Need a lighting gear bag

[JohnT]

I've been perusing the lighting gear bags at B&H, and there are just too many to make an informed choice. Anyone have one that they recommend? It needs to be big enough to hold the following (although, I won't always carry all of this at once):

2 Light stands
1 Reflector stand
2 43" Umbrellas
1 Photogenic 320 light
2 580 Speedlites
3 PWIIs
A few cords and misc. items

[Dobick]

My experience has been that your choices will be limited by the length of the light stands. I have the 13 foot light stands from alien bees (not sure who originally made them) and they were too long for most bags. I ended up going to Guitar Center and got me a stage bag that holds all the rugged hardware (basically all of the non-electrical stuff), and I carry my lights in a rolling suitcase that I lightly padded, so I have two "bags" for my lighting gear.

With the speed lights and the photogenic, you can probably get away a small bag that will fit inside of the overall gig bag.

May not be a solution for you, but atleast you can get an idea about it first hand instead of just pictures online.

[CaptainTom]

I'm with Dobick on this one.
Photographic specialized items are more expensive than generic stuff.

Try your music store. Look for used stuff in the Pawn shops as well.
It doesn't have to be pretty to be functional.

[bobby71]

I'm using the bag from a folding lawn chair I got from Sam's a few years ago. Light stands, umbrellas, and cords, etc. fit in it quite nicely. Very nice, long, strong canvas bag. And the best part is that it's burnt orange and has the Texas Longhorns logo on it!

[CaptainTom]

Originally Posted by bobby71

I'm using the bag from a folding lawn chair I got from Sam's a few years ago. Light stands, umbrellas, and cords, etc. fit in it quite nicely. Very nice, long, strong canvas bag. And the best part is that it's burnt orange and has the Texas Longhorns logo on it!

Now that's the ticket !!

[Junderwood]

Try looking at the rolling cases on the Photoflex website. They were on 1/2 off for several models. I use the double and it works well, the single would probably work.

[CaptainTom]

Got me thinking about this. My biggest stands are 42".
What else is that long ?
skis and snowboards.

I found a plethora of ski bags and snowboard cases that were reasonably priced, and plenty big enough.

[Dobick]

or you can forego the bag for the stands altogether and just use some climbing straps and a caribeaner or two for the stands, then you will be able to get by with a much smaller "Light bag" for the photogenic and cables, plus speedlights

[dtscds]

What we ended up doing was getting two bags. In each bag we have a light, light stand, umbrella, octobox and all the cables etc. That way we can take one and not be toting extra stuff. Plus, should the worst case scenario happen and one bag get lost/stolen, we have another complete light left. Another benefit is I didn't need to find a huge bag since two medium sized bags worked quite nicely.
Definitely look at other places besides photo specific dealers...

[JohnT]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll be keeping my eyes open for options.

[Roy]

I went to Academy and got a baseball bat bag. It works great for what I have and it wasn't near as expensive as something with camera in the name. Lots of extra pockets too and you can get one in black like most camera gear bags.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Roy

I went to Academy and got a baseball bat bag. It works great for what I have and it wasn't near as expensive as something with camera in the name. Lots of extra pockets too and you can get one in black like most camera gear bags.

Thanks, Roy! I'll swing by Academy this weekend and check it out.

[Roy]

Take your stands with you John. They have many styles so I just brought my gear in with me and made sure everything fit. I can even add my tripod to the contents.

[sldi-rooster]

Has anyone thought about using a hard golf club bag cover? I have seen them at sporting good stores for as low as 39.95 they have a handle on top and wheels. They are about 50" long, of course you would need to do some dividing with in the bag to separate some of the delicate stuff.

[ngoduyviet]

I use an amvona roller case for all my strobes & accessories. It fits quite a bit of gear, and then some more, costs around $150 for free shipping.
Here's a few shots I posted over on POTN: