As a photographer who shoots primarily on location, I have a lot of stuff to haul. I shoot both film and digital and frequently I'm bringing a small lighting kit as well. I also tend to go it alone, especially when I'm shooting personal work. Up until recently, I've been doing it the hard way, taking multiple trips back and forth to my car, in order to get the shot set up at my chosen spot. And of course, the best spots are nowhere near the car. My deodorant is doing overtime before I've even squeezed off the first shot. Being a sweaty mess while shooting is no fun, especially when you're shooting people. I'd rather not be known as "Hans, you know, that one photographer with the pit stains."
Enter the collapsible wagon. More than any other accessory I've bought in recent memory, this thing has changed my life. It folds up to a manageable size, and opens to hold 2.4 cubic feet of cargo, at up to 110 pounds. The ride is smooth enough, with a telescoping handle for easy turns and good sized hard plastic wheels for traction. Although it weighs a hefty 19 pounds, it doesn't feel heavy when you're pulling it behind you, and can turn on a dime. Many retailers stock versions of this same cart and can be found from anywhere between $59 and $189, although I honestly don't see an advantage to going for a more expensive version when the stats are almost the same. My cheap one could break three times and I'd still be in the black compared to a more expensive version.
The wagon folds up into a relatively compact form, perfect for throwing in your trunk.
I own a Multi-Cart as well and although it is a great product, I find that for most projects of mine, it's overkill. Also with a Multi-Cart you have to strap down the items you place on the cart, or else you're guaranteed to see them rolling away during short trips to and from locations. For small scale work that requires limited gear, I believe the smaller wagon is the way to go. I even put my backpack camera bag in there because hey, why not? Also, I find that often while at a location, I move between spots that are as close as 50 feet away from each other, and taking all of my gear apart is counter productive. With a secure mode of transport, I can unplug my lights while keeping them attached to my stands and throw them in my cart, head down. Then I pile in the rest of my gear and off I go. Sandbags are also a necessary evil for location shooting with gear and having a wagon makes them a non-issue. Just take them off your stands and throw them in the cart. Done and done.
Plenty of room for some lights, a few camera bags, stands, tripods, and whatever else you may need for small shoots. 110 pounds of gear goes a long way.
Save your back and pick one up. They are super helpful for shooters that tend to shoot without assistants.
I can't recommend that enough. Super life saver on-location.
Yup. This wagon has made my life so much better. I put it loaded into the back of my SUV. I also store my gear in there at home. So much better.
my suv is full enough even without this. that really stops me from buying it. @@
BRO!!! this is a great post. I did a shoot over the weekend and clocked 2 miles walking back and fourth getting gear because I was solo. I dabbled with getting a multi-cart but opted to hold out for something that I didn't have to worry about manually strapping gear down in!
You have really made my day!
Haha. Glad to help! It's little things like this wagon that help make shoots more efficient and a lot more fun
I love mine! I got it at costco for $89. I saw one last week at Ralph's for $50 and it looked just as good as the costco one. I use a square plastic crate with mine so I can load my two einsteins, a vagabond mini, power cables and a spider holster into the crate to make it easy to pull everything in and out when I load and unload the car. On the other end of the cart I can still fit my camera bag with body and 3 lenses plus whatever modifiers I may need.
I don't have the collapsible cart but I do have that exact same multicart.
I bought the mulitcart to haul my ~400lbs of photo booth (which includes the frame, prop box/bench, curtains, camera box, printer, etc), most of which is already packed in stackable boxes. I've also used it for hauling other things around the house and at events as well - it's a great cart to have around.
The 500lb weight limit and the large wheels are what sold me on it. It is pricey but I absolutely love it.
I love my collapsible wagon! I pair it with a Think Tank Airport Navigator. Two back, time and energy savers!
Another up vote for this! I bought one for my constant treks out to the beach for weddings and other shoots. It has been a massive life saver especially when you need more production gear like stands, tripods, LED lights, extra batteries etc.
Been using one for a good while now. A couple mods I've included are the Nite Ize Gear ties to quickly hang my boom stand to the carts side (it's too long to fit inside the cart) and a manfrotto super clamp on the cart's back rail where I stow my assembled modifier while rolling around from location to location.
Haha... Yes, love that thing, like Justin mentioned, got it at Costco also. Great for lugging gear on shoots and so much more (stuff for son's birthday party set up at the park, moving a 70" flat screen a few hundred feet, grocery hauler, friends borrow it, etc..) Definitely recommend to anybody who lugs gear around, not needing to go on steep stairs or any terrain that's too complex for it's rather rigid and "wagon" like nature. Ours seems a little bigger or doesn't appear to fold quite as compactly, but is solidly built and has lasted great for the last 5 years we've had it.
To the person that commented that fitting it into the SUV on top of all their other stuff being purchase prohibitive.... Well, I'd say you have bigger issues then just fitting stuff into your vehicle, like maybe the size of your SUV compared to amount of stuff you haul around, because this thing is awesome. :)