In a desperate attempt to save my spine from years of abuse I have been considering the weight of the kit I carry across my shoulders. In doing so I've been compiling statistics on the earthly mass of every bit of kit I carry with me; and, by way of comparison, every other alternative part that could make up a sound-persons bag and boom. I've created a selection of handy tables and decided to share my findings with you, the people of the internet.
Location Recorders
| Location Recorder | Size HxWxD cm | Weight (g) | Inputs |
| Sonosax SXR4+ | 5x20x14.5 | 910 | 4xmic/line 2xline 2xAES3 |
| Zoom F8 | 5.5x18x14 | 960 | 8xmic/line |
| Zoom F4 | 5.5x18x14 | 1030 | 4xmic/line 2xline |
| SD 633 | 6x24x14 | 1100 | 3xmic/line 3xline 1xAES3 |
| Zaxcom Maxx | 5x19x13.4 | 1130 | 4xmic/line 2xAES |
| SD 744T | 4.5x21x12.5 | 1200 | 2xmic/line 2x/line 2xAES3 |
| SD 788T | 4.5x26x16.3 | 1700 | 8xmic/line 4xAES3/42 |
| Zaxcom Nomad | 5x25x17.8 | 1725 | 6xmic/line 4xline 4xAES3/42 |
| Aeta 4Minx | 7.5x26x19.5 | 1900 | 4xmic/line 4xline 1xAES3 |
| SD 664 | 5.3x32x19.8 | 2150 | 6xmic/line 6xline 2xAES3/42 |
| SD 688 | 5.3x32x19.8 | 2210 | 6xmic/line 6xline 2xAES3/42 |
| Roland R88 | 9.3x26x23.5 | 2670 | 8xmic/line 1xAES3 |
| Aaton Cantar X3 Mini | 9x23.4x25.9 | 2300 | 4xmic/line 2xline 2xAES3/42 |
| Aaton Cantar X3 | 9x32x24 | 3550 | 8xmic/line 4xline 8xAES3 2xAES42 24xDante |
| Tascam HS-P82 | 10x27x26 | 3650 | 8xmic/line 4xAES3/42 |
| Nagra VI 6 Channel | 7.4x31x28.5 | 3800 | 4xmic/line 2xline 1xAES3 |
Radio Mic receivers
| Radio Mic Twin Rx | Weight (g) |
| Audio Ltd EN2 CX2-P | 170 |
| Zaxcom QRX235 | 170 |
| Zaxcom QRX200 | 170 |
| Wisycom MCR42 | 180 |
| Lectrosonics Srb | 195 |
| Audio Ltd EN2 DX2 | 196 |
| Sony URX-P03D | 210 |
| Lectrosonics Src | 225 |
| Sony DWR S02DN | 280 |
| Sony URX-S03D | 303 |
| Sennheiser EK6042 | 340 |
| Radio Mic single Rx | Weight (g) |
| Wisycom MPR30-ENG | 100 |
| Audio Ltd En2 DX | 113 |
| Sennheiser EK100 | 160 |
| Zaxcom QRX300 | 170 |
| Audio Ltd DX1010 | 180 |
| Lectrosonics LR | 185 |
| Audio Wireless AWDR1 | 200 |
| Sennheiser EK2000 | 200 |
| Zaxcom RX200 | 218 |
| Audio Ltd DX2040 | 225 |
| Lectrosonics UCR411a | 425 |
Sound Bags (size laid out as per recorder orientation for easy matching)
| Bag | Weight (g) | Int. HxWxD (cm) |
| Orca OR-27 | 990 | 9x21.5x13 |
| Sachtler SN607 | 1100 | 10.5x23.5x17 |
| Portabrace AR-MAXX | 1100 | 16.5x33x27.9 |
| K-Tek Stingray Jr | 1300 | 9x22x20 |
| Portabrace AR-788CLX | 1360 | 16.5x33x27.9 |
| Portabrace AO-1X | 1400 | 14x27.9x15.9 |
| Orca OR-28 | 1460 | 11.5x21.5x16.5 |
| Portabrace AO-633 | 1490 | 15.2x30.5x17.8 |
| Portabrace AO-1.5X | 1500 | 16.5x30.5x17.8 |
| K-Tek Stingray Small | 1700 | 14x23x23 |
| Orca OR-30 | 1780 | 12x26x17.5 |
| Sachtler SN614 | 1800 | 10x29.5x19 |
| Portabrace AO-4 | 1800 | 17.8x34.3x17.8 |
| Portabrace AO-2X | 1810 | 13.3x38.1x20.3 |
| Sachtler SN617 | 1900 | 8.5x34.5x18.5 |
| Sachtler SN601 | 2100 | 13x28.5x23 |
| Portabrace AO-688 | 2100 | 16.5x32.4x20.3 |
| K-Tek Stingray Med | 2320 | 14x30x23 |
| K-Tek Stingray Lrg | 2380 | 14x33x23 |
| Orca OR-32 | 2620 | 14.5x33x23 |
| Orca OR-41 | 2640 | 15x30x22 |
| Orca OR-34 | 2780 | 19x33x23 |
| Sachtler SN602 | 2800 | 18x32.5x22 |
Batteries
| Batteries | Weight (g) | Output | |
| Audioroot eSMART Li-49Wh | 239 | 14.4V 3400mAh 49Wh | |
| NP-F970 | 285 | 7.2V 6600mAh 48Wh | *4000mAh @12V |
| NP1 35W | 300 | 14.4V 2400mAh 35Wh | |
| BP-U60 | 380 | 14.4V 4200mAh 60Wh | |
| Audioroot eSMART Li-98Wh | 450 | 14.4V 6800mAh 98Wh | |
| NP1 65W | 465 | 14.4V 4400mAh 65Wh | |
| NP1 70W | 475 | 14.4V 4800mAh 70Wh |
Battery Caddies
| Battery caddy | Weight (g) |
| BP-SQN2S | 70 |
| DV-SQN2S | 70 |
| NPB-SQN4S | 87 |
| NPC-SQN4S | 94 |
| Audioroot eSMART BG-DU | 129 |
| Audioroot eSMART BG-DH MKII | 130 |
Boom Poles (around the size I currently own)
| Boom Pole | Weight (g) | length max/min (m) |
| VDB M | 410 | 0.60/2.66 |
| K-Tek KEG-100 | 430 | 0.66/2.67 |
| VDB L | 500 | 0.80/3.84 |
| Ambient QXS 580 | 530 | 0.80/3.30 |
| Ambient QXS 565 | 535 | 0.66/2.59 |
| Panamic 5806 5 Section | 580 | 0.80/3.00 |
Shotgun Mics
| Shotgun Mic | weight (g) |
| Ambient TinyMike ATM | 30 |
| DPA 4017B | 68 |
| DPA 4017C | 70 |
| Senn. MKH8060 | 80 |
| Schoeps CMIT 5U | 89 |
| Sanken CS2 | 110 |
| Schoeps Super CMIT 2U | 112 |
| Sanken CS3e | 120 |
| DPA 4017ER/ES | 121 |
| Rode NTG4 | 126 |
| Neumann KMR 81i | 145 |
| Senn. MKH60 | 150 |
| Rode NTG3 B | 163 |
| Sennheiser MKH 416 | 165 |
| Rode NTG4+ | 176 |
Wind Shields
| Wind Shield | Weight (g) | |
| Rycote Super Softie 5cm | 65.2 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 5cm | 73 | |
| Rycote Super Softie 12cm | 89 | |
| Rycote Super Softie 15cm | 97 | |
| Rycote Super Softie 18cm | 105 | |
| Rycote BBG | 120 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 10cm | 173 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 12cm | 176 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 18cm | 177 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 15cm | 182.5 | |
| Rycote Classic Softie 24cm | 208.3 | |
| Cinela Pianissimo PIANI-1 | 330 | no fur |
| Cinela Piano PIA-1 | 380 | no fur |
| Cinela Pianissimo PIANI-1 SP | 445 | med wind fur |
| Cinela Pianissimo PIANI-1 LP | 480 | hi wind fur |
| Cinela Piano PIA-1 SP | 530 | med wind fur |
| Cinela Piano PIA-1 LP | 560 | hi wind fur |
| Rycote Supershield Small | 642 | with fur |
| Rycote Supershield Med | 662 | with fur |
| Rycote Supershield Lrg | 692 | with fur |
| Rycote Cyclone Small | 716 | with fur |
| Rycote Cyclone Med | 806 | with fur |
| Rycote Cyclone Large | 889 | with fur |
Cabling
| Cable | Weight (g/m) |
| VDC Pro Grade Classic Install | 19 |
| VDC Tour Grade Classic Mini StarQuad | 34 |
| VDC Tour Grade Classic Mic | 56 |
| VDC Tour Grade Classic StarQuad | 57 |
| VDC Green AES Mic | 70 |
Peli Cases
| Peli Case (carry on) | Weight (kg) without foam |
| Peli Air 1535 | 3.9 |
| Peli Storm iM2500 | 5 |
| Peli Protector 1510 | 5.4 |
Now all you have to do is design your ideal system by weight! How light is your rig? How much lighter can you make your rig? Comment below!
Also if you'd like me add any other products or columns to these tables I'd happily do the working for them; just leave a comment.
