Skiing - camera - protection?

[dojo]

I'm skiing in Feb and would like to take my camera but been a rusty snowboarder who in their prime used to fall a fair bit I want to protect my equipment... I was thinking about one of those motorbike hard shell backpacks. Does anyone have any better ideas and would one of those packs allow for enough maneuvering??

[Zod]

A hard backpack could hurt you if you fall.

Look here.

I just carry my SLR and an extra lens in my avalanche backpack with a spare top to protect it. It is rare that you fall flat on your back in any case.

[swd]

What camera(s) are you thinking of bringing up the mountain?

Edited by swd on Wednesday 19th November 11:49

[swd]

• EDIT: Sorry, I wrote all this and then realised he said he was a rusty snowboarder but would be SKIING, not boarding. Still thought I'd leave it here, since I often mistakenly interchange the words sking and boarding in conversation. An an ex-skier old habits die hard.

Just on further thought I it's worth mentioning a few things:

If you're a rusty snowboarder you'll be falling a lot on your front and your back. Hard.

If you're spending any time on a board over compacted snow, ice or pistes, then anything hard on your person is going to behave very much like a pet rock ready to fall on at every wobble of the board. It's the hard snow/ice you'll fall on, not the soft fluffy stuff. The thing that'll break is you.

So, assuming it's an SLR or equivalent:
- position it on your back: expect bruised/broken ribs, pneumothorax if you catch your heel edge (which you will at some point). Maybe even spinal injury. If the rucksack stays in place your neck could jolt back horribly.
- position over your chest: rib injury again, pneumothorax and/or wrist injuries when you try and save yourself and the camera with a toe edge.
- over your abdomen: internal injuries, or the same wrist / arm injuries as you protect yourself and the hardware.

So, death, disablement, or just a proper winding if you're lucky.

If you wrap it up you'll get rid of the sharp edges you still have a pretty massive non-conforming lump to bash against.

If you're an excellent snowboarder you could take it easy, reduce your risk. It depends what's important: the photos or the boarding.

If you're already at the point where you're packing avi gear etc then that's a whole different story. I'd still stick with my phone rather than deal with the extra weight and bulk of an SLR and protection from shovels, probes, rope gear. But then I'm not big into photography.

Skiing with a camera is better - no edges to catch and most falls/slides on piste end with you going side first. Strap some planks on for your photography day. Still risky though.

Edited by swd on Wednesday 19th November 13:06

Edited by swd on Wednesday 19th November 13:09

[dojo]

Ok, are the hard backpacks not soft on the human side??
I have a fuji XE1 and will prob bring a 18-55mm with me and maybe a 10-24mm for landscao if can afford before I leave. Also have a 50-230 which may think about but it only starts at about F5...

[swd]

Sorry Dojo - see my edit above. Just so I'm 100% clear: are you skiing or boarding with the camera gear?

[dojo]

SWD thanks for your reply. I am going to be snowboarding, I haven't really boarded for 10 years, I used to be pretty reasonable but foolhardy hence the falling, now in my mid 30s I imagine I'd be somewhat more conservative but who knows!
You're absolutely right to highlight the problems and if I ever clipped an edge it did tend to be the heel side... Hmmm

I love my photography and the mountains, but maybe travelling by board isn't the way to it?!

[malks222]

I was in a previous life a boarder and now ski, i think you'd be ok, but i'd be worried about damaging myself and/or camera in a fall, especially boarding. the impacts are likely to be harder falling from boarding than skiing.

however last season i took my canon 700D (55-80mm lens) with me for a couple of days on the slope when i was skiing. I had my camera in its usual 'lowepro' soft case/bag and then put that into a 'dakine heli pro' backpack. camera seemed to be fairly safe in bag and with the backpack being quite compact it didnt move around in the bag or on my back all day.

my biggest concern from having my camera with me was getting on/off lifts. if i took the bag off my back and carried it on my lap, i then had to hold the bag and my poles while getting on/off the chair lift (not really an issue for boarding). but if i just kept my bag on my back it meant i was edged further forward on the chairlift, meant i had to watch my head bringing the bar down on the lift and feeling pretty close to the edge for my dismount at the top.

[JustinP1]

This is why the Sony RX100 exists...!

[Craikeybaby]

In the past I've snowboarded with my DSLR kit in a DaKine Sequence rucksack, but I've now replaced that with an FStop Gear rucksack, which carries far better.