Lowepro Rover AW Review - Plus and Regular Size
athos
Registered Users Posts: 237 Major grins
I recently had purchased the NG bag and posted a mini review.
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=59444
I also purchased the lowepro rover aw II and rover plus to compare it too.
Here are my thoughts on the lowepro's, and i will tell you what bag i kept of the three.
First the product linkage so you can see the many pics and specs of each bag in a tab while reading this brief opinion piece.
The Lowepro Rover AWII (regular size) - also it was purely black, no brown:
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Rover_AW_II.aspx
The Lowepro Rover Plus (larger size):
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Rover_Plus_AW.aspx
These bags are both very well built and feel very solid. Both have very comfortable harnesses, although the Plus harness is more thickly padded and a bit more hardcore, if you will.
They each have the same layout, a bottom padded camera section with four areas for lenses/flash. This is separated from the top daybag section which is for anything else your heart desires. The Plus has more pockets in the top section, though nothing significant - just one mesh pocket more and a sleeve behind the waterproof zip bag where you could probably fit a thin notebook.
both bags have an allweather cover.
both bags have two external zip pockets of a rather long elongated odd shape that would be handy for small things.
both bags also have a method to attach the tripod to the back, as seen in the pics. This is great, although it is designed so that the section where the tripod rests is below the base of the bag, making a quit sit down with a tripod on not such a great idea. also, from what i hear, the all weather cover is not large enough to cover an attached tripod as well. i havent tried this myself.
Obviously the Plus is just larger. My gear is in my sig, and the regular sized bag fit that gear very very snugly. The Plus gives me a bit more breathing room and I like that. It just feels like it is a better size for the gear i have. if you have bigger lenses than my consumer grade lenses, i dont think the regular is for you.
The daybag area on the Plus is definitely more spacious, and you can tell this just from a quick glance. I feel I could put enough stuff in here for a day trip on a hike for my gf & myself, foodwise and water wise. i think the regular sized rover could do so, but there is more a chance of it being a touch short of room. of course, keep in mind with various sliplock attachments, you can utilize the waist belt to keep some extra stuff thus making the perhaps small-ish daypack portion of the smaller bag a rather moot point for some people.
However, beware, the top compartment is not sealed off from the camera/bottom compartment on both bags. These two sections are separated by a velcroed in divider - which means you can make this bag one big compartment, making it a formidable daypack by itself. However, this means taht putting a wet jacket in the top is not do-able if you have camera gear in the bottom. Also, if any of your liquids in the top leaks, that will be an issue. I dont have a problem putting thick plastic bottles, or glass bottles in there. there is bungee cording on the top and bottom of the bag, which one could lash a wet rainjacket too without having to put it inside.
These bags also utilized lowepros street & field sliplock attachments, that let you attach things to the bag/waist-belt. I have a large lens holder that i sized to fit any one of my three main lenses. I can put the 17-85IS with hood on, ditto witht he sigma 10-20 and the 70-300IS fits in as well. So i can easily have a lens available to switch on the fly. It may be possible to switch lenses from the case itself while it is on your back still, but it would be very cumbersome.
Because the bag is almost built like a clamshell so that the top daypack part can bend out of the way when unzipping the camera section to access, you have to bend the padding which protects your back. Since the Plus bag is much more padded there, it is harder to bend backwards, making the regular size easier for such an endeavor.
Being able to have any one of my lenses on my camera and another one in the waist-belt attachment is invaluable. I also have a smaller square sliplock attachment that will fit my mp3 player & sunglasses or say a flashlight, as well as a third one that is only a bottle holder. However, both bags do have side mesh pockets for bottles, but the sliplok attachment keeps a bottle handier.
Now while the bigger Plus bag is not a lot bigger spec wise than the other, it really looks quite a lot bigger on you. Those few inches here or there translate into quite a bit more bulk and are definitely aesthetically noticeable.
When the AWII regular sized was fully loaded it definitely looked more sleek and appropriate for a more subdued urban excursion rather than looking like a mountain man ready bag - equipped to enter a non-urban jungle.
Adding those three sliplok attachments really added to the bulk of the bag, especially the lens case which has to be big if you want to fit a medium lens with hood on. Of course this varies depending upon what you need it for. The other sliplok attachments were much less bulky, thus not adding much aesthetic largeness to the package.
Out of the NG bag & these lowepros i am going to keep the AW PLUS.
While i am a bit hesitant of its size for small daytrips to the city, it is invaluable for day hikes in nature, as well as a perfect carry on bag for a plane - since it will not only carry your camera gear, but a change of clothes, some food, books, etc for your flight. The regular size will seem to run out of room much quicker. i think for most people though, the smaller bag would be fine - id strongly advice checking it out. the smaller size is respectable, bigger than a lot of camera bags, and not only looks like a better urban/suburban bag, but can hang on daytrips. i just happen to want to bring a lot of stuff around. a lot of reviews of the rover awII regular size seemed to wish for a couple of inches here or there, i guess i have the same sentiment.
Also, for future proofing for an upgrade to slightly larger lenses, one has no choice.
not using the sliplok attachments, at least the large ones, will make the PLUS bag more sleek for urban adventures - although as stated, the larger size, padding & waist straps do convey a much bigger package that goes beyond the size difference.
The Large NG bag is even bigger looking than the PLUS, and is really only suitable for outdoor usage aka nature or say plane trips. It would look wildly conspicuous in any city environment. Plus the versatility of the waist attachments makes the lowepro PLUS a better package, although the NG bag has many more different pockets for separating stuff.
Also, the lowepro's do not have the nice little touches my slingpro had, like a built in cloth lens cleaner and memory card slots. My atari patch will go over the lowepro logo, so at least when i dont have the lens belt attachment, it doesnt say "this brand is for camera gear!"
http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=59444
I also purchased the lowepro rover aw II and rover plus to compare it too.
Here are my thoughts on the lowepro's, and i will tell you what bag i kept of the three.
First the product linkage so you can see the many pics and specs of each bag in a tab while reading this brief opinion piece.
The Lowepro Rover AWII (regular size) - also it was purely black, no brown:
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Rover_AW_II.aspx
The Lowepro Rover Plus (larger size):
http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Backpacks/allWeather/Rover_Plus_AW.aspx
These bags are both very well built and feel very solid. Both have very comfortable harnesses, although the Plus harness is more thickly padded and a bit more hardcore, if you will.
They each have the same layout, a bottom padded camera section with four areas for lenses/flash. This is separated from the top daybag section which is for anything else your heart desires. The Plus has more pockets in the top section, though nothing significant - just one mesh pocket more and a sleeve behind the waterproof zip bag where you could probably fit a thin notebook.
both bags have an allweather cover.
both bags have two external zip pockets of a rather long elongated odd shape that would be handy for small things.
both bags also have a method to attach the tripod to the back, as seen in the pics. This is great, although it is designed so that the section where the tripod rests is below the base of the bag, making a quit sit down with a tripod on not such a great idea. also, from what i hear, the all weather cover is not large enough to cover an attached tripod as well. i havent tried this myself.
Obviously the Plus is just larger. My gear is in my sig, and the regular sized bag fit that gear very very snugly. The Plus gives me a bit more breathing room and I like that. It just feels like it is a better size for the gear i have. if you have bigger lenses than my consumer grade lenses, i dont think the regular is for you.
The daybag area on the Plus is definitely more spacious, and you can tell this just from a quick glance. I feel I could put enough stuff in here for a day trip on a hike for my gf & myself, foodwise and water wise. i think the regular sized rover could do so, but there is more a chance of it being a touch short of room. of course, keep in mind with various sliplock attachments, you can utilize the waist belt to keep some extra stuff thus making the perhaps small-ish daypack portion of the smaller bag a rather moot point for some people.
However, beware, the top compartment is not sealed off from the camera/bottom compartment on both bags. These two sections are separated by a velcroed in divider - which means you can make this bag one big compartment, making it a formidable daypack by itself. However, this means taht putting a wet jacket in the top is not do-able if you have camera gear in the bottom. Also, if any of your liquids in the top leaks, that will be an issue. I dont have a problem putting thick plastic bottles, or glass bottles in there. there is bungee cording on the top and bottom of the bag, which one could lash a wet rainjacket too without having to put it inside.
These bags also utilized lowepros street & field sliplock attachments, that let you attach things to the bag/waist-belt. I have a large lens holder that i sized to fit any one of my three main lenses. I can put the 17-85IS with hood on, ditto witht he sigma 10-20 and the 70-300IS fits in as well. So i can easily have a lens available to switch on the fly. It may be possible to switch lenses from the case itself while it is on your back still, but it would be very cumbersome.
Because the bag is almost built like a clamshell so that the top daypack part can bend out of the way when unzipping the camera section to access, you have to bend the padding which protects your back. Since the Plus bag is much more padded there, it is harder to bend backwards, making the regular size easier for such an endeavor.
Being able to have any one of my lenses on my camera and another one in the waist-belt attachment is invaluable. I also have a smaller square sliplock attachment that will fit my mp3 player & sunglasses or say a flashlight, as well as a third one that is only a bottle holder. However, both bags do have side mesh pockets for bottles, but the sliplok attachment keeps a bottle handier.
Now while the bigger Plus bag is not a lot bigger spec wise than the other, it really looks quite a lot bigger on you. Those few inches here or there translate into quite a bit more bulk and are definitely aesthetically noticeable.
When the AWII regular sized was fully loaded it definitely looked more sleek and appropriate for a more subdued urban excursion rather than looking like a mountain man ready bag - equipped to enter a non-urban jungle.
Adding those three sliplok attachments really added to the bulk of the bag, especially the lens case which has to be big if you want to fit a medium lens with hood on. Of course this varies depending upon what you need it for. The other sliplok attachments were much less bulky, thus not adding much aesthetic largeness to the package.
Out of the NG bag & these lowepros i am going to keep the AW PLUS.
While i am a bit hesitant of its size for small daytrips to the city, it is invaluable for day hikes in nature, as well as a perfect carry on bag for a plane - since it will not only carry your camera gear, but a change of clothes, some food, books, etc for your flight. The regular size will seem to run out of room much quicker. i think for most people though, the smaller bag would be fine - id strongly advice checking it out. the smaller size is respectable, bigger than a lot of camera bags, and not only looks like a better urban/suburban bag, but can hang on daytrips. i just happen to want to bring a lot of stuff around. a lot of reviews of the rover awII regular size seemed to wish for a couple of inches here or there, i guess i have the same sentiment.
Also, for future proofing for an upgrade to slightly larger lenses, one has no choice.
not using the sliplok attachments, at least the large ones, will make the PLUS bag more sleek for urban adventures - although as stated, the larger size, padding & waist straps do convey a much bigger package that goes beyond the size difference.
The Large NG bag is even bigger looking than the PLUS, and is really only suitable for outdoor usage aka nature or say plane trips. It would look wildly conspicuous in any city environment. Plus the versatility of the waist attachments makes the lowepro PLUS a better package, although the NG bag has many more different pockets for separating stuff.
Also, the lowepro's do not have the nice little touches my slingpro had, like a built in cloth lens cleaner and memory card slots. My atari patch will go over the lowepro logo, so at least when i dont have the lens belt attachment, it doesnt say "this brand is for camera gear!"
0
Comments
since getting into the camera part of the bag is only convenient when you take it off, as i stated in my review, that sliplok attachment makes interacting with your most used lenses much easier.
the bag was extremely comfortable to wear fully loaded with gear and the daypack compartment with speakers/food & clothing. the large size really came in handy i must say, but it did look like i was ready for a longer excursion with the size of the bag.
but this product really functioned very well, from comfort to utility.
two thumbs up and a big toe!
Gear
*Canon 40D: 17-55IS - 70-300IS - 100mm Macro - Sigma 10-20EX
*Imagination
Today I bought "on approval" the Lowepro Rover AW II, and just happened to see your review this evening. Your comments are very thorough, and have helped me decide to keep the AW II (needed for Wild Utah... I haven't previously need to be prepared to carry 18 lbs. of gear while hiking up a hill). And I've been pre-warned about spills in the upper bag, and sitting down with my tripod protruding from below the backpack!
I have a question: Is the allweather cover a separate piece, or is it just the fact that the design of the bag is waterproof? I haven't found a cover with what I purchased.
Your pictures are incredible.
Skip
http://skip-dechert.smugmug.com
I have both an AW and a Compu-rover maybe a plus. Anyway, if you want to, you can remove the bat wings waist band support system. You just have to make you a rectangular push card to push up in there to release the velcro on each side, and they will come out. To reinstall, cover velcro with cardboard strip, then push into slit, when in position, remove cardboard slat, and squeeze back into place.
I am currently using my compurover just for a general junk pack for work. I got tired of simple constructed bags falling off my shoulder (as I single shouldered out of my car to office.) So, the heavy construction of the Compu-Rover plus, means it stays squarly on one shoulder behind my arm, never falls off.
Also worth noting, that the day compartment on top can also be dropped down to make one large compartment capable of carrying a long lens.
Doug