The Great Repack, a mini-story
Some people know that I have brought way too much stuff along with me on
this trip. It mostly consists of photo/video gear, along with a few
personal necessities. When I got done packing a week ago, I had two
large duffel bags (approximately 45 lbs/20 kg each), plus a carry-on
backpack (just under 40 lbs/18 kg). Needless to say, this move has been
widely viewed as crazy by many people in both hemispheres.
For the first portion of my trip, I chose to only carry around one pack.
This is the part where I unabashedly promote the Kinesis Gear system that has been
working very well so far. The system is targeted towards photographers,
but the basic idea is that you can buy various packs, pack frames,
belts, harnesses, and cases that you then arrange in a multitude of
configurations.
For this trip, I have mainly used the Kinesis pieces in two
configurations. The first one is the "everything in one big pack" setup.
This consists of hanging the backpack and a compression sack from the
pack frame, with my tripod on one side, and a video camera piggybacked
on the backpack in a smaller pack. The whole setup including a few
liters of water has to easily weigh over 65 lbs/30 kg.
When I got to Machu Picchu, I had planned to use my full pack with frame
for the day, but holding only water and my camera stuff. However, the
rules prohibit backpacks over 20 liters. Thanks to the modularity of the
Kinesis system, I was able to quickly store the pack frame and backpack,
and convert to a harness and belt setup, with camera holster and lens
cases hanging off the belt, and my small video camera pack and tripod
hanging on my back. I've been using variations of this second
configuration ever since when I go out on picture-taking expeditions.
For peace of mind I'm using the Pac
Safe to keep my pack secure when it's not in my room or on me. The
duffel bags got the same treatment when I stored them at the airport.
Which brings me back to the main story - the great repack.
Obviously I wanted to travel the first half of the trip with this
monster backpack, and obviously that monster backpack would not be
something you could possibly carry on (or even check without extra
charges). So last Monday morning at around 6am, I pulled two large
duffel bags and my carryon backpack into a bathroom stall in the Lima
airport. The goal: create the superpack that I would carry around the
next ten days.
A bull in a china shop would have a better time manuvering than I did in
that tiny bathroom stall. I had planned in advance to have all the
additional superpack stuff in one of the duffel bags, but it still took
me the better part of two hours to get the pack frame out, attach all the pieces to it, and get stuff back into the duffel bags. It didn't help that I hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, or that the bathroom
attendant seemed to be confused by this person who kept making sounds of velcro ripping without ever emerging from the stall.
When I get back to Lima on Wednesday, I will try to "undo" this repack by putting most of my big pack back into one of the duffel bags at the airport luggage storage. I'm currently getting good practice by
unpacking and repacking the superpack as I move from place to place.
Still, this is all relatively easy compared to the "great repack", and I think people will be hard pressed to beat my record of the most luggage crammed into a bathroom stall at once.
Some people know that I have brought way too much stuff along with me on
this trip. It mostly consists of photo/video gear, along with a few
personal necessities. When I got done packing a week ago, I had two
large duffel bags (approximately 45 lbs/20 kg each), plus a carry-on
backpack (just under 40 lbs/18 kg). Needless to say, this move has been
widely viewed as crazy by many people in both hemispheres.
For the first portion of my trip, I chose to only carry around one pack.
This is the part where I unabashedly promote the Kinesis Gear system that has been
working very well so far. The system is targeted towards photographers,
but the basic idea is that you can buy various packs, pack frames,
belts, harnesses, and cases that you then arrange in a multitude of
configurations.
For this trip, I have mainly used the Kinesis pieces in two
configurations. The first one is the "everything in one big pack" setup.
This consists of hanging the backpack and a compression sack from the
pack frame, with my tripod on one side, and a video camera piggybacked
on the backpack in a smaller pack. The whole setup including a few
liters of water has to easily weigh over 65 lbs/30 kg.
When I got to Machu Picchu, I had planned to use my full pack with frame
for the day, but holding only water and my camera stuff. However, the
rules prohibit backpacks over 20 liters. Thanks to the modularity of the
Kinesis system, I was able to quickly store the pack frame and backpack,
and convert to a harness and belt setup, with camera holster and lens
cases hanging off the belt, and my small video camera pack and tripod
hanging on my back. I've been using variations of this second
configuration ever since when I go out on picture-taking expeditions.
For peace of mind I'm using the Pac
Safe to keep my pack secure when it's not in my room or on me. The
duffel bags got the same treatment when I stored them at the airport.
Which brings me back to the main story - the great repack.
Obviously I wanted to travel the first half of the trip with this
monster backpack, and obviously that monster backpack would not be
something you could possibly carry on (or even check without extra
charges). So last Monday morning at around 6am, I pulled two large
duffel bags and my carryon backpack into a bathroom stall in the Lima
airport. The goal: create the superpack that I would carry around the
next ten days.
A bull in a china shop would have a better time manuvering than I did in
that tiny bathroom stall. I had planned in advance to have all the
additional superpack stuff in one of the duffel bags, but it still took
me the better part of two hours to get the pack frame out, attach all the pieces to it, and get stuff back into the duffel bags. It didn't help that I hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, or that the bathroom
attendant seemed to be confused by this person who kept making sounds of velcro ripping without ever emerging from the stall.
When I get back to Lima on Wednesday, I will try to "undo" this repack by putting most of my big pack back into one of the duffel bags at the airport luggage storage. I'm currently getting good practice by
unpacking and repacking the superpack as I move from place to place.
Still, this is all relatively easy compared to the "great repack", and I think people will be hard pressed to beat my record of the most luggage crammed into a bathroom stall at once.
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