Reviews
Good and fundamentally solid and looks good
Packed in a neutral box, additionally with a plastic protective bag. In the backpack there is also a rain cover, seven Velcro separators, and two safety straps/auxiliary straps to secure the front opening. The first thing you notice after unpacking is the high-quality workmanship and material (Fig. 1 - 3), but also the two straps with the aluminum buckles (Fig. 4) to secure the cover of the backpack. Here you will usually always find solid plastic buckles. Handling these aluminum buckles takes some getting used to and is also a bit more cumbersome to use, but they are certainly more robust than plastic buckles. All of the seams found are top-notch, the same applies to the zippers, which close the teeth cleanly after they are closed (Fig. 3) and thus make it more difficult for water to penetrate. The storage space is divided into a large and an upper - slightly smaller - storage space (Fig. 8), which are of course only separated by a thicker partition using Velcro and can therefore be connected into one when removed. The smaller - upper storage space - easily fits a 70-200mm 2.8 telephoto (Fig. 6, small photo) or two medium lenses. The larger lower storage space can accommodate the camera (with a 70-200mm 2.8 telephoto) and can also be removed through the side opening if necessary (Fig. 7). In addition, two medium lenses and various small items fit in here. The large main opening has a fairly thick padded pocket on the inside, so that a 16 inch laptop can be stored very safely here (Fig. 9). The continuous back padding, only superficially separated by a tension strap, is quite thick and appears to be slightly breathable (Fig. 10). In terms of storage space and its distribution, I can't find any drawbacks and therefore rate it as good to very good. Carrying comfort: To test it, load the backpack completely (camera, three lenses, small items and laptop) and then walk about four km through the forest. So for a normal photo backpack, the ergonomics and comfort are quite good, the back padding provides good cushioning, but if you walk a little harder you can't avoid sweating on your back. Ultimately, it's good overall for a photo backpack, and in my opinion it's absolutely sufficient for day trips (with breaks). Of course it cannot be compared with an ergonomically well-balanced, higher-quality hiking backpack. Summary: Overall, I actually like the material, workmanship, variability and wearing comfort (for a slightly better photo backpack). All together you can rate it as good to very good, but you also have to take the price of around €150 into account here. What I don't understand is how to secure the upper cover with the aluminum buckles. Although these are robust and look valuable, they take some getting used to handling. Carrying it on your stomach, with the backpack fully opened, secured with the two auxiliary straps provided, works quite well, but should not be overestimated. You should also be careful when handling this, because the carrying straps cannot be sufficiently secured to each other at the top, so it can happen that a shoulder strap slips over your shoulder and everything gets askew. If the contents of the backpack are not secured, a lens can quickly find its way out of the backpack. Overall, I get a good “Good”, at a price of around €150, so 4 stars with a 5 star. I would perhaps have liked a small external net for a drinking bottle, the bottom of the backpack could perhaps be a little thicker, in order to be better protected against impacts when setting down, but you will never find the photo backpack that is 100% suitable for you anyway.
20/08/2023