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If you’re taking a professional camera with you while hiking or backpacking, you’re going to need a few accessories to keep them safe and make it easy for you to use. Here’s the camera gear I recommend:
- Crossbody strap
- Waterproof case or stuff sack
- Neoprene wrap
- Neoprene lens bags
- UV filter – to protect your lens
- Lens cleaning cloth
- Extra Battery & Memory Cards
- Tripod(optional)
Camera Strap
I always wear my camera with a cross body strap. It’s always on me and out in the open unless there’s heavy rain or it gets too dark. I can easily grab my camera any time with this kind of strap, and take a photo all with one hand.
My favorite strap that I’ve used is a Peak Design Slide Lite. I’ve also tried and have a Peak Design Leash strap, which is the thinner, lighter version. I feel that the wider version of the Slide Lite distributes the weight of larger cameras a bit better however, especially when you’re out hiking all day.
The downside to the Peak Design straps is that they don’t come with a tripod mount. So the little bracket that screws into the tripod mount of your camera, covers it up. You need to carry the small allen wrench with you if you want to remove it(and you probably should bring it anyway because sometimes it loosens). Now, this isn’t a big deal in my opinion, because I usually don’t take a tripod with me anyway.
On the plus side, it’s super easy to adjust the length of, and you can easily remove it from your camera with the quick connectors(the plate will still be on however).
In the past I used an Altura strap with a nice thick shoulder padding. It worked well but I found it a little too bulky overall for traveling and packing. One nice thing about it is that it has a zipper pocket on it, great for storing extra memory cards! And you can mount a camera with a strap on to a tripod.
There are a lot of straps you can choose from, it just has to be comfortable enough and I do recommend a cross body strap if you plan to be using your camera all throughout the day.
Lens Protection
If I take any extra lenses with me, usually just on day hikes, I’ll throw them in my backpack in a neoprene pouch. They’re pretty cheap and you can get a whole set with different sizes for a good price.
Another thing I always do is protect my lens with a clear UV filter. It’s just a little reassurance if I drop or knock my camera lens off something.
Camera Protection
Tenba Wrap
If I want to put my camera away in my backpack, I use a Tenba Camera wrap. These things are awesome. A total game changer because you now don’t need any special camera bag. You just wrap your camera up in this, and any bag can become a camera bag! Your camera will be protected by a nice foam wrap. They’re super light too so no reason why not to carry one along with you.
Camera Bag
Lastly, mostly for backpacking, I purchased a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Camera Pod. This thing wasn’t cheap, but I wanted a very small light weight case that I can use when I don’t have the room to stuff it in my pack. It’s for rainstorms, for times when I have to brush up against or climb up some rocks and the camera might get scratched, and also just as an extra support system to hold it in place.
Here I’ve written a full review of the camera bag and how I attach it to my backpack if you’d like to learn more about it!
Tripod
It’s pretty rare that I need a tripod on any hiking or backpacking trips. So I only sometimes carry a tripod, and only on day hikes, never backpacking. The cameras I use have great image stability, so holding the camera steady in the day time is no problem. If I need a tripod for self portraits or something, I’ll put the camera down on a rock or my backpack.
The tripod I bring along when I do go is just a small Joby Gorillapod. It’s flexible feet allow me to position it in a variety of ways if necessary.
Necessary Extras
Ok this section is probably the most important…but NEVER leave the house without the following!
- Extra Battery
- Extra Memory card
- Lens cleaning cloth
- *Allen wrench for the Peak Design strap, if you have one.
Nothing like getting to a place you’ve never been before, and find your camera battery having only 1 bar left. Or the extra battery you’ve packed is dead(cause you forget to charge it the last time). Or finding your memory card already full and having to quickly delete photos you think you don’t want on it… *sighs*…I’ve had to learn this lesson the hard way…more than once x.x
Make sure your batteries are fully charged!! ;p
Do you personally use any other gear you find very useful when hiking or backpacking? Post below and let us know!