RobDMB wrote:
Looking for a day hiking backpack that I can use to carry my Olympus OMD-EM1.2 mirrorless camera and 2-3 lenses. Would like one that can hold a hydration bladder and one that is someone size adjustable. Been looking around and came across the Shimoda and also Atlas Athlete.
Shimoda have been criticized for the lack of water support. They do take a hydration bladder but the bladder compartment is on the front of the bag and water isn't light, so your weight distribution may be compromised. Also according to at least one reviewer the routing may be a bit suspect. There's no mesh pouch on the side of the bag for a water bottle either (I'm a bottle guy).
sjms wrote:
i still use the f-Stop Ajna. its comfortable enough with the general load i am carrying (approx 35lbs) for. it must be because the past 40 years of carrying packs but it does many jobs pretty well, but then i'm traveling around with a D850, 70-200/2.8, 24-120/4, 17-35/2.8 and a few other sundry items including quite a bit of water. i do it modular.
Also using an Ajna, I have two - one is a backup just in case something bad happens to my user. Currently hiking in Wildcat Canyon with a couple of metal rangefinder bodies & four lenses and a bunch of film. It has been a very reliable pack and is pretty well used by now. I'm 68" in height and the Ajna is a perfect fit for me, also comfortable to carry my gear and a tripod on the side (and I've used good regular backpacks).
I ended up buying both the Osprey Kamber 32 and the Gregory Taghee 32 from Amazon during a Black Friday sale as both were offered with free returns. The Osprey Kamber was $126.95 and the Gregory was $147.26.
The Osprey arrived today and it is VERY impressive. I just got back from a trip to Disney where I was using a messenger bag (the Wotancraft Trooper medium) and found that it was uncomfortable after a few hours/miles of walking. It turned out that I was carrying it too long (more like a satchel) and on tightening up the strap it carried much better. Anyway, I put the entire Wotancraft into the Osprey and had room to spare. It felt like I was barely carrying anything at all. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to pack the messenger inside the Osprey and use the latter to carry items through airports, etc. Might get an ICU as well and be able to swap out messenger and backpack...
The Gregory Targhee arrived today. I got the Large 32L and it is much bigger than the Osprey (too big in my opinion). Also the interior back opening has a 5 inch red fabric band across the bottom that would become a royal pain to allow access to an ICU. Will plan to send the Gregory back.
My Pacsafe Large should arrive soon to try out the fit in the Osprey Kamber
Picture This! wrote:
You plan on fitting a pacsafe large in an osprey kamber 32 ? Good luck with that. The shape of the kamber made fitting a fstop medium icu impossible.
Does your Targhee have that 5” wide cloth across the bottom of the compartment? I just don’t see how I could access an ICU unless I were to cut that.
Looking at pacsafe dimensions (medium and large) and the shape of the Kamber 32 (curved back), I dont see how but please try and let us know. I've only tried with the fstop medium icu and it just wont fit.
Yes I removed the cloth at the bottom of the targhee. I
eyal wrote:
The Gregory Targhee arrived today. I got the Large 32L and it is much bigger than the Osprey (too big in my opinion). Also the interior back opening has a 5 inch red fabric band across the bottom that would become a royal pain to allow access to an ICU. Will plan to send the Gregory back.
My Pacsafe Large should arrive soon to try out the fit in the Osprey Kamber
My Targhee 32L (size M) arrived yesterday. The pack looks to be very well made, rugged, a superior harness system compared to other photo specific packs that I have (I've been using an F-Stop Loka for a few years), and the price was right. I can fit an F-stop medium sloped ICU, but the F-Stop large ICU ends up being quite deformed if I shove it in. As you mentioned, for the pack to be usable with ICUs, I'd need to remove that 5 inch red fabric band.
However, there are a couple of other challenges with the pack for my use. The way the hydration bladder system is designed, the bladder goes into the sleeve on the back panel door and threads through an insulated channel in the shoulder strap. I don't see how you can open the back panel without removing the water tube from the shoulder strap? This might not be as much of an issue for the packs intended use (backcountry skiing), but would make the pack pretty much useless for me as the back panel would be opened frequently to access the camera equipment. Can anyone else who's actually used this setup chime in on how they managed the H2O system?
The second issue is the frame is a bit longer than the 22" requirement for carry on so I could see issues with airlines depending on how picky they want to be.
Sadly, it looks like this pack will need to go back. Maybe I'll try the new Shimoda Designs 30L?
My Large PacSafe arrived today and I was able to fit it (barely) into the Osprey Kamber 32.
It was a tight fit and my wife said the backpack filled up looked very touristy. As I was planning on using this for Europe and other trips, I think it is overkill. Will be going back to my Wotancraft Trooper messenger which can hold all of my gear except for the Sony 100-400 but that has its own carry bag and can fit in my carry on if need be.
For anyone interested in the Kamber 32 and Pacsafe, a medium is likely a better choice - the top was the tightest fit. It's also a bit cumbersome to have to undo the back zippers and then the PacSafe zipper as well.
I tried several snowpacks, including the Kamber 32 and 42, a Deuter (Freerider pro 30L I think), and finally found a local Targhee 45 (medium). The Kambers and the Deuter did not fit my back at all, but the Targhee was the best fit on my body I've ever found. The Targhee is too shallow for my f-stop PRO ICU to fit, but it sounds like a shallow ICU would fit.
A thought I've had is to add webbing to each side so I can strap on water bottles. Has anyone ever tried this? Would this weaken the sides of the bag?
Does anyone have experience with the (new?) Shimodo Explore 30? Looks awesome.
Side access as well as rear access. Also removable hip belt which I personally think is ingenious and wish others offered this. Would love the hip support when lugging a full pack but no need for that dorkier look if walking around a city with less gear on my back.
eyal wrote:
Does anyone have experience with the (new?) Shimodo Explore 30? Looks awesome.
Yep, I have and love it, best bag I've ever owned (among many). It's very similar to their 40 as well, but with now removable hip belt. You owe it to yourself to try a Shimoda
timerickson wrote:
Yep, I have and love it, best bag I've ever owned (among many). It's very similar to their 40 as well, but with now removable hip belt. You owe it to yourself to try a Shimoda
Thanks Tim,
If you have time to post a review with pics of the 30, that would be greatly appreciated.
I ended up pulling my old Kata 3n1-25 from the basement and found that it holds all that I need but it doesn't carry as well as I imaging a proper backpack like the Shimoda would.
After looking for a long time I've narrowed things down to the Atlas Athlete and Shimoda 40. I have a Nikon Z6 w/24-70, a 70-200 2.8 and 200-500 that I am looking to carry. Would this combo fit in either bag? What about with the 70-200 attached? Should I look at other alternatives?
What about the Shimoda 30 ? I just ordered it and can report. Apparently it can fit the large core unit. I reckon you'll be able to fit all of that in it.
I have the shimoda 60 with a large core unit and 2 small core units. The large can fit a Sigma 150-600 sport on one side, my a7iii mounted with a Canon 70-300mm and mc-11 on the other, with room for a few more lenses stored vertically. I had it out for a 4 hour hike over the weekend outside of Boulder and it performed great. I didn't feel the weight nearly as much as I have with other camera backpacks. That said, I've never tried using a dedicated hiking backpack with an insert so I can't make that type of comparison.
pleased to report that pacsafe large icu is a perfect fit into Mammut Trio Pro 50 + 7. The top compartment holds 7 L extra gear. There is a bladder chamber, but i have rigged it up to hold a water bottle attached to one side with a neoprene long lens cover. The tripod attaches nicely to the other side. I also have leki photo hiking poles with a monopod head screw at the top and the mammut has hiking pole holders on the waist belt. All in all, a very good solution for under $200; mammut for $118 on sale and pacsafe large icu $80 at amazon. the backpack feels very solid, comfortable and secure . i have an 18 inch torso for reference. The only comparison i have is my fstop tilopa with large icu. Honestly, cannot carry a lot of gear for a prolonged hike with my fstop bag as comfortably as the mammut. The large fstop icu is a little too big on the mammut. But you can squeeze it in , if you really try.
Can anyone with one of the snowpacks (particularly the Osprey Kamber) comment on how it is to have a pack without a mesh backing? Do you get hot and sweaty super easily, particularly in summer conditions?
The Kamber looks like it's so close to being perfect but I'm wondering how it'd handle the Texas summers.
