Originally posted by serothis My hunt for a travel pack has begun.
I'm traveling to Costa Rica in December and I'm looking for a backpack style camera bag for a full day of hiking. I'm looking for advise from you wily veterans.
Features I need/want:
- Space for k-1 + lens + 1-2 spare lenses; flash (yongnuo 560 III);
- Compartment for non-camera gear.
- Storage for tripod (Dolica TX570DS) and a water bottle.
- Some way to attach/store a rain coat (nice to have but not required).
- Water resistance is a plus.
- Discretion is also a plus. Something that doesn't scream "¡¡expensive camera gear inside!!"
My top two candidates are the
Lowepro fastpack 150 AW II and the
Nat Geo W5070.
My concern with the Lowepro bag is that it can't do both a tripod and water bottle. It's one or the other. And I'm not sure where I could put my raincoat.
My concern with the nat geo bag is that it has long since gone out of production and all I can find are (I suspect) chinese knock-offs.
I'd like to keep it under $100 but there's wiggle room in the budget. Budget be damned! Do you guys/gals have any other recommendations?
Not sure if you can get this where you are, but I have one of these and I find it to work exceedingly well:
Fotorucksack Foto Rucksack XXL Kingkong 40 Hohe Qualität Sensationelles Design | eBay
How about the Fancier Kingkong 40? I suspect this is some Chinese make, but it's well made and ticks all the boxes. I can carry my K-5, with battery grip and up to 8 lenses.
Their smaller models, the Kingkong 20 and Kingkong 30 may be better for you size wise. There is a separate compartment for small stuff and a semi-separate compartment that will take an item of clothing, etc. There's also a sleeve for a laptop and the whole thing is not only water resistant, but comes complete with a built-in rain cover too.
Because it's not a well known make, it does not shout "camera bag". There's space for a tripod but, to attach a water bottle you'll need a water bottle of a specific design. I have carried a water bottle inside mine, on the one side, on long hikes. It's comfortable on long hikes due to the waist strap option, and the best part is that the design allows you to get your camera out without having to remove the backpack entirely. You just slip off the one shoulder strap, swing the bag around to your front and extract the camera from one of the semi-hidden side access flaps. The design is identical left and right, so this works equally well whether you're righthanded or lefthanded.
The different compartments are all size adjustable, so you have complete flexibility as to configuration. The only negative I have is that, if you size the compartments too loose for a particular lens, then on a long offroad hike with some bouncing around, a lens not securely held in a compartment can slip out of that compartment and into a neighbouring compartment. But, that's easily solved by adding some padding around a lens, if need be, and by adjusting the compartments properly.
There's a mesh back, but no rigid frame like a true hiking pack. I have found the mesh back helps keep you cool on hot days and the pack is comfortable, even on a demanding 8-hour serious off-road walk.