How do you carry your gear?

[Mike A]

Just entering into ULF territory I immediately needed to find a method for moving about with all this much larger gear.
I found a messenger bag that is 3000cu. inches, waterproof, and very comfortable, the only modification I made was some light padding.http://www.chromebags.com This bag will hold six 11x14 holders and my folded Phillips explorer if necessary a set of straps on the bottom will hold my tripod and head if I have to do any serious hump'n.
I keep all my immediate necessities on a Lowpro S&F utiliy belt such as water, meter, loupe........this way I never have to set anything on the ground.
My whole system, tripod and camera is for the most part is carried on my shoulder, leaving more room in the bag for additional film holders.

[hortense]

Has anyone tried tube framed backpacks? Supposedly they put a lot of weight onto your hips instead of your spine. I have a herniated disk in my upper back that gives me serious grief if it gets irritated. I'll need some kind of alternative to a standard pack. I've thought about making a lightweight all terrain hand truck type apparatus that I could strap my gear to. Something like a handtruck but with all terrain tires. I guess I'll look into it more when I actually make my jump to large format. If there are any members with back trouble who have found a good pack solution let me know. Thanks

In my yonger days packing into the Sierra Mountain Range, I used a Kelty with great success. Yes, it puts most of the weight on your hips. I modified the pack arrangement for LF camera with a couple of lenses. The tripod was on top of the pack - so hikers coming around a sharp bend in the trail or a large rock, beware!