Cuben hybrid camerabag

[Joost Ubbink]

With the left overs of my Cuben tent project I made a camera bag. Outer bag made of Cuben hybrid, sewn then taped, with #3 YKK aquaguard zipper and hybrid PE foam padded shoulder strap with silicone anti slip. Inner bag of Cuben fiber and PE foam, all taped and some sewing. Detachable interior separators and so on.. Total weight is 200grams, my old one was 650grams. And: this one is totally waterproof! Some pics:

[Gordon Gray]

that's bad a$$

[Rob Daly]

Very cool. Nice job. Lets see how your camera gear fits inside.

[Valerie E]

Great work — love it! And even better than the light weight is the waterproof-ness: no more worrying about the camera every time it starts to sprinkle. I made a waterproof camera case (seam sealed X-Pac) for the CT, and it was SUCH a relief not to have to scramble to secure my camera every storm (which happens a lot in CO in July!). Enjoy yours!

[James G]

Hi Joost,

That’s just what I’m looking for.. You’re brilliant!!! I’m a avid videographer/photographer I also enjoy ultralight backpacking. I have a Panasonic GH4 with lenses and other equipment. I’ve looked all over the internet and tried to find an ultralight camera backpack. Most of the camera backpacks out there are over 3-5 pounds and usually aren’t waterproof. I own a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider 3400. It has been a godsend for light weight backpacking. I’ll never go back to a heavy pack. So, I thought what you did making this Cuben hybrid camera bag is exactly what I’m interested in doing. It would sure be nice to get some sort of template and instruction on a version that has already been done. I’m a little handy with my hands. I work with wood and at the beginning of the year, my wife and I sewed together a large sail cover for our son’s sailboat. If there is anyway to get your instructions, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you,

James Garrett

 

[William N]

This is too long. Sorry. At the bottom of all this is the tip to use piano wire on your opening to make inserting and pulling out your camera one-handed. That’s worth reading.

I’ve got a big Nikon DSLR.  Using (an older) standard OP neoprene strap, I noticed that there was a loop in the webbing on my left side– I’m right handed. I started parking the camera on its lens in that loop. Worked great. Next I wanted something better, that I could hook to my backpack strap and use as a ‘shoulder holster’. I jury rigged for that and  used these two configurations for travel, backpacking, bicycle day trips while in Japan a couple years ago. While pedaling, I could easily swing up the camera still in the loop and shoot forward. (Last year I bought a new OP strap and the webbing was much shorter than my old one, so I swapped out pieces on both sides to make it a lot longer. I’ve got a sewing machine, but a good needle and thread and a non-subtitled movie it’s easy enough to hand stitch. If I’m actively shooting and want the camera to just hang, I want it hanging by my hip–which the new shorter straps won’t do. Those belt hooks look pretty good, but I haven’t tried them.

Wanting to improve on this: I ended up with a CaseLogic camera bag with a zipper for longer zoom lens. Here’s where it might get interesting.   I sewed on a bit of webbing and a D-ring so when it was slung, it would hang in the shoulder harness position. But here’s the best trick. I inserted and carefully snaked a piece of 1/16″ piano wire (I’ve got some of this in stainless) around the perimeter of the opening. Now I can slip the camera in and out with one hand. The wire keeps the opening open. Would probably work even better on your lightweight bag– if you need to quick draw.

I also hot glued thin dyneema line  or epoxied wire loops and tied dyneema lines to all my lens caps. Nikon makes a great lens cap: for normal focal length lenses, anything above that and the lousy things pop off all the time. In Japan I went through about 4 caps until I found cheap ones with lanyards. And I duck tape my lens shades. They’re even less reliable than the caps. An ugly piece of silver duct tape on a camera deters thieves. )

[Author]

Posts