ROOM -- this backpack has plenty of room for just about all the gear you will need. I usually carry 1 pro 35mm camera body, 2 pro lenses, 6-8 filters, shutter release, close-up lenses, lens hoods, straps, film, and this still leaves room for the cleaning and note-taking accessories. With a little adjustment, I was even able to get my wife's camera body and two lenses into the pack without sacrificing anything except her 2x teleconverter. BALANCE -- even fully loaded, the chassis of this backpack made it feel perfectly balanced. This was nice for hiking over large coastal rocks or winding trail on hillsides and through ravines. Quite honestly, it might feel heavy when you pick it up off the ground, but get it on your back and the weight spreads out really well over the entire surface. DURABILITY -- the zippers, straps, clips, and finishing work all have a solid feel. There is even a safety clip to make sure the pack stays closed. The rain cover (which fold away into a Velcro compartment) is a great addition to keep the pack dry, or you can even spread it underneath the pack if your environment is wet (like soaked sand). INTERIOR -- their is plenty of Velcro to give you endless variation for positioning the internal compartments. The interior zipper pockets are clear so you can see what's in them. Also, the zippers recess behind flaps so the metal zippers will not scratch up your camera gear when the top is closed.

While not necessarily a weakness, the tripod mount is a little ungainly. I do not use the "cup" they give you, but instead use the third top-most bungee cord to wrap around the head and keep the tripod from sliding down as you hike.

This is an outstanding photographic backpack. If you do your research to find a CAMERA backpack before you buy one, you will not be disappointed in the features or the value of this backpack. I have used this backpack on day long hikes over all types of terrain, from mountains to coastal to forest and prarie. In all conditions, this backpack made the hiking part of it a pleasure. When I am out photographing nature, I like to be able to focus on hiking and finding my subjects, not worrying about how sore my backpack is making me feel or how uncomfortable it is. Another nice feature is the tripod mount, which can be a little tricky to get balanced right, but I bought this pack specifically because the tripod could be attached to leave hands free for tricky hiking.

Customer Service

None so far.

Similar Products Used:

Tamrac

Solid

Tripod mount could be better (but then again whos couldnt use some improvment) Wish they had more pockets in front zipper area.

This pack is solid!! Good harness if adjusted correctly.. Well balanced.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Lowepro Mini AW

Build

None

This is a great backpack for all of my camera gear. It has high quality built all over it. I find that it will hold my Nikon F5, 28-70 f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 zooms, 300 f/4, flash, and with room to carry one more small lens. It will also carry all of the other neccesary stuff, filters, cleaning sup., holders, etc,,,. It will carry my Bogen 3021 tripod on the outside. If you are hiking to an area to take some shots, this pack is for you. If you are walking just a short distance from shot location to another, then you might look into getting a shoulder bag. It is some what difficult to take the pack off of your back and constantly access your backpack for lenses, film etc.. Excellent quality backpack.

Customer Service

Not needed yet.

Everything mentioned above

None I can find at this point

I acquired this pack only yesterday but I did allot of research before I settled on a product for my needs. I also looked at a pack by Tatonka which was half the price but advice and instinct told me where my money ought to go. One thing that should be pointed out from the start is that this is not a general hiking pack for long trips outdoors; 3 days for instance. Repeat - *THIS IS NOT AN ALL PURPOSE HIKING PACK!* I have no problem with this because if I want something like that then I'll use a proper framed toploader for my long expeditions and load my 35mm gear into it instead. This is not the say that the Nature Trekker cannot be hollowed out and used as a general day trekker, it can, but who'd want to pull all that velcro off and put it back again? This alone took me about 15 minutes of struggle, in order to get all my compartments for my Medium Format gear sorted out, but it was fun struggle. If you keep in mind that the Nature Trekker is a dedicated Photographic Backpack, purpose built for carrying Photographic equiptment and not tents and bedrolls, as well as food and the like, then you'll be in the reality ballpark and far less likely to be dissapointed when the pots, pans and cooking utenstils don't pack down well with your expensive lenses! I packed a Mamiya Rb67 Pro-S, flash, light meter, filters, film, heavy duty Linhof tripod that extends to 7ft! I all but destroyed an old backpack that had done several tours of duty in South East Asia since 95, with this MF gear. All my MF gear fits perfectly within the Lowepro Nature Trekker with allot of room to spare actually; thats with an RB by the way! The lumbar support which sits on your hips and stops the bottom end of the pack from pivoting laterally is brilliant in the way it limits movement and maximises comfort and stability. This buckles across your stomach and has a nice wrap around effect. The Y brace harness from the shoulders to the pack is heavily padded and among some of the nicest craftmanship I have experienced in quite some time, with several points where adjustments can be made. This in itself is very important and extremely confidence inspiring. There is a second sternum harness which goes - you guessed it - across the chest to reduce wear on the shoulders by pulling the shoulder straps *in* and holding them together, another great idea. From the top of the pack to the bottom there are harnesses to make critical adjustement to suit all sizes. If anybody has had issues with this system then they haven't read the instructions properly on how to utilize andset up the pack for best wear. You should begin by loosening all the straps and then with the help of another person begin adjusting with your gear inside until everything sits correctly. The fact that this pack has so many features and allowances for add-ons attests to the quality of thought and design apparent here. I needed something that would guard and protect my MF equiptment which is expensive and hard to replace as well as something which also made provision for carrying my heavy tripod. This pack allows you to center mount the tripod or side mount which is excellent. The pack has a dedicated rain cover with draw string which folds into a velcro slip at the base of the bag, another excellent idea! All in all this pack is sturdy, well designed, has excellent build quality and oozes class. I have no doubt for some 35mm users this pack may wekk seem a bit over the top but for myself and my Medium Format needs this pack is a perfect fit.

Similar Products Used:

Crispi Tatonka

good protection against shock, dust, rain and heat. a lot of space for camera gear. can be configured in many ways. good tripod harnnes.

no room for trekking gear. no (waterproof) room for water. very poor back system.

this backpack is supposed to enable a nature photographer to carry his/hers camera gear AND TREKKING GEAR through a long trek. it doesn't. there isn't enough room in the backpack for other stuff exept for camera gear. after packing 1 pro SLR, 2 (very) small lenses, 1 medium sized lens and a small number of accessories, I was left with very little room for food and warm clothing for the night in the bag. this forced me to trek in circels, every day I had to buy more food, since I wasn't able to bring enough for 2.5 days. I had to strap my sleeping bag underneath the backpcak, by means of improvising an elastic net. since ther is no safe, waterproof space in the bag, I had to strap my 2 waterbags (5 liters each) to the sides of it. the fleece had to go under the tripod wich was set in it's harness on the back. at the end, I carried over half of the weight OUTSIDE of the backpack! I might as well go trekking with everything inside a grocery store bag... the back system is plain horrible. the waistbelt is to high to be efficient. the back is to short (and I am just 175cm tall). the shoulder straps are to narrow and won't make the pack stick to my back like it should. this makes the weight of the backpack pull me back, so I have to walk leaning forward. why can't lowe pro be smart and make a backpack that has less room for camera gear and more room for trekking gear, with a REAL back system like the APS one that's on my beloved lowe alpine alpamayo? I will give it 3 value stars because it is still better and cheaper than walking with a REAL bacpack and an extra bag for the camera gear.

Compact and can hold 300mm f/2.8 with hood and 400mm f/2.8 without hood Deep enough to hold my 135 camera with booster

Harness is not good as my Lowepor Rover AW

Good design to hold all my equipment, including 300mm f/2.8 and even a slim notebook

Customer Service

Never

Similar Products Used:

Lowepro Rover AW Lowepro Lenstrekker 600 Lowepro Minitrekker

The ulimate in adjustability: comfortable on long hot climbs, fine with heavy coat. Extremely well designed and built. Protects delicate gear and film from shock, temperature extremes. Oversize rain cover accommodates some strap-on items like coat, tripod, water bottle. Expensive but not compared to the good gear you want to put in it! Besides, the comfort helps get you and your gear to places where you can make the shots, so it's worth it eh?

The ulimate in adjustability: spend some time or get help making it fit right, it's worth it. Easily filled up with a basic set of gear, leaving no room inside for lunch, rain gear, water -- so strap these on the outside. I use elastic straps with velcro closures: fast, secure, lightweight. Bag doesn't really hold that much camera gear - a 35mm body, 4 moderate-size lenses, flash & bouncer, film, cables, GPS, cell phone, and a tripod velcro'd on the side is my typical load. Forces me to make choices and prevents me from bringing EVERYTHING and having to carry it the entire trip. Maybe this isn't a weakness against the backpack, after all.

I really like the Nature Trekker AW backpack. The quality and excellent design still amazes me: great value. Example: the waterproof rain cover is stored in the bottom, forming a nice waterproof pad right where I set the pack down (sometimes unavoidably on wet ground). After dozens of trips, my pack still looks nearly new (and I bought it used). A bonus: all of the padding helps insulate the contents against heat. Even though the outside is black (grey would have been better), film inside never seems to get warm even after hours of hiking in the summer sun. As earlier reviewers said, the backpack is a bit over-engineered but you can reconfigure and add-on to make it work for your situations. Yes it's heavy, but it's tough and versatile. Remove unneeded pieces and trim excess strap lengths... oops, it's still heavy. But if you're shooting ultra lightweight P&S cameras, you probably wouldn't need a camera backpack anyway. The carrying harness has a lot of adjustments. E.g., the chest strap (between the contoured shoulder straps) slides up and down to fit your pecs, adjusts in length, and has an elastic tensioner to avoid constriction. It took a lot of tweaking, but now it's perfectly comfortable for my back (all day, heavy gear). Yeah, I wish it were a real backpack, with frame and lower hip belt and PLENTY of room, but that wouldn't pass for carry-aboard luggage eh? The zippers are indeed stiff, but that helps me feel (somewhat) secure that no pickpocket can pilfer the gear out of the backpack while I'm wearing it. Still, the zippers never seem to jam and I've jerked them hard when in a hurry. After a year with this pack I can swing it off my back, open, and shooting in very few seconds. Despite the inconvenience, I can't really say I've missed shots that I would have caught using a shoulder bag instead. By the way, an expert gave me this advice: always close your bag (backpack), or one day you'll pick it up and watch little items and lenses scatter (worse in the dark!). The Lowe engineering staff has to keep busy, so they'll probably continue to improve their designs. For now, the Nature Trekker AW is as close to ideal as I've seen.

Similar Products Used:

Various hip and shoulder bags, holsters. Full frame backpacks (by comparison, the Nature Trekker AW is really more of a knapsack).

Solid Construction, Comfortable Waist Belt and shoulder straps, easily adjustable inside configuration. Great Protection

Expensive but worth it. Backpack itself is a little heavey.

This was a little of an overkill for my 35 mm system (One body and three lenses, etc.), but I'm looking forward to growing into it. It has plenty of room for me to carry all the extras that would have been dificult with my other lowepro waistpack. It is well worth the money to make an investment in such a bag that will protect all your gear and help you move it around in a comfortable manner.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Lowepro Off Road

Strength, Protection, Long Lasting Quality. Plenty of room for photo trips. The best quality bag I can find.

I wish for a cell phone pocket on one side of the pack, a water bottle carrier on the other. I know that I can add these with the S&F line of products though.

This pack is by far the best available in my opinion. I travel all over the world in my work. I have tried 4 different backpacks, and far too many bags to count. This is the finest way to carry if you travel and must walk around in a country with your gear. As I have found to be most always true, you can''''t beat LowePro for quality. Yes, it is a little heavier than some packs - This is because of it''''s ability to protect and to last, which is why I buy a pack. Yes, it is more expensive than some other packs, not all - You get what you pay for in a camera backpack, I can assure you. If you don''''t need a backpack, buy a shoulder or fanny bag. A backpack is for a very different need than a shoulder bag. If you need a camera backpack, I highly reccomend this one. It is truly the best one that I have used. I have tried Domke, other LowePro, Tamrac and Tenba backpacks. If you want protection and quality that is functional and lasting, this is the bag!

Customer Service

Extremely helpful when I called them for questions. They went the extra mile just to make sure that I had all of my questions answered.

Similar Products Used:

Domke - Tamrac - Tenba

Build, configuration, anonynmous look, ease of access for gear. Protection - it fell out of the overhead locker on a flight and nothing was damaged.

Back harness is a bit odd compared to modern packs, but does the job. Have to open fully to access gear - not much use if you''re hanging on a rope. Straps a bit strange - need to get rid of some and extend the others.

Great bag. Little expensive but it''s good to know your kit''s safe. Plus (major bonus), it doesn''t look like a camera bag. Take off the logo, remove the tripod carrier, and it''s just a backpack, much less conspicuous. Used it in dusty conditions and didn''t let a grain of sand in! Chucked it around, hauled it up things, and generally abused it, and still going well

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Smaller lowe pro bags.