So I'm fighting with my yearly "need a new bag for something" dilemma. You know how it is.

I'll be on vacation and doing some serious hiking later this summer and need a backpack, as I've finally convinced my significant other than I can bring something better than a P&S along. When I say serious, I mean several hours at a time over difficult terrain - The shoreline to Devil's Chair at Lake Superior National Park, or Mont Albert in Gaspesie National Park are examples of previous trips.

So:

-Needs to be ergonomic enough for a 6-8 hour hike over difficult terrain.
-I'd like to carry a D300 with let's say a Nikon 17-55 mounted
-I'd like to have at most a Sigma 10-20 and Nikon 70-300VR or 18-200VR as well.
-Needs to have a *seperate* compartment for lots (ie 4L or more) of water, first aid, food, jacket, tools and other important non-photo stuff.

Right now my solution is to take a proper hiking daypack, shove the unmounted lenses in the bottom in their padded OEM cases which are in turn in ziplock bags, and carry the body+lens in a toploader bag on a chest harness. This just seems awkward though, and if I bail down a rocky hill I'm going to impale myself on my camera. Ow?

The problem is that the backpacks I've seen in stores from lowepro/tamrac, etc are basically padded bookbags with internal dividers and a useless hipbelt stitched on as an afterthought. Great for around town or shooting on site. Not so great for being worn for several hours over harsh terrain.

The good news is I've got a month until I leave, so I have time to order online if I can find the right thing.

Soo.. any adventurous FMers own somethnig that might work, or have other solutions for taking a minimal setup on a long trek?

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/717479/0?keyword=x#6487327

Any of Lowepro's Trekker AW II series backpacks or the Vertex series backpacks. I personally have the Pro Trekker AW II and have used it for full on back country backpacking. Exceedingly comfortable. No complaints whatsoever, though they are pricey.

Cableaddict wrote:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/717479/0?keyword=x#6487327

Thanks - that's helpful. I didn't find that on my search for some reason.

Take a look at F-Stop gear (and then let me know how it works, 'cause I'm interested in them as well).

Peace,

Todd

I have a Dakine Sequence, which is about as trail-friendly as a photopack gets. It's great, but for lighter/faster hiking, I like Osprey and Gregory packs for this kind of thing -- much more comfortable, and lighter, than a dedicated photo pack.

For "real hiking" I think the only solution is a real backpack.

The trouble in my mind is that real hiking requires much more stuff than just camera gear, so a real pack that can hold lots of stuff, and which has a real frame and hip belt that distribute weight properly is essential. I give up ease of access, and just tolerate the fact that I will have to remove the pack to get at the equipment in order to carry the weight properly.

I find spots in the pack for the photography gear wrapped in jackets, sweaters, fleece etc. and try to keep the camera as easy to get at as possible. A good pack will carry a tripod on the outside quite well too, and that is a nice advantage at times.

I sometimes use a harness to hold a DSLR on my chest, and that works well for quick access unless it is raining or snowing. I don't plan to fall, and proper weight distribution will make falling less likely (and on real hikes I also use at least one hiking pole, which I also highly recommend), so I don't take that into account when I'm thinking about carrying stuff; I do want to be comfortable.

Get a real backpack.

what harness do you use--i'm considering the lowepro to go with a topload zoom1..

Are you day hiking or backpacking overnight? When I go into the backcountry for extended stays I just put my camera in my backpack or wear it like I would a shoulder pack. I also carry it via neckstrap and keep it from bouncing around using a strap from REI:

I agree with everyone else. I have a couple of Arcteryx Packs I use. One for day hikes and a larger one for overnight hikes. Everything goes into Kinesis pouches of various sorts. I really like the arrangement. I also use the Kinesis camera strap with some different ends that they sell to mount the camera harness to the front of the pack.

These are great for anchoring gear to the front of a pack too...

http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=15

No overnight stays planned for this trip - I have a monstrously large, properly adjusted and fitted pack for that. I generally hike with two poles. My SO is not a photographer, so ease of access is good, or else I'll look up from 5 minutes of fiddling around with my pack only to realize I've been left behind.

My local MEC has a ~30L Gregory pack in stock that appears to have a second access zipper across the bottom, and a nice strap/hip belt system. I'm planning on checking that out this week. If it works, I'm planning on buying a few generic lens cases and inserts, stitching 'em together and shoving the whole bunch across the bottom of the bag. It makes sense in my head - I'll post the results if it works!

Check out this area at B&H for padded inserts by various manufacturers. Use your real backpack and use these inserts inside for just what you need to carry. Some have open tops, but some can completely enclose the gear.

F-Stop also makes padded inserts called ICUs that might fit in your pack, but they are larger and might not allow room for all the other stuff.

Sorry - here's the link for the previous post:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/11889/General_Accessories_Inserts_Foam.html

Locster wrote:

my need is for a 5 day backcountry hike in yosemite. i have a full backpack but i'm looking for a way to keep the d300 w/sigma 10-20 close at hand--hence the thought of a chest harness/small top loading bag along with the full pack i'll be wearing.

I recommend a Kelty Redwing 3100. It's relatively inexpensive, a decent pack, and once you put your camera gear into it, it leaves enough room for a pretty nice day pack or single overnight pack. The real trick is figuring out to safely put your gear inside. I ended up using a soft sided padded 'tackle box' that I got at Walmart and then made dividers out of an old insulated sleeping pad that i covered with duct tape. The duct tape was used as both connections for the various compartment sides as well as to keep the equipment from rubbing off little padding particles. The whole outfit works very well.

Personally I prefer a back opening backpack instead of the typical top opening sack of most internal frames. I want to be able to lay the pack down and zip it open and see what I need instead of rummaging through the top. But that's a personal preference, and my preference does limit the backpacks for me.

I used a Photo Trekker AW II for a couple of years, but it's weight and the akwardness of putting most of your personal gear in the attached day pack just finally got too annoying. Plus it never really fit me well. But it's built like a tank and I use it to store my gear and as a carry on bag now.

I've actually been asking some similar questions lately about rough trail-hiking backpacks and I am leaning towards the KATA HB-205. It's a little pricey but it seems to be a GENUINE backpack with proper waist support & thick padding but still light-weight. This seems to me like the best pack I can find for all-day trail hiking.

If, however, I were doing overnight trips, I usually will use an old Lowepro light-weight back-pack that fits inside my camping back-pack. That way I can still scout around short distances from my camp-sites but have the smaller form factor to fit in with all my camping gear.

HTH,
Omar

I have and like the Lowepro Rover AW II.

http://products.lowepro.com/product/Rover-AW-II,2024,14.htm

I had an earlier version of the Kelty Redwing for many years, a really good "daypack." One advantage for me was that suspension/waistband were positioned well for me - I'm rather long-waisted and many of the other day or camera packs "belly bands" really were belly bands. the full zip allows for easy organizing and access and the compression straps provide some added security in the event of a zipper failure (never happened). I finally had to get rid of it after years of non-use when the plastic attachment tabs were breaking from age and the some of the internal edges were starting to unravel and get in the way. You do need to work up some sort of dividers, etc. I seem to recall there was even a source for dividers fitted for the pack but that was years back.

Locster wrote:
Are you day hiking or backpacking overnight? When I go into the backcountry for extended stays I just put my camera in my backpack or wear it like I would a shoulder pack. I also carry it via neckstrap and keep it from bouncing around using a strap from REI:

Check out these ...
http://www.tenba.com/products/Shootout-Large-Backpack.aspx#features

I use the older version of this model. My two are extremely rugged to the point I'm amazed that they still function. My original was used with my 4x5 for all location work ( including a lot of hiking ) for about 10 solid years. I got one as a replacement on eBay a few years ago only because I occasionally want a spiffy looking newer one to bring on some jobs. The original one still works fine.

Peter

Architectural Photography by Peter Montanti, www.mountainphotographics.com

rubberband wrote:
When I say serious, I mean several hours at a time

Several hours at a time? A whole foods green bag oughta work.
rubberband wrote:
-Needs to be ergonomic enough for a 6-8 hour hike over difficult terrain.
-Needs to have a *seperate* compartment for lots (ie 4L or more) of water, first aid, food, jacket, tools and other important non-photo stuff.

6-8 hours with full gear? Now we're talking. I'm partial to Think Tank bags even though they are designed for air travel. IMO they are very comfortable for all day hiking but YMMV. dave

JohnJ80 wrote:
Locster wrote:
Are you day hiking or backpacking overnight? When I go into the backcountry for extended stays I just put my camera in my backpack or wear it like I would a shoulder pack. I also carry it via neckstrap and keep it from bouncing around using a strap from REI:

Yes. They use the same hooks on the harness that they make to carry the holster all by itself.

see here and notice the straps that come around the back and to the bottom attach points of the Digital Holster.

get a real hiking backpac, also maby a holster but i prefere over my neck and sholder when carring my camera.