As far as the section on ancillaries goes, I’ve already been beaten (not surprisingly) in recommending Maglite torches and Leatherman pocket tools – both absolute life savers. The GPS navigation system David reviewed a while ago is a good one, and although I’m hardly likely to need it I’ll probably get one all the same.
For logistical reasons I often work in Central London without a crew car – especially when covering court stories, demonstrations, marches… I’ll only carry a light kit and essential to this is of course the pack for my ancillaries. I’ve experimented with various Billingham shoulder bags and a number of hip-packs but I’ve found you just can’t beat a rucksack – it’s the winner, hands down.
CamelBak is a company I first came across through mountain-biking. The company offer a range of rucksacks that at first glance seem much like any other good quality pack. Apart from being well made, compact and offering plenty of useful features, their unique selling point is their innovative hydration system.
The CamelBak system consists off an in-built water reservoir which features a delivery tube with a bite valve on the end. It’s a basic but effective system which consists of filling the reservoir with water, which is then available to drink via the delivery tube attached with a clip to the right shoulder strap. Water is therefore available to drink while the pack is carried on your back, eliminating the need to take the pack off, open it up and rummage around for your water or worry about it leaking over your ancillaries.
The CamelBak system makes it possible to carry water in a much more convenient way, with a 
choice of reservoir sizes able to carry from 1.5 litres up to 3 litres. The reservoir is insulated to keep cool and ice can be added through the larger Screw Caps. Using this body mounted system keeps the weight closer to your centre of gravity and, unlike water bottles, the CamelBak system keeps your water away from the bacteria-breeding ground. While you might not want to use this system in the city it could well be a real plus if you’re on assignment in a more remote location, trekking around on a story where water supplies are either unreliable, undesirable or simply don’t exist.
I currently use the Cloud Walker from the hiking range which offers enough compartments to 
comfortably carry my day-to-day ancillaries; tapes, batteries, lapels, radio mic, reflector, XLR’s, earphones, audio barrels, accreditation’s, A-Z, lens wipes & cloths, pens, pocket tools, torch and keys. Using a more compact rucksack is, I’ve found, quite a good thing because it keeps my ancillaries packed in nice and securely. In the past I’d always used much larger packs, and as such probably always tended to carry too much - thinking if it wasn’t full then I’d forgotten something.
Once loaded the pack still feels compact and performs well. It’s easy to move around with and seems to sit really comfortably on your back with a nice low profile. A big plus I’ve found with the Cloud Walker is that the smaller shoulder straps are much less obtrusive than on other packs. A problem I always had was shooting off the shoulder with the camera slipping off and/or over a bulky shoulder strap. But the Cloud Walker straps present no problems at all.
CamelBak offer a huge range of models and sizes, but I’d look at the hiking range for the type of use I’ve described here. Two worth looking at are the Cloud Walker and also the PeakBagger. CamelBak have a useful web site worth logging onto, at www.camelbak.com, where you can view their entire range of packs and read up on the theory behind their hydration system, check out reviews, find out about the ‘CamelBak Zone’ and refer to the world-wide dealers lists.
What more could you want? I’m in heaven!
My thanks go to Carolyn Besse, CamelBak Marketing Services Co-ordinator, California and all illustrations and photographs © CamelBak Products Inc. 2001
© tvcameramen.com - Matt Kime 2001
