Gear Testing: Andy Mann Gets a First Look at the 2014 Camera Bags

In late 2014, Mountainsmith will launch a new line of camera bags and accessories designed for the cameraman on the go.  With the guidance of legendary photographer Andy Mann, the new line of packs will be well suited for even the most adventurous shutterbugs.  Andy recently got his hands on some of the first samples, here is what he has to say:

“That’s a wrap” is a term that I seldom get to use with any real affirmation.  When a photo or video shoot ends in the field, it only begins in post production.  A project NEVER seems to end.  I guess I like it that way, the memories always stay fresh.  There is, however, one personal project that is about to be a “wrap”, at least for now.  The new line of 2014 camera bags I’ve been helping to design with the Mountainsmith boys.

Here is the skinny:  Six years ago, Mountainsmith started developing camera bags designed specifically for adventure shooters.  Being fellow Coloradans, we of course climbed some pitches, threw back a few, and become good friends. Since then, I’ve been a Mountainsmith Ambassador, torturing these packs every way imaginable.

Last year, we sat down and developed a NEW line of bags, built from experiences, our unruly imaginations, and ideas we scratched down on beverage napkins over the years.

Last weekend, my production company, 3 Strings Productions, went out to the remote canyonlands of Utah to shoot the 2014 Black Diamond Catalog.  Keith Ladzinski and I spent days ascending fixed lines and shooting on some of the most remote and exposed desert towers around.  It was the first true punishment to the new camera bag line.  I designed one of the bags, specifically for adventure & expedition shoots, it is called, “The Descent”  It is a slingshot, style bag, that is built TOUGH and built to be FAST and I have never seen a pack work so well in this harsh environment.  It is seen here in the photo of me here, on top of a tower called Zeus, as we were wrapping up the day of shooting, just after sunset.  It feels good to see ideas and jobs to completion, but as the new line of bags launch next year, we will have already begun improving them.  The job ever ends, as they say, and I wouldn’t change that.  Cheers from the field – Andy

Andy Mann is a member of the Mountainsmith Anvil Militia, see more of his work at www.andymann.com