Rucksack Camera Bags

[friedmud]

I've carried tthe Lowepro Fastpack 350 with me all over the US and on several overseas trips for the past few years.  It fit my 7D, 70-200 f/4, 17-55 f/2.8, Lensbaby and 50mm f/1.8 (a bit snug, but you can get it all in there) plus a 17" Macbook Pro (I've recently switched to a 15" though for weight savings) AND an iPad (I put it in the laptop compartment with my laptop).

It is an incredibly useful bag... and comfortable to wear for long periods.

For security I do a couple of things:

1.  There is a "flap" that snaps over the outside of the bottom of the bag.  If you hide the zippers under that flap they are harder to get to.

2.  I use small TSA approved locks to lock the zippers together for the both e top storage area and the camera storage area.  I keep these locked anytime I'm in a crowded area where someone might be able to get into my bag (like on a train or subway, etc.).

I haven't had any trouble, but I haven't been to the worst places in the world either :-)

All this said, I recently got a Thinktank Retrospective 50.... and I absolutely love it!  Tons of room and it doesn't look like a camera bag... plus it is mich easier to get your camera in and out of and to change lenses on the go.  Since it does rest on one shoulder, it's less suitable for long trips, but it is still comfortable.

My "other" backpack (yes, I have a problem) is a Burton Focus Pack:

http://www.burton.com/mens-focus-pack-%5B30l%5D/280812,default,pd.html?start=22&cgid=mens-packs

It is UBER comfortable, whether you're tearing up the slopes with tons of gear on your back or trekking across England :-)

TONS of room and weatherproof.  This is my go to bag for long trips where I want to bring a lot of gear and I might encounter some weather.

I recommend going to a good camera shop and trying quite a few bags.  Bring all of your gear and see how it fits.  Every bag is a tradeoff... get a few :-)

[that1guyy]

If you're not carrying a huge amount of gear what you can do is use a regular backpack or messenger and put in inserts. I use a North Face Surge and put in an insert thing that fits a 17-50 f.8 and a 35mm with a T1i. I can also carry other lenses if I want but they'll be "loose." I put them in lens pouches in the backpack. It works for me and there is space for laptop and other things for the day, unlike with photo bags. Also, no one will assume you have expensive stuff in it.

[eml58]

Tried a lot of different Bags/Backpacks etc, finally settled on the LowePro Trekker 300 & 400 AW. Good bags if your shifting gear, well padded, plenty of room, only issue I really had was the 400 AW was damn hard to get into the overhead Locker on flights.

Recently bought the Gura Gear Bataflea 32L, best by far Bag I've owned, will certainly become my preferred bag going forward, lighter than the LowePro Bags, better system of getting to the gear with the ButterFly opening system, worth looking at the Gura gear, I'll be getting the 26L as well.

Have a couple of Domke Bags for those times you just want to carry a Body & 3 or 4 lenses, Ok bags, not great but do the job.

[Ben Taylor]

I don't think you can go past f-stop backpacks. I'm currently carting the f-stop guru around the world on a year long trip with a 5D3, Sigma 85mm f/1.4, Samyang 14mm f/2.8, Canon 35mm f/1.4L, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 580 exII speedlite, hard drives and heaps of other bits and pieces. It's a steel frame with really well designed straps etc. I swear by it. Took it on a trek through Iceland last year in Winter with a similar kit and never had an issue with sore shoulders/back.

Very rugged and well designed. I would highly recommend them.

[Ben Taylor]

Oh, they also don't look like a camera bag, open from the back and they use a removable ICU (internal camera unit) that can be taken out if you want to use it as a normal pack.

[twdi]

Next Juli I probable will do a adventure trekking again through the wilderness of Canada.
I've did such a trip also last august and had my camera gear with me in a normal day pack of 40 liters. 300F4 in its own pouch and my 5DmkII + 24-105 in a holster. I also had non-camera gear with me like a raincoat, some food and water.
This wasn't ideal. It worked but it was mainly to slow to get my camera out and ready.

For my next trip I will certainly check out the F-stop Tilopa BC with a medium ICU in it. Why? Well, it should give me nice additional storage for non-photo gear. Second, because I can also unzip the backside, my camera should be fast to get from the ICU without taken the non-photo gear out of the backpack.

This solution sounds ideal because dedicated photo backpacks doesn't have a nice space for non-photo gear.

[michi]

I use two Canon 200 EG's.  They are cheap ($40 at Amazon) and work impressively well.  They fit an amazing amount of equipment.  I removed the Canon logo and it looks like any old basic backpack now.

To lock the zippers I use small "quick links", you can get them dirt cheap at Lowes, Home Depot or EBay.  Like these:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100173096/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Quick+link&storeId=10051#.UQPuUP15mSM

Not sure if the 1/8" is the smallest one, can't remember.  Once they are twisted shut, you can't quickly open them without a lot of fiddling.

[shining example]

The one thing I really want from a camera backpack is fast access to my gear. Not being an open invitation to thieves is a verrrrrry close second.

I have two camera backpacks I absolutely love; one is the F-Stop Kenti, and the other is a European Crumpler model (their ranges for some reason vary massively from continent to continent).

The Crumpler is smaller (sometimes too small, which is why I also have the Kenti) and has no laptop section, but it's well thought-out, with a camera section at the bottom and a daypack part at the top - the camera section is quickly accessible through a side door, which is a must-have for me, whereas the daypack part opens towards the body, which I find extremely reassuring. Plus, it absolutely does not look like a camera bag. The trouble is, they no longer make this marvel of a bag, and haven't replaced it with anything comparable.

The Kenti similarly has a camera section with side doors at the bottom, which fits my 7D, 70-300 L, EF-S 10-22, EF-S 60mm macro, the cheapo nifty fifty plus a few bits and pieces; a 13" laptop pocket; and an expandable daypack section at the top that you can get quite a lot of crap into if necessary. It's not quite as casual as the Crumpler, but it doesn't scream "camera bag" either. I can wholeheartedly recommend it if it's big enough for your gear. (F-Stop will, in my experience, respond quickly and helpfully to "will my gear fit in this bag" questions on their customer service site.)

Before I acquired either of those two bags, I had a close look at the Lowepro Fastpack 350, which was far too bulky for me, and the Tamrac Evolution 8, which I just somehow didn't like much. But that's obviously a matter of taste, personal priorities and the amount and type of gear you have.

[RustyTheGeek]

If you're not carrying a huge amount of gear what you can do is use a regular backpack or messenger and put in inserts. I use a North Face Surge and put in an insert thing that fits a 17-50 f.8 and a 35mm with a T1i. I can also carry other lenses if I want but they'll be "loose." I put them in lens pouches in the backpack. It works for me and there is space for laptop and other things for the day, unlike with photo bags. Also, no one will assume you have expensive stuff in it.

Pretty much ditto!  Every few months I look at photo bags again and eventually end up back to the point where I question the whole photo bag approach.  Expensive, single use design with little room for anything else and ultimately a huge attraction for thieves.  If I'm doing real hiking on the trail, I'm hiking first, carrying photo gear second so the lenses, etc go in individual pouches that can be stowed separately in a true hiking backpack so the weight can be balanced, etc.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with photo bags per se, but in general I've never really warmed up to them.  Either I end up needing way more gear than they can carry on a local project (so I use larger trunks or rolling carts) or I carry less on my person using smaller modular bags for lenses on my belt, etc and a regular daypack for anything else including photo stuff or misc.