This is my honest review and experience after using the PRVKE Lite for 3 years, as my carry on travel backback for domestic trips around Australia and trips overseas, as a traveller and photographer.

In 2021, Wandrd released a follow up line up of their very popular PRVKE 21L backpack.

When I got the opportunity to pick the backpack I wanted to try, I chose to try the smallest backpack of the PRVKE lineup. The 11L PRVKE Lite backpack in a beautiful green, subtle and classy.

If you’re a traveller who takes photos while travelling, whether it’s for personal or client work, you need to think about getting a good camera bag for your travels.

Lets dive in!

Disclaimer: I was fortunate to receive a Wandrd PRVKE Lite backpack from the amazing Wandrd team. However this is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own. This is also not intended to be a comprehensive technical review. There are plenty of websites and YouTube videos out there that have done that. This is simply my honest experience of using the bag in my day to day life and for travels in the last 3 years of owning the bag. All product images taken in this blog post were shot by me.

Specs of the Bag

You can find the detailed specifications of the bag on the Wandrd website, but here are the highlights from the website:

• Quick Side Access
• Clamshell Opening
• Expandable Rolltop
• Interior Organization
• Weight: 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg)
• Magnetic Tote Handles
• Built-in Camera Protection
• Weather Resistant Materials & Zippers
• Expandable Water Bottle/Tripod Pocket
• Volume: 11L to 16L (roll top fully extended)
• Laptop Sleeve Dimensions: 12.5″H X 10″W X 0.75″D (6 X 24 X 2 CM)
• Internal Camera Cube Dimensions: 9.5″H X 10.5″W X 4.5″D (24 X 27 X 11 CM)

That’s not all of it, but as you can see it’s a feature packed camera backpack.

The PRVKE line up of bags range from the smaller 11L Lite all the way through to the 41L size. The one I have is the smallest (Lite).

A bit about Wandrd

In 2015, the PRKVE 21L backpack was Wandrd’s first foray into the competitive field of camera backpacks.

Ever since that bag hit the market I’ve been keeping an eye on Wandrd’s bags and gear.

Quick story about the team behind the Wandrd brand. It’s a family business founded and ran by three brothers. They started the bag business in their parent’s basement when they struggled to find a quality camera bag (that also looked good) for their travels and photography work. So they decided to design their own.

I love their mission of creating high quality bags for those who wander (hence the name Wandrd).

They’re inspiring us to get out and explore the world. While they focus on keeping our expensive gear safe through smartly designed and high quality bags and gear. As an avid photographer and with a passion for travel, they message is something I resonate with.

Ok enough fangirl-ing, lets get on with the review.

Appearance

A lot of camera bags have a bulky or rugged design, especially the ones that are used to hold professional gear or targeted photographers who travel.

And if I’m honest, the designs tend to be more masculine than feminine. There are a few female orientated camera brands out there. I’ve used a crossbody handbag style camera bag before for a 4 week trip to the USA a decade ago.

That resulted in a lot of back and shoulder pain.

And that was the very reason why I’ve moved away from handbag style “feminine” bags, to a more classic backpack like this Wandrd PRVKE Lite or the Wandrd DUO backpack.

I think the Wandrd PRVKE Lite has done a great job with blending both style and function in a backpack. It actually looks good and can easily pass off as an every day backpack (not just a camera bag).

Back in 2021 when the bag was first released, there were only 3 colours available: Black, green and blue.

Now they offer the PRVKE Lite in 7 colours! I think they’ve done a great job of making the bag less “camera backpack” with the colours and more of a modern urban every day backpack that can suit both men and women.

I have the Wasatch Green colour bag and I absolutely love the colour.

Build Quality

Like all the Wandrd bags I’ve used, the build quality of the bag is top notch. I’ve taken the bag on dozens of trips as a carry on bag on airplanes and every day walk around bag when I’m exploring a new city. Never had any issues with the bag, it’s held up like I got it on day 1.

Unlike it’s big brother PRVKE bags, the Lite has a built-in, padded camera protection cube with padded dividers that you can configure.

If you’re not carrying camera gear you can actually remove the dividers and it becomes one big compartment that is accessible from the back. Unfortunately you can’t remove the material that separates the roll top section from the built-in camera cube to make it one giant compartment like a traditional backpack.

Features & Benefits

Exterior

The bag is made of a tough ballistic nylon waterproof material with weather resistant zippers.

The thick material is very protective for your gear for all weathers and even when it’s being lightly thrown around. The interior of the bag is heavily padded, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your expensive camera gear.

The bag straps are thick, supportive of your back and shoulders.

It’s fairly comfortable to use when walking around all day. But when carrying anything too long on your back, eventually you will start to feel the soreness. Especially if you’re carrying a lot of gear.

The great thing about the PRVKE Lite is that it’s actually a pretty small bag at only 11L (though it can be expanded to 16L with the roll top) so it naturally limits how much you can actually carry anyway.

You can access the bag a few ways.

The expandable roll top gives you space to store extra items like your wallet, a jumper, your mobile etc. You can access the items through the top of the bag, or through the little zippered pocket when you open up the back of the backpack fully.

The roll top is secured with a velco closing as well as a belt that you can hook down onto your backpack.

If you want to access your camera gear in your camera cube, you can either access it through a side pocket, or laying it flat to open it like a clamshell.

On the side of the bag that doesn’t have the side access compartment, you can unzip the side pocket to keep a decent sized waterbottle.

Interior

The bag is an organiser’s dream.

It’s got a huge number of pockets and plenty of optimised storage to store all your large and small travel gear so you always know where it is.

I really like the quick access zippered compartment at the top of the bag.

It’s great for little items like keys, a pen to fill out immigration forms or to hold your Airpods.

I travel with a Fujifilm X-T4 camera body along with the Fujinon 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens, the Fujinon 35mm f1.4 lens and the Fujinon 23mm f2 lens for most of my trips. On some trips I actually bring just 2 lenses.

I could fit all my those lenses in the camera cube, with room to spare.

The image below shows the Fujifilm X-T4 with Fujinon 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens, a Fujifilm X100 camera and the 35mm f1.4 lens. There’s still plenty of room to spare to store things like my camera filters.

If you travel with a laptop, there’s a padded laptop sleeve that fits up to a 14″ MacBook Pro. I felt my HP Spectre 13″ laptop was well protected during one my my trips from Perth to Melbourne, Australia. There are also so many little zippered pockets to store your little knick-knacks.

The major downside of the pockets is that they’re all quite flat and tight, so you really can’t store anything too bulky. They are great for flat things like a memory card holder or pens / stylus’s.

How I’ve been using it

I’ve taken the bag on multiple flights domestically around Australia as well as internationally.

They’ve mostly been for urban and city trips. I haven’t used it to go hiking or tested it in severe weather. I love the modern and sleek bag design that it looks like an every day carry bag that I can walk around when exploring a city. Without it feeling like a traditional looking camera bag.

That’s a big win because you don’t want people to know you have a lot of expensive gear in there.

It’s a great bag when I’m not carrying a lot of gear, which is most of the time when I travel. I use the Fujifilm x series camera. The camera and lenses are so compact, I don’t really have an issue with space. In fact I have plenty of room to spare in my bag.

The rolltop has been very handy when I wanted to carry a spare jumper as airplanes get cold!

I’ve also used the bag for on site client photography work. The bag is tough and very protective, which means I don’t worry about being a bit rough with it. Like laying it on the ground to quickly access my gear.

Value for money

In general, camera bags are expensive.

But to put it in perspective, it’s also designed to protect thousands of dollars worth of gear. Most importantly, to protect the many photos that you’ve taken whether it’s personal travel memories or photos you’ve taken for your clients.

At the time of writing this, the RRP on the Wandrd website is USD239.

It’s not a cheap buy, but I would highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a high quality, protective bag for your travel and photography work.

Wandrd doesn’t have a lot of sales, but when they do you might be able to score a discount, so keep an eye on their website. I’ve seen it go on a flash sale for 20% off in the past.

But if that price isn’t within your budget, there are other backpacks in the market. You might just need to sacrifice features like water proof ballistic nylon and weather sealed zippers.

Who is this bag for?

As a photographer, the struggle of finding the perfect bag is real! We’re always looking for the right back to carry gear on a photo shoot, an every day walk around bag that is convenient to carry or a bag that can fit our gear (and more) when we travel.

What I’ve come to learn over my 15 years of taking up photography and travel as a passion, is that there is unfortunately no perfect camera bag for every occasion.

Just the right bag for the right occasion.

The Wandrd PRVKE Lite is one of the smaller camera backpacks on the market. So I think this ideally suited for someone:

• With a smaller body frame (I’m a 5 ft 5 in ~165cm tall woman)
• With more compact gear (e.g. smaller lenses and camera bodies)
• Who doesn’t travel with a ton of gear and is more of a gear minimalist
• Who travels in all weather and wants the security of a weather proof bag
• Who loves structure and internal organisation to help them keep track of things

My honest experience after 3 years of use

Wander More, Worry less.

When I got that bag, I totally loved that motto printed right onto the magnetic bag handles at the top of the bag. It perfectly encapsulates Wandrd’s mission. They want us to not worry about keeping our camera gear safe and focus on wandering and exploring the world.

After 3 years, the PRVKE Lite it still looks just like the first day I got it.

It’s held up through several trips. I haven’t had any issues with tears or breakage. My gear has remained protected every time I’ve used it.

I also believe it’s a bag where style meets function.

The modern design, the beautiful colour options and the very functional build tells me that Wandrd has put a lot of thought into the design of this bag.

As a 5 ft 5″ female, the 11L PRVKE Lite is the right compact travel size for me. If you’re a taller or larger person, or if you carry bigger cameras and lenses, go for the larger sized PRVKE backpacks.

The Bottom Line

I’ve had great experiences with all the Wandrd gear and the PRVKE Lite backpack is no different. If you have the budget for it, and are in the market for a camera backpack. This is worth checking out.

Thanks for stopping by today and happy shooting.

Janice