Traveling - Convert Carry on Bag to Photo/Laptop Bag

I have a camera bag and laptop backpack I travel with. That counts as 2 carry on. The only reason I have two is because they are purposefully built. Mind you, I have modified the camera bag a bit to accommodate the housing and strobes.

What I'd like to do is modify a normal roller board carry on to be both a camera and laptop bag. I'm starting to play around with a couple of approaches using rigid black foam for the camera section. I am taking this approach because my wife and I only travel once a year for diving so I'm not really motivated to purchase a specialized bag.

One aspect I'm keenly aware of is that any carry on needs to be prepared to be checked. There will be sufficient packing to allow this.

Normally, when I come with an idea, someone else has already tackled this so looking for any tips from those who went before me so to speak ;-)

Thanks

Hi DS256

I'm sure we've all toyed with the idea of a DIY travel bag at some stage or another.

The rigid black foam has always seemed rather inflexible to me - you cut it once and you're done. New or changes to bits of kit can be hard to accommodate.

It might be worth taking a look at the various Pelican-type interior liners that are available which are padded but have moveable dividers. I've been tempted to try this out with a cheapo, innocuous roller bag. The issue thoughts you point out, is that there is always the chance that bags intended for the cabin have to be checked into the hold. At that point I want to my heavy duty Pelican 1510 and not El Cheapo. But maybe worth trying out.

An example here: https://www.bax-shop.nl/universele-flightcases-flightbags/peli-1515-gestoffeerde-verdelerset-voor-peli-1510-koffers?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI34fiqbbU3wIVEuh3Ch19CwAfEAQYAiABEgKj4vD_BwE

Have a look at this how to make your own case dividers!

Hmmm. Thanks TimG. Great idea. I happen to have some floor mats similar to what he's using in the video.

For years, my Akona <7 bag (yea - that's the name) was my go-to carry-on camera bag, easily fitting all my gear (Nauticam FF housing, strobes, dome). My other carry-one is a Cinebag for the camera and lenses. I custom cut 1/2 inch thick flexible foam (flat mattress pad) to protect the sides and top of the Akona (though a wetsuit works in a pince. Even had TSA agents admire the construct of the bag. I have since gone to a Thinktank Airport Security bag (outstanding quality, design and allows me to put all the gear in one bag ) but the <7 will work for you and do double duty as a regular bag as well for non-dive trips. The Akona site states their new bag design increases the capacity by 11% over mine. Cheers and good luck!