I may have found camera bag zen (Lowepro Flipside sport 15L AW)

[fjrabon]

So, like most, if not all photographers, I own way too many camera bags. There's the "everything I own other than strobes and lightstands" thinktank bag. The little Lowepro slingshot for when I just need a couple lenses and a single body that I can access fast. The medium sized mobile headshot bag. All the way down to the little canvas messenger bag that I toss the X100T and an instax printer and a few other things for street shooting.

I finally think I found THE BAG though. The bag that's perfect for the vast majority of stuff I do that needs a kit do it with. The Lowepro Flipside Sport 15L AW

DSCF6356 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

Isn't she beautiful?

My primary concerns were:

1) Durable. I'm just not gonna mess around with piece of crap bags any more. I will pay hundreds of dollars if the thing is built well. I won't pay $20 if it's built like crap.

2) Has to fit: Nikon D7100 with a grip, Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 2 ring, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 wide angle zoom, Sigma ART 18-35mm f/1.8 zoom, Tamron 60mm f/2 macro/portrait lens. Black Rapid Rs-7 strap with underarm locking strap. Black Rapid Joey 3. A couple of equipment pouches holding batteries and small Cowboy Studios radio triggers, and a Metz 58 af-2 speedlight. This is my "I can do most anything with it" kit. At times I may swap out a given lens for a backup body, or rotate in one of the more specialist lenses I have, but with this kit I can more or less cover everything I need on DX.

Here it is laid out (minus a couple of things):

DSCF6374 (2) by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

3) Lightweight and comfortably built. Often this conflicts with demand #1, but I don't want the bag itself to add significant weight

4) No extraneous compartments. When I first started buying camera bags, I thought "more compartments for more things, awesome!" Built in SD card holder, that's brilliant, 14 tiny pouches for batteries, filters, etc, that's incredible, of course I want that! Then I gradually started realizing that compartments and pockets are where stuff goes to hide when you really need it. I re-thought my packing strategy. Now, instead I put accessories I need in small pouches. Radio triggers and extra AAA and AA batteries go in a small pouch together. 2 extra camera batteries, a lens pen, 2 extra SD cards go together in a black rapids Joey. I have a 77mm CPL as far as filters go and a couple of step up rings. They go in a single small pouch. These can all fit either in the main bag compartment or at most 1 extra compartment. This pouch system also makes things easily modular. The joey with all my cards and batteries attaches to my strap, or can easily be moved into a different bag. No more sifting through pockets for the accessories I need and then repacking them in a different bag, just grab the pouches I need and go. Anything more than 1-2 pockets in a camera bag just starts being an extra place I have to look for things when I'm in a hurry.

5) good, easy tripod holding system. an unwieldy, unsecured tripod holding system makes a fun hike in nature turn into a nightmare. A complicated series of straps makes getting the tripod out a chore.

6) weather proof. Nothing else matters if your camera dies.

7) Easy to access. Not necessarily vital, but certainly a plus if I can access my bag without taking it off.

The Flipside 15L AW fits every single one of these criterion. I honestly can't find a single fault with it, that isn't just an issue of not being able to change the laws of physics. Build quality is what you'd expect from Lowepro. I've had my little lowepro slingshot 102 AW since I bought my first digital camera, and it's still just as solid as the day I bought it. This bag feels the exact same quality of build wise. It's of course rainproof with Lowepro's best in class built in rain cover. It's perfect when you need it, perfectly out of the way when you don't, it's built in so you can't lose it.

It fits the stuff I need perfectly, with a little bit of ingenuity in setting the dividers up, I'll show it and then explain it, in case people are interested.

DSCF6357 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

So here is "layer 1." It's a deep bag, so at first I was worried that the 80-200 f/2.8 would flop around, and there was just a lot of wasted space. Then I realized that I could take the divider I wasn't using and make it horizontally attached.

DSCF6373 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

Then on top of the 80-200 I can put a speed light and my black rapid strap. Perfect fit. I can leave the divider non-velcroed, so that it's easy to pull up, if needed.

DSCF6372 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

There's layer 2. also notice that the pouch with my radio triggers and AAA/AA batteries fit on top of the where the tokina 11-16 goes. Nothing protrudes with this set up and I can fit everything I need for 99% of what I do.

Given the size, the bag is the lightest, yet most comfortable bag I've owned. The type of foam they use, and the way they ventilate it, adds substantially to comfort, lightweightedness and air circulation (to help ventilate the sweat from your body). If you take some time to make sure all the straps are at the right length, you'd be surprised how unnoticeable it feels on your back.

DSCF6363 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

DSCF6368 (1) by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

DSCF6371 (1) by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

It has the compartments I need, no more and no less. It has a compartment for a Camelbak/snacks, or a raincoat, or maybe like a speedlight or extra lens, depending on your needs. It's built for a 2L camelback (actually the specs say 1.5L, but I have a 2L and it fits perfectly) it has the hole for the nozzle to come out. Perfect for a nature photography bag. You can also fit a couple of granola bars in there.

DSCF6360 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

It has a single pocket in the main compartment. Then it has the main compartment. That's it. That's all I need. I prefer to have most everything in the main compartment, where it's all accessible and visible at once. I put a micro fiber cleaning cloth in the single interior pocket, and nothing else, that way the cleaning cloth stays clean. Plus the back doesn't get bulky and uncomfortable. The main compartment is large and deep. I'm able to put everything I need in there comfortably without feeling like the bag is popping at the seams. The 18-35mm f/1.8 sits up vertically, which it won't in many bags. The 80-200 f.2.8 has to lay flat, but every other lens can stand vertically.

It has the best, simplest, most effective tripod system I've seen. When I first used it, I just thought "why don't all bags work this way?" two legs go through the straps, while the third goes over. Then two flaps strap over that. That both secures it, and also prevents the legs from catching on things as you're going through the woods more than a traditional style tripod attachment system. It's simple, effective and brilliant. Like I said, I really don't understand why all backpacks don't use this system. My hiking/outdoor tripod is a fairly large, but relatively weight weight carbon fiber tripod from Vanguard. Here it is "in action":
Slid the 2 legs under the straps:
DSCF6361 (2) by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

Then clip secure the two flaps:
DSCF6362 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

The rainproof cover is as good as they come. No, it won't fit with the tripod on, meaning if you need to put it on, and you have your tripod with you, you have to carry your tripod. Sorta sucks, but I don't know how else you'd solve this issue. Engineer guys and gals at lowepro, you should get on this, a way to use your excellent AW cover with a tripod attached. Granted no other bag that I'm aware of has an all weather cover that fits with a tripod attached, so it's hard to fault them for it.

Untitled by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

It's also easy and secure access. the zip up is on the part of the bag next to your back, meaning nobody can discreetly unzip it and slip something out (or unzip and grab and run). Further, it means you can attach the waist strap, take off the shoulder straps and flip it around front and have full access to your gear. This is also where the beauty of not having many pockets and fitting everything in the main compartment comes into play. It's all accessible that way. You don't have to lay it out on the ground.

So it fully fulfilled all my absolute requirements of a bag, perfectly. Something no other bag has ever done. I can't even begin to explain how happy that made me, from a brand whose durability I trust completely. And it's good looking, I think.

If that wasn't enough, it also has a feature, that while not a requirement for me, is genuinely useful. You can remove the entire equipment carrying section from the bag. It becomes sort of like a picnic basket of your gear.

DSCF6375 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

DSCF6376 by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

This is useful to me in a couple of ways. it becomes a convenient gear caddy on shoots. I can carry around the gear without the straps from the backpack getting in the way. I LOVE this feature. If I'm doing a location shoot and quickly move from one station to another that's a hundred so yards away, I don't have to pack everything back in the backpack, I can just put it in the "basket" and carry it over. It also means I can use the backpack as a regular backpack if needed, and it's not a pretty expensive thing taking up closet space when you don't need it as a photo bag. If I'm going on a hiking trip and only bringing the X100T, I can use the Lowepro as a regular day bag with food, hiking supplies, extra socks, raincoat, etc.

Finally, it has a couple of loops at the bottom for attaching walking poles or whatever. I don't see myself every using those, but I have attached a Joby gorillapod to it. I use a gorilla pod sometimes to attach a speedlight to. I used this for a shot recently where I had the camera on the tripod, me and my friends in front of a sunrise in the mountains. We were obviously extremely backlit, so I needed a speedlight to brighten us up, while allowing the sunrise to be nice and richly exposed.

Untitled by Franklin Rabon, on Flickr

Ultimately I just can't say enough about this bag. It's not the perfect bag, but it's my perfect bag. No it won't fit every piece of gear I own in it. No it won't replace every other bag I have. But it will be my go to bag, and I couldn't be happier. Will it improve my photography? Yeah, maybe, because it makes it easier for me to go cool places and bring the gear I need.

Anyway, if you're in the market for a light, active bag, that's weather proof, can carry a good solid kit and a tripod, and has an incredibly high construction quality, I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

 

[bribrius]

nice write up. thanks for taking the time.

 

[weepete]

Nice review.

I like lowerpros stuff, had a flipside 200 for a couple of years and its managed to cope with pretty much all I could throw at it but the recent expansion in my gear meant that I went with a flipside 400AW for the extra space. I must say I like the webbing on that one, the tripod carrier looks ideal too (I also lament the lack of a tripod rain cover or some kind of system that would enable one to be carried while the cover is in use), the bladder pouch looks really useful too.

 

[fjrabon]

Nice review.

I like lowerpros stuff, had a flipside 200 for a couple of years and its managed to cope with pretty much all I could throw at it but the recent expansion in my gear meant that I went with a flipside 400AW for the extra space. I must say I like the webbing on that one, the tripod carrier looks ideal too (I also lament the lack of a tripod rain cover or some kind of system that would enable one to be carried while the cover is in use), the bladder pouch looks really useful too.

Thanks. My big bag is still going to be the thinktank airport security II. It's rugged, can fit everything I own except light stands and strobes. All my lenses, all my bodies, all my speed lights and all my accessories. And it rolls. Which is a lifesaver with that much gear. But this guy will do the trick for 99% of what I do when I don't need to throw the kitchen sink at a trip. And it really pushes me out the door to get out and shoot in nature. I measured it and the ultra telephotos (sigma and tamzookas) will fit in there easily. So that will allow this to be my do it all nature backpack even when I get the ultratele zoom.

Also I don't know how to fix the tripod rain cover issue. I don't really care about the tripod getting wet, but I'd prefer not to have to lug the thing by hand if it rains. But again, no company that I'm aware of has solved that problem.