Outdoor Photography Preperation - Gear-Hacking a Camera Holster

An Easily Accessible Outdoor Camera Rig - For Half of the Price.

 

Over the last two years, I've attempted to combine my love of photography with the enjoyment that I get from being outdoors. To put it mildly, I have had very little success. Sure, I've snagged a few nice shots, but if you're going on a multi-day camping trip, the amount of time you can spend pulling gear out of bags to get the perfect shot is limited

So, how can I make my camera more available to me, on the go? I'm going on hikes, doing alpine climbing, and paddling down rivers at times. Breaks are fine, but part of all of these journeys is reaching the destination (eventually) . If I keep stopping for the perfect shot(s), I'm going to be very late to work the next Monday!

There are a number of complex chest rigs to hold your camera in place as you hike, even with a full backpack on. Well, those cost anywhere north of $99. That's a little much for what I want to spend. But then I stumbled on Think Tank's Digital Holster 10 V2.0. (You're welcome, Think Tank. How about endorsement money now? No? Maybe a coupon?)

So, let's get this puppy all set up. See this cool super sturdy velcro tab? We can attach the camera holster to the backpack via the chest strap.You may be curious as to why I didn't just attach the holster to my waist belt. Well, I'm going to be traveling while wearing a climbing harness on occasion. The one thing that I do not want my camera to interfere with is my safety equipment. Safety first!





















Just make sure that you've got enough room on the male end of the clip to buckle the strap. You might think that this will be uncomfortable, but the chest strap isn't meant to be cinched tight and bear weight. It should be semi-loose when clipped!

So here is what we've got when it's attached to the strap and clipped in. Not too bad! But I'm putting some pretty pricey gear in this holster. I don't want to trundling down a hill, cliff, or worse when I take my pack off for a breather. After all, tired minds make mistakes. So we get out a cheap carabiner.





















Finally, I've attached the carabiner to one of the metal D-rings on the holster, and then attached that to a closed loop on the chest strap. Note - CLOSED loop. If it's just the strap, the holster can still go sliding off - this time with a carabiner in tow. And there - I've just recreated a camera set-up for half of the price that keeps my gear well protected from weather and bumps, all while securely fastened to me in an easy to reach place.