Pro Elite Pack from Clik Elite
For my day job I get to go out on the mountain and shoot or direct ski videos for clients. Last year we were using a camcorder bag that hung over the shoulder and held a bunch of stuff and protected the camera really well, but it was a bitch to ski with. So much so that it almost made skiing suck!
This year Clik Elite hooked me up with their Pro Elite pack for use on the mountain. Clik Elite is a relatively new pack maker based in St. George Utah. They have a long line of pack designing experience that includes tactical and medical packs and bags.
Clik Elite gear is high end camera protection. They’re burly. This pack is designed for pro photographers who need a bag that puts the weight of all the gear on both shoulders. It has room for at least a couple SLR camera bodies and a grip of lenses, but I use it for just one HD Video Camcorder.
Here’s what I usually fit in the Pro Elite:
* Sony EX-1 Camcorder
* Charger and extra battery
* Lite Panel Micro
* 16 extra AA batteries
* All the cords and cables the camera came with
* 2 12 foot XLR cables
* 1 Lavalier Mic
* 1 Sony shotgun mic
* 1 pair of headphones
* 4 snickers, granola, cliff, fruit bars
* 1 liter nalgene
* Sunblock
* another small SLR or Camcorder or VIO Sport POV1 (sometimes)
* 1 Bounce Card
* Gaffer tape
* Telescoping microphone boom
* Jacket, extra gloves, hat, goggles or whatever will fit
So it holds a lot.
It’s a good camera pack to ski with. Of course it has no water bottle or bladder holder, though we don’t fill it all the way up so we use one of the side compartments for water and snickers bars.
It holds a full size laptop as well. Which is nice if you do photo or video editing on the road. One thing I forgot to show in the video is the rain cover. There’s a little bungie corded pack cover in a compartment on the bottom of the pack. We’ve used that a couple of times.
Tyler McPherron, our videographer, likes the pack. Snowboarding with a shoulder bag is not feasable so last year I had to cary it for him, scrounge a backpack, or he’d just board around with the camera in his hands. I did the pack too. I’ve skied Estelle Bowl with it and still had fun. It’s a little heavier than my regular backcountry pack, but it doesn’t come close to sucking.
20% Off Click Elite Gear
If you’re interested in this or any other Clik Elite Packs or bags, they’ve offered readers of The Bacon Strip a 20% discount on orders before April 24th. Just click over the the Clik Elite Store and use code: TWT20 to get 20% off anything in stock.
The skier in this video is Truckee local, Jamaican Ski Team Skier Cross Olympian, Errol Kerr. This video was filmed @ Alpine Meadows.
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-M