(This post is the first of a few to come discussing the upcoming trip to Tanzania for my company’s amazing NPO that empowers students around the world to make clean water available to every other student through the power of a playground. For more information about the project please visit: www.WaterPowerPeace.org)
Before last
year’s trip to Tanzania I spent an immeasurable number of hours trying to
figure out exactly what gear to take, how to get it there and how to carry it
all with me all day long. This planning
involved gear and review sites on the left monitor – and – spreadsheets for
comparing items and organizing ideas on the right monitor. I have no nearby camera store so everything
has to be compared numerically and extensively reviewed. To see everything I took last year, look back
at my old Traveling With Photo Equipment post
Essentially
I took all my gear in Think Tank and Lowpro modular pouches, stuffed inside a
Mammut Nirvana Pro (35L) technical pack.
Once on location, I swapped out the waist belt with the Think Tank belt
and pulled out all the modulars.What I didn’t like about last year's system was 1) it was too heavy for all day, every day, 2) it was too bulky to toss around, in and out of land rovers, and 3) I looked like I should have been on the sidelines of a game, not in Africa!
For this year’s trip, I really want to keep it simple! So again, I have spent an immeasurable number of hours trying to figure out exactly what gear to take, how to get it there and how to carry it all with me all day long.