Hi all,

I am looking for a compact backpack for city and walk around purpose.

I use a 5D2 with no grip, and I'd like to bring my tripod Gitzo 1541(not traveller edition) once in a while. And I don't plan on carry more than any one of the following 3 lens at a time,

70-200/F4IS
24-105/F4IS
17-40/F4
35/F1.4
135/F2
200/F2.8

Can someone make a suggestion, which one of the three 200, 300, 400AW will best fit my need? I think about 300, but I want to make sure that it will not look bulky and stretching all over the place. If 200 can fit, I'd love to go with a more compact choice. 400 will be my last choice.

Thanks.
J

I use a Flipside 300 and it holds a surprising amount of gear. I like the fact that I don't have to take it completely off to change gear. I have put a D300 with grip, 70-300VR, 18-105VR, SB-800, Sigma 10-20, 30/1.4 extra cf cards, a few filters and that doesn't include the outer zipped pocket on the side of the bag. It will also carry my Calumet 7100 (lightweight hiking) tripod on the outside and the water bottle pocket works very well. I found the 400 to be a little too big and the 200 wasn't quite big enough for the extra accessories. It is comfortable enough to wear all day without getting a sore back. The only shortcoming I have found is the waistbelt could be a little wider, but it works ok as is. If it had a wider padded belt like the 400, it would be the perfect bag.

I totally agree with your finding with my research. I like the AW with the 400 and as well as the padded belt from 400, but size wise I think 300 is a perfect compact bag while 400 appears too big to me.

400 is almost twice the price of 300, do you find any difference in the exterior material used between the two? I am actually okay with the width and height of 400, what is your experience with the depth of the bag? Does it get too bulky to use as a casual walk around bag?

I'm pretty sure the exterior material is the same on all of the Flipsides. The only thing that the 400 has extra to make it AW is the pull out cover that is used to wrap around the bag to keep it dry.

Depth of the bag works with my gripped D300, and I also can remove the 1-1/2 width divider and carry the D300 with the Sigma 150-500 attached (lens hood reversed), along with two or three smaller lenses and the SB-800, I just have to put the extra CF cards and lens cloth in the side pocket.

I haven't found it to be to bulky to use as a walkaround bag. I have been using a Think Tank belt system in the warmer weather, as I do find I get a sweaty back when wearing a backpack in hotter weather, but that will happen with any backpack. The tripod won't fit on a belt system, so if I'm going where I need a few lenses, accessories and tripod, the Flipside is my go to bag.

The way the bag is shaped and with the semi rigid form of it, you won't have to worry about the stretched out look you referred to in your original post. The best thing about it is how secure your gear is in it while you are wearing it. If you are in a crowd there is no way anyone can access it since the opening flap is against your back.

Another big plus of the 400 over the 300 is the seperate compartment on the back for non camera gear.

I took this bag because it can fit big lenses (Sigma 50-500 or 100-300/4) with ease. The 300 was just a tad too small.

I can fill it up with:

Lowepro Flipside 400AW stuffed for vacation
- Canon 40D + grip + E-1
- Canon 5D + grip
- Canon 17-40/4 L
- Canon 24-105/4 IS L
- Canon 50/1.8
- Canon 85/1.8
- Canon 135/2
- Sigma 1.4 TC
- Canon 25mm extension tube
- Canon Speedlite 430ex + Sto-fen omnibounce
- hoods for all the lenses

Picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/victormk1/3447627565/

Jeff Adukinas wrote:
The best thing about it is how secure your gear is in it while you are wearing it. If you are in a crowd there is no way anyone can access it since the opening flap is against your back.

That will really put my mind to ease. Thanks for all the useful suggestions. I wish they included all the 400 features to 300. That would been a perfect bag for me. Now, I am starting to see why my girlfriend can spend days hunting for a "perfect bag".

They're still far from perfect. I love the Flipside, I really do, but the partitions... why do they even bother making it "customisable" if they're not gonna put more of those velcro hooks on the inside lining. The option is VERY limited, it's like trying to solve a puzzle.

Another thing is the zipper to open the bag, it doesn't go all the way down so sometimes it's hard to get something like a lens out if you put it at the bottom.