AlienBees on location without car?

I'm trying to build a "portable" AB kit for on location shoots. I live in the city and have no car, but I have a ThinkTank Airport Takeoff to carry the AB and battery. Here's my plan so far:
AB B800
AlienBee foldable medium softbox
DIY pelican battery pack

For the stand, the 8ft Impact stand is the perfect size because it fits in my 27 inch hakuba tripod bag, along with the foldable softbox, but would this be adequate to support the lights if weighed down? Of course, I don't expect to be using it all the time fully extended.

Are there any AB "strobist" style shooters out there? If so, please share how you carry everything!

I use a rolling duffel bag right now and I use the bag to one of those camping chairs to carry my light stands. The bag holds my 2 AB800 and will fit the Vagabond when it comes next week. I also have 4 umbrellas, 2 flashes, a softbox and all kinds of wires, cables, accessories in it. Not the prettiest looking thing but it does everything I need it to.

I shoot everything on location and just use one ab 1600, beauty dish, some cheap stand, and a vagabond. Works perfect and its easy to carry around. After a long day it might be a pain in the butt, but I dont think it should be a problem. Here is a link to my model mayhem account
http://www.modelmayhem​.com/portfolio/1251553​/0

Look at some of the Kata cases on B&H, namely the OC-86, OC-88, OC-97, and the One-man-band series e.g. OMB-77. Yes they are ridiculously expensive, but do what I did and pick one up on Craigslist. I have the OMB-77 (picked it up for $150 on CL) and have been very pleased with it, as I have been with the other Kata gear I've owned.

In my bag I carry four AlienBees, Manfrotto tripod and monopod, two Manfrotto Nano 001B light stands, four grids, a full set of gels, two softboxes, two double-fold umbrellas, radio triggers, wiring, and a ton of other stuff. The only thing(s) it won't hold are my two 10' light stands and my giant softbox -- they can however be strapped to the top of the case. If it's an indoor shoot, great, roll it inside, open the lid, and start shooting. If it's outside and close to your car then great. If it's a small walk, then grab what you need and leave the rest behind.

I find myself using the Bees more than the 430EX II hotflashes. If you already have a portable power source, I say go for it, you are 99% there already.

I've seen people setup their battery pack, inverter, on karts, hand trucks, etc, which can also double as the flash stand. Its easy to move around without breaking your back, can also carry your other gear, and very mobile and portable. I wish I kept some pictures of them, as many where designed very well for the task. If I can dig some images up, I'll re-post here.

For me, I just use a stand, beauty dish/medium softbox/std reflector, a 600w inverter, dual 26Ahr batteries, and a 1600ws monolight, and a good healthy assistant to carry it around for me. The last item is the most expensive one

Regarding the inverter. I am using a 400 w pure sine wave inverter and started getting a loud whistle sound from it. Anyone have an idea what that may be?

It could be the bearings in the fan making a squeal. Also make sure you aren't pulling too much current from the inverter (compare the design specs against what you are using), and that your battery isn't drained too low. You can connect the inverter to a car battery while the car is running to see if its a battery issue (the voltage will be high from the good car battery and alternator output).

I have heard this before on my inverter, but don't remember what the resolution was. I seem to think I was expecting too much from it (three 800ws/1600ws heads), but it could have been my input voltage as well.

Someone else with better knowledge of inverters might have the answer.

I'd encourage you to visit the b&h site for the max weight limit for that impact stand that you are using. Make sure that you are under that weight limit.

Also, make sure that you have a sandbag! 10-20 lbs will do.

On the impact site it said that the stand has a weight limit of 7.5lb. is that not enough?

oh.. a 10-20lb sand bag? hmm if I need that, might just get a vagabond instead.

Reevo wrote in post #10627580
On the impact site it said that the stand has a weight limit of 7.5lb. is that not enough?

oh.. a 10-20lb sand bag? hmm if I need that, might just get a vagabond instead.

The light you are using weighs 3-4 lbs, and your modifier weighs 1-2 lbs. So you are getting close to the max weight limit.

I use the impact stands when I use speedlights. I personally will not trust those impact stands when used with my new einsteins.

I started out with smaller 7.5lb light stands for strobist reasons, but after the wind knocked over my strobe and lightbox twice, I sold them and bought a set of the 9.5' Impact light stands which are good to about 22 pounds. They're not nearly as portable, so they stay at home unless I need large heavy modifiers. If using umbrellas or reflector-only, I use a set of Manfrotto Nano 001B's. This setup has worked out great so far.

Hmm now I'm thinking... it might just be easier/better if I got a lastolite triflash instead?