New Member Registered: April, 2024 Posts: 3 | | Review Date: April 12, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $280.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Rugged, Environment-Friendly, Customizable, Perfect for Travel | | Cons: | Pricey | |
This bag is designed for both form and function, and Peak Design hit both targets.
Very well-built. Both of mine have been through the wringer, and they're still in top shape. When you open the package, you'll know that you have a premium product.
I have the 20L and 30L. 20L is perfect for day to day. 30L I prefer for long trips.
The bag has two internal "shelves" which can be moved around or removed, as needed. It is essentially customizable for anything you might need it for. I have used this mainly as a camera bag, but also as a laptop+ bag for business trips, and on multiple occasions, even as a suitcase  .
It is also relatively tamper-resistant--equipped with loops which can be used to "lock" zippers.
The quickly-accessible top flap is star dust and IMO the feature that best sets this bag apart from others. There is also a vertical pocket on the back that's perfect for a large tablet or small laptop.
Each side zips completely down and opens like a door, making it a cinch to grab a lens off "the first or second shelf," for example. Each door is also equipped with pockets, both zipped and unzipped, for pens, chargers, accessories, and what-not.
These bags are relatively pricey--but worth it, considering the experience.
| |
Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: Antwerp, Belgium Posts: 1,727
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 9, 2016 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Looks, features, materials | | Cons: | No major cons | |
Some time ago, after posting about the Peak Design Everyday Messenger and expressing some interest in their newly announced Everyday Backpacks, I was contacted by Peak Design with the question whether I would be willing to try one of their new backpacks once the Kickstarter campaign had ended, but before production would start, and provide feedback and a review. Since I was looking for a new backpack to replace my commuter backpack (allowing me to carry a camera too, which I couldn’t in the bag I was using), I didn’t need much convincing to agree to the proposal.
Fast forward to three weeks ago, when I received the bag in the mail. I’ve been using the bag ever since, on a daily basis on my train commute into the city of Brussels, and as a regular photography bag over the weekends (city walks, zoo visits, 10km+ hikes in some nearby nature reserves). The subsequent summarises my experience after three weeks of such use.
Exterior
Top flap
For those used to the Everyday Messengers, this will be very familiar. The magnetic latches are very practical once you’ve gotten used to them, and very safe against those that don’t know how to work them. Same as on the Messenger, the system does require you to pack the bag in a symmetrical manner, since the attachment bars are centrally located and not very wide, though they do allow some lateral movement. My emo self likes the look, feel and sound of them.
Handles
There’s three similarly fashioned handles on the bag: one on top and one on each side extending into the side pockets. Aside from the fact that I love the way these are integrated in the design of the bag from an esthetic point of view, from a functional point of view, these are also very good. Both well positioned and easy and comfortable to grab onto. Since the side handles extend into the side pockets, this allows a key attachment strap (with Peak Design’s anchor system) to slide along it. the strap and keys are safely in the side pocket, and can be pulled along the handle when you need them… I wish the key strap were a bit longer though, since I found it a bit short to use the keys to open a door when still attached to the bag (and not wanting to take the bag off my back, since I can reach for this blindly).
Side pockets
I used these to stow a medium sized umbrella on one side and my travel monopod on the other. Both pockets have a strap attached inside, which was great for fastening the monopod which sticks out more than half way out of the pocket. There are several loops on the bag to which these fastening straps can attach. The straps can also fasten a tripod with one leg in the pocket, though that may become a bit cumbersome. Having a larger object on the side such as an umbrella or a monopod does hinder side access to the main compartment from that side of bag. You can still open the bag, but the flap doesn’t stay open easily when you’re changing lenses (which in my case requires two hands). So better only put something large on the side you will be accessing least often. When empty the side pockets are kept closed using a magnet, and since the material doesn’t deform after putting a larger item in there for several days on a row, empty pockets will always stay tight against the side of the bag.
Waist strap
You might miss them when looking over the bag, but there’s also a couple of waist straps hidden in the bag. These are also stored in the side pockets and can be rolled out through a tight opening at the lower side of the side pocket. The straps attach around your waist with a system similar to the stabilization strap on the Everyday Messenger: metal hook on one side, rubber loop on the other. I haven’t used this yet (I feel the smallish Everyday Backpack 20L doesn’t really need this, even loaded with the most extensive kit I used it with) but given my experience with the Messenger, this should work nicely. Tucking the straps away again means rolling up the straps neatly, so this is something you don’t do quickly. Hence if you want to use the waist straps, count on dangling straps when swinging the bag to your front. But that goes for just about any waist strap system out there…
Note that the opening in the side pockets for the waist straps means it might not be a good idea to store small unattached items in the side pockets as these might slip through the waist strap openings and fall out without your noticing. I tried to simulate this, but couldn’t with a few items, however it is something to keep in mind when loading the side pockets, esp when you are using the waist strap (which do block the opening when tucked into the side pocket). Also the pockets are somewhat deeper than these openings, but still...
Attachment loops
As mentioned there are several loops on the bag to attach some of the tucked away straps. These are found in the side pockets, but also under the front panel (accessed through a magnet closed opening along the bottom of the bag). The latter can be used to attach an object to the front of the bag. Examples given range from jackets to drones. I expect to use it for the former mostly.
Shoulder straps
Very nicely executed as expected. The unique thing about these is the hinges used to attach them to the top of the bag. Not only does this adapt more easily to different body types, it also allows for keeping the straps tightly against the bag when putting it down. On other backpacks these straps are all over the place when you put the bag down... not here.
I like sling bags, and the Everyday Backpacks sling nicely thanks to the generous side openings providing access to the inside of the bag. Slinging works great, but there’s a little trick that makes it work better: the metal clasps on the shoulder straps have loops that if you pull them extend the strap to its maximum length. Pulling these while slinging ensures the bag being positioned not too close for good access. Of course, when mounting the backpack back onto your back, you do need to tighten the strap again to balance to the other side. Before I discovered this (through a Peak Design video) the bag was too close to me and I found it hard to open the side zipper all the way, or reach for it to close the bag again.
Sternum strap
This works great though it takes some getting used to. What’s different from other implementations I used (mostly on larger trekking backpacks) is that it’s easily strapped with one hand only: pull it out to near maximum length, attach to the right shoulder strap and tighten it. You don’t even have to attach it all the way, since tightening will snap it into place. This one handed technique means I can actually use it (with a camera/phone/... in my other hand) so it has its intended effect to distribute the bag’s weight more evenly. On other bags I generally don’t bother because I need two hands. When removing the strap to take off or sling the backpack, both ends can be attached to the left shoulder strap which keeps it out of the way. OTOH, in the middle of a shoot you don’t want to attach it every time you put the backpack on your back after changing lenses, in which case you can neatly install the sternum strap along the left shoulder strap.
Zippers
All three zippers (two on the side to access the main compartment and one on top to access the laptop section) are weather resistant. I tested this in a serious downpour and was impressed by the absolute lack of any moisture getting into the bag. The side access zippers have two tabs on either side of the zipper when closed. This is quite different from other bags, that have the tabs on the same location when closed. As far as I can imagine, the advantage of the Peak Design choice is that you don’t have to think to find the tab to open the bag, since there’s one on either side. Also, the loops that are attached to the tabs can be opened and looped through the loops on the bag (the same you can attach the various hidden straps to) to secure the zippers on any side of choice, only allowing access from one end of the zipper. Since I’ve never seen this elsewhere, I consider this some nice thinking out of the box!
The back of the bag has a sleeve that allows passing the handle of a trolley. It requires putting the bag on the side, rather than upright as with other backpacks I have used before. This is good for trolleys that have handles that don’t extend far.
Interior
Main compartment
The interior is available in its entirety if required by removing all dividers. The standard setup however (in my pre-production sample), has the three dividers installed to have a roomy top section (accessible through the top flap) and two smaller sections for lenses + camera. This has the third divider pushed against the bottom of the bag, which makes for an extra buffer at the bottom of the bag. This is how I carried the bag during the week, when I had limited camera gear (K-3II + HD35/2.8 macro) and lots of office gear (mouse, cables, scrum ball, head phones, ...) with me. For weekend use, I loaded the bag with camera and multiple lenses, so I pushed the dividers up into the bag giving me a smaller top section and 3 smaller sections. If you want to take out the dividers, more options are possible.
Dividers
The backpacks come with a new type of dividers. The ones in the Messenger folded down one or two levels (in my Messenger I have them all up or two levels down). However the new Backpack ones only fold down one level, albeit one either or both sides of the back. So you can have one large compartment between dividers or divide it ⅓ - ⅔, ⅔ - ⅓ (same as with the Messenger folding down two levels) or even ⅓ - ⅓ - ⅓, the latter with the central section obviously not directly accessible from the side, so actually more options. Also, the divider flaps are double, so you can fold one down while leaving the other upright. On the Messenger dividers, folding down means joining with the neighbouring compartment. On the Backpacks it does not necessarily thanks to these double flaps. One downside of only folding one level down is that the folded section doesn’t necessarily reach all the way across to the adjoining divider, allowing smaller stuff to drift to lower or upper levels, unless you put the dividers relatively close to one another, which may not accommodate larger lenses. Same as with the Messenger the dividers start out a bit sturdy, but I expect this to improve with use as I noticed on the Messenger.
One note when you want to reposition the dividers: make sure to align them with the lateral markings inside the bag to install them level. I found these markings are there for a reason. When you attach the velcro just quickly for one specific configuration and don’t take care to align properly, you lose some flexibility, since pushing up or down the dividers will sort of twist them. Although this twisted setup may even suit some gear as well...
Inner pockets
The top compartment has a magnet closed pocket on the front side. I haven’t used it yet, but I guess that could be fine for filters. Both sides of the bag have several differently sized inner pockets in stretch material. These are separated from the main compartment by an additional cover closed by a zipper. This keeps the clutter out of the main compartment, but it does mean opening two zippers to access these pockets from the outside. Easy enough when opening the outside from the top (my preference anyhow), from the bottom it’s another thing. The whole bag is symmetrical except the layout of these inner pockets. Only one side has smallish pockets for batteries of memory cards (colour coded red or black for “used” and “ready to use”). Unfortunately for me, this is the side that faces down when I sling the bag along my left side, which is how I always sling my bags (I had to reverse the strap on the Messenger for this, easy thanks to the online video Peak Design made about this). This means I would have to take off the bag to swap cards or batteries, or put these on the other side in the not so suitable larger inner pockets.
Laptop compartment
Divided in three sections, the larger section just managed my old fat Lenovo ThinkPad T420; a very tight fit because it’s thicker than foreseen the specs of the compartment. But a fit nevertheless. There’s a tablet compartment and a smartphone section as well, though loading all three might make things cramped, esp with the ThinkPad taking up more space that it’s supposed to. I just put my ebook (Kindle Paperwhite 1st gen) in there. The inner material stretches to allow for more (such as my fat laptop), but note that takes away room from the bag’s inside. This does allow the bag to keep its elegant looks I suppose.
In use
On the longer hikes, the Everyday Backpack remained very comfortable. I didn’t use the waist strap, but the sternum strap proved very useful. The extendable top meant I could have lunch for three in the top compartment during the first half and only the remaining waist in there after lunch, while keeping the bag tightly packed and balanced on my back. Slinging the bag in front of me, I found access to the inside very practical, provided I extended the remaining shoulder strap to its maximum length. This can be done in one movement (shown on some videos on Pead Design's site). Next to the lunch, I had my K-3II + DA*16-50 (with hood extended), DA*50-135 (with hood extended), HD35/2.8 Macro inside the bag and a Gitzo monopod in one side pocket and the Ricoh Theta S in the other. The DA*50-135/2.8, with the hood extended, is the longest lens I could fit in one pocket.
For my commutes, not having to open up the entire bag for some stuff was great. For reading on the train, I could access my ebook easily through the top zipper. And having the zippers on the side pockets secured, makes carrying my expensive stuff out of my sight on my back considerably more carefree in bustling train stations. At the office, the bag can sit easily on any desk without creating too much of a clutter (a problem with earlier laptop backpacks I used), providing easy access to my office stuff that I put in the inner side pockets.
Conclusion
One thing is for sure: I'm keeping this bag as my commute bag! It's by far the best bag I've ever used for this, and it allows me to carry my gear in a much better organized fashion, and that includes some camera gear that I always had trouble with in previous bags. For photography, I'll probably keep using my other bags more, of only for lack of time to reorganize the bag after the work week. If I had two of these, it would become a favourite as a pure camera bag as well, but I'm happy with Peak Design's EveryDay Messenger for the week-end work.
The only other two bags I'll continue using is ThinkTank's small Retrospective 5 and Manfrotto's (ex Kata) 3N1-35 PL, both of which are outside the Peak Design bags capacity range.
What I like a lot:
- Looks (even the wife likes it, and she didn’t like the Everyday Messenger)
- Flexible organization of main compartment
- Superior weather resistant materials
- Comfortable carrying system
- Multiple options for attaching stuff on the outside
- Options to secure access to the bag
Points for improvement:
- Great materials mean no light bag (at 1350g somewhat heavier than other bags I used with similar capacity)
- Internal side pockets’ organization not symmetrical, i.e. only one side with battery and card pockets (wrong side for me).
- Waist strap opening in external side pockets: I’m not sure about this, but I’m not putting small items in there that could pass through these openings.
| |
