A recent airline trip made me realise all over again just how well the backpack works for transporting a lot of photography gear, both on location and while travelling by road and air. It's not the best for working out of, but for getting a lot of gear from one place to another, the backpack rules.
Which brings me to my question: What is the current state-of-the-art in carry-on sized photography backpacks? I am looking for a backpack that excels at transporting my gear through airports and around the world, not a backpack for trekking (which is what Lowepro seem to be designing these days). The last backpack I have purchased is the Lowepro Mini Trekker AW. It has since been discontinued, and as much as I like using it when the occasion presents itself, it is not as good for airline travel as it could be. The straps cannot be stowed away, they're always dangling around and getting caught and snagging on things. The backpack itself is not square-shaped, and therefore not as commodious as it could be, to take as much advantage of the carry-on space allocation as possible.
The one model that caught my eye is the Think Tank Photo Airport Accelerator: [url]http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/a...rator.aspx[/url]. This seems to satisfy the strictest space restrictions for carry-on luggage (as specified by some of the most infamous airlines that I know of). It looks like just what the doctor ordered, but I am wondering if there might be anything else out there, that I am not aware of, that would meet my needs even better.
To all you frequent flyers: What photography backpack do you use and why? If you had to do it all over again, would you buy the same bag or would you buy something else? What features are important to you, and what could you do without? If you do not use a backpack, why not (maybe there is a better solution that I am not aware of)?
Admittedly, I do not fly that much. That being said, I would opt for a rolling bag that has backpack straps to use when needed. I cannot imagine having to lug a lot of gear from the parking lot, around the concourse, and waiting in TSA lines when it could just as easily have been rolled it there. You can also secure the bag with the steel cable. Take a look at the Thinktank rollers.
Wobble wrote:
Admittedly, I do not fly that much. That being said, I would opt for a rolling bag that has backpack straps to use when needed. I cannot imagine having to lug a lot of gear from the parking lot, around the concourse, and waiting in TSA lines when it could just as easily have been rolled it there. You can also secure the bag with the steel cable. Take a look at the Thinktank rollers.
The roller bags are too heavy, IMO. With airlines starting to enforce their carry-on weight restrictions, I would prefer to keep my carry-on weight to a minimum. I can always wheel my checked luggage if I want to make things easier on myself.
May 12, 2013 at 10:50 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
I use the Thinktank Airport Addicted Backpack. It's large but follow the restrictions for carry-on luggage. The backpack takes two pro bodies, my 800L lens and 5-6 other lenses.
I've used backpacks for quite a while, and I have several varieties (mostly Lowepro) that I've used over the years. However (you knew there would be a however), I recently picked up the TT Airport International v2.0 roller bag to use on an international trip. The trip involved flights between the US and South Africa, as well as several flight segments in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The bag fit in the overhead space in all the aircraft, including the smaller jets that were used in-country.
Considering this bag is sized for international carry-on regulations, I was able to pack a huge amount of gear (almost 40 lbs) including:
1D Mark III
5D Mark III
100-400mm
70-200mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
16-35mm f/2.8
100mm f2.8 Macro
15" Mac Book Pro and power supply (laptop kept in the bag using the low divider set [sold separately])
Handheld GPS
Multiple chargers, spare batteries, external disk drive, filters, tripod & ballhead, shutter release cable, memory cards, straps, etc.
No kidding, it swallowed all this up. And, I loved the fact that it looked just like every other carry-on bag.
Fortunately, I was never asked to verify the size (not a worry), or weigh the bag (a big worry). Nonetheless, I was prepared to load up plenty of stuff in a vest and second collapsible bag, if necessary.
For anything but air travel I'll stick with the backpacks. But, for air travel, I'm sold on the roller bag.
I use an fstop Loka. It fits well in the overhead bins. In small regional crafts it will fit sideways where most roll on luggage has to be gate checked. I love the waist belt and being hands free.
I use a TT Airport Commuter, plus a shoulder bag. I usually carry-on about 16 kg of gear when I fly (I say 16kg, because 20kg is the max, and I want some 'margin').
Once you get on site, as long as you can find a bit of floor space, I've found that the TT AC is fine for "shooting from", especially in comparison with "real backpacks", because it unzips from top to bottom, both sides.
OTOH, there are circumstances when a "real backpack" is preferable.
I have a 32L and a 22L. Comfortable, the bag itself is very light but durable, straps and belt can be stowed easily. The biggest plus is the light weight. No need to haul around an extra 10 pounds. The biggest negative is the price, but I think it is worth it. They are also a great company that stands behind their product. Any problem contact them. The only problem I ever had I didn't know about till they told me to contact them to arrange for a new bag to be sent with return postage on the old bag. They found a defect I never noticed.
I use the full size (30L) Gura Gear Kiboko (means hippo in Swahalii and can swallow as much as a hippo). I can easily pack 500F4, 2 pro bodies (somethings 3), extra batteries, 1-2 flashes, 70-200 F2.8, 24-105 in it. Plus a few misc items.
Weighs a ton (again the weight of an adult hippo) but I use a collapsable pair of wheels (basically a handle with wheels and arms to support the bottom of the bag). I believe Samsonsite makes a collapsable luggage cart.
Their new model, not sure of the name, is similar and comes in 3 sizes.
Let me know what you think and if you find anything better.
Like you, I upgraded from the LowePro Mini Trekker. I like my Gura Gear 26L Bataflae. Zips on each side separately, like butterfly wings, or you can open the whole thing, do your packing, then use it the "butterfly way," opening only one side at a time. It's light, deep, holds a whole lot and is very well made. And as the previous poster said, their customer service is second to none. I found the stowaway straps to be better on the Bataflae than the Kiboko. And the harness is more comfortable for me, but that's an individual thing. It's pricier than many other bags, but worth the investment for me. I found myself neglecting to close my other bag all the way, or enough to prevent lens caps and CF cards from flying about in the game drive vehicle. Good luck!
Thanks, everyone! Gura Gear and Think Tank seem to be what most air travellers recommend (no disrespect to the other brands). It seems that these two brands "get" what air travel is all about.
I'm currently leaning towards the Think Tank Airport Accelerator, only because it's easier to obtain locally. The Gura Gear offerings sound just as good, but they are pricier and not available locally. F-Stop make some very nice bags, but they are not what I am looking for. Lowepro are currently in the same boat - great bags, but not exactly what I'm after.
I have the Think Tank Airport International and it is a great roller bag and is very well made. It does hold tons of gear but is pretty heavy without anything in it. Not a big deal except when I have to pick it up to put it overhead.
If I hadn't been so keen on the butterfly design I might have gone with Think Tank as well. Have several of their smaller components and they are well made and designed. I think you'll be happy with it!
For me the key question is what you need to carry your gear when you arrive at your location?
I bought a Lowepro Nature Trekker, which is a nicely designed bag and holds a ton of gear. It worked out great on my trip to Alaska a few years back. However, for most other trips, I don't usually want to take everything I own with me all the the time. And as you noted, it's made more for hiking and has straps dangling everywhere. If it's a family trip, I have a Think Tank Retrospective 10 that fits inside a carry on bag great. A telephoto comes along in it's canon padded case. I still have plenty of room for other stuff in the carry on.
For traveling to South Africa, I bought a Kiboko 22L. I wanted the smallest bag I could get away with. I carried a 1D4, 7D, 300/2.8, 100-400, 16-35 and 24-105. It carried both chargers, batteries, and other goodies, including a laptop. It was probably 100lbs on the return flight...it was packed to the gills as my check in bag was over the weight limit. A bottle of amarula fits in the outer pocket (barely - but it does!).
Once on the ground, for the game drives, I took out most of the dividers and had 300 on one side, the 100-400 on the other. The butterfly concept worked great for this, and was exactly how it was designed. I had binoculars in the outer pockets.
I'm intrigued by the side access pocket they have.
A lot of my photography is dayhiking, and often after flying somewhere. Right now I have my normal outdoorsy backpacks and a small messenger bag for my camera. I normally end up carrying an extra lens inside the backpack. Finding a comfortable carrying location for both bags is annoying, but the standard backpack doesn't give very good photography gear access, and the messenger bag is pretty terrible at holding water and extra layers.
