[pct-l] Camera access locations

[Sean Nordeen]

I carried a HD camcorder on the trail this year.  Due to the circular shape of a camcorder, any lens case works well and can be attached to the shoulder, sternum strap or hipblet.  I carried a large soft sided Op/Tech Lens Pouch which only weighs 3.2oz but offers padding and water resistance that I hung off the D-Ring on my shoulder strap.  I sewed an elastic band to the lower half of the case to hold it to the shoulder strap.  When it would rain or snow, I'd add a half-gallon ziplock over the camcorder.  The camcorder road comfortably there and was always available for quick access.  I'd hike the trail again with a similar arrangement.

Other hikers that I ran into, who carried a SLR, usually had a just large enough camera bag with a belt hoop and they carried it on their hipbelt strap.  A few others had a fannybag style camera case and wore it above their hipbelt.   I'm sure those cases with a shoulder strap could be modified easily to mount to the shoulder/sternum straps easily.  The advantage of these bags was they could also put their cellphone/wallet in it and easily carry it with them when leaving their backpack behind.  My lens case was too well mounted to my shoulder strap to quickly be removed so I had to pull the camcorder out and carry it by hand everytime I left my pack behind.

But really, all that is needed is some sort of bag/sack with a little padding and a way of mounting it to your straps in a convienent manner.

-Sean "Miner" Nordeen