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Bag Weight... how heavy is your bag?


chrisbakeruk

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I got a similar situation. 633 with a dashboard and 3 SRb's. Antenna and power distros, ifb and comtek transmitters. It's heavy. Haven't weighed it but I use the harness that goes around the waist. I mainly do narrative so it's very unlikely I'm booming at the same time with this setup.

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The lightest bag is no doubt going to be any bag with a Zaxcom Nova……BUT sometimes it’s not the weight of your bag but how strong your core muscles and back are. Yoga, Healthy diet and just general exercise helped me EXTREMELY well. I constantly think about getting a lighter combo of SD633 or 833 / LECTRO SRC’s but I know from years of experience that it’s not going to be MUCH lighter then my 664/ 3x SRC’s, ant distro, IFB, batts  and cables when you add it all up. Sure the “footprint” of a 633 or 833 will be smaller but weight difference will be minimal.  A Nova setup  will win in a Weight contest hands down any day.  Best advice is take care of your core and back with basic stretches/ yoga. Sit the bag down whenever you can, don’t try to be a hero and wear it all day. I also carry a small run bag (extra TX’s/ Lav’s, batts, cables etc ) I’ll drop wherever so I don’t carry anything unnecessary.  Stay hydrated and stay limber. Good luck! 

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6 hours ago, CineStrega said:

Just a thought, maybe it's actually the unreasonable demands of the current production environment that's causing pain, and not the lack of owning a Zaxcom Nova. Like seriously y'all, you act like it's a gift to spend thousands of dollars so your back doesn't hurt. 

Then there is something to that too. Hopefully you can set down the bag if you run more than a couple of wires. But in a way it is a gift to some extent. Not everything is suited for a cart. Depends on how much run and gun type of gigs you do too I suppose.

 

But then there is the cheaper route for a leightweight rig too (if your wireless ate not super heavy by itself). As much as I love to mix on a 633 or a 688, the cheaper mixpre6 and 10 doesnt pack all the feutures, but pack a punch for its weight and price. If I run solo I might be one of the odd ones here, but I rather have a mixpre than a 6/7/8 series. 

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  • 3 months later...

Hey Guys,

 

Just thought I'd update you and anyone else reading this thread. I've taken into account all of your advise and done the following:

  • Re soldered some of my wires to reduce unused cable length and adapters (thus reducing weight)
  • Switched my receivers to be powered by bag battery rather than individual batteries
  • Bought the KShrn3 Harness (which works a treat, but is tricky to take on and off)
  • Started putting the bag down more often and carrying it less
  • Build a small diy cart for plopping it down into when out and about

All of this has worked a real treat, I no longer have severe back pain when leaving set!

 

You can see a picture of the DIY cart attached, nothing fancy at all, but does help a lot with lugging round gear and saving your back!

 

Thanks

IMG_8994.JPG

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On 1/17/2022 at 12:51 PM, Patrick Tresch said:

The lightest bag will be undoubtly the Sonosax SX-R4+ with an SX-RX8 loaded with 2 MCR 54

I’ll post the weight when I got mine 😉 

Surely that's not lighter than a Nova with 2x MRX414?

I see the SX-RX8 isn't out yet, will be very curious to hear about your experiences when you get it!

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Nomad w 3 slot style receivers (2 x Wisy, 1 x SRb) G3 tx for simulateous mono-hop & IFB. 90wh v-lock with diy battery distro (similar to Battery Bud I) 12 spare AA (overkill) 4-6 tx, lavs and minimal cabling. It all comes in around 7kg. Typically, it doesn't bother my body/back, unless I have to do a lot of booming, but if I'm carrying that many wires, booming is usually minimal.

 

I recently put together a smaller bag - MP10ii, 2 x MCR42 and 1 MPR30, G3 tx (hop & IFB) Hi-Q smart battery.  Haven't weighed it, but it feels like I'm not wearing anything.

 

All that being said - core strength is key (overall strength)

 

Another thing I've noticed over 25 years. As my kit has gotten lighter, my body becomes accustomed to the new (less) weight and eventually will feel heavy again. Same with wearing a heavier bag, my body adjusts. It's probably important to mix it up and not stay with one configuration/harness etc for too long.

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On 1/15/2022 at 8:10 PM, CineStrega said:

I've found that some of the actual bags can weigh a bit. I know they're out of style, but the recorder specific bags from Portabrace are usually the lightest. Same goes for connectors, and cables -- they can add up after awhile. 

I agree. I had an Orca 30 for about an hour and found it to be way too heavy so went back to the Portabrace 633 and the AO1.0 Both these are a lot lighter. The 633 holds an 888 with SL2 then the AO1 hols a 633 and Mixpre3. To help with back pain I use these bags with a small Versa Flex harness so that the bags ride high on my chest closer to my center of gravity. Back pain went away once I went into this style of riding my bags high

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For those interested in lighter bags, there is the Laavu brand. Formerly sold by Kortwich years ago, they are available again with new models for modern recorders. (Nova, Cantar X3 , 888,… )
I have just bought the model for 833 + SL2 for my R4+ and RC8+ that fits perfectly. 

 

https://www.audiosense.be/en/laavu-833-sl-2-case-kor-833sl2
 

Compared to the old ones, these new models have several pockets added on sides and in the front. 
 

The build quality is exactly the same, at a very high standard. As there is no metal structure, the weight is kept at a minimum. 
 

I very recommend it. 
 

 

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I've been using a 633 with several wireless in a bag for years. Recently I changed to a 833, SL-2 combo, mainly to get rid of all the cables and connectors and get a more tidy setup. 
In my search I wasn't attracted much by the current offerings from the known bag vendors for this particular setup.  Mainly because of the size and extra bulk. 


I ended up getting a thinktank bag that I had to mod slightly to get it to behave more like a soundbag. It is a light bag and fits the 833-SL2 combo (unintentionaly) very well!

IMG_20220516_094807.jpg

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On 5/16/2022 at 1:01 PM, IronFilm said:

Surely that's not lighter than a Nova with 2x MRX414?

I see the SX-RX8 isn't out yet, will be very curious to hear about your experiences when you get it!

 

Well I thought it would be ready sooner but some critical electronics are in a worldwide shortage clusterfuck.

There are no schedule available for now...

 

 

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  • 5 months later...
On 5/17/2022 at 4:58 AM, Lucas said:

I've been using a 633 with several wireless in a bag for years. Recently I changed to a 833, SL-2 combo, mainly to get rid of all the cables and connectors and get a more tidy setup. 
In my search I wasn't attracted much by the current offerings from the known bag vendors for this particular setup.  Mainly because of the size and extra bulk. 


I ended up getting a thinktank bag that I had to mod slightly to get it to behave more like a soundbag. It is a light bag and fits the 833-SL2 combo (unintentionaly) very well!

IMG_20220516_094807.jpg

This looks clever! Which thinktank bag is it? Do you mind sharing more of the mods you’ve done and some additional photos?

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I find that the popular bags today with rigid frames are a big culprit in bag weight. Which is why for a long time I chose to use the PortaBrace bag that came with my 633. However, it was really annoying because the left side of the mixer would always sag down into the bag, making mixing difficult with the small faders. Then I saw another mixer using a Condor bag that he had modified, and that ended up being my preferred bag until this day. Its weighs virtually nothing and is less than $30:

 

Condor Deployment Bag (Black, 12... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003W96GG8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

You’ll have to cut off the top zipper, and cut through the main compartment to the side compartments but it works out quite nicely. I keep a comtek tx on one side, a Lectro tx on the other, and an eSmart battery in the front. I used a 633 with two rx and an Audioroot power distro in a dashboard in the main area which fit quite snug. 
 

Moving to the 833, I have the same setup but with two rx in the SL-2, and the power distro has been moved to the front pouch with the battery. The whole thing is light and compact, and I don’t need to struggle with a harness anymore, a strap is just fine. 
 

5A9E7B45-A56F-4C17-B8DE-AAD088954D26.jpeg
 

0463777D-37B7-4C11-B6E6-294B4420229C.jpeg

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Guys I'm finding this works best: I pop the bag on the cart for 40% of the day, and 40% of the other times it perches on whatever nearby surfaces/floor, then I'm only wearing it for the final 20% that I'm really running around (say with a steady cam). Saves my back hugely!

17 hours ago, JonG said:

I find that the popular bags today with rigid frames are a big culprit in bag weight. Which is why for a long time I chose to use the PortaBrace bag that came with my 633. However, it was really annoying because the left side of the mixer would always sag down into the bag, making mixing difficult with the small faders. Then I saw another mixer using a Condor bag that he had modified, and that ended up being my preferred bag until this day. Its weighs virtually nothing and is less than $30:

 

Condor Deployment Bag (Black, 12... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003W96GG8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Thanks for sharing this Jon, looks great!

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