Posted: 3/1/2012 12:25:12 PM EDT
I just received this from Amazon today. This is the bag. Pretty good price for it, IMHO. (I have a picture of the camera compartment, but ARFCOM keeps flatting a '––' in the link (two dashes), fucking it up. ) I posted the following as a review on Amazon: I just received this bag today, as I wanted a backpack capable of carrying my DSLR and accessories, and a laptop, as well as some other stuff. I was using a SwissGear laptop backpack before this, but since I just got a DSLR and may take a couple trips this year, I wanted a backpack to carry it. I looked at many options, and thought I had decided on a Tamron Evolution 8 or 9... but holy geeze are they expensive! I have one of the smaller camera-only Tamron packs, an Expedition 3 that I got years ago, and it's very good quality, but I didn't want to spend $160-200. Looking around, I stumbled upon this backpack, and decided to check it out. I watch the video review here (thanks for putting that up!) and one on YouTube. This bag definitely does what I want it to. I recommend checking out the video reviews. Construction: The bag is canvas on the outside with a more synthetic feeling inside liner material. The two side fold-out pockets for bottles or other items are the same. The canvas feels a little thinner than some I've felt before, but it is definitely sturdy and should stand up to some abuse. The bag uses velcro, snaps and zippers in various places. They are all of good quality and feel very sturdy. All of the straps are a thick material that should be even a bit TOO sturdy. The laptop and camera sections are well padded, and the configurable partitions in the camera section are very handy. It's a very well made bag, and I do not see ever wearing this bag out. Versatility: The bottom camera area again, is very well padded and the partitions let you configure the area in many ways. I made a main "H" division in the middle with my camera in the top U area (lens facing up) and my charger and a few things below that. To the left, I shoved in the rain fly (more on this later). On the right, I divided the section and put my Sigma 70-300 lens on the top and shoved some accessories below it. Eventually I'll acquire another lens that will live in that spot... so I may need to do a little more shuffling around. There is also a zippered divider between the top and bottom compartments, so if you wanted to, you could remove all of the camera partition stuff, open this partition and have one large pack. I may not ever do this, but it's a nice option that could prevent me (or you) from having to buy another backpack if you want one without the camera compartment stuff. All of the pockets on the front are pretty large and useful. On the bottom under the flap, I was able to fit my camera's owners manual and some various bits (there's a couple little slots sewn in, one is perfect for an SD card in the little plastic cases they come in) in the left size zippered pouch. I put some pens, pencils, flashlight and a few other things in the right side one. The outer velcro pouches are fine for a wallet and other things you may need to get to quickly. You may not want to leave your wallet in there when you're in crowds tho, but the velcro is sturdy enough that you'd feel and hear it if someone yanked it open. The top flap pouch is as wide as the flap and has a zipper closure under the velcro strap. It looks like it could fit some stuff, but I just have a few various nick nacks in there. There are large loop straps on the bottom of the bag that could be used for a tripod, as well as a pair on the shoulder straps that could be used to strap a tripod to up there. The pack comes with a velcro 'strap' you can use if you want to sling a longer item like a tripod in one of the fold out side pockets. FLAWS: As someone mentioned in another review, the shoulder straps may not be that comfortable if you are going to hike for long periods with the bag on. With the sternum strap connected, I did feel some odd pressure as the straps pulled inward. I'm not a huge guy (6'1", 190lb), so it's not much of a problem, but heavier set people may feel squeezed. The shoulder straps do have a convenient tab you can yank up on to lengthen the straps. They don't have a large range of adjustment, so again, large people may feel squeezed. The top compartment has a drawstring sack type top under the flap. Problem is, the flap doesn't cover the sides at the top of the bag very well. In rain, this may lead to water getting into the top compartment, or even pooling in the gap created. Thusly I recommend keeping the rain fly handy if you're going to be outside a lot. Your stuff could get wet! Overall, again, this is a very nice bag. It will work very well for me as a daily backpack, and should be great for a few trips I have planned. |
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Quoted:
Looks very nice for what it is. I'm not a fan of backpacks since you have to take them off to get into them. The cool thing about the Tamrac bag I metioned... You can take it off of one shoulder, swing it around front and get to your camera through a door on either side... so you don't have to take it off. Maybe eventually I will get one of those... but for now, this one is a pretty nice bag. |