Camera Hiking Backpack

Honi0803

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I have been living in Denver Colorado for a while now. My wife and I really enjoy hiking in the mountains near town. I have recently got more and more into photography and have been taking my DSLR on the hikes with me. I have found a problem though... I have no room for other gear then my camera gear. I have been looking online for a good photo backpack that has plenty of room for other equipment such as water bladder, rain gear, food, first aid kit, climbing gear (preffered but not needed) along with the basic camera equipment requirements... 1 body, 70-200mm lens (prefferably attached), 2-3 lenses, flash, tri-pod carrying unit, and a rain cover.

I have seen bags from F-Stop that would work nicely, but I read reviews of people waiting months before the bags came in. The Naneu Adventure K5 looks like it would have more then enough room to carry all of the equipment I would ever need to take with me on a day long hike, but I was hoping to get something for less then $400.

Anyone have any suggestions?
 
I bought pretty large backpack at Walmart that can fit my stuff. I also bought a black JEEP brand diaper bag there that fits the gear that I don't carry alot. I can't believe the price jump in bags as soon as you add photo to the name. The gear bag was 22 bucks and the backpack was less than 50. They had a larger one than the one I got as well. I am looking for a foam body holder that can handle a 55-250 lense and a battery grip on the body.Takeing off the pack to get at the camera every time is a pain and you miss shots. I would only carry lenses/flash in the pack that way.
 
Lowepro baby!!! I have a bunch of their products and couldn't be happier. I go hiking & camping a lot and always bring my gear. I have the flipside 500 aw and it fits both my canons a 60d & a 5d mark iii both gripped, 24-70, 70-200 2.8 is ii p, 50 1.4, 11-16 2.8, 580ex, 2. Pocket wizards a bunch of memory a cleaning kit rain cover for the cameras (the bag comes with one built in) plus some other tools and equipment. That's just in the camera compartment, I also have an iPad notebook first aid kit iPod iPhone headphones and it goes everywhere with me. Also has a holder for a tripod or monopod. Hope this helps. Oh yea, it's very comfortable for the whole duration of the hike.
 
The problem I find with most photo backpacks is there is a lot of wasted space by padding/dividers and unecessary added weight. Carrying more wieght and bulk than you need to takes some enjoyment out of hiking. Depending on the length of my hike, I use good sturdy daypacks with raincovers and pack my camera gear into them using the spaces available for my gear. I'm not one to roll around down a hillside with my gear so I don't feel it needs the bulky padding a "camera" backpack provides. For my main body that I like to carry outside the pack and have at the ready I use a ThinkTank camera holster attached to my chest strap. Lightweight thinly padded water bottle holders also work well to carry an extra lens or two (or strobe if you like to carry one) that can attach to the waist band or one of the other connection points on a pack. Quality packs also come with plenty of attachment points that make carrying a tripod easy.

In over 30 years of backcountry hiking and photography I have never broken any camera gear because of carrying it in a regular quality backpack..... but I did loose a tripod set up as a remote when a herd of elk trampled it.
 

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