Candice LandauLast Updated on April 26, 2024 by Candice Landau
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In January, I hopped aboard the Maldives Aggressor for a week of incredible diving, family time and, well, work. Yes, how I suffer; my job entails adventure!
The real assignment, however, was to experience what being aboard a liveaboard in the Maldives entailed so that I could write about it for Scuba Diving magazine. In order to do it justice, I’d packed my carry-on suitcase with all of the underwater photography equipment I could squeeze in.
If you’d asked me a year ago to talk you through packing over 20 pounds of additional gear, I’d have politely redirected you to Google, or perhaps to an article on Scuba Diving magazine’s site geared toward helping you do just that. Today, however, I have some hard-earned knowledge—a result of the six or so trips that happened between obtaining my mirrorless camera and today.
And while I’ve figured out how to pack the gear a lot better than my first attempts, there is still much room for improvement. The one area, however, that has continued to frustrate me is what I refer to as a memory management issue. Basically, how do I manage 15 SD cards, some of which are intentionally left “full” to act as an additional backup in conjunction with the backup hard drive I also carry?
More often than not I confuse the full cards with the empty cards, or in my haste to get ready for the next dive, or clean up my room before the staff does, I often end up throwing them all loose into a drawer. And then, in a rush to stay on schedule, find I’ve reinserted a full memory card. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than lugging an enormous camera around underwater, memory full because you had memory management issues, or as often happens now, getting the entire camera set up in its underwater housing only to have to dismantle it to change SD cards.
“Trust me, there’s nothing worse than lugging an enormous camera around underwater, memory full because you had memory management issues.”
After making a few of these same mistakes in the Maldives and on my trips last year, I decided this time that enough was enough and I began looking for solutions. Maybe I’m slow to the game and you all knew about these SD card carry and storage options but I confess, I did not!
I had two asks:
- A logical way to store memory cards to keep them safe and portable.
- A way to label them so that I’d know if they were full or empty.
The first solutions I came across looked good but were too bulky for travel and admittedly, the speed at which we often have to do things to keep to the schedule.
Things like this little case with multiple slots.
I’ll admit, I’m still sharing it because I think it’s a fantastic option for managing your SD cards at home, just not on the fly when things need to be compact and light.
I love this one in particular because of the ability it gives you to label what’s on your SD cards. I’d do this in pencil of course as that’s always changing, but it’s a good option to have around if you’re prone to storing things on backups like I am.
The next option is the one I ultimately went with:
This hardy aluminum case by Budi that looks admittedly a bit like a vape pen or cigarette lighter, is an almost-perfect solution. It’s light, compact, hardy, and has a ton of storage space for micro SD cards as well as SD cards. It’s even got a special slot for phone sim cards (win-win for the regular traveler).
The reason I say it’s almost perfect though is because it doesn’t have the label part figured out. Which ones are full and which are empty?
Fortunately, that part is not a problem! Grab a metallic sharpie, a white paint pen, nail polish, 3D fabric paint, or white-out and you’re set. I used 3D paint to mark a purple dot on the side I associate with full cards. You could also write “F” or “E” if you like. I chose purple because it’s a color I like and it has positive associations with memories, hence knowing which side is full!
The other thing I’d recommend you do is get in the habit of carrying a mechanical or clutch pencil. I’d also recommend putting a small label on each of your SD cards (dot stickers or small label stickers) so that you can pencil in/erase what is on them.
And, if I were you, I’d keep that pencil hooked to the SD card carry case. Here’s a handy solution for that.
This small, stick-on pencil holder will keep your labeling up-to-date because if you’re like me if it’s not attached, it’s as good as nonexistent. I’d insert a laughing emoji here but I’m trying to get more in the habit of using my words. And if you’re asking which pencil I’d recommend, well, I’m a diver. It needs to be able to get wet. Buy this Rite in the Rain mechanical pencil. If you urgently need a pencil for a dive you can steal it.
Let me know what you think of this solution, or indeed if you’ve found a different solution. Otherwise, happy traveling. Keep it light!
