EPSI Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Mr Joe wrote:
Thanks for the report! Will the bag fit an iPad?
I was thinking of doing a review here as well...I haven't yet, so I thought I'd point out one thing in response to this. First, let me say that I think the bag itself is great, and that the TrekPak product is also really cool. I prefer it to velcro and think it's really slick. My only caveat would be that if your gear is big, I'm not certain that front pocket would fit an iPad.
I have a gripped 5D3 and an assortment of L and non-L lenses. Laying on its side, my camera is about 6" tall (mine is a bit more since I use a hand strap, but let's call it 6 inches). The dividers are only 3.75" tall, and they take up the entire storage "height" or thickness of the pack. There is a little bit of flex where the backpack can stretch, so I can get the zippers closed, but it's a tight fit. I mentioned this to TrekPak and they said the pack/zippers would stretch some over time. An additional problem with this is I just don't see any way to pack a spare gripped body (I could but it would really use up a lot of space since it would need to lay flat on its back). I could fit a non-gripped body as a spare, and maybe that will be my backup plan, but I just prefer to shoot gripped (and don't have two matching bodies to share one grip).
For my gear, this also means most of my medium-sized lenses that I would normally stand up between dividers in a bag are also taller than the dividers. Not as much as my camera, but still more than I'm used to or would typically allow in another bag configuration (my prior primary bag was a Crumpler Brian's Hot Tub which has some variability in depth due to its shape). Obviously, long lenses are placed lying down, but it feels like I'm wasting space when I lay these shorter lenses on their sides. So, it's a trade off of space versus my comfort level with stuff sticking above the dividers. I find that with hoods, my lenses (especially L lenses) just feel too wide (diameter) for this pack/system. Their product photos show three columns of gear, but when I put my 70-200 2.8 IS in the middle column (w/hood) it takes up a more than one third of the width of the bag. As a result, I moved one of the long dividers over to create a skinny column (fits a 580EX on its side plus other hoods that make my lenses too big to fit the other slots) and left two columns for lenses. I was expecting to fit three columns of lenses in, based on the pics.
Note that there is padding above/below your gear. So if you choose to have some sticking above the dividers it is protected by padding. After saying all that, I just stuck my iPad in the front pocket of the bag. It fits (and I have a Timbuktu stand/cover that is bulkier than many iPad covers). The pack is tall enough that I'm able to drop the iPad all the way down toward the bottom; since my 5D is pushing against the limits at the top end of the pack, it is not conflicting with the iPad. So - regardless of your gear you will likely be able to fit your iPad.
Now, I hope this doesn't come off negative because I don't mean it to be. And if TrekPak ever sees this, I hope they recognize it as constructive input and not whining. It's a new product that didn't have much spec info when I backed it on Kickstarter, so I took a gamble and wanted to support their innovation. I like all the components, I just wish there was an option for a deeper pack that would allow for deeper dividers (someone suggested fstop gear and I would totally agree). I think the pack is great if your usage or gear are a good fit for it. At the current time, I would recommend this for people who like to carry lighter gear and therefore don't use grips and maybe have smaller lenses (or just don't want to drag LOTS of bigger lenses with them). If the dividers/pack were 2" higher, I would probably be ecstatic about its functionality relative to my use (which is for an all around bag, not just for trekking/hiking where weight is a concern; I'm happy to schlep more than my back would prefer in order to have what I might need with me).
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