This weeks post is going to be another off topic one. I’ve been traveling more recently and I wanted to share the gear I use and what I like (and don’t like about) them.

Base Travel Gear

Regardless of the type of trip I’m taking, these items always come with me

Suitcase

I struggled for a long time to find the right suitcase. When looking for it my criteria was that I wanted a rolling suitcase that would fit in the overhead. This is a really wide category and there are hundreds that fit into this category. So I started looking at companies that I’ve use their gear before and the Osprey Merdian 22 caught my eye. It’s got some great features such as a disconnect-able backpack and straps that convert it to a backpack from a roller bag.

The inside of this bag is just one large compartment so it’s super easy to organize because I can use my other bags (more below) anyway I want. The handle is super well made and has no wiggle, flex or any problems that my other bags have had. The exterior canvas is well made and all of the stitching feels solid. The only gripe I have about this bag is that the outside pocket on the backpack is a little small and doesn’t fit a water bottle.

My pro-tip for using this bag is if you’re not going somewhere that you need to convert it to a backpack remove the straps and use the cavity in the back to pack stuff in. To keep your stuff from getting torn up by the velcro, buy some 2in sew-in velcro and cover it up. This is where I typically put my running gear.

Gear Bags

I like to keep my gear organized in my bag and keep my shoes away from my clothes. The bags that use most are the cubes, shoe sac and garment folder by eagle creek. Depending on where I’m going I’ll also use the clean dirty cube by eagle creek and it’s great for keeping stinky workout clothing from your other clothes.

I’ve also recently purchased some zippered bags to help getting through TSA. I currently don’t have pre check so I use the middle size bag to put my phone, watch, road id and wallet into so I can get it after the checkpoint without having to dig.

Photographing Trip

If I’m going somewhere that I’m going to be doing a bunch of photography I have a bunch of gear that I need to bring so I typically bring a lowepro backpack that can carry my camera. It’s super comfortable to carry and has lots of extra room for gear (or baby stuff). Just as an idea of what I typically carry in it

• Nikon D90
• Nikon 35mm F1.8
• Nikon 50mm F1.8
• Nikon 75-300mm F/4.5-5.6
• Tokina 11-16 F2.8
• Waterbottle
• Rainjacket
• Laptop
• Cables
• Food

As an example, here’s what I took with me in my backpack when we went to Alaska

I also use the Peak Capture Clip and the Peak Clutch hand strap. I love traveling with these. They make it easy to carry your camera and make it so you can have your hands free when you need them. And you don’t look like a huge dork with your camera hanging around your neck.

Work Trip

If I’m going somewhere where I don’t need all of my camera gear I like to bring my Rickshaw bag* that Salesforce bought me. It’s really well made and has room for me to bring my camera with a couple of lenses. If the bag gets too heavy it’s not as comfortable as it could be. However, the best feature of this bag are the SSHHH adapters that make the closure magnetic instead of velcro. It appears that they don’t offer them any more, and that’s a shame.

If I know that I’ll be walking around and don’t want to carry my laptop bag but I still want my camera then I’ll typically put my small Mountainsmith bag^* in my carry-on and then bring the bag out when I go out at night.

^{*This link isn’t the exact one but it’s the newest version of it).}