Hey guys and gals, first post here but I've been reading for a while and hope to be posting a lot more in the future.
Im currently looking to get a new pack for shooting with, I shoot a lot of adventure travel stuff, s it needs to be a pack that can hold not now my photo gear, but hiking supplies like water and so on.
I currently shoot with a clik elite hiker pack- this one http://www.clikelite.com/products/hiker/
It's not a bad pack, but it's ridiculously heavy... Ad a few miles into a trek it can kill ya! Even completely empty the frame weighs a ton. And I'm a big guy (6'5 and I play college football).
My main setup is two body, a Canon 5Dmii, 60D, a 70-200 f/2.8, 16-35 f/2.8, Tamron 10-24, a smaller Oben tripod, and a speedlite 580 Ex iiA few lenses come and go. I also usually have my laptop on trips as well.
So I was wondering if anybody had any ideas? Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!
I struggled with this for a long time and finally settled on the Tamrac Evolution 9. It works really well for my needs. It is not a heavy pack, yet it holds everything you will need. However, I do carry my water separate from the pack; typically on my waist. The only part of this pack that I wish was different, is the waist belt. It is sufficient, but i prefer the waist belts that enable the weight to be shifted more to the waist. The belt on this pack is more for stability. It is a comfortable pack and with the side pockets, makes it easy to access the camera with lens mounted for those times when serious climbing makes you want to put the camera away. It also is sized right for airplane travel. And, it does have a dedicated compartment for your laptop.
Wow, that is a really nice pack and looks a lot like what I'm looking for. The only thing I'm worried about with that pack is if would hold all of my lenses and two bodies, I'd probably put the body cap on one body and attach my 70-200 to the other body. The it would be 2-3 other lenses and A flash.
I got this one last year:
"Kata Bumblebee UL-222 Backpack"
Not cheap but I don't believe there could be a better bag for gear and a small amount of extra supplies. Very light and really distributes weight well (no soreness the next day).
I had the same back pack as you. I used it a few times and sold it. Felt clumsy and too big.
I have tamrac and couple others and all screams 'I have $20000' in my back pack'
Now i use fstop tilopa bc. It is so far the most non-camera back pack looking and their icu system is awesome.
I feel their built quality is much better than clikelite.
Go check it out. http://fstopgear.com/product/mountain/tilopa-bc
My favorite is the Gura Gear Kiboko 30L its only around 4.5 lbs (I've just bought the larger Bataflae, so its on sale on the buy/sell forum). However, this may be to big given the amount of gear you have, but it would allow you to carry a lot of extra things (i.e. jacket/food, etc). The 24L version may be more suited for your needs.
The other one I use in the city, when I don't need as much gear is the Tamrac evolution 9. Allows you to carry a laptop - which I never do, unless its for travel - it's just too heavy, unless you are carrying.
You might want to try the f-stop packs. Pricey, but friends and FMers seem to love theirs.
Checkout the Loka here: http://fstopgear.com/product/mountain/loka
I love my Gura Gear 30L, but it doesn't have a great strap system. Not anywhere close to a good standard backpack for long hauls.
For "serious" backpacking/hiking, I prefer a standard non-photography pack and use a photo insert.
But on these trips I also tend to carry less gear than you do.
Question:
Why the two bodies and to wide angle lenses? The 60D + Tamron seems redundant when you have the 5D2 + 16-35. Also the 16-35 & 70-200f2.8 are heavy choices for hiking. The 17-40 & 70-200f4 would lighten our load. Just a suggestion.
Think Tank is redoing the 360 thing they had for a short time. it looked quite interesting and had gone on a nice weight reduction and reality check by people who actually use packs. looks like it will have its own outdoor branding too as a sub of TT.
