ORCA OR-83H Horizontal Sand/Water Bag

I had been traveling with a couple shot bags to use as counter weights to keep my light and mic stands from falling over. They are great in that they are compact and a savvy user can buy multiple SMALLER shot bags and distribute them amongst cases to keep bags from breeching weight limits with the airline. HOWEVER, TSA sees the dense object in a case and.... the decide to investigate. : ( The ORCA OR-83 with the ORCA water bladder is the solution to NOT get pulled over by the TSA when flying and carrying a weight for your stands. You MUST MUST MUST acquire the ORCA Water Bladders to use the ORCA OR-83 with water. Fill up the bladders (they are purchased as a pair and you will likely need both for an appropriate amount of weight to hold a stand in place from tipping over) when you arrive at your location, slip the bladders into the OR-83 bag and go to work. The OR-83 has a substantial velcro-style sealed opening where the bladders (in my case of use) or sand or gravel slide into the bag. There is a flap on the end of the OR-38 that folds over and slips into another velcro-style slot for adding a double seal to the contents of the bag. The material the bag is constructed out of seems REALLY durable. There is a handle built into the bag, similar to other sand bags I have used. The only thing the bag does not have in its construction that might make sense if you plan to use it with the water bladders (like me) is there is no way on the inside of the bag to keep the bladders from slipping from one end to the other--that is a good thing when loading the bladders into the bag, but they can potentially slip around. Just take care when placing the OR-83 in place the ensure the contents (be it sand, gravel or the water bladders) do not all slide to one end / side of the bag. It is not big deal, really. Another obvious benefit from traveling with an empty counter-weight bag is the fact that it weighs next to nothing. That makes my cases weigh approximately 10 pounds less and that is always a good thing. Aaaannnnndddddd..... TSA no longer pulls my cases due to some dense object they want to identify when they scan my gear. I expect the OR-83 to be useful for a long time and over many miles of travel due to it solid build and sensible construction. Good job ORCA. The OR-83 (with the water bladders) is a total win for me.