(Note – the advice below is simply what I’ve experienced and how I pack. Use any advice at your own risk and see the disclaimer at the end of this article.)
Now, we come to the real challenge 🙂
Getting your gear to the resort can become a tricky proposition. It will demand a bit of creative packing and will require you to take just what you need to get the job done.
As many of you already know, the airlines we use to get to the resort only allow a limited number of bags, and there is a weight restriction in play as well, depending on the airline.
Currently, the resort is using Sansa Airlines (They may go back to Skyway at some point though). They have a 10lb carry-on limit with a $1.50 per lb overage charge – but the resort charters them and that seems to lift the restriction sometimes. However, all I can tell you is what I know right now, things change without notice.
Notes…
First, let’s look at the weight restriction since that’s a bit easier to tackle. As you may have read, there is a ten pound weight limit on carry-on baggage. As any photographer knows, there’s no way to take a complete wildlife kit and keep it under 10 pounds. Heck, an empty photo backpack can easily chew up a third or more of that limit!
The good news is that the ten pound limit isn’t a “hard” limit, but rather a threshold for when the airline will charge you extra to carry your gear onto the plane. If your bag is over ten pounds, they may charge you an extra fee for the bag – that’s usually about as bad as it gets.
Interestingly, they don’t always seem to do this. In talking to others, sometimes they charge, sometimes they don’t. Skyway has, so far, never been a problem and has never charged. Sansa is hit and miss on the charges. However, I can’t control what they do in the future, so I have to lay out all the possibilities.
When Rose and I went last, we both had large photo backpacks with us. We had the packs on, stepped onto the scale (they weigh you) and they never even asked about or charged extra for our heavy backpacks.
So, I suggest keeping the weight as low as you can BUT prepare yourself for a possible extra fee.
Next, let’s look at the bag restrictions – you have one carry-on with Skyway Air and a single carry on and small personal item with Sansa. So, what you can carry on the plane will vary depending on which airline is going to fly you to the resort. Check with the resort if you don’t know for sure, but be warned – when we went down our airlines were switched (seamlessly, but it was necessary). Again, currently for 2021 the resort seems to be using Sansa (Skyway isn’t quite back from the blow it took from COVID killing off it’s business.)
What it boils down to is that, ideally, you’ll want to get all of your gear into a single backpack, shuffling any “overflow” into your checked baggage. I often pack some of my more sturdy items in my checked bags instead of the carry on – things like flash units, brackets, batteries, chargers, etc. Basically, keeping my carry-on limited to just glass and bodies. I just wrap the items in shirts and such.
Now, the good news is that, in my experience, these regional airlines are far better with handling luggage than commercial airlines. So if you have to leave some of your more “durable” items in checked luggage going from San Jose to the resort, it’s not the end of the world.
The other trick here is that the regional airlines restrict you to a single checked bag of 30 pounds. Again, this isn’t a hard limit but an overcharge threshold (but keep it under 60 pounds or it may be an issue).
For specifics, check out the information at each airline’s website. Also, I suggest double-checking these links before you head out since they are subject to change (in fact, Sansa only recently added the “personal item -they used to allow just a single bag if I recall).
Note that the info on these pages supersedes anything I tell you – these are their rules, and if they enforce them or not is up to them, not your’s truly.
Ok, so that leaves the big question – how should you pack your camera equipment?
Since it’s impossible for me to know all the gear everyone is taking, all I can do is offer a few suggestions and tell you how I do it.
I actually did a video on this the last time I was there that may help too:
For me, I’m taking the following gear this year (2021)
Nikon Z7ii (for macros)
Sony A1 & a9ii
Sony 600 F4
Sony 100-400
Nikon 105mm Macro
Sony 1.4TC & 2X
Believe it or not, I can get all of this in my carry on!
I use a Gura Gear Kiboko 30L bag with one side completely empty – the 600mm fits in there. On the other side, I put camera bodies, lenses, and TCs.
The Kiboko 30L is by far the best bag I’ve ever had, I HIGHLY recommend grabbing it. (Note, they have another current model, the Uinta 30L- that is NOT the same bag.)
Gura Gear 30L (the one I recommend)
Gura Gear 22L (a smaller version of the one above)
Below are links to a couple similar bags (linked to Amazon). However, I have NOT personally tested all of these (I have the smaller version of the Gura Gear bag – the “26” model, but it’s too small for my 600mm – GREAT bag for up to 500mm though).
Gura Gear 32 (careful with this one, size looks very close for carry-on)
Mindshift MP-1 (careful again, this is about 1 inch long for carry-on, but you can probably get away with it)
Obviously, what you’ll need for your gear will vary from what I or anyone else needs, but at least that’s a good place to start.
Here’s how it all fits (with my Nikon setup):
If all your gear doesn’t fit into your bag, you can usually smuggle come of the smaller stuff in your “personal carryon” bag. Studier stuff can actually go into checked luggage (it’s where I put the lens hood for the Nikon 600mm when I take it).
Speaking of checked luggage, I use a duffle-style bag with top and bottom compartments. Mine was from Cabelas, but sadly they don’t seem to make this exact model anymore (although if you search their site for luggage there does seem to be some alternatives). I also noticed that Timberland has similar bags. Note that I haven’t tried any of these, but it might be worth a look.
I like this bag because it’s a two-compartment model, allowing for some creative packing options as you’ll see 🙂
The first problem I needed to solve was the lens hood. If you have a large prime, you know that the lens hood just takes up too much space! So, my solution is to pack it into my checked luggage for both the trip from the states to San Jose and from the trip from San Jose to the resort. I pack it vertically in the top compartment of the bag so if the bag gets buried it doesn’t get crushed. You can also pack flash units in it as shown (but only for the San Jose to the resort flight – I’d be worried about trying that with a regular commercial airline). Also, I’d normally put the flashes in their cases, but it was easier to show them loose in the photo. (Note you really don’t need flash units, this was an older photo – we rely on reflectors now).
If you have multiple hoods, you can also pack them inside of each other to save some space. We’ve also had people use the LensCoat soft TravelHoods as well. They save a ton of space.
My tripod and monopod also go into my checked luggage. Mine are just too much of a hassle to try to drag on to the plane, but smaller tripods and especially monopods can probably be strapped to your backpack if you prefer.
I pack mine in the bottom of my luggage, along with my extra shoes and such. I need to remove the head of my tripod so it all fits. I also tuck my ball head in there in case I need it (not shown).
Once that’s loaded, I pack the rest of my clothing in the bag and I’m all set.
So, with this setup, I can take a nice selection of gear and manage a single carry on and single piece of checked luggage. If you have a laptop, you’ll want to find a camera bag solution that allows you to take that with you as a carry-on as well (the new Gura Gear bags do).
Finally, I know that many of you are coming with a companion. If that companion is of an understanding disposition, you can probably talk them into allowing you some space in their carry-on. When Rose and I went down the first time, we both ended up carrying a photo backpack (we had a LOT of video gear to that time) and my gear we split between the two bags (I took more than I needed).
Disclaimer
The above are only suggestions. As I like to tell people, I’m not a fortune teller, all I can tell you is what works well for me when packing and what I would do. However, I don’t know what you can carry, how you travel, and I can’t predict the random nature of airlines. So, take the above as “getting started” suggestions but use your best judgment when making your final packing decisions.