Help with Ego

[mifcnm]

Hi Everybody,

I'm planning tomgomto Paris for 10 days and want to take my iPad, guide book, small moleskin, wallet, and important papers and my DSLR with 2 lenses and flash, and cables. I'm considering the Ego with the I-O insert, and want to know if anyone has any experience with the Ego as a carry on/camara bag/"purse" for all day sightseeing?

Thanks for your help, you guys are awesome!

Melinda

[Walker]

The camera I/O is very ysnug inside the Ego. From various threads on the forum, it looks like the camera I/O is best matched with the Super Ego and the Brain Bag.

Ego + Camera I/O weighs 3 lbs 12 oz empty.
Super Ego + Camera I/O is 3 lbs 14 oz empty.
Brain Bag + Camera I/O is 4 lbs 1 oz empty, but you carry it on two shoulders. And the front clip and straps are great for carrying a tripod.

I tried combinations 1 and 2 above and found both too heavy - the bags themselves are heavier than the items I carry in them. These days, I carry my camera gear in my dyneema Synapse. When I need to carry the tripod, I either carry it by hand with my gear in the Synapse or use a non-TB cuben backpack that has a daisy chain in front to clip/lash my tripod to.

On occasion, I carry my Camera I/O inside the aeronaut packing cube. My camera gear is a panasonic gh2 with RRS plate, 14-140 mm lens, 25 mm lens and the 20 mm pancake lens (I take either the 25 mm or 20 mm). I also carry a panasonic lx5, out of habit. I carry spare batteries for both cameras in non-TB padded pouches. The Camera I/O is a bit big for my gear, so I can put my wallet, index cards (I use them for writing down notes, when the sun is too bright to do so on my phone), pen and phone in it. There is one O-Ring in the main compartment to clip my keys to. I carry an insulated water bottle in the bottom pocket of the packing cube.

Without the water bottle, it is not bad. The water bottle adds significant weight, but it is a necessity where I live (hot and humid).

[mifcnm]

Thanks for your insight, this is helpful.