subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 22 June 2019 47
F-stop GearAjna 40L
l£227lwww.fstopgear.comTheAjnA40Lis thesuccessortoF-stop’s
Lokadaypackandis designedforoutdoorsy
typesandthosewhowanttocarryphotokit
alongsideothertravellingessentials.Toturnit
froma conventionalbackpackintoonethat
offersa well-protectedhomeforyourcamera
kityou’llneedaninternalcameraunit(ICU)of
whichthere’sa wideselection.Variousbundles
withdifferentICUs,pouchesandstrapsare
available,oryoucanchoosetocustomiseit
yourselfandbuythebagandICUsseparately.
Themedium-slopeICU(£75)suppliedhad
spaceforfouradditionallensesalongsidea
70-200mmlensmountedtoa DSLR.
Velcrotabsandconnectionloopsprevent
theICUfrommovinginside.Thethickandsoft
internaldividersdoa greatjobof keepingkit
safeandsecureonthemoveandtheICUcan
bezippedshut– makingit a greatindependent
storageunitthatcanbegrabbedandinserted
orleftat homewhentravellingwithoutphoto
kit.F-stopmakesanextensiverangeof
accessorypouches,raincovers,packingcells
andfiltercasessoyoucantailorit exactlyto
yourliking,butthesearealloptional.
Thebaghasplentyof otherusefulfeatures,
too.It acceptsa hydrationreservoirwitha
Velcro-sealedtubeport,offersquick-release
sidecompressionstraps,adjustablewaistand
sternumstrapswithanintegratedwhistlefor
emergencies,andspaciousinternalmesh
pocketsforlesscommonlyneededitemslike
cablesandchargers.Unlikesomeof itsrivals
there’snosideentry,soaccessis viatherear
panel.It’spossibletoattacha tripoddown
thespineandthemouldedrearpanel ensured
goodbreathabilityand
comfortwhileoutona hike.
There’sroomfora 13in
laptop,andif drabgreen
isn’tforyou,it’savailablein
blackorstrikingorangeif
you’d like to stand out.ShimodaExplore 40
l£250lwww.shimodadesigns.comTheShImoDAexplore 40 is designedwith
adventurephotographersin mindandaccepts
different‘coreunit’insertstocustomiseit as
youwish.Theseareboughtseparatelyoras
partof thefourexplore 40 kitsthatShimoda
offers.Withthestarterkityougetthebag
andtwosmallcoreunitsfor£350.Themore
expensiveprofessionalkitcosts£460andis
suppliedwithtwosmallcoreunits,a medium
coreunitandaccessorycase.Thosewho’dlike
tocarrya mirrorlesscameraorDSLRanda
fewlensesandaccessories,leavingspacefor
clothes,foodandotheritems,willfindthe
mediumcoreunit(£80)sufficient.Thebenefit
of buyinga smallcoreunit(£50)aswellis that
it doublesupasa smallshoulderbagwiththe
suppliedstrap– greatforcasualwalksaround
a city.A goodnumberof paddeddividersare
providedwithineachcoreunit,andtheyfasten
wellwithtaperedtabs.Topreventkitworking
looseorfallingout,a zippedcoveris supplied.
Accesstothemaincompartmentis via
therearorside,plusthere’sa cleverheight-
adjustableharnesswithfourdifferentheight
optionstocaterforshortortallmaleorfemale
torsos.ontheinsidethere’sa 13inlaptop
sleeveandthreezippedpockets.A tripod
canbesecuredviathesidepocket,butthose
who’dlikea raincovertoprotectthebackpack
fromnature’selementswillneedtobuyone
separatelyfor£8.Fullyloaded,it’sa very
comfortablebagtocarry.Theshoulderstraps
areevenwideenoughthattheyfeaturea
handypockettostorea largesmartphone.
Zipsaresmooth,bucklesconnectfaultlessly
andyou’releftwiththeimpression that it’s in
thepremierleagueof
modularbackpacks.It’s
notcheap,butit’san
exceptionalexampleandis
alsoavailablein smaller
30L and larger 60L sizes.Peak Design Travel
Backpack45L
l£299lwww.peakdesign.com
WheReASsomemodularbackpackssplittheir
internalcapacity50/50betweencamerakit
andpersonalstorage,thisexampleoffersone
spaciousareainsidewhereyoucanassemble
pouchesandpackingcubestoturnit intothe
bagyouwantit tobe.In itscompressedstate
it’sa 30Lbackpack,butit canbeexpandedto
a 35Ldaybagor45Lgear-hauler.
Accesstothemaincompartmentis made
viathebackaswellastheside,plusyougeta
plethoraof zippedpocketsontheinsidewith
spacioussidepocketsthatcanbeusedtocarry
a tripod.Accessingthebagviatherearreveals
a slip-insectionthataccommodatesa 15in
laptopaswellasa 10.5intablet.Thosewishing
totravelwitha singlecamerabodyanda few
smalllensesarelikelytochoosethesmall-
sizedcameracube,leavingtwo-thirdsof the
bagfreeforclothesandotheressentials.The
medium-sizedcameracubetakesup
two-thirdsof theinteriorandthelargecube
turnsit intoa fullyfledgedphotobackpack.
Small-andmedium-sizedpackingcubes,as
wellaswash,techandshoepouchesare
availabletocustomiseandbuildexactlyhow
you’dlikeit. Adda medium-sizedcameracube
(£69)anda smallpackingcube(£29)tothe
priceof thebackpackonitsown(£299)andit
pushesthepriceuptojustshyof £400– one
of themostexpensiveoptionsof thesix.
Availablein blackorsagegreen,thebagis
extremelywellmade,haswaterproofzipsto
keepmoistureoutandswing-outwaiststraps
thatcanbehidden.Thesternumstrapisn’t
elasticatedanda raincoverisn’tincludedas
standard.Althoughit is weatherproof, if you’re
headingtoremote
locations,youwillwantto
addtheoptionalRainFly
(£29)toyourpurchase.It
connectstoattachment
pointsandstowsinsidea
magnetic sealed sleeve.
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