Photo vest for air travel

<p>I'm flying from Canada to Ushuaia for a photo trip to Antarctica. My carry on restriction is 2 bags at 22 pounds each leaving Canada but a connecting flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia has a carry on weight restriction of only 1 bag at 12 pounds.<br>

I'm considering wearing a photo vest while checking in with the anticipation that one of the carry on bags will have to be checked at which point I plan to stuff the pockets of the photo vest with as much gear as possible.<br>

Ideally, the vest would house 2 canon 5d MKIII's as well as a canon 70-200 2.8L II. A rear pouch able to hold an Apple mac book air and a smaller pocket to hold either the canon 16-35 or canon 8-15 would be a bonus.<br>

I'm looking for advice about which photo vest would best suit my needs. I'm a smallish frame but don't care if the vest is oversized as I have no intention of using it for actual shooting, just for navigating around the logistics of moving gear via air travel.<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>I am from Argentina, I do not recommend your plan. Perhaps because the Argentine economy has been in terrible shape for many years, people have developed many clever tricks just to survive. Airline employees will be alert to what you're doing, and they may stop you. If they do, and if your checked bags have already been loaded on the plane, you may trouble packing your equipment in a safe way. Should you succeed on your outbound flight, what if they stop you on the return?</p>

<p>Hector; thanks for the response. What if I tried this:<br>

Have 1 regulation bag loaded within the proper limit. For the second bag, I could take all the gear out ahead of time and put it in my photo vest with my camera bag basically being empty. If they make an issue of having a second bag, I could pay to check it in empty. If not, I could reload the second bag after I've left the check-in area. <br>

I'm assuming that I will get hung up with 2 bags at check-in, not when i'm actually boarding the plane.</p>

<p>It is actually simple: - pay for the second bag, and do not play any tricks with travel vests, ....</p>

 

<p>Frank and Hector have a point.<br>

Stuffing that much (2 large bodies <em>and</em> a laptop!) onto your person would look at the least like smuggling, and at worst like many other undesirable alternatives. You're spending all that money on a once-in-a-lifetime (for most of us anyway) trip, why skimp on this? It's potentially a false economy.<br>

I have a huge Tenba bag, and so far have been able to get it aboard, but at least I don't look like I'm trying to hide anything. Perhaps they feel sorry for me carrying all that weight.</p>

<p>I would not want to travel the aisles in a small cabin aircraft with a vest loaded with that kind of gear. 2 big Canons, my gosh. I am moving to mirrorless cameras for flights where I can backpack them. If you need all that professional equipment, get a big Pelican or Halliburton case and pre ship it or pay the freight fee....I wish you luck and a comfy seat on the aisle. Aloha and stay warm down there., pack heavy socks too.. PS. I once swung my heavy bag in an airport, carelessly swung it and whacked an Australian traveler in Melbourne airport.... and lived to tell about it today. Phew:-)<br>

gs</p>

Have you thought about asking the tour organizer their advice?

<p>I'm doing the same flights. There isn't an easy answer for you from what I've gathered. Suggestions about "just pay for a second bag" only work if that is an available option, which it isn't on virtually every flight I know of. And everyone says agents are notoriously inconsistent about what they allow and what they don't. Consensus seems to be they are a bit more liberal going down than coming back. Everyone I've talked to also said that what you squish into your pockets isn't really challenged. It all sounds absurd to me, but it is what it is. I'm prepared to shove lenses into pockets and have a body strapped around my neck. The 200-400 f/4 is the beast that is the biggest problem in terms of racking up weight. I'll have a non-photog travelling mate and will be ready to use his pockets, too. Maybe you can scout out a non-photog passenger going on your excursion who would be willing to carry a lens or two or a body around her/his neck if you are comfortable with that. Good luck! If you find a magic solution, please post and let me know!</p>

<p>A Photographic "Mule"! If there are no intermediate stops, it could work. ;)<br>

Isn't there a movie about some mule getting caught, or was it a news story about someone who won a "free trip" ? :)</p>

Can you imagine doing time in an Argentinian prison for attempting to smuggle a 70-200 f/2.8 onto a plane?

<p>Yah...and then escaping under the cover of darkness back to freedom to relay the harrowing tale. Could be the making of a Hollywood blockbuster!</p>

No...escaping to take more penguin pix!