Senior Member Registered: May, 2012 Posts: 140 | | Review Date: February 2, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Durable, highly weather-resistant, versatile | | Cons: | weight | |
I have had this backpack for a couple of years now, and i still love it. It is not the "perfect" camera backpack, but there really is no such thing. But it is amazing. Can hold DSLR body with lens, and anywhere from two to five other lenses, depending of course on which lenses. With a DA 55-300 (older model) attached, i can easily fit 4-5 primes. The top portion can hold a good amount of stuff, and there are various pockets on the front, under the flaps. I do wish it had additional small pockets on the inside, but still has enough to stash a ton of stuff. The laptop holds my 15" laptop, as well as an Ipad no problem.
It has a side access panel, that opens up to the camera inert, which can also be removed, so that you can use it as a regular backpack. The camera insert provides a lot of padding, and the dividers have an interesting folding technique they liken to origami. Either way, it works very well, One thing it doesn't have is a hip belt, so technical climbing my be out, but i have hiked mountains with the pack and had no problem. After two years of pretty regular use and abuse, it still looks almost new. The material is very durable, and it shows no obvious wear spots, resists dirt well and cleans easily. The downside of the material being so durable is weight, and the pack weighs 5 lbs empty, so that is a consideration. Further, any of the changes to the bag that i might recommend would also make it heavier, so i think Thule did a good job in the decision-making during the design process.
Fully loaded, the pack can get very heavy, but due to the ergonomics of it, the weight feels pretty diminished when actually put it on. it wears lighter than it is. Also, it looks cool, with a sophisticated dark grey tone while not screaming that it contains hundreds or thousands of dollars in camera gear.
All in all, this is a great pack and I would highly recommend.
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