Newswear Chestvest

jacob12_1993

jacob12_1993

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Jacob
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Okay so I'm sitting in my hotel room in Laos dying from food poisoning right now :( however not one to waste time I have been looking at some gear I will need for work in Africa next year. It is going to be documentary/photojournalism style work so I will need to be able to work light and fast.

I have been looking at the Newswear chestvests as an alternative to a rucksack which always seems to be a hindrance in markets, crowds etc and also kills my back after a motorbike ride or a long day with a heavy load. I would like the opinions of anyone who has used either the documentary one or the foul weather one preferably.

The only issue I can see so far is:

- Looking like a bomb jacket (however I think this will be less of an issue as a white person in Sub-Saharan africa compared with the UK, USA or Russia for instance. Also I would probably go for the press blue/grey colour rather than the black to hopefully distinguish it a bit more.

However the benefits:

- Spreads weight over back, shoulders, waist to reduce fatigue, back ache.

- Closer to body than rucksack so easy to move in confined spaces like markets.

- Rides quite high on the waist so good for wearing on the back of motorbikes

- Super fast access compared with rucksack

http://www.newswear.com/chestvests.htm

Thanks in advance :thumbs:
 
I know people who swear by those. They are almost without exception American.

Personally I think I'd go with a modular system (ThinkTank would be able to sort you out) so I could add and remove bits when I wanted.

What are you looking to carry? Could it go in Molle pouches on some webbing? Then you could reuse the pouches on an F-stop.

BTW save you looking it up - 1l of water + 2 tbsp sugar + 0.5 tsp salt + 0.5 tsp lo-salt
 
I know you said you would go for the blue grey but i'd be very wary of wearing that anywhere that there is any sort of civil unrest/terrorist threat. Especially dont wear it under any item of clothing. My lot *probably* wouldnt mistake it, but the africans aren't trained as well if at all... Just a word of caution. Hope you enjoy your trip!
 
JonathanRyan said:
I know people who swear by those. They are almost without exception American.

Personally I think I'd go with a modular system (ThinkTank would be able to sort you out) so I could add and remove bits when I wanted.

What are you looking to carry? Could it go in Molle pouches on some webbing? Then you could reuse the pouches on an F-stop.

BTW save you looking it up - 1l of water + 2 tbsp sugar + 0.5 tsp salt + 0.5 tsp lo-salt
Click to expand...

Gear wise I am probably going to swap it up from my current set-up if the D600 does end up coming out with no surprises. Gear will most likely be D600 w/17-35 f2.8 and D7000 w/50 f1.4 on straps. Then an 80-200 f2.8, Tascam DR-100 audio recorder, Spare batteries and a Nikon SB700 in the chestvest.

I was thinking going about for the modular system but I had heard great things about the chest vest so was curious. However the webbing + molle pouches could be a good idea as I have plenty of family in the forces that I could nick various bits off to try it out first. :naughty:
 
daharro said:
I know you said you would go for the blue grey but i'd be very wary of wearing that anywhere that there is any sort of civil unrest/terrorist threat. Especially dont wear it under any item of clothing. My lot *probably* wouldnt mistake it, but the africans aren't trained as well if at all... Just a word of caution. Hope you enjoy your trip!
Click to expand...

That's my only concern and it would be the same with any body mounted modular kit. Fortunately I shouldn't be encountering any civil unrest however with Africa things can change pretty quickly so its a definite consideration :thumbs:
 
markmullen said:
I can recommend the Think Tank modular system as an alternative, I've worn it at Le Mans for the last couple of years, ideal for covering ground with a load of gear about your person.
Click to expand...

Having never used it, does it sit on your hips or higher up when used with the shoulder straps? That's the one thing I like about the newswear is that it sits higher up so the 'pouches' don't hinder you sitting in cars etc
 
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