.)

When I went on a shoot in the Everest region I had a porter who couldn't speak a word of English, but he was v bright. Within a few minutes he's got the hang of the different lenses, and when I wanted to change focal length he'd unzip the lens compartment, take out the lens and hand it to me, and I'd give him the previous lens to put away. All without even having to take the sack off my back. Sometimes, incredibly, he even anticipated what lens I would need next. I would turn round to ask him for the 150mm, say, and he'd already have it out, holding it in his hand.

BTW, the sack was very, very heavy by modern digital standards.

In reply to John:

Hi John, try going to a pound shop and you should be able to find what you need. The screw top ones (rather than clip lock) are the best.