Safely travelling with my blogging equipment with the Calumet Rolling Camera Case

One of the hardest things about travelling with all my blogging equipment is keeping it all safe and secure – especially when I’ve got the little ones with me and I feel like I need 10 extra arms to keep everything and everyone safe!

The days of travelling with nothing more than a notepad and a little camera are long gone and I now lug around so much equipment! This equipment was not only expensive but it’s absolutely vital for my work. My laptop broke last summer and within an hour of it breaking I was at John Lewis buying a new one because I had a deadline to meet that afternoon. (This is probably also a sign I shouldn’t be so disorganised and leave things to the last minute!)

I can’t afford to be away from all my blogging equipment so I protect it with my life when I’m travelling!

I was recently sent the Calumet Rolling Camera Case to review and share my thoughts on how it holds up as suitcase for my blogging equipment.

I chose the smaller case as I’ll be travelling abroad with it and will take it on a plane as hand luggage. There is also a larger one but it would be too big for hand luggage for most airlines.

First impressions

My very first impression of the Calumet rolling camera case was the quality.

As soon as I got it out of the box I could tell that it was really well made. I always look at the handle and the wheels first as these are usually the first things to break on suitcases. They’re both sturdy and solid and you can tell there is no way these will break any time soon. There’s a lovely leather luggage tag and all the zips, handles and heavy-duty guard rails are made from high quality materials.

My second impression was that it’s big! I thought it would actually be too big to be used as cabin baggage but I have now flown with it twice (once with easyJet and once with RyanAir) and for all flights it was absolutely fine. Phew!

Features

The Calumet rolling camera case has lots of features but I’m just going to tell you about the ones I really like.

Removable camera compartment

The main body of the suitcase is a camera case with loads of removable Velcro pads, padding and adjustable segments so you can change them to fit your equipment perfectly. The case fits up to 3 camera bodies but I was using it for 2 cameras, 2 extra lenses, 2 tripods and all my little gadgets and it was perfect.

But what I really like it that these whole camera compartment is removable so you can also use this case as a normal suitcase for a regular holiday.

Big laptop pocket

I love it that the pocket at the front is big enough to easily slip a big laptop inside. Bags always seem to have tiny laptop pockets for little laptops or iPads so you have to wiggle and squeeze a bigger laptop inside. But this one is plenty big enough, even with a 15” laptop inside a case. The laptop pocket also has a removable piece of padding to add extra protection for your laptop.

Inside pockets

There are loads of inside pockets for memory cards, batteries, notes and other little bits and bobs that normally get lost in your bag. I like how easy it is to keep this bag neat and organised!

Extendable compartment

The whole bag is extendable to make extra room for more equipment, clothes or a big tripod.

The weight

Weighing 6.5kg, this suitcase is a hefty little thing. I’m not really complaining about this weight because I know it’s necessary. The case is sturdy and had plenty of solid padding to protect it against bumps or drops, so it’s obviously going to weigh more than a standard suitcase. It’s actually zo sturdy that I wouldn’t even worry about my equipment if it was dropped, but this weight is a bit of an issue for someone who is small (and weak!) like me.

If I wasn’t taking it abroad, the weight wouldn’t be an issue at all because it’s lovely and smooth to roll and pull along. But when it had all my gear in it I did struggle to get it on a plane and lift it into the overhead locker.

Most airlines don’t have a weight limit on hand luggage, they just say you need to be able to lift it into the overhead locker yourself. I could just about lift it up and down but my fellow passengers could see I was struggling and both times someone offered to help.

Who would like this suitcase?

If you travel frequently with expensive camera equipment then you will love this case as it will keep your cameras and lenses as safe as houses. I imagine it would make life really easy for wedding photographers as you could easily whizz your equipment to new locations.

I even use my case at home to store my equipment in my office. It’s almost like an extra draw under my desk and keep everything safely in the right place.

If you’ve just got the one camera and a laptop then it’s probably not the case for you as there are lighter ways to keep your belongings safe. When I don’t need to transport all my gear I find it easier to just carry my laptop in a canvas tote bag and put my camera in my handbag. I’ll be taking this case on longer blog trips when I need to take everything with me but, whenever possible, I prefer to travel light.

Find out more about the Calumet RC1188 Rolling Camera Case here. They have a really good video on their website showing you the functions in more detail.