|
Author
|
|
Sonsey
Retired Crew
Registered: October 2005
Location: N. Ireland
Posts: 7484
|
|
Review Date: Sun August 20, 2006
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £44.00
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
Just about everything
|
|
Cons:
|
Not too much
|
|
I managed to to get this bag free with a 1 year mag subscription which I was well chuffed about, but even though, I still think this bag is well worth the £70 it cost's on the net.
The bag is quite compact but somehow remain's surprisingly roomy, easily swallowing my kit with room to spare for a couple more lenses, there's also plenty of pockets for filters, batteries etc. along with a fold out pocket that hold's the legs of your tripod making it easy to carry with you.
Build quality is nice and sturdy with plenty of padding to keep your kit safe, the sholder straps are nicely padded and comfortable giving plenty of support where needed.
All in all a quality bag capable of carrying a good amount of kit safely... well worth it's price 
|
|
|
|
Gary Bagshawe
Rep Point Winner 07
Registered: April 2005
Location: Sheffield UK
Posts: 2565
|
|
Review Date: Wed September 20, 2006
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
Great for all day use
|
|
Cons:
|
it will sink if thrown in a river with all your kit in!!!
|
|
I bought one of these about 3 years ago and it has been all over the world with me, I use this bag on a daily basis and it gets thrown around, soaked with rain and generally abused. It has protected my kit to all the abuse I can throw at it and still looks like new.
There are plenty of pockets to stuff filters batteries and all other sorts of gadgets like portable hard drives and cd burners. Mine is usually full with 2 camera bodies 3 lenses and a flash gun. When going out shooting landscapes the fold out tripod pocket is great and the pack fits nice and comfy on the back. The straps for fastening it to you can double up as a carrying strap for a jacket sized coat and it fits neatly into the overhead compartments on planes, (assuming you can still carry hand lugguage). I have had it's bigger brother and the 100% waterproof bigger brother and ended up selling them back to the shop because they were just too big to lug around all day.
For a camera bag that gets day to day use this is probably the best buy you can get.
|
|
|
|
|
Rob Barron
Loves the place
Registered: September 2006
Location: Poole, Dorset
Posts: 7225
|
|
Review Date: Thu October 19, 2006
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £50.00
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
Ample space, excellently made, great price
|
|
Cons:
|
Nothing
|
|
This bag has only one thing wrong with it: the name! It might be called the Mini trekker but it is by no means small in terms of what it can hold. In fact, it is almost Tardis-like in its ability to hold far more within than it looks from the outside!
It is a well-made, strong protective case for your equipment and can take a fair bit of handling. The weather cover is extremely handy to entirely cover the pack if you hit some rain. It is not waterproof but you wouldn't expect that at this price. It will not let in shower leaks but don't through it in the river :o)
I regularly carry all of the following in my bag: Canon 20D body with 28-70mm lens attached. 100-400mm IS L lens (not small!), 17-40mm lens, 100mm macro lens, 50mm f1.8 lens, 550EX flash unit, 1.4x TC, 2x TC plus ample room for plenty of batteries, memory cards and my Epson P2000 portable storage and viewing unit. On the outside I can attach my Velbon Sherpa Pro carbon fibre tripod quite happily as well as two detachable lens cases that make great Coke cases :o)
The two shoulder straps are strong and well padded whilst being easily adjustable. There is also an equally strong and well padded waist strap and clip attachments ascross the chest so this never feels like it is slipping off the shoulders at all. Yet it is quick and easy to remove using the quick release fasteners.
I bought mine second-hand from a friend but even new it is very good value. Mine is showing absolutely no signs of wear whatsoever.
A great bag at a great price. I recommend it highly.
Cheers,
Rob
|
|
|
|
|
dabhand16
Pixalo Crew
Registered: June 2006
Location: Dunstable Bedfordshire UK
Posts: 24109
|
|
Review Date: Tue July 8, 2008
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £90.00
| Rating: 9
|
|
Pros:
|
Great size/capacity ratio - comfort
|
|
Cons:
|
Slow access - straps drag on ground - no external quick access pockets
|
|
I hate rucksacks.
All of my life I have favoured the toploader style of bags, or used fitted metal briefcase/Peli style cases for their quick and convenient access. However, the undeniable downside of these cases is the unbalanced weight on one shoulder/arm and the constant slipping of the carrying strap from the shoulder that becomes more frequent as the weight of the bag increases.
On a recent trip to York, on arrival only having the D70s and the 18-70 kit lens, I bought a Sigma 10-20 and a Sigma 70-200 f2.8. After a couple of days of using a holdall to carry my my newly expanded kit, I realised that a proper bag was required. I looked at the Lowepro Slingshot range, some toploader bags and the Trekker range. The Mini Trekker won the day being quite compact but with very good capacity. I paid top dollar for it in a shop as I was away from home and needed it straight away. At least - that's what I told my Wife!
Since then, my kit has steadily grown and I now find myself at the maximum capacity of the bag. At this moment in time it contains:
Nikon D70s with Sigma 18-200
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 18-70 (soon to be 17-55 f2.8 )
Sigma 70-200 f2.8
Nikkor 50mm f1.8
Sigma 10-20
Sigma 1.4 Teleconverter
Odds and ends - blower - spirit level - end caps - 4 Sandisk 4 card wallets - 'P' size filter wallet with 6 filters - 77mm CP - 2 x remote releases - 2 x square filter holders - battery charger + lead - other bits and pieces.
This weighs in at just under 9kgs, and pretty much right on 10kgs with my tripod attached. Quite a lump to lug around.
Here is where the magic starts. When I've got it on my back I hardly know it's there! It is supremely comfortable and secure. The main straps are wide and have breathable padding on the inside to minimise heat/sweat build up. The back of the bag that is in contact with your back also has this material and there is extra padding to protect your lower back.
The familiar Lowepro internal divider system allows for detailed customisation inside the bag, and as others have said, the quality of the construction is first class. The inside of the lid has two small and one large compartments, and on the outside of the lid there is a single large zipped pocket with internal slip pockets.
There are also some downsides. The lack of any external quick access pockets mean that you have to unzip either the main or secondary (lid) compartment to get anything you want. This has prompted me to start carrying card wallets on lanyards around my neck for easy changes of memory cards. If you carry it by the strap on the top of the bag, the other straps drag on the ground (even if you join them up and try to tuck them into each other) and when you put it down to access the compartments, the straps and the part of the bag that is in contact with your back are on the ground, so you have to be careful where you place it.
Pros - Compact size yet with great capacity. Very comfortable. Great build quality.
Cons - Slow to access. When being carried as a bag the straps are all over the place and drag on the ground. No quick access external pockets. If it gets dirty on the outside, your clothes will suffer.
My recent purchases from Dave - the Nikkor 17-55, SB-800 etc will mean making some choices as to what to carry. I am coming to the conclusion that I might need to get another bag and then use the most appropriate one for what I'm doing. The Mini Trekker for when I am going to be on foot for a long time, and changing equipment will be less frequent, and a toploader for shorter journeys where I might need to chop and change kit more frequently.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Just be aware of the issues I have highlighted. If you never carry your kit for long periods and are always changing lenses it might not be for you.
|
|
|
|
|
Dutchie
Feet under the table
Registered: October 2006
Location: Antwerpen - BE
Posts: 1984
|
|
Review Date: Wed July 16, 2008
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £69.95
| Rating: 10
|
|
Pros:
|
It holds an enormous pile of gear
|
|
Cons:
|
none
|
|
I don't think I could have done better with buying a rugsack.
It holds truly loads and loads of stuff.
I would advice this bag to anyone. And as Rob said, minitrekker is the only thing wrong about it.
My gear in it at the moment:
Nikkor 70-300mm
SB-600 speedlight
Nikkor 50mm 1.8
Nikkor 18-200mm
Nikkor 105mm vr macro
a special pouche for my p filters
a pouche for my hoya filters
loads of bits and bobs
some little books with hints and tips.
The bag feels good on my back, the straps are soft and you don't seemed to feel much of it. In fact I normally get pain in my shoulders with bags hanging on me. With this one, I haven't had any complaints as yet. To be honest, who needs a shoulder bag with so much gear in it. I couldn't see myself carrying that around. Oh yeh and I can attach my tripod on it as well.
Certainly a good bag to consider I would say
p.s. After I've had this bag for near enough 2 years. I found a weather flap at the bottom of the bag. There is a zip there which holds a cover to put over your bag. Very handy 
And I have the same problem as Dabhand. I now have to choose what to take with me. Which is in some cases not very handy. And I'm not sure whether a toploader would be for me. But with changing lenses, it isn't a very handy bag. As it falls forward when loaded up fully. You need to ly it on the back and open the bag fully to take your lens out. And my conclusion. The list of wanting to have never stops. It only becomes bigger everytime you buy something 
|
|
|
|
|
The_Camera_Poser
New here
Registered: January 2009
Location: Tasmania
Posts: 30
|
|
Review Date: Thu January 8, 2009
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
|
|
Pros:
|
weight, quantity of gear you can fit in, extra storage pockets, build quality, weather resistance excellent
|
|
Cons:
|
straps too thin, tripod sling, rain cover presses in on storage area.
|
|
I like this bag, and agree with everyone else's assessment, with the following limits:
1) Tripod sling- the use of bungie cord is really bad IMHO- a good-sized tripod swings around and doesn't sit flush to the pack. VERY irritating.
2) Straps- as others have said, you can really load this baby down. I've gotten the following gear in there:
30D + 350D
10-20, 17-70, 24-105, 100/2.8, 430EX AND a 100-400
It weighs a ton fully loaded, but the shoulder and hip straps are no where close to being adequate for this load, especially if you are going bush. They are safe and secure, but they are not sufficently padded. It's fine for snow and cold-weather shooting, when you are wearing a few layers, but it can be uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, if you are only wearing a t-shirt.
Also, the rain fly tends to press into the storage compartment when it's stored away, taking up a bit of space and putting pressure on anythnig adjacent to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pixalo Photography Community
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
