Hi all,
With the internet full of "what backpack should I get for X setup?" threads, I thought I'd contribute an answer instead of a question. I just got the Niko bag by Chrome Industries, so here are my initial thoughts:
DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated with Chrome at all. I also haven't fully tested this bag, I've just carried around my 4x5 gear in it for a few hours in an urban setting. These are initial impressions.
Cost and Warranty
I'm putting this at the top so that all the following is taken into context. There are fancier packs out there, but they will be at very different price points and may not be warrantied to the same extent.
The pack is currently priced at $180, which I find to be very reasonable for its class after reading about the tons and tons of packs available. The company offers a lifetime warranty for everything except for standard wear-and-tear and except that the velcro is warrantied for 2 years from purchase. The salesperson made a point to say that buckles, zips, etc. were all covered for life. There is a 30-day return policy that requires the pack to be in salable condition.
Capacity
What I fit in there: a Shen-Hao HZX45-iia, 10 film holders, two small lenses (Copal 0 and Copal 1), a Sekonic L-508 spot meter, and a small loupe. I mounted a 25" tripod to the outside.
The bag is divided into a top section and a much larger bottom section, although you can unzip and fold back the divider between them for one big compartment. The bottom section is a velcro-lined space divided by standard removable camera bag padded dividers that can be arranged to your liking. I have the folded-up Shen-Hao in the bottom center, with dividers velcroed-in around it, then I used another divider to create a sort of shelf above it (still in the bottom compartment) where I've placed my lenses, which are individually wrapped. I haven't figured out a way to use the remaining dividers to enclose the lenses individually, so I'm relying on their wraps to protect them when they bump against each other. I used the remaining dividers to pad the sides.
I've placed all 10 film holders and the spot meter in the top compartment, which is a single, undivided space. That many film holders will generally stay stacked, since they reach the top of the bag, but a smaller number of them will probably shift around somewhat. You'll have to pack the top section tightly to completely prevent any movement, but with film holders and a light meter I'm not overly concerned. There's a bit of room left over in the top compartment for, say, a darkcloth, or other small/flexible items.
If you're the type to bring 5 big lenses with you or you absolutely must have everything in a separate, divided space or pocket, you'll likely have to look elsewhere. I also doubt there is quite enough room for a monorail setup. That said, you may be able to fit a minimalist folding 5x7 kit, though I suggest you test it at a store or rely on the 30-day return policy.
The tripod is secured to the outside of the bag via two wide velcro straps. While I would have preferred some kind of clip or other fastener, the straps securely held the aluminum tripod in place while I walked around the city.
There is a 15" laptop compartment I haven't found a use for, yet.
Comfort and Protection
While I have no experience with the kind of serious hiking equipment that comes with big padded belts or external frames and can't make any kind of comparison there, I found the big, padded straps (with minimal sternum strap) to be decently comfortable after adjusting the strap length to my preferences. The pack itself is made of 1050d nylon, which is (i've read) heavier than fancier ultralight pack materials such as Dyneema or X-PAC, but in my opinion does not add unreasonable weight for its relative toughness. This pack seems to be best suited to urban environments, biking, gentle day-hikes, and similar circumstances. In terms of looks, the pack is large but not comically so. It can mostly blend into an urban environment. The externally-mounted tripod will give you away though.
It's too cold here to sweat much, though the pack has some contoured padding to allow for ventilation. We'll see how it works in the summer.
1050D nylon is pretty coarse and tough against abrasion. The divider pads are plentiful enough to provide good basic protection, though I wouldn't simply drop the bag onto the ground. I may use an extra divider pad to line the bottom. 1050d nylon is generally coated against water resistance, although that coating will abrade off over time and usage. The PU-coated lid and zippers are nice additions. Fancy hiking fabrics will be lighter, more water resistant, and more expensive. I do not fully understand the strength tradeoff between 1050d nylon and other ultralight fabrics.
Workflow
The top and bottom containers zip open, with an additional set of two clips over the bottom section zipper. To set up the camera, I go pull the backpack onto one shoulder, remove and set up the tripod, set the bag down (this can either be on its back or standing on its bottom, as it can stand on its own), unclip and unzip the lower compartment, grab the camera from its padded space, mount it, grab a the lens from the padded shelf and mount it, do my initial composition and coarse focus, grab the loupe from the shelf and critically focus, then unzip the top compartment for the light meter (maybe I'll put that in the bottom section?), adjust aperture, and finally grab a film holder from the already-open top compartment when I'm ready to take the shot. I have not figured out how to separate the exposed film holders from the unexposed ones--I'll likely just place them at the bottom of the stack. Holders with different types of film may also just have to be mixed together; I can't say for sure yet. There are a couple of small pockets sewn to inside of the bag that I haven't found a use for yet. They may be good for filters.
Packing up happens in the opposite order.
I consider this to be reasonably fast and simple. The unclip-then unzip requirement for the lower compartment is one step more than I'd like, but I assume the clips aid with comfort and structural integrity. While a roll-top plus clip or snap might be faster to open, the weather-sealed zipper system means that I can take out any individual item in the pack without having to remove the others--that was essential to me, as my last bag could only be accessed from the top and the camera had to be at the bottom for good weight distribution. Other bags may have separate compartments for everything, but that would probably multiply my unzipping time, plus introduce the cognitive load of remembering what is where unless clearly labelled.
Hope this helps!
With the internet full of "what backpack should I get for X setup?" threads, I thought I'd contribute an answer instead of a question. I just got the Niko bag by Chrome Industries, so here are my initial thoughts:
DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated with Chrome at all. I also haven't fully tested this bag, I've just carried around my 4x5 gear in it for a few hours in an urban setting. These are initial impressions.
Cost and Warranty
I'm putting this at the top so that all the following is taken into context. There are fancier packs out there, but they will be at very different price points and may not be warrantied to the same extent.
The pack is currently priced at $180, which I find to be very reasonable for its class after reading about the tons and tons of packs available. The company offers a lifetime warranty for everything except for standard wear-and-tear and except that the velcro is warrantied for 2 years from purchase. The salesperson made a point to say that buckles, zips, etc. were all covered for life. There is a 30-day return policy that requires the pack to be in salable condition.
Capacity
What I fit in there: a Shen-Hao HZX45-iia, 10 film holders, two small lenses (Copal 0 and Copal 1), a Sekonic L-508 spot meter, and a small loupe. I mounted a 25" tripod to the outside.
The bag is divided into a top section and a much larger bottom section, although you can unzip and fold back the divider between them for one big compartment. The bottom section is a velcro-lined space divided by standard removable camera bag padded dividers that can be arranged to your liking. I have the folded-up Shen-Hao in the bottom center, with dividers velcroed-in around it, then I used another divider to create a sort of shelf above it (still in the bottom compartment) where I've placed my lenses, which are individually wrapped. I haven't figured out a way to use the remaining dividers to enclose the lenses individually, so I'm relying on their wraps to protect them when they bump against each other. I used the remaining dividers to pad the sides.
I've placed all 10 film holders and the spot meter in the top compartment, which is a single, undivided space. That many film holders will generally stay stacked, since they reach the top of the bag, but a smaller number of them will probably shift around somewhat. You'll have to pack the top section tightly to completely prevent any movement, but with film holders and a light meter I'm not overly concerned. There's a bit of room left over in the top compartment for, say, a darkcloth, or other small/flexible items.
If you're the type to bring 5 big lenses with you or you absolutely must have everything in a separate, divided space or pocket, you'll likely have to look elsewhere. I also doubt there is quite enough room for a monorail setup. That said, you may be able to fit a minimalist folding 5x7 kit, though I suggest you test it at a store or rely on the 30-day return policy.
The tripod is secured to the outside of the bag via two wide velcro straps. While I would have preferred some kind of clip or other fastener, the straps securely held the aluminum tripod in place while I walked around the city.
There is a 15" laptop compartment I haven't found a use for, yet.
Comfort and Protection
While I have no experience with the kind of serious hiking equipment that comes with big padded belts or external frames and can't make any kind of comparison there, I found the big, padded straps (with minimal sternum strap) to be decently comfortable after adjusting the strap length to my preferences. The pack itself is made of 1050d nylon, which is (i've read) heavier than fancier ultralight pack materials such as Dyneema or X-PAC, but in my opinion does not add unreasonable weight for its relative toughness. This pack seems to be best suited to urban environments, biking, gentle day-hikes, and similar circumstances. In terms of looks, the pack is large but not comically so. It can mostly blend into an urban environment. The externally-mounted tripod will give you away though.
It's too cold here to sweat much, though the pack has some contoured padding to allow for ventilation. We'll see how it works in the summer.
1050D nylon is pretty coarse and tough against abrasion. The divider pads are plentiful enough to provide good basic protection, though I wouldn't simply drop the bag onto the ground. I may use an extra divider pad to line the bottom. 1050d nylon is generally coated against water resistance, although that coating will abrade off over time and usage. The PU-coated lid and zippers are nice additions. Fancy hiking fabrics will be lighter, more water resistant, and more expensive. I do not fully understand the strength tradeoff between 1050d nylon and other ultralight fabrics.
Workflow
The top and bottom containers zip open, with an additional set of two clips over the bottom section zipper. To set up the camera, I go pull the backpack onto one shoulder, remove and set up the tripod, set the bag down (this can either be on its back or standing on its bottom, as it can stand on its own), unclip and unzip the lower compartment, grab the camera from its padded space, mount it, grab a the lens from the padded shelf and mount it, do my initial composition and coarse focus, grab the loupe from the shelf and critically focus, then unzip the top compartment for the light meter (maybe I'll put that in the bottom section?), adjust aperture, and finally grab a film holder from the already-open top compartment when I'm ready to take the shot. I have not figured out how to separate the exposed film holders from the unexposed ones--I'll likely just place them at the bottom of the stack. Holders with different types of film may also just have to be mixed together; I can't say for sure yet. There are a couple of small pockets sewn to inside of the bag that I haven't found a use for yet. They may be good for filters.
Packing up happens in the opposite order.
I consider this to be reasonably fast and simple. The unclip-then unzip requirement for the lower compartment is one step more than I'd like, but I assume the clips aid with comfort and structural integrity. While a roll-top plus clip or snap might be faster to open, the weather-sealed zipper system means that I can take out any individual item in the pack without having to remove the others--that was essential to me, as my last bag could only be accessed from the top and the camera had to be at the bottom for good weight distribution. Other bags may have separate compartments for everything, but that would probably multiply my unzipping time, plus introduce the cognitive load of remembering what is where unless clearly labelled.
Hope this helps!