iPad 2 as back up photo storage, but...

I generally do the following:

Each night, I transfer all the pictures (from all cameras) onto both my iPad, and also into Aperture on my MacBook Air. My MBA is backed up to the cloud using Crashplan+, but depending upon the quality of the internet connection... getting a full backup every night non-deterministic. Usually, especially if moving around from spot to spot... I'll hit a great internet connection and everything will back up.

During the day, I physically keep my iPad and MacBook air separated. If we are staying in one spot... I'll keep the MBA in the hotel room, and the iPad will stay with me in the car, or in a backpack. When we are traveling between locations, the MBA will stay locked in the trunk, and the MBA will be with me in my small backpack.

Finally... I try not to re-write my SD cards during the trip if at all possible. That way, I still have the original SD media. If that works out... then I generally just upload the full trip from SDs when I get back home onto my iMac.

From time to time, I've had more pictures than will fit on my 64GB iPad. In that case... I'll start using my wife's iPad to back up the pictures. So far... I have not exceeded the capacity of both iPads. If I did.. then I guess I would need to start carrying a portable HDD. I'd hate to do that because then I would be carrying yet another device. We have our MBA and iPads with us anyway... so using them for backup does not add any bulk.

Also... the iPad is a very hand device to view the pictures during the trip. Sometimes I'll use the iPad HDMI or Composite Video kits to show the pictures on the TV as well... especially if we are traveling with friends.

Jim