Originally Posted by Steve U
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
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