George Paul wrote:
"I LOVE the idea of having a hiking stick rather than a heavy tripod
in my pack."
This is a very appealing idea, but I think it depends a lot on the
terrain you're going to. If the soil is too soft, or conversely too
hard, it would probably be hard. I toyed with this idea using my Leki
hiking stick, but didn't follow through with it because I couldn't get
the damn thing to stay put!
Whether it doubles as a microphone stand or not, a hiking stick is a
necessity as far as I'm concerned - especially on rough terrain with a
pack on your back. A good one weighs nothing compared to the weight of
a backpack full of hiking necessities and recording gear, and it might
save an ankle or knee...
George Paul also wrote: "The upcoming trip (a week from Thurday) is a
four day trip into the Grand Canyon. Very sandy and dusty, and at
times very windy, and weight is at a premium. But so too is perfect
technique, as the environments can be very quiet."
Sounds fantastic.
I can relate to your desire for 'perfect technique'; that is why I
carry a relatively heavy rig with me - although I had some doubts on a
recent recording trek through the lower Mustang region of Nepal. I had
my Nagra/Schoeps/Rycote rig, which weighs a few kilos. One of my
students had a Sony Walkman MD (the tiny black one that records .wavs)
and a Rode SVM. My rig fills a daypack, his fitted into the pocket of
a downjacket and, tonally, it sounded pretty good. All other things
being equal, I have no doubt that he could travel much further in a
day than I could...
- Greg Simmons
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