RRS - On Top of their Game Again (Tripod Bag)

KED

I did a lot of trekking and shooting over the summer, often carrying my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and RRS BH-55 either attached to my backpack, or in the stock Gitzo bag on my shoulder. Let me tell you, even though that combination is only somewhere between 5 and 7 pounds (guessing), after a few miles in near 100 degree temps, I usually wished I had left them behind.

Recently, RRS rolled out their own-brand tripod bag, and I got mine today. :clap It's roomy, it's padded, long enough for almost anything and with its nice wide shoulder strap, you almost wouldn't know you were carrying it (except for the very large head-end that I can't quite figure out). And at $85, it seems like a bargain. I wouldn't check it on an airplane (it isn't that padded), but for my purposes, it's perfect.

I love those guys!

kdog

Oh goody, I've been looking for something like this. Thanks for the heads-up.

KED

kdog wrote:

Oh goody, I've been looking for something like this. Thanks for the heads-up.

I should have included this the first time - here's the link:

http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Itemdesc.asp?ic=TQB%2D80&eq=&Tp=

Enjoy!

Manfr3d

Just wondering, what would be your suggesting for use of a tripod bag other than hiding the Tripod form peoples eyes?

davidweaver

The greatest harm to carbon fiber tripods is abrasion. So a bag makes sense for traveling. I haven't looked at it but I would also find most bags easier to strap to a backpack bag too.

Cheers,
David

Manfr3d

Ok, thanks for the info! My tripod has legwraps which seem to do a good job to avoid this.

davidweaver

Is it aluminum? You always need wraps for the metal tripods in cold weather. :-)

Manfr3d wrote:

Ok, thanks for the info! My tripod has legwraps which seem to do a good job to avoid this.

Manfr3d

davidweaver wrote:

Is it aluminum? You always need wraps for the metal tripods in clod weather. :-)

No, I got a Velbon Sherpa Pro 640 CF (carbon fiber). This series comes with legwraps on it per default

Pindy

Will the bag keep security guards from thinking I'm taking very sharp, high quality photos in order to commit acts of terrorism?

BeachBill

RRS had this new bag at their booth here today at Photoshop World. Nice looking bag. The padded shoulder strap is nice. Too bad the bag is only 31.5" because my tripod/head only collapses to 34".

KED

Pindy wrote:

Will the bag keep security guards from thinking I'm taking very sharp, high quality photos in order to commit acts of terrorism?

Only until you take the tripod out of it. Until then, due to the shape of the bag, they will probably think you are a saxophone player!

KED

Manfr3d wrote:

Just wondering, what would be your suggesting for use of a tripod bag other than hiding the Tripod form peoples eyes?

on challenging hikes, I would rather not be carrying my whole photo backpack, and the tripod arrangement on it makes it quite non-ergonomic. I'd prefer to have just a camera with my go-to lens and the tripod, and this is an ideal solution for that.

Manfr3d

KED wrote:

on challenging hikes, I would rather not be carrying my whole photo backpack, and the tripod arrangement on it makes it quite non-ergonomic. I'd prefer to have just a camera with my go-to lens and the tripod, and this is an ideal solution for that.

I would rather omit the weight and not carry another bag especialy not
on hikes. Legwraps and a tripod (shoulder) strap (the ones from optech
are nice) are faster, lighter and cheaper. I guess it's a matter of philosophy
which one prefers.

kdog

Manfr3d wrote:

Legwraps and a tripod (shoulder) strap (the ones from optech
are nice) are faster, lighter and cheaper. I guess it's a matter of philosophy
which one prefers.

Apples to oranges, isn't it? The purpose of leg wraps are to make it more comfortable to carry the tripod and camera over your shoulder. They really aren't going to protect the tripod at all against sand/dirt, water, damage to the head stock or tripod head if you drop it or knock it into something, etc. The RRS bag will protect against all those things very nicely.

Mine arrived yesterday. It's well padded, but super light. So light that I thought the box was empty before I opened it. Perhaps the reason the head-end is so large is so that you can fit the tripod in it with a Wimberly or a pano head attached.

The only thing I don't like about the bag is that it has "Really Right Stuff" embroidered on the bag in big white letters, which might as well read "Steal This Stuff" instead. I'd much rather have it completely black and inconspicuous.

KED

kdog wrote:

The only thing I don't like about the bag is that it has "Really Right Stuff" embroidered on the bag in big white letters, which might as well read "Steal This Stuff" instead. I'd much rather have it completely black and inconspicuous.

Well, to anyone who is looking to steal, that camera on your shoulder is already shouting "steal me", so I don't think there's any material incremental risk. BTW that bag could never be described as inconspicuous -- even in all-black it would look like i contained a readily-pawnable saxophone!