Help choosing a pro-spec backpack

My current loadouts are -

1. Lowepro Nova 2 shoulder bag with Nikon F80, two zooms, a fast fifty, film and a few odds and ends.
2. Lowepro Nova 4 shoulder bag with Mamiya C330S, three primes, a Pentax Spometer V, a Paramender, film and a few odds and ends.

Plus a Manfrotto 055 ProB on an Op/Tech shoulder strap.

I'm tired of arriving somewhere and having decide whether to take the Nikon or the Mamiya. Taking both with this carrying solution is not an option, so I'm looking for a pro-spec backpack to carry the lot.

Front runners are -

• Lowepro Nature Trekker AWII
• Lowepro Photo Trekker AWII
• Tamrac Expedition 7
• Crumpler Pyjama Pride (L)

I'm happy with my Lowepro kit to-date but those and the Tamrac option all scream, "Expensive photo-gear! Mug me, mug me!". Then again, by the time I've strapped a Manfrotto to the outside of whatever I end up with, it's fairly obvious what's inside!

Does anyone have any experience of these bags? Or am I deluding myself that a flabby, unfit snapper is going to haul all the above? :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance,

Frank

I've got the Lowepro Nature Trekker AWII and I like it alot, I use it for all of my 35mm gear. It holds quite a bit, 2 35mm Canon bodies, a 400mm lens, 75-300mm lens, flash, extension tubes, 180mm macro lens, 28-80mm lens, tele-extender, all of my little accessories, manuals, release cables, plenty of film and then there's the large pocket on the outside for other stuff.

The padding on the back is quite thick and its very comfortable on long hikes. It is rather heavy, though. Overall I'm happy with it

I have a Lowe-pro shoulder bag with the optional waist belt. I've had this for 22 years and it's brilliant, especially in adverse weather conditions.

One simply removes the shoulder strap, slides the bag around to the front, then you carefully remove or replace your gear without having to put the bag on wet or muddy ground or impossible ground, like on a ledge on a cliff face.

I purchased a Lowe-pro photo trekker, which is a backpack type of bag about 18 years ago. This is good as it takes quite a load, it will make carrying heavy gear better for your back, there are downsides though.

You have to completely take it off your back and lay it down on whatever ground surface is available, if that surface is muddy, you better be wearing some mud proof clothing.

Another thing to be aware of, is the possibility of the zipper handle catching on some scrub and opening up the pack a little. With the weight of the inside equipment pushing outwards, it won't take long before your stuff starts to eject itself as it pushes against the covering flap opening the zipper further. Voice of experience here.

Both types of equipment carriers have their plusses and minuses.

I think the best accessory for a shoulder bag, is a dedicated waist belt!

Mick.

Anyone using the Tamrac Expedition 8?

Thanks

Check out Photobackpacker, one of the sponsors here. I bought his product based on a modified Kelty 3100 pack and I am very pleased with it.

I am currently using a Gregory G Pack to carry my complete 8x10 Field Camera kit and I am very happy with it.

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A bit more info. I weighed all the gear this morning and, including the bags and the tripod, it comes in at around 12kg (26lbs). I'd imagine that the frame and heavier materials of a pro-spec pack would add a little to that.

Just to clarify, I am looking for a purpose-built photo pack to provide a very comfortable carrying solution for me and a very protective environment for my kit.

Many thanks for the information and suggestions so far. Please keep it coming.

Cheers,

Frank

Tom Hoskinson said:

I am currently using a Gregory G Pack to carry my complete 8x10 Field Camera kit and I am very happy with it.

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The G is only rated for 25lbs. How do you find it with an 8x10? It's also only top loading. Isn't that a bit of a pain?

I have always used Lowe backpacks, and found them to be very good. I would suggest buying a backpack that is bit bigger than you think you need, because you are going to add to your photo equipment. Also, if you have extra space, you can fit other items (not photography related) that you need for your tour.

Frank

I started with a rucksack with everything bundled in, 5x4 and Bronica SQA. Took me ages to set shots up and find alternative lenses. Went to a Photo-trekker and before I bought more LF lenses managed quite nicely.

The Lowe products just work assuming you don't want to shoot on the go.

Spend time establishing a logical layout to your way of thinking and operating, this enables you to find everything quickly even in low light. Straight out of the car onto your back and away, no fuss. WHen location found, there is your mobile office in front of you. I find a groundsheet useful to place bag on to stop mud, sand, salt water etc getting onto the bag and then subsequently onto my back.

I'm now using an old Super-trekker and changing to a latest version. I found same as Petzi; that next essential purchase has to squeeze in somewhere....

Tamrac Expedition 8

Frank

I just upgraded from a Lowepro Mini Trekker AW to a Tamrac Expedition 8. I must say that I'm impressed. I got the pack in the January sales for £99 and for this there's nothing to touch it. The zips work much smoother than the Lowepro zips and everything feels just a little better thought through as if they took a Lowepro Pro Trekker and copied it and then fixed the bits that aren't quite right. I'd go for the 8 over the 7 as it doesn't feel much bigger when you're wearing it but it's got usefully more space. I carry a Mamiya 7 and three lenses, Linhof 6x9 with back and one lens, Leica M6 or Nikon FM2n with three lenses, Lee Filter kit and filters, flash, Gitzo 1128 tripod with Arca Swiss Monoball head, twenty films and loads of other accessories in the one pack and it's so much easier to clamber over rugged terrain with everything securely fastened to my back than having stuff dangling from supplementary bags.

Barry

I can endorse everything bwakel has said.

The Expedition 8 is the muts nuts.

I have been using lowepro for years and got fed up with opening it up to find my kit slightly damp in bad weather. You dont get this problem with the tamrac bags. They are water proof even without the cover. Also it is more comfortable on my back and built to outlast me, or at least my back anyway!.

Stoo

Nick Zentena said:

The G is only rated for 25lbs. How do you find it with an 8x10? It's also only top loading. Isn't that a bit of a pain?

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Nick, I prefer a top loading pack with my Wehmann 8x10 kit.

My total 8x10 kit weight is 25 pounds including my Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and Arca-Swiss BallHead.

Well, you've seen me tripping over tussocks and bumping in to various lumps of rock at Avebury with my LF gear in my Lowepro Photo Trekker AWII... IIRC, my LF gear comes in at around 15-16 lbs all in so a fair bit less than all your gear. I decide what mood I'm in and what the subject is and how fit I am feeling at the time and take the gear that suits: LF or MF (I've more or less given up on 35mm). Taking two lots would be too heavy for me, but you are younger and fitter (but not nearly as dashing and handsome) so it's your choice!

It is very adjustable, more so that any hiking backpack I have used (not that that is a very large number) but does have the disadvantage that you identified in that it is quite heavy compared to a normal backpack. I do agree with Stoo though that it is not so good in bad weather: the AW cover is a joke: a bit of waterproof ripstop Nylon that gets blown off as soon as the wind gets under it...

My 055 tripod either stays in my hand or is hooked to the backpack's tripod holder (but that is on the front so it is some distance from your back and Mr. Archimedes's leverage principle can become an issue; it could be strapped to the side but the 055 is a bit too long and heavy for comfort and can pull you off balance when scrambling over rocks etc...).

All in all, worth looking at as long as you are not aiming to take it out in very wet weather. The price is, needless to say, ridiculously high but the older (non-AW) versions that I think you can still get are nowhere near as adjustable.

Have fun, Bob.

Many thanks for all the responses.

I'm veering towards the Lowepro Photo Trekker - I have a back problem and the fully-adjustable harness would probably be a "must". Weather-proofing will probably be adequate for the uses to which I subject it (my Novas have been out in some fairly atrocious conditions and haven't leaked yet).

As for weight... Well, I think it will probably easier to trim excess weight from me than from my kit, so I'll get working on that now! :rolleyes: