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Trey Barron
01-23-2008, 11:28 PM
I will be traveling to Panama and St. lucia (caribbean) this summer and am planning on carrying on my lowepro nature trekker. When I measure it full I am under the weight limit for now, but the size restriction of 45 inches is a bit tight. Does anyone have experience (good or bad) of traveling with this bag? I will most likely be flying AA, but restrictioins seem to be the same for all of the possible airlines.

Thanks for the input!
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Jeff Hammond
01-24-2008, 12:48 PM
Trey:

I just returned from a few weeks in the Falkland Islands, via Santiago, Chile and traveled the entire way with a Lowepro Pro Trekker AW. I think this bag is slightly larger than the Nature Trekker. I did not have any real problems with the bag as a carry-on, so I doubt you will have any with the smaller bag. That said, perception (by the airline staff) is everything.

Some of my flights were on LAN Chile, which has a one carry-on bag limit and a weight limit for that bag of 8kg (just over 17lbs.). I found that my pack got far less scrutiny with the waist strap reversed and cinched tightly around the front of the pack...compressing it a bit and making it look more compact. Remove any accessory pouches, the lubmar pad, etc. and stuff these in your checked bag. This part is not really necessary, but it does help with the perception aspect.

My backup plan for LAN was that I carried a canvas tote bag that I could have used to carry my lenses and camera bodies (in stocking caps for padding) in the event LAN had forced me to gate check the pack. I did not need it, but it gave me some piece of mind that I would not need to panic at the gate with no real options if the worst happened. My "look small" plan worked and all was well.

Enjoy your travels! On a US carrier, you should not have any suprises like this. We all know that the bag fits just fine in an overhead compartment, the goal is to keep the counter and gate agents from wondering...

David Kennedy
01-24-2008, 01:39 PM
I got rid of that bag a few years ago because I hated taking it on airplanes. All of the straps, and especially the belt, add so much thickness to the bag that it makes it cramped in the overhead bin. That is not to say that you will have serious problems--you won't--but you might experience some frustration in cramming it overhead. But you'll get it in, eventually.
If you're going to be doing a lot of hiking, then I'd keep the bag. If this is really just a camera bag that happens to be a backpack for you, then I'd sell it on eBay and get a backpack that offers more space and less serious straps. Or a pure rolling bag, which is what I do now. (I dislike the backpack rollers because they add a lot of thickness between the handle and all of the straps.) I have Calumet's knock-off of the Lowepro Pro Roller 1, and it has been all over the United States, and flown to Amsterdam and Kenya with me, and I've almost never had a problem getting it in the overhead bin. I think I've had to check it at the gate twice, but that was round-trip on a route that required a regional jet.

Jeff Hammond
01-24-2008, 02:03 PM
Gotta agree with David on the fact that a roller is a good idea for the plane. I've got a Think Tank Airport International that is a dream to fly with. If you still need the pack I suppose you could put the empty pack in a checked duffel bag and your gear in the roller.

Trey Barron
01-25-2008, 12:01 AM
Thanks for the input Jeff and David. I will be doing a fair amount of hiking in panama while looking for mostly reptiles and amphibians. I hope to capture a few or more birds as well while I am down their. I just hate the idea of having to check my gear when I get to the airport.

Bob Reimer
01-25-2008, 12:39 AM
I've got a Vested Interest Khumbu vest. Last year I had to travel from UAE via London (one carry on only through security), Toronto and Vancouver to Anchorage to attend Artie's Silver Salmon Creek Lodge IPT. I stuffed the front pockets of the vest with a D80 and D200 body and the short lenses. The telephotos, flashes and spare D70 went in a non-descript roller. Had no trouble with it. Vest counted as clothing and had no trouble with either through security. Previous summer did our trips with my Tamarack CyberPack 9 and was hassled everywhere. Plus I find the vest MUCH better in the field then the back pack.

Jesse Ivan
02-17-2008, 07:26 PM
I just got back from a trip to Honduras and had no issues with my Nature Trekker. It fit fine in the overhead or under the seat. Just don't pack the outside pocket, keep everything inside the main compartment. You can also make this pack into a hard shell by adding hard plastic between the shell and the padding. I have not gotten around to this yet but i plan to. You can get a plastic 50 gal barrel from a car wash for free usually. This plastic can be cut with a jigsaw and formed with a propane torch then cooled in water. This is a VERY useful plastic and will not break or crack. It will add some weight.

Craig Markham
02-18-2008, 02:32 AM
I looked at the Nature Trekker, but baulked at its weight. The wheeled Roadrunner (14 lbs!) that Art Morris has used is, according to LowePro, discontinued (but still shows up on EBay).

For my needs (more field and car than airport), LowePro's Vertex 300, at 7.5 lbs, is the best I've found. It is dimensioned to the 45" carry-on limit of major airlines, has well-padded shoulder and waist bands, balances very well on the back, with most of the weight on the hip belt -- supremely comfortable. A zip-around cover stows the straps for in-flight. It will hold an EOS 500mm f/4.0 (without the lens hood), 100-300mm, 70-200mm, 28-135mm, compact macro, MK3 body, flash, TC's, and a few accessories -- 35-40 lbs total. Look out for weight limits on smaller aircraft. The cover contains a padded pocket for a 17" laptop, however, with the risk of flexing the computer against my burgeoning camera gear, I use the pocket for my bird guide and notebooks. A tripod can be attached to the back or either side of the pack with the Fastexed straps and tripod cup. I miss having a set of wheels in airports, but I don't miss their extra weight in the field.