Saw Photorec Toby's review of the Mindshift Backlight 26L bag and decided, after much research, to pick it up. I must say that it's an excellent bag.
Build: Excellent. I wouldn't expect anything less from the lads at ThinkTank
Comfort: Very comfortable to wear. Unlike most bags I've come across, this one has a really good padded waist/hip belt. The shoulder straps are nicely padded as well. It's quite comfortable to use, even with a fair bit of gear. I'm pretty picky on this front and I really like this bag.
Capacity: 26 litres gives you a plenty of room to spare. In the main compartment (rear access only), I currently have
Canon 5D mkIII
Canon 16-35mm f/4
Tamron 15-30 f/2.8
Canon 70-200mm f/4
Canon 420EX flash
Case of 3 Lee GND soft grad filters
Case of 3 Lee GND hard grad filters
Case of 1 UV, 1 circ pol, and 1 ND filder
Battery charger + 2 extra batteries
With room to spare for the upcoming 24-105mm f/4 IS L II
Gorillapod Focus in the side pocket
Strap on the back to easily carry a full sized tripod
Use: I really like the rear-side entry for the main compartment. If you use the waist belt, you can simply slide your arms out of the shoulder straps, rotate the bag around to your front, and have easy access to your gear without having to take the pack off and set it on the ground, which is particularly handy if you're working in wet or sandy terrain. The front compartment has room for a 10 inch tablet and a 15 inch laptop (if you use a mac, it'll fit easily. My old 15 inch Lenovo T-series fits snugly). This is what really sets it apart from the other Mindshift bags, which have some weird fanny pack like compartment that you slide out of the main bag and I really didn't like. With the Backlight, the whole bag slides around and just works so much better for me. You also have room for things like snacks, a water bottle, and whatever other bits and pieces you happen to have on you. Having space for a laptop was an essential requirement for me since it means I can easily bring my gear plus my laptop on a plane with me. I'm actually surprised how many otherwise awesome bags don't have a slot for a laptop.
Style: I got the green version, which I like not only because it's a nice change of pace from the endless black bags on the market, but because it also doesn't look conspicuously like a photo bag. It looks a lot like just a regular day-pack, which is nice since I don't wan to look too much like I'm carrying thousands of dollars worth of gear with me.
Cost: It's not cheap, but not particularly expensive so far as camera bags go, which are always fairly pricey. I paid $380 CAD. You're looking at closer to $320 USD last time I checked. But I'd say it's well worth it.
Conclusion: The best bag I've ever found for my needs. I highly recommend.
Toby's review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mb0ZXoUfCk
Build: Excellent. I wouldn't expect anything less from the lads at ThinkTank
Comfort: Very comfortable to wear. Unlike most bags I've come across, this one has a really good padded waist/hip belt. The shoulder straps are nicely padded as well. It's quite comfortable to use, even with a fair bit of gear. I'm pretty picky on this front and I really like this bag.
Capacity: 26 litres gives you a plenty of room to spare. In the main compartment (rear access only), I currently have
Canon 5D mkIII
Canon 16-35mm f/4
Tamron 15-30 f/2.8
Canon 70-200mm f/4
Canon 420EX flash
Case of 3 Lee GND soft grad filters
Case of 3 Lee GND hard grad filters
Case of 1 UV, 1 circ pol, and 1 ND filder
Battery charger + 2 extra batteries
With room to spare for the upcoming 24-105mm f/4 IS L II
Gorillapod Focus in the side pocket
Strap on the back to easily carry a full sized tripod
Use: I really like the rear-side entry for the main compartment. If you use the waist belt, you can simply slide your arms out of the shoulder straps, rotate the bag around to your front, and have easy access to your gear without having to take the pack off and set it on the ground, which is particularly handy if you're working in wet or sandy terrain. The front compartment has room for a 10 inch tablet and a 15 inch laptop (if you use a mac, it'll fit easily. My old 15 inch Lenovo T-series fits snugly). This is what really sets it apart from the other Mindshift bags, which have some weird fanny pack like compartment that you slide out of the main bag and I really didn't like. With the Backlight, the whole bag slides around and just works so much better for me. You also have room for things like snacks, a water bottle, and whatever other bits and pieces you happen to have on you. Having space for a laptop was an essential requirement for me since it means I can easily bring my gear plus my laptop on a plane with me. I'm actually surprised how many otherwise awesome bags don't have a slot for a laptop.
Style: I got the green version, which I like not only because it's a nice change of pace from the endless black bags on the market, but because it also doesn't look conspicuously like a photo bag. It looks a lot like just a regular day-pack, which is nice since I don't wan to look too much like I'm carrying thousands of dollars worth of gear with me.
Cost: It's not cheap, but not particularly expensive so far as camera bags go, which are always fairly pricey. I paid $380 CAD. You're looking at closer to $320 USD last time I checked. But I'd say it's well worth it.
Conclusion: The best bag I've ever found for my needs. I highly recommend.
Toby's review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mb0ZXoUfCk
