Getting At Your Stuff From Outside
There’s actually a couple ways to get at your gear from outside…
On the right side of the bag there is a zippered compartment that allows you quick access to your camera. This compartment is opened with the help of a long handled zipper and your stuff is kept from falling out through the use of a stiff flap that opens only with a bit of force from your hand. I found that this compartment works fine with DSLRs without an attached grip.
For example, my Nikon D80 body with a 17-55 f/2.8 lens seemed to slide in and out just dandy. However, when I tried this with my Nikon D200 body which does have a grip attached with the same lens attached, I was not only unable to pull it out, but I think I pulled a shoulder muscle trying this reach around method. I did try to swing the bag around using only the shoulder strap so that I could see the compartment, but the weird shape in which this compartment was fashioned didn’t make reinsertion quick or painless. If you have a small DSLR body and a big lens, no problem. Big body plus big lens equals problem.
If you do have the big PRO body or grip attached, then you’re going to have to use the waist strap method. Basically you cinch up the waist strap, undo your shoulder straps, and swing the whole bag in front of you, giving you full access to both compartments. The first time I tried this, I was so afraid that all my stuff would fall out and crash to the floor that I had to open it on a soft surface. Fortunately, because the waist strap is so beefy, and as long as you tighten it up, you’ll have no problems. I’ve performed this manouver countless times on the fly and I’ve never had a problem with self ejecting camera accessories.
How Much Stuff Can You Really Store?
I was actually really surprised at how much gear I could cram in here. In the above picture, I’ve got my Nikon D200 with grip and a Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens, an extra 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, and a Nikon SB600 flash unit. When I went over to Taipei, I filled this same compartment with my Nikon D200 with grip and the same Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens, a Nikon 35mm f/2.0 prime, a Sigma 10-20mm Wide Angle Lens, and a Samsung HMX-20C HD Camcorder. In the closing flap, I also shoved two D200 batteries, eight AA batteries and two extra memory cards along with the chargers for both camera and camcorder.
Up in the top compartment, I threw my ASUS U1F 11.1 inch notebook, the charger for it, my Nikon SB600 flash, my SONY MDR-7506 Monitor Headphones, my Microsoft ZUNE, plus a change of clothes and toiletries. I also had a box of smoked salmon and maple syrup stored in the flap compartment along with a jacket and some magazines and I still had some room to spare. The bag probably weighed around 40 lbs at this point, but thanks to the good harness system, it was still fairly easy to manouver through tight lineups and aircraft cabins. The whole thing still stowed easily into an overhead compartment.
Real-Time Price and Stock Check – Find More Products