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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Mindshift Rotation 180 Professional 38L versus F-Stop? | |
I've used my F-stop Loka (similar volume to Ajna) on several trips now and I love it's versatility. I'm pretty much always travelling with my wife who is decidedly not a photographer, nor does she have a ton of patience when I'm setting up a shot, but I've never felt that the bag held me back. I've carried it in both urban environments and on day hikes in the outdoors, and it's got sufficient room for camera gear, water, snacks, and jackets. I typically carry my camera on a wrist strap when I'll be snapping away, and put it away in the pack when I need two hands.
Take a recent trip to Hawaii on the big island. One day I took it to a beach and took the whole ICU out, left it at the hotel, and just left the camera on top of the beach towels and other beachy accouterments in the pack and grabbed it from the top panel when I wanted it. At a different beach I had the ICU in (Green Sand beach only accessible by 3-mile hike or standing in the back of a pickup truck for a bumpy ride along the coast), and it was so windy I wedged it into some lava rock and worked out of it there. That brings up another point, I almost bloodied my foot on hidden lava rock, but the fabric they use for the bag looks untouched after many encounters with jagged stone.
I haven't used the other pack you've referenced, but I can say that I find the F-stop as comfortable to carry as a similar volume and style Osprey that I used previously, at least up to 20-25 pounds. The suspension is good, though my back gets sweatier that with the Osprey's mesh. I did the whole camera cube in a regular backpack thing with the Osprey, and found it significantly more inconvenient to use compared to the F-stop.
Depending on the trip and gear I expect to use, I'll carry it with either the Small Pro or Medium Slope ICU. I think the Medium Slope would accommodate the gear you're looking to carry.
I have a Feisol 3441T tripod paired with an RRS BH-25 ballhead, and carry that side mounted with the legs in the mesh pocket, and a compression strap holding it securely up top. It's light and I can just counterbalance it with a water bottle on the opposite side. If I was carrying my larger Gitzo, I'd probably strap it in the middle on the back of the pack for better balance on longer hikes, but then you can't lay it down on that side as easily when you want to access the camera gear.
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