jeroldharter
Allowing Ads
I met the man that is starting this company at the Silver conference in Pasadena last year and took a quick look at his gear. Lately I decided to get a new pack for the 4x5 gear so I looked up the website in the sponsors area here. The website is informative with pretty accurate dimensions for the various cases. I ordered the large Kelty backpack modified by Photobackpacker, a backer board, a camera case for a Toyo 4x5, and lens cases for 90 mm f8, 150 mm 5.6, 210 mm 5.6, and 300 mm f9. Also ordered a larger case to hold a Sekonic spot meter and the Toyo loupe.
I ordered the gear on Sunday night and it was on my doorstep when I got home from work on Tuesday. Everything was well packed. I checked out the pack and unfortunately one of cinch strap buckles was improperly sewn where the did the zipper modification. The gear isn't cheap so I decided not to overlook the defect and emailed the company Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, I had an email response indicating that he immediately shipped a replacement pack with a pre-paid UPS shipping label to return the defective pack. I received the replacement on Tuesday. I shipped the original pack back to him on Saturday and almost felt guilty that I could not do it sooner. I thought that the service was excellent, probably the best I have experienced.
I loaded the pack which takes a little fiddling but is pretty easy. The pack itself is a high quality Kelty day pack with an excellent suspension system and metal stays. Very comfortable even with a big load. I am used to a large Lowe-Pro photo backpack and a more compact Mountainsmith pack. This is the best by a wide margin. The Photobackpacker camera and lens cases are high quality and work well. I might suggest slightly heavier zippers and zipper pulls on the bags but they work fine. It takes a little time to get used to all the zipping and unzipping but that is the cost of security. Nothing is going to fall out.
The bag has alot of room if you need to use it. I can put a Gnass Gear bag with a Readiload holder, box of film, and a large filter wallet in the outer pocket. I could easily fit 10 - 20 regular holders into the main compartment with the gear if needed or else a jacket. The dark cloth fits in easily. A long, outer pocket on each side would be good for the seldom used miscellaneous stuff that everyone takes along.
I have only taken it out once so far, but I am really impressed with the design, quality, and service. Glad I bought it.
I ordered the gear on Sunday night and it was on my doorstep when I got home from work on Tuesday. Everything was well packed. I checked out the pack and unfortunately one of cinch strap buckles was improperly sewn where the did the zipper modification. The gear isn't cheap so I decided not to overlook the defect and emailed the company Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, I had an email response indicating that he immediately shipped a replacement pack with a pre-paid UPS shipping label to return the defective pack. I received the replacement on Tuesday. I shipped the original pack back to him on Saturday and almost felt guilty that I could not do it sooner. I thought that the service was excellent, probably the best I have experienced.
I loaded the pack which takes a little fiddling but is pretty easy. The pack itself is a high quality Kelty day pack with an excellent suspension system and metal stays. Very comfortable even with a big load. I am used to a large Lowe-Pro photo backpack and a more compact Mountainsmith pack. This is the best by a wide margin. The Photobackpacker camera and lens cases are high quality and work well. I might suggest slightly heavier zippers and zipper pulls on the bags but they work fine. It takes a little time to get used to all the zipping and unzipping but that is the cost of security. Nothing is going to fall out.
The bag has alot of room if you need to use it. I can put a Gnass Gear bag with a Readiload holder, box of film, and a large filter wallet in the outer pocket. I could easily fit 10 - 20 regular holders into the main compartment with the gear if needed or else a jacket. The dark cloth fits in easily. A long, outer pocket on each side would be good for the seldom used miscellaneous stuff that everyone takes along.
I have only taken it out once so far, but I am really impressed with the design, quality, and service. Glad I bought it.
