Ever since I spent 4 weeks in USA and Canada with a sore shoulder lugging around my Canon DSLR and a handful of lenses in a Kelly Moore camera handbag, I’ve been looking for the elusive “perfect” photo backpack for travelling. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed using my Kelly Moore 2 Sues camera bag. It’s an inconspicuous bag that looks like any other handbag, great for city holidays because you can simply blend into the crowd. Of course there is no such thing as the “perfect” camera bag. There is only the right bag for the right situation, whether it’s going on a outdoor hike or heading into a local cafe for coffee with friends.
When I knew my next big overseas holiday was going to be New Zealand, I sped up my quest to find the “right” camera bag last year. I narrowed it down to getting a backpack as I knew that would be the most ergonomical and comfortable. However I wanted to avoid the black blocky backpack that screams photographer at all cost. I wanted something with substance and still some style, that doesn’t yell out camera bag while still being in the affordable price range.
After searching through the offerings of a number of camera bag companies, from the large ones like Lowepro and Crumpler to more niche companies like ONA and Filson. There were plenty of options to suit the needs of almost every person, from highly stylish to the very rugged. After look at a variety of bags, I kept coming back to the Lowepro Photo Hatchback All Weather backpack. It had the right balance of being a nondescript travel backpack, at an affordable price and with a design that protects the gear well when in the outdoors. I love the bags produced by companies such as ONA but it just wasn’t in my price range.
Firstly about the actual bag
Lowepro is probably one of the most well known camera bag makers, it was one of a handful of camera bag brands that I would routinely see in electronic shops that don’t specialise in cameras only. Rightly so as they do design decent camera bags at affordable prices from my experience. This is the second Lowepro bag that I have bought and I’m pretty happy with it. The bag looks simple and nice, nothing too fancy.
The front zipper opens up to a tablet/small laptop compartment and another general compartment. It has a floating pocket which allows the device to sit nicely in the bag without hitting the ground when you place the bag on the ground. The front compartment is where I placed my tablet and other documents (e.g. Itineraries, airline tickets). Opening up the top half of the bag, you get two mesh pockets which was really handy to place little items like keys, phone, earphones, as well as quick access things like muesli bars. You can comfortably fit a jacket, purse and extra snacks in this compartment. There is also a another zipper compartment that you can place more sensitive things if you will (e.g. passport). On the sides of the bag you can store your water bottle or sunglass case for example.
Now here is where the bag really shines. The back of the bag where the comfortable mesh hits your bag, is where your camera gear will be securely stored. This means it’s pretty darn hard for anyone to be stealing your gear while you are using the bag. As I got the 22L version of the bag, which is the larger bag, it comfortably fitted all my camera gear with plenty of space for more. It includes a couple of dividers to let you configure your bag the way you want to.
On top of that, the camera box can actually be pull out (it even has straps to use it as a hand carry!) and the bag converted into a standard backpack if you just need a day pack without your camera. The camera box is extremely well padded and I wasn’t too fussed if I handled it a bit roughly.
Even though I didn’t use it, as I had a SD card wallet to hold all my SD cards, there is a little memory card pouch built into the bag. Another feature of the bag that I really liked (and definitely came in handy in New Zealand with the occasional rain we experienced on a few of our hikes) is the all-weather rain cover. It protected my bag and gear from the rain, though I’m not sure how well the bag would hold up if it was thunderstorms and heavy rain. I suspect you’d need a water proof bag for that! The bag also came with a detachable waist strap as well as a chest strap, both of which helps with stability especially on longer hikes.
My experience in New Zealand
Overall, I had a great experience using this bag while travelling through New Zealand, it was basically the bag that I took everywhere I went, whether it was going on a 1 hour hike or a 5 hour hike, or walking around town. As I was in the outdoors mostly and driving from town to town, a more adventure-y looking bag did not look out of place given just about every other traveller had a backpack. I thought changing lenses or taking something out of the camera box would be inconvenient. But surprisingly it wasn’t. All I had to do was stop, kneel down and place the bag down on my knee to for example grab a new battery and switch out the old. If I wanted to temporarily put down or store my camera, I would just put it in the top compartment.
What I like about the bag when travelling through New Zealand
- Secure compartment for your camera
- Comfortable to lug around for hours on end (I used it on a 5 hour Hooker Valley hike at Mt Cook)
- It’s a compact storage/travel system where there is a spot for everything you need, especially if you have a mirrorless/compact camera system
- I liked having a top half of the bag dedicated to personal items like my purse, food and jacket
- As it’s a pretty durable bag, I was comfortable placing it on rugged surfaces and brushing off the dirt from the bag after
If I had anything negative to say about the bag from my experience it would be that given I got the larger 22L version of the bag, it can be pretty bulky looking, especially if you’re a smaller person. The camera box is pretty solid and takes up half the bag. However it’s lightweight enough that it wasn’t a big deal to me.
It’s the kind of bag I would highly recommend if you’re looking at a price point of $100. It’s great for travelling and going into the outdoors, as long as it’s not in an extreme environment. In typical Lowepro style it’s built to last and is stylish enough not to scream photographer.
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