Daypack/Backpack - Lowepro Rover

Sugarloafur

I'm going to be doing a lot of mountain biking, mountain unicycling and day hiking with my photo gear, and I'm looking for a decent, reasonably affordable (150 or less) backpack that would do the job. I'd like to leave my 70-200L attached to my XT body with the battery grip, available for easy access. I'm looking at the Lowepro Dryzone Rover because it has room for photo gear, it has a water bladder (important), and still has space for some extra gear. Does anyone have experience with this pack? Is there room to leave the Canon 70-200 F/4 L attached to an XT body? The website specs say 3-4 additional lenses, and 80-200 F/2.4 max. Size-wise, I'm not sure how those lenses compare. Any thoughts? Different packs?

Thanks!

ian408

Take a look at the Crumpler line of back packs too. I think you might find
these more suited to your activities.

You'll find a link in the Accessories Review at the top of the forum.

TristanP

I recently bought the very similar Rover II AW. I'm not sure the Dryzone would be deep enough for the 70-200 to stand up while attached (mine sure isn't), but it should fit sideways. Mine fits all the gear listed in my sig plus a Sunpak 383 flash. I love the shoulder straps and back contour - very comfortable and adjustable. The waist belt is also a big help. It's not the fastest bag to get into since it has both a buckle and zippers for the camera section, but the upper section is fine. I like the way it's split into upper and lower sections - works well for separating camera gear from food and supplies. The tripod holder makes getting to your camera gear more difficult, but while it's slung, it works great.

The best thing you can do is find one (and others) in a store, take your gear, pack it and put it on. Nothing beats actually having it in your hands and on your back. I've been meaning to put together a review of mine for dgrin because as you've found, shopping for bags online isn't the easiest thing to do.

Sugarloafur

Thanks guys, that's really helpful. I'll make a trip to Hunts Photo and see if I can try one out. They dont have either any of these models, but I'll try one out.

Sugarloafur

I ended up ordering the Dakine Sequence pack since it's designed for skiing also. It arrived today, and I'm itching to try it out this weekend and coming week.

ian408

Sugarloafur wrote:

I ended up ordering the Dakine Sequence pack since it's designed for skiing also. It arrived today, and I'm itching to try it out this weekend and coming week.

We'd love it if you took a few pictures of your pack, loaded and helped us
out with a review

Your review will help others find the right pack for them.

TIA,
Ian

Sugarloafur

ian408 wrote:

We'd love it if you took a few pictures of your pack, loaded and helped us
out with a review

Your review will help others find the right pack for them.

TIA,
Ian

Sure thing, once I have a chance to really use it, I'll get some pictures of it, and formulate a review.