Traveling with Film Gear is Never Easy
It’s no secret that when travelling to film nature and wildlife you want to take as much gear as possible. You never know what you will need and you can be sure that if you didn’t bring it, you will be in a filming situation where you wish you had it.
Airlines aren’t making it any easier for us with reducing carry-on’s, weight limits and extra baggage fees.
On a recent flight to Montana, I was faced with a situation I had never encountered before, checking some of my must have film gear.
I’ve checked my tripod for years with no issues. I’ve always felt that if the tripod didn’t show up, you can find one just about anywhere you are. Might not be that great of one, but it’s support nonetheless. In the past I’ve usually checked my smaller, less expensive travel tripod but this year I decided to take my Miller carbon fiber tripod and my Vinten Vision Blue fluid head.
In addition to that I had one more case that I needed to check that contained my Phantom P3P drone, controller and iPad Mini 2. I picked up a Nanuk 950 wheeled case that I knew would hold up to the beating air travel subjects to checked luggage, added some TSA locks as well to keep the honest people honest.
So I knew that the luggage would survive the trip, I was worried that there was a possibility that it wouldn’t reach its destinations.
Tracking Film Gear for Peace of Mind
Filmmaker Phillip Bloom posted on his Facebook page about some of his luggage that failed to make it to his destination in India. What was interesting though was that his bags contained TrakDot trackers so he knew that his missing film gear was still sitting back in the London airport.
What was even more interesting is that he got a text from the trackers letting him know that the bags were at the airport in India the next day before the airport even contacted him. Since he was going to be flying on to Bhutan soon, knowing that the gear would be able to be checked to Bhutan was a great relief.
I picked up a couple TrakDot’s for my two cases. They’re not inexpensive, about $59 each with one year tracking included from B&H Photo to provide the tracking notifications. I think my Miller tripod legs cost more than ten times that so for $59 a bag, I felt it was cheap insurance.
On the day of my flight I activated the trackers placed the in my two cases, locked them up and headed to the airport.
TrakDot Luggage Tracker
I knew they were working properly as I approached the airport and received two text messages from each tracker that they were now in the vicinity of the airport. Awesome!
Going through security at the airport is always a treat. I have so much gear in my carry-on as well as my laptop, hard drives, chargers etc that it takes me a while to get everything through.
The flight to Denver was uneventful.
As the plane was taxiing to the gate, two texts popped up on my phone letting me know that both cases were now at the Denver airport. I only had a 33 minute layover in Denver so I have to admit, my heart was racing a bit wondering if the gear would make the connection or not.
It’s not so bad coming home if your gear misses a flight because you’re already done with your filming. But having it delayed before the trip when you haven’t even had a chance to use it yet can certainly set you on edge.
I felt relieved as the notifications came in to my phone that both tracked bags were now at the Bozeman, Montana airport.
Coming Home Could Have Been Nerve-wracking
My trip to Montana was fantastic. I had shot some amazing footage and my dual backed up hard drives were with me in my carry-on camera bag.
My heart starting to race however when I had a text from United Airlines that all my checked bags had failed to make the flight and they would be sent out on a later flight.
I’m not sure how that could have happened as we came into Denver one gate up from where we were departing Denver. I could have thrown my bags from that one gate (which is probably what happened). On top of that the flight didn’t get in until 4AM because of a delay in Denver.
I notice several people lined up to talk to the baggage representative that came down to the baggage claim area. All had received notifications that their bags weren’t on the flight.
Then I Heard That Wonderful Sound
Two texts came in rapid succession. I took out my phone, looked down and was relieved to see that they were from TrakDot telling me that both my bags were now at the Eastern Iowa Airport with me!
One gentleman was a bit upset because he was traveling with his family and was notified that all his bags didn’t make the flight. I went up to him and told him that I had received the notifications but I had trackers in my checked bags and I had just received two texts telling me the both bags were here. So I said I’m guessing that everyone’s bags are here, it was juts a glitch from the flight delay that triggered the notifications.
Sure enough when they started unloading bags, they were all there. The gentleman thanked me and copied down the name of the trackers which he said would have caused him a lot less stress if he had them in his bags.
I know they certainly helped keep my blood pressure down! 🙂
The TrakDot’s aren’t GPS trackers, they rely on cell phone service and triangulation. There is a bluetooth feature that allows you to confirm the distance of each bag up to 160 feet, making it easy to locate your bags in the baggage clam area.
The TrakDot’s won’t prevent your gear from being stolen but if they accidentally get put on a plan to Detroit instead of Denver, you’ll know where they are and can start the process of having them returned to you.
It’s cheap peace of mind and I will be sure to use them on all my future flights!
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