Kinesis belt system mini review

Hi.

I'm planning a trip to europe later in the year, and I've been hunting for solutions to carrying my gear around without breaking my back. A lot of people use wheelie bags or backpacks, but for various reasons, they don't really suit. I came across a bit of information about the Kinesis belt system on photo.net, and I thought it sounded good enough that it is worth a try.

If you haven't seen or heard of it, it's basically a decent heavy duty belt, with a whole raft of optional bags and containers that attach to it:



I ordered the B107 belt, and the C380 Holster case:



The C380 is plenty big enough for the 5D and 24-105. There is a pouch in the front that will take a flash, here it is with 5D and 420EX, but I hear that the 580 also fits, there is quite a lot of room in there:



Also, there is a zip compartment in the holster lid, that is big enough to take a spare battery and some CF cards etc.

The holster case attaches to the belt via some double-d rings that are easy to insert and very secure, it isn't going to fall off anytime soon. You can attach the holster anywhere along the belt and it will alter the position of the buckle on your body. I will have to experiment for the best position, but for now I just hooked it up to the right of the buckle and strapped it on.



Here's a photographer's eye view, with the case at the front:



If you are doing a lot of walking, you can swivel the belt around and carry the weight at the back if you want. Probably be ok for riding a bike that way too.

Just so you get an idea of the size of the case. here it is next to the 5D box:



I'll report back once I have given it a proper workout, but my initial impressions are that the belt is very comfortable, and the belt and case are extremely well constructed from light but strong materials.

Y.

I've seen similar setups from Lowepro. Big advantage is of course that there is no weigth on neck and back. But -with me- the problem is that the belt slips down unless you put it on very thight and the holster bag comes either in front of a leg or in the way of an arm.
Hope to hear how you like it in practice

cheers

R

Robert 55 said:

I've seen similar setups from Lowepro. Big advantage is of course
that there is no weigth on neck and back. But -with me- the problem
is that the belt slips down unless you put it on very thight and
the holster bag comes either in front of a leg or in the way of an
arm.
Hope to hear how you like it in practice

Click to expand...

Me too

As you can probably see, I've solved my belt slips down problem. I started an exercise regieme in '04. I have a waist now

I plan to do a few treks around the local area with it to see if I strike the problems you mention. Walking around the house, it feels fine, but that isn't really a workout...

Y.

Robert 55 said:

cheers

R

Click to expand...

Looks like SWAT gear. But in the end, it should be pretty comfortable and useful.

I've been happily using the Kinesis Gear system since 2002, and really love it. Extremely versatile, and keeps your gear where you can get to it at all times.

As for slipping on your waist, if you have that much weight on it, you can get the shoulder harness attachment, which works wonderfully. Distributes the weight between shoulder and waist, and completely eliminates this problem.

There are enough spacers so that you can avoid having gear bumping into your legs when walking, or at least minimizes it. It basically hasn't been an issue for me. I have done a fair amount of hiking (and climbing - Zion National Park) with it.

I use one of their "long lens" cases for my 600L/f4 IS, and in fact use this when I'm flying. It enables me to keep the lens with me on board, I put my 1DMk2 body in the pouch on the back, and it fits well in the overhead compartment.

Highly recommended.

--
Don Cohen
http://www.dlcphoto.com

Both Kinesis and Lowepro offer 'suspender'-like shoulder harnessses to prevent belt slippage and xfer weight to shoulders.

I'm a big fan of the Kinesis stuff - have a whole lot of it.

I've used it on long hikes, skiing, sailing, etc... This is the most secure system that I have seen. I have also owned lowepro - and this beats that on functionality big time - not even close.

I've always had problems with belts slipping down, but not with the Kinesis stuff. Mine never slips at all. I think it is how they cut it - when around your waist the top is slightly smaller radius than the bottom (which is how humans are built). So, it fits better and doesn't slip.

I mean, I've worn this same set up over my synthetic skiing stuff - which is really slippery - and it doesn't slip even with full out skiing.

When you are ready to go to the next step, check out the journeyman backpack they have - it is a work of art. You can tell that Richard Sturm (owner and designer at Kinessi) actually uses this stuff. Not only is it a GREAT photographer's backpack but it is the best pack I own and the most comfortable. It is incredibly flexible in what you need for travel photo gear - transforming by using the components from a waist system to a backpack etc...

J.

Robert 55 said:

I've seen similar setups from Lowepro. Big advantage is of course
that there is no weigth on neck and back. But -with me- the problem
is that the belt slips down unless you put it on very thight and
the holster bag comes either in front of a leg or in the way of an
arm.
Hope to hear how you like it in practice

cheers

R

Click to expand...

--
'Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.' -
Mark Twain

(equip in profile)

So you probably combine a harness with a backpack? How comfortable is that? Doesn't the set-up become very seaty?

TIA

Robert

DonCohen said:

I've been happily using the Kinesis Gear system since 2002, and
really love it. Extremely versatile, and keeps your gear where you
can get to it at all times.

As for slipping on your waist, if you have that much weight on it,
you can get the shoulder harness attachment, which works
wonderfully. Distributes the weight between shoulder and waist,
and completely eliminates this problem.

There are enough spacers so that you can avoid having gear bumping
into your legs when walking, or at least minimizes it. It
basically hasn't been an issue for me. I have done a fair amount
of hiking (and climbing - Zion National Park) with it.

I use one of their "long lens" cases for my 600L/f4 IS, and in fact
use this when I'm flying. It enables me to keep the lens with me
on board, I put my 1DMk2 body in the pouch on the back, and it fits
well in the overhead compartment.

Highly recommended.

--
Don Cohen
http://www.dlcphoto.com

Click to expand...

That camera and lens is just too much weight to carry on the waist...however a supplementary shoulder strap will solve this problem.
--
Andy C

Hi Robert,

Robert 55 said:

So you probably combine a harness with a backpack? How comfortable
is that? Doesn't the set-up become very seaty?

Click to expand...

I assume you're referring to the Long Lens Case for the 600L/f4, combined with a harness to make it a backpack. If not, let me know.

It's reasonably comfortable in general, although the weight of the 600L and 1DMk2 is not insignificant. Sometimes when I'm at the beach, and want to shoot in certain locations where I can get to by bike and not by car, I'll put the 600L in the Long Lens case, and attach a tripod on the side as well. It's a little cumbersome, but it gets the job done.

When traveling and flying, it works just fine.

(And I guess you meant "sweaty" - and the answer is that in general it's not a problem, but certainly if I'm hiking in hot, humid weather, there will be some sweating going on. But I don't see any way to avoid this and still have that much gear with me.)

--
Don Cohen
http://www.dlcphoto.com

Andrew Chiciak said:

That camera and lens is just too much weight to carry on the
waist...however a supplementary shoulder strap will solve this
problem.

Click to expand...

Hmm. What makes you say that?

Are you talking about the 5D + 24-105?

It's just nudging 1.5kg I really doubt that it's too much for the waist..

Y.

Andrew Chiciak said:

--
Andy C

Click to expand...

thx, that was what I wanted to know.
sounds not [much] 'sweatier' than normal, which makes it okay

robert

It is not. I do it all the time with the Kinesis 380 on the medium belt.

j.

yada10d said:

It's just nudging 1.5kg I really doubt that it's too much for the
waist..

Y.

yada10d said:

--
Andy C

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
'Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.' -
Mark Twain

(equip in profile)

a long time ago i ended up with a kinesis system as well

Very well made and IMO the best way to carry stuff. I use a bigger holster to carry a 1 series body with a 70-200 attached and generally also carry another 2 lens pouch. I also use the suspenders when going on longer hikes and other parts depending on what i do

--
Michael Salzlechner
http://www.PalmsWestPhoto.com

JohnJ80 said:

I've used it on long hikes, skiing, sailing, etc... This is the
most secure system that I have seen. I have also owned lowepro -
and this beats that on functionality big time - not even close.

Click to expand...

Would you mind expounding on this? I've used the lowepro S&F system now for a while and have no complaints, but if there is better, I'd like to look into it.

Mike

in my experience, with the lowepro lens cases that I have, I did not like the velcro opening attachment method (sliplock) to the belt. While it is probably faster to attach, I don't think it is as secure.

On several occasions, I had snagged lens cases and heard velcro opening (although I stopped when I heard the sound). On Kinesis, this is not going to happen. At worst, you would tear one attachment point off (that would take a lot of force) but the case would still be attached to you by another point, so you wouldn't become separated from the case - no single point of failure.

This also concerned me when I have skied with the cases. If I took a fall, I wouldn't want the same effect to happen and have the lens case peeled off by the fall. Water, ice etc... can also make velcro attachments problematic.

When I am on the water shooting yacht racing, there are untold places to catch things on. This is even more of an issue there, because should the case come off, odds are it will be off the boat and kersploosh in the water in a hurry.

The older toploader I had from Lowepro didn't have weatherproof zippers like the Kinesis ones - they may now, haven't looked. I'm not worried about downpours as I am the occasional dousing.

The lowepro belt I had - don't recall which one, but it was a padded type - did not stay up and tended to slip down on me. With the Kinesis, I have no such problem and find it more comfortable.

In general, I thought the workmanship and attention to detail was better on Kinesis.

Both are good products, and if you are not really beating the cr** out of them, there probably isn't much net difference other than the slip/comfort issues. YMMV.

J.

FF_Mountain said:

JohnJ80 said:

I've used it on long hikes, skiing, sailing, etc... This is the
most secure system that I have seen. I have also owned lowepro -
and this beats that on functionality big time - not even close.

Click to expand...

Would you mind expounding on this? I've used the lowepro S&F system
now for a while and have no complaints, but if there is better, I'd
like to look into it.

Mike

Click to expand...

--
'Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.' -
Mark Twain

(equip in profile)

I use the system and absolutely LOVE it. It's very well made, very comfortable to wear, very versatile, and so much better then any shoulder bag when you need to shoot on the move. I can change mem cards, filters, and even lenses on the move. Something I can't do with a shoulder bag or backpack.

One other advantage for me is that certain venues do not allow backpacks but will allow the belt. For example, I shoot NASCAR (non professionally) and at many tracks backpacks are prohibited but I have no problem getting in with my belt.

The only problem I have with it is that it's so easy to carry so much stuff I usually carry more then I need.

My rig consists of the following:
1- large lens case w/ 70-200 or 100-400
1- medium lens case w/ 17-40 or 28-135

1- two lens case w/ extra 20D body, and accessories like remote shutter release, batteries, etc.
1- Filter case w/ filters and CF cards Also used to hold lens caps
1- flash case for my EX580
and 1- water bottle case.

Not all the cases are on the belt all the time.

I also have the c500 holster case w/ shoulder strap to so I can carry it like a shoulder bag. When needed I attach a case or two to the side of the holster and I have an ala cart shoulder bag. Very nice.

--
Rob Kircher
My Stuff: http://www.pbase.com/rkircher