I think it is time to do a bit of gear/kit review. For my little jaunt to the Deserts of the south west of the USA, I was wondering if any my current camera bags would be suitable. Yes they would but they would not be the best choice. So I had a look around for a bag that ticked all the right boxes, and I decided on the Lowepro Flipside Sport 15l AW. Details can be found here on the Lowepro website.
I settled on the 15 litre version over the 10 litre mainly for the extra room afforded to my kit, but also the headroom for the water bladder that is able to be used with this bag. This was basically my number one priority, due to the locations / conditions I would be in and travelling through, I would need to be able to carry a good bit of water with me. It says it can take a 1L hydration bladder, I was able to use a Platypus 2L. Could not get a full 2L in but it would have been around the 1.5L mark !
These bags are available in blue and orange, I took delivery of a blue one. One added advantage to photographers with this bag, is that it does not really shout camera bag !
The bag is very comfy to wear over long periods of time and has a good number of adjustment points, the back is meshed to allow better airflow to keep you cooler if the going gets tough. As with just about all of the modern Lowepro bags, it has a built in rain cover as well as a tripod support for a lightweight tripod. You also have fastenings for hiking poles or ice axes !
The inner compartment has the usual set of velcro compartment dividers that can be re-arranged in a multitude of ways to accomodate what kit you need to take. This whole compartment has it's own drawstring stormflap, and the whole thing can be removed so you can use the bag as a full blown day pack.
As the name Flipside notes it works like the other flipside bags in their range as when the lower strap is fastened, you can slip the bag of your shoulders and turn it around to the front of your body. This allows access to the main storage area of the bag where all you kit is stored, you dont have to take it of your back to access this or even put the bag on the ground. I found it so helpful when I needed to change lens. There is one slight flaw here is the zips on the back panel could do with going further down to allow the flap to open a bit further, it is one small thing and some thing that should not make you discount this bag.
The bag has taken some beatings since I got it and it has taken these very well. It will certainly get a lot more use over the next few years. Hope post has given you another possibility to look at when you are in the market for a new camera bag.
If you have any questions on the bag or anything else please just drop me a line.
Thanks for dropping by !
No comments:
Post a Comment