Skiing with the MK IV, 70-200mm & Clik Elite Chest Pack

[Richard Lane]

OK.., so I went Skiing last weekend and I was testing out my Clik Elite Chest Pack.


I tried it out in Keystone, Colorado last month and now again in Killington, Vermont (below) and I think it's great!


I have 2 sizes the "Clik Elite: Large SLR Chest Pack" (which holds a Pro Body or Body/battery grip and a 24-70mm f/2.8L IS) and the "Telephoto SLR ChestPack" (which holds a 70-200mm f/2.8L and Pro Body).


Now for the Photos: (That's me below!)





1D MK IV: 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II "Clik Elite Telephoto SLR Chest Pack"






















































































OK.., so I put that thing through it's paces and I can certainly recommend it!


I have no affiliation with Clik Elite, but I thought they might be interested in some of these pics. What do you think?


I didn't take the pics so I will forward all Critiques to me buddy!


http://www.clikelite.com/shop/telephoto-slr-chestpack/


I should also mention that I added my own waist belt (from a shoulder strap) for stability which helps keep it from bouncing in the bumps.


Any questions or comments appreciated!


Thanks for viewing!


Rich

[thekingb]

Nice shots. I was in Beaver Creek over Presidents Day weekend and went back and forth about taking my gear. The night before, the forecast looked pretty dismal so I left it at home. Of course it was sunny and beautiful.


But my real fear was wiping out with $3000 of gear on me!

[Richard Lane]

Nice shots. I was in Beaver Creek over Presidents Day weekend and went back and forth about taking my gear. The night before, the forecast looked pretty dismal so I left it at home. Of course it was sunny and beautiful.


But my real fear was wiping out with $3000 of gear on me!

Thanks King!


You certainly have to be careful about falling, it has some decent padding too. It's pretty weather resistant also. The snow doesn't seem to stick to it.


I have the 2010 version, but this year they have added a rain cover, which is now included. I'm going to see if I can buy the cover separately.


Here's a shot of some of the conditions that I've used it in, in Keystone, Colorado. No problems whatsoever!


If you notice the snow is sticking to my ski pants and peoples hats, but it's just not sticking to the Clik Elite Pack.


I also use a 1D body and weatherproof lenses such as the 24-70mm f/2.8L and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Actually this shot below was taken with my MK IV 24-70mm f/2.8L


If things get really crazy, I have my emergency "extra large ziplock bag" that I carry in the upper zippered compartment. Then the camera and lens goes into the plastic bag and the whole thing slides into the chest pack.
















I was shooting in this weather all day without any problems to the equipment.


Rich

[Steve U]

Nice testimonial for the Clik pack Rich and great action shots.


Are you sure that

[ddt0725]

Awesome action shots! Looks like this is the perfect pack for skiers, you sold me and I don

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Steve, Alberto Tomba is my idle!


Thanks Denise that

[JJphoto]

Rich,nice to see you in the pictures finally! we saw picture of Fast Glass couple of days ago too, you both look great![]. if I'm not wrong, we'v seen pictures of Nate, Denise, Steve,Andy......., that make me think to post my......., no, I'm too shy[:$][], BTW, have we seen picture of Joel, Bob, Rick, Bill and Kayaker....I might missed it , not sure. anyway, great to meet you guys!

[Steve U]

Hey Rich,


Not being a skier, what is the idea behind the chest pack? I

[Bill W]

Nice pix by your buddy Rich....I dare say he's better than you at taking pix. [] Interesting piece of equipment also.


You should have given me a "heads up", I could have met you for some skiing ( [B] ) and taken you to Cannon (NH) and showed you where my ski hero won triple gold and the first World Cup Championship in '67....JC KIlly. Yup, I'm that old!


BTW....I'm heading up to Waterville tomorrow (30th, quick day trip) before we head to St. John, USVI.


JJ....I haven't posted a pic of me, but per your request here is one;


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I made sure my wife was in the pic to make sure it would be worth keeping.....


Regards


Bill

[Richard Lane]

Hey Rich,


Not being a skier, what is the idea behind the chest pack? I've looked at them on B&H and they work in conjunction with a back pack or as a sole unit. When you can "ski a bit", like you obviously can, is the chest pack just for ease of access, or are you less likely to damage your gear or yourself with it on your chest?


Steve

Good question!


There are a couple of advantages of the the chest pack while skiing, however the main one is "quick access." The second advantage is if you have a backpack on while getting on the chairlift, then the backpack takes up space while it hits the backrest of the chairlift and it pushes you forward slightly, depending on how thick your backpack is, it could feel like you're going to fall off the lift sometimes. That's why if you use a backpack while skiing, then you shouldn't get a very thick one, I would say no more than 7-8 inches in depth. A sport pack that raps to your body closely would be fine. I haven't used a backpack for my photography gear while skiing yet, however I do wear a small backpack sometimes while skiing to hold lunch and things like that. So, people generally swing the backpack around to the front of them while keeping one arm in the shoulder strap and the other arm holds the pack on your lap while you ride up the chairlift.


This pack opens away from you which allows easy access. There is also a top zippered compartment where I keep a large ziplock bag in an emergency, a Circular polarizing filter, extra card, and lens cloth. I also use the plastic bag to put the camera into before going into the lodge, so that the condensation will accumulate on the bag and not on the camera. I keep an extra battery in my inside pocket close to my body for warmth, which helps with battery life.









http://www.clikelite.com/shop/telephoto-slr-chestpack/





I was also wearing a pair of these adjustable fingerless gloves (link below) in the above photos. I have the winter version and I liked them so much that I plan on purchasing the lighter weight version too. They worked great and were warm too, just be aware that the two adjustable finger tips have less padding in them which could make the tips of those fingers a little colder than the rest. But, I generally never get cold and I didn't require glove liners.


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/704146-REG/Freehands_11251ML_Men_s_Ski_Cold_Weather_Glove.htm l





Here is an example of the chest pack which can mount to the clik elite backpack via it's connection points on the front of the shoulder straps. This way you could carry your extra lenses and gear in the backpack, while carrying your camera that you are using up front for quick access. This is good for hiking and biking too, I will be testing out this system for personal use while mountain-biking this year. I suspect the shorter sized chest pack (which they call the "Large SLR Chest Pack", instead of the "Telephoto SLR Chest Pack") may work better for biking, since I'm not sure if the longer SLR telephoto chest pack while hit my legs while pedaling. I'll let you guys know when I try it.


I will probably be ordering the probody sport backpack too link below for Mountain Biking (to be used in conjunction with the chest pack), because it also holds water:


http://www.clikelite.com/shop/probody-sport/


This is the shorter Chest Pack below:









http://www.clikelite.com/shop/large-chest-pack/





The longer Telephoto SLR chest pack will also hold the pro body and 24-70mm f/2.8L with "hood in front shooting position," whereas, the Large SLR Chest pack will only hold a pro body 24-70mm f/2.8L with the hood reversed. So you may think that it would be good to buy the longer SLR chest pack and use them for both, however just be aware that the lens with the hood in shooting position would be more likely to break off in a fall, so I only do this for short distances when I want to ski over to a scenic backdrop and then I reverse the hood for regular skiing. I would also like to add that if you buy the longer chest pack and you put a smaller camera/lens in it, then the camera can bounce around inside the pack, so I would recommend using an extra hat in there as well (to take up space), to prevent bouncing inside the pack.


One thing that does bother me about Canon's lens hoods is that it makes it impossible to adjust the circular polarizing filter while the hood is in shooting position. Although, I did'nt use it when it was snowing, I did have it on most of the other days. When it is cold out and people are waiting for you to ski, it certainly does add a level of inconvenience that I have to take the hood off before every directional view change to adjust the CPL. I have seen some alternate hoods that have a cut-out in it to adjust the CPL, but I don't remember who makes that or if it will fit on a Canon. I only use the CPL on bright sunny days so I wouldn't be too worried about snow getting into the cut-out notch.





Rich