A walkers camera bag

[Overread]

Ok my LowePro mini nature trekker is serving me well still as a bag for holding my gear, infact I'm amazed that the thing hasn't fallen apart with all the gear I lug around in it - but...I am starting to do more longer walks and there are now hills (big ones!) where I am and I am finding that with the weight of the bag and its design and its really going to do my back in rather quick.
The minitrekker does have waist straps, but they have no padding so cut in quite quickly if they are used tighter and they don't seem to carry the weight like more normal larger ruckscaks.
Also with all my gear inside as well as gloves and waterproofs I have little space for more than a chocolate bar - I need somewhere to put my lunchbox and stuff!


I know the main answer to this is find a good camera shop and try some bags out - but I am interested if there are any camera bags users can recomend which would be more suited to longer distance walking and have a larger capacity (300mm f2.8 will be mine oneday.....one year) so that I have some idea what to look for.

So anyone?
(ideas for camping setups would also be welcome - as that is something that is likley to be occuring too)

[gsgary]

Are you thinking of a man bag or rucksack

[bigtwinky]

I picked up the Lowepro Primus AW a few months ago. While the gear storage is a bit small, its a nice mix of gear + personall stuff.

In the lower compartment, I can carry my XSI gripped with a 28-75 attached. If you had a 70-200 or even the 300, it would fit it fine as I have plenty of room at the end of the 28-75. There are 2 other slots for other lenses, where I put my 10-22 and 50-200 comfortably. With an extra divider, I can fit my flash if I need to. There are pockets on the inside that can hold cards, filters and whatever else.

The top compartment is roomy. I easily carry a lunch bag, my 10.1 inch netbook, book, keys, wallet and what not. Pocket on the inside flap allows for maps or other thin things. When I bring this to work, I have a change of shoes, jeans, tshirt and socks in this pocket.

There is a big water bottle pocket on the side, fits a 1L pretty fine.

The other side has a zipper opening for quick access. Although when my camera has its grip, this won't fit in the small opening. Ungripped is fine.

There is a section on the back of the bag that is closed by a few straps, that I put my jacket in.

The shoulder straps are well padded. The waist strap is well padded. The sternum strap has a bit of give, like an elastic, to help with shock absorbtion.

There are plenty of straps to adjust the fit. Shoulder straps can be fit better, the back can be somewhat compressed, sternum and waist are adjustable.

Fully loaded, with water bottle and tripod in the back tripod carrier, I find the weight is well distributed. I've worn it (without the tripod) for a full day - 7 hours walking in Niagary Falls Ontario. I've worn it with tripod for approx 2 hours straight walking.

Might be worth checking out. Although might not be the right bag if you want to carry ALL your gear with you + have storage on top.

[wysoczanski]

im no pro but what i did was made my own bag....in total i spent about 30-40 dollars...i took a decent book bag added some padding made individual slots for lenses. theres enough pockets on it to put in spare batteries or even the charger....for long walks through forests or even a good nature walk through a park a bookbag in my opinion is quiet good enough support nothing gauging into my back and all is good.....i seen some book bags have attachable lunch bags/boxes that latch on the back...hope i helped

[ErectedGryphon]

These are really good long walk bags, especially the back packs.

Tamrac - Manufacturer of camera bags, camera cases, photo backpacks, camcorder bags, video bags, and photo accessories

I have the "Expedition 5", before they added the "x", and it has very good padding at the contact points of your body. I have "Lowepro", "Vanguard", and "Tamrac" back packs and the "Tamrac' is the most comfortable.