Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I ordered a Vagabond II earlier this week, should be here tomorrow morning. I sometimes shoot in some pretty natural (read: dont carry food you'll get eaten by a bear ... or shot by a hillbilly) settings and I am curious about waterproofing my Vagabond bag. Around creeks, wet sandy lake/creek shores, rivers, etc. I am worried about setting the bag down on damp ground/sand. I have successfully used Nikwax products on my various camera bags, but feel the vagabond (due to weight and more abrasive setting locations) might need something a little more tough. Any ideas?

If the ground is just wet (rain, dew, snow, etc.) you can set the bag down and be fine. All connections are raised off the bottom of the bag. If you wish to be extra sure, you can simply place a piece of cardboard, trashbag, etc., under the VII. Of course, we do not reccomend setting the VII in standing water.

Thanks for the prompt reply. From the reviews I have read Im not at all worried about the components inside the bag. Paul C. Buff stuff is excellently made IMO. My Cybersyncs have been to hell and back, and they're in perfect shape. I am more worried about the bag itself. Wet/Damp bags, even when dried promptly, can grow molds and fungii ... which can transfer to lenses and other camera gear. Combine this with the warmth the battery produces, making a perfect microcosm for growth, it could be negative for people with allergies. I do have allergies, but Im more worried about the possible transfer of microorganisms to my lenses.

That is the only reason I posed the question. The less liquid I can keep out of the fabric the better in my opinion.

easiest thing to do is put it in a plastic trash bag. Ditto lightstand feet...takes forever to get sand out of them :-P