List Price: $185.00
Sale Price: $129.99
Today's Bonus: 30% Off
This bag rocks. There are a few very minor issues that I had to knock off a star for, but it's definitely the best bag of its kind I've ever used. There's no such thing as "the perfect bag", but for my purposes this comes quite close!
What I was looking for was a bag that could do a few things: safely transport my laptop and camera gear, while still being useful as a general daypack; serve as a carryon for when I fly/take trains/etc; and use as a daypack for short hikes (and be able to fit it into my main 80L camping pack, or, if not, be able to lash it on somehow.) For the first two things, it is a homerun. It's a tight fit in my main camping pack, but it works. It perfectly fits all the gear that I want it to my laptop, power cable, bluetooth mouse, random cables, Nikon D7000 w/ 28mm f/1.8, 60mm Macro, 18-105mm, 16mm Fisheye, and random other small items in the front pocket. There is still room in the top above the camera pod for things like books, a container for lunch, random items, etc. It also has two mesh pockets on the sides, one of which has a little elastic drawstring to lash on a tripod, or in my case, a Gorillapod. Works great, but I don't think you could fit anything bigger than a small travel-sized tripod. The other side is perfect for my Insulated Klean Kanteen.
It is fairly heavy when loaded up with everything, but, I mean, that's just how it works haha. There's no free lunch in that regard. If I ever don't want my camera gear with me, it's easy to just slide out the camera pod and zip it up, lightening the pack and freeing a bunch of storage space for other items. If I don't bring my laptop, that space becomes handy for other things too. You could take out both and just use it as a general purpose bag; it'd be awesome. I also like that, for the most part, it doesn't look like a camera bag, just a stylish general use bag. This decreases theft risk (but I still wouldn't recommend leaving it unattended in public, haha.)
The bag can be used as either a backpack, or a shoulder bag. It is really quick and easy to convert between the two modes in backpack mode, just pull out the straps from the sleeve, and stick the shoulder strap in there. Clip the bottoms of the straps to the D-rings on either side at the bottom, and you're done. For shoulder bag mode, just do the same in reverse. Or, you can tuck all of the straps away, useful if you are travelling and you need to stow it in an overhead bin without catching on anything. The straps seem very well-made and durable, but they are not the most comfortable I've ever seen. They aren't bad, but I think they could do better. It seems like a company whose other bags are essentially technical packs with camera compartments would have a really well designed/comfy harness, but oh well. It's really not bad, just not great. The hardware (D-rings/buckles/clips) are plastic I wish they were metal, but it's fairly easy to replace them if they break.
The zipper is heavy-duty, weather-sealed, and feels very solid almost a little too solid, it can be hard to get it around the corner at the top of the bag sometimes. Even so, when in shoulder bag mode, it is *REALLY* convenient to swing it around to the front and open up the top. The way the bag is designed, it is exactly the right spot and angle to go through your bag, find with you need, and close it back up, without taking it off. Great for switching lenses etc.
Wishlist/Things I would change:
-Put a zipper on the bottom of the sleeve the backpack straps tuck into, so that you can use it to slide over a trolley handle
-Metal hardware
-Side/rear access to camera compartment (Similar to the Tenba Shootout packs.)
-Better harness
Despite my minor qualms, this is the best bag I could find for my purposes. I did a lot of research. This bag totally rocks, I'd recommend it to anyone!
EDIT: This is the 2010 version of this bag. There is a 2011 update,which is very similar (as well as a smaller version of the bag.)
0 comments:
Post a Comment