This post was written in Danish in December 2017 and later translated into English. Only the language changed.
Very unexpectedly, I have decided that my DJI Spark is coming on the hike
When I started planning my hike I was very firm that my photo gear should not weigh as much as it usually does on my other hikes.
I was generally very firm that I wanted to carry as little as possible, and as light as possible.
So I swapped my Nikon D810 DSLR for a smaller camera (just for the trip, I cannot do without my Nikon), and have since invested in a lot of lightweight gear (which you can see on my list here ) and I am still not quite done updating it, because I keep finding small places where I can shave off a couple of grams 😉
Why the DJI Spark is coming on the hike
When I saw the DJI Spark drone, though, I fell completely in love with the small size and the possibilities I could suddenly picture.
It will definitely allow some unique footage, so I can hopefully stand out a bit from the mass of footage that will come out of this trail 🙂 (I am not naive enough to think I am the only one hiking who has a camera along)
Picture me on a mountainside, walking along, and instead of a small overview or selfie with my mobile phone, my drone can fly out and film me as I hike (because it can follow me!)
That is going to be wildly awesome!
Fortunately the drone rules are the same in the USA as they are here at home in Denmark. Which means flying a drone as a private individual does not require all sorts of certificates – in fact there is no requirement in the USA to register, as long as it is a small drone (and the DJI Spark is).
There are still plenty of places where you are not allowed to fly a drone, but I have looked at the map, and there is ample opportunity for some lovely footage on the trip.
700 grams of extra weight
It does cost 700 grams though, which is unfortunately rather brutal when you are trying to cut every unnecessary gram.
But I have convinced myself it is worth it.
And if it all goes wrong, I can send it in a so-called bounce box – a package you keep sending ahead of yourself, with things you do not need, or only need occasionally.
That is the drawback of living abroad, since you cannot just send things home. Or you can, but it gets expensive.
Now it is just a matter of finding good alternatives to the things I already have, so I can maybe shave off some weight that way 🙂
Gear: the full setup I carried on the PCT is on the PCT 2018 gear list.