[Guest]

Hi All,



I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations for a good rucksack.



There are so many types of rucksack available today, it's quite difficult to choose which one really suits your needs (and is not just pretty but impractical).



I am travelling by bike a lot, walk around town very often, and also go on light hikes - I'm not really a mountain-climber type, but often spend hours walking in the countryside in all types of terrain. It should have capacity for 2 bodies and 4 lenses (the largest is a Canon 135/2, I don't use long tele lenses), and maybe a water bottle etc.



Any experiences? Which rucksacks do you find most comfortable and practical?





Thanks very much in advance!



Pinhole

[wim]

Do you want a rucksack with zippers at the front or at the back?



If at the front, what about a LowePro Mini Trekker AW? It should fit all the things you mention, just that you will have to put th ewaterbottle inside, or let it dangle on the outside. Inside with oen of those aluminum trekker bottles shouldn't be a problem. The advantage is that it is small, but still packs an enormous amount of stuff (I've had 9 lenses and 2 bodies in there <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />), and on top of that it is weatherproof too. And not expensive either, I paid a little over 60 euros for mine).

[url="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Mini-Trekker-AW,1965,14.htm"]http://products.lowe...-AW,1965,14.htm[/url]



If you want one with zips at the back, for extra theft protection, there is now an AW version of the flipside backpacks as well:

[url="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Flipside-400-AW,2116,14.htm"]http://products.lowe...-AW,2116,14.htm[/url]



BTW, I have very good experiences with LowePro photo bags, and they are easily obtainable, hence my suggestions for LowePro backpacks. I'll leave any other brands to other people to recommend <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />.



HTH, kind regards, Wim

[Sibbi]

I think Klaus loves his LowePro too - Klaus?

[exuvia]

I'm using Lowe myself in the last 15 years, never a problem. So I can recommend them, despite the Klaus' bad experience about which he wrote in the past <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Guest]

Thank you for your responses, especially Wim, for the usual exhaustive and informative reply. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



I too have have good experiences with Lowepro and currently own two of their products. I've also been looking at the KATA bags, which seem to offer a very interesting option of a quick-release pocket at the bottom, so it's not necessary to lay down the rucksack when getting out your camera. For urban photogrpahy this would definitely be an advantage to me.



However, the Lowepro bags seem to be much better engineered in terms of back support, and the waist straps are definitely more in line with what one would expect from a trekking rucksack. The Kata bags by contast, offer a rather thin waist strap and less contoured upper back support.



I'll be trying some of these bags out in the next few days, so I'll try to post some information in case it's useful for other members.

[brajdo]

I have [url="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Rover-AW-II,2024,14.htm"]rower aw[/url]

It has separate place for camera, lenses and for personal stuff. For short hikes you can fill upper compartment with additional lenses.

I like adjustable shoulder straps and well padded waistbelt.

[Guest]

Dear all,



I decided to purchase a KATA bag, because for street photography it has the advantage of a quick-access pocket at the bottom. If you use a lot of primes and change lenses frequently, this is quite handy since you don't need to open up the whole rucksack to get to your lenses. You can also use the top pocket for carrying a raincoat, food, flash or whatever you might want to carry around without needing two bags. The rucksacks with only lens/camera compartments are somewhat limited in this regard.



After a couple of days walking around, I found this bag to be nice and comfortable, no problems with sweating or 'strap sores', and in itself extremely lightweight. The waist belt is, however, very narrow and not useful for hiking. The construction quality is good, and it has plenty of straps/loops for attaching other stuff (such as a tripod).





I still think there are better products out there for serious hiking, but for a about-town bag and shorter hikes, this is not a bad option, especially considering its light weight.



[url="http://www.kata-bags.com/product.asp?Version=photo&p_Id=401"]KATA[/url]

[wim]

Thank you for sharing the outcome of the quest! And for the link!



Kind regards, Wim

[scottburgess]

[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1276676524' post='556']

Hi All,



I was wondering if anyone here has any recommendations for a good rucksack.



[/quote]



I would echo the experiences of some that the LowePro bags are pretty good. We have three different models and are satisfied with them for day hikes, car trips, and the like.



But I would add for the benefit of others that specialty camera packs are not the only way to go. I have a conventional camera shoulder bag which I place in the bottom of my internal-frame Dana ArcLight Swiftcurrent when we head into the backcountry. This innovative backpack had a beaver-tail for holding the tripod and slant access, allowing one to quickly remove the tripod and get at the camera bag inside. Since I could keep the camera gear close to my waist, the 20 lbs. of glass and metal added to my camp gear was comfortable to haul. Dana was bought out by Kelty so this backpack is no longer available new, but you may find suitable alternatives of your own if you need something for a longer hike.



I've attached a web photo of the pack to make visualizing a tad easier.



Scott

[miro]

There is not perfect all road solution.

I have

1. One trekking backpack. – Sometime I insert my camera shoulder-back inside or I pack them in padded package

2. One hiking backpack when I climb in mountains.

3. One shoulder back when I walking short distances or with my city-bicycle.



The only problem that I have so far is that I still figure out how I have to attach tripod on my hiking backpack. The general hiking rule is to put all heavy thinks as close to your back and nothing heavy should be outside of your backpack.

While all photo backpacks offer attachment from the back side. My research shows that there is not photographic backpack suitable for hiking. Or just saying other way around. The photographic backpacks are on level of trekking backpack /belt+back system/ from 50-90 years ago.



Greetings,

Miro