Thule Perspektiv Camera Daypack $160

www.thule.com

The Good: Streamlined design, plenty of pockets and access points, stashable waist-strap and rain cover.

The Bad: Hard to find a place for a laptop, side carry camera compartment can cause stress on lens/body connections.

The Awesome: Pull-out compartments easily converts bag to roomy daypack, fast-access points keep everything close at hand.

It’s always a pain to carry professional photography gear into the wild.  Dust, rain and hard knocks can easily damage the sensitive tech really necessary to get exceptional outdoor shots. What this means for most, is that the DSLR stays home and a tiny point-and-shoot comes along. The Thule Perspektiv daypack is a padded, roomy daypack designed for safe and comfortable transport of your high-end camera into the wilderness. The bag provides robust protection from the elements, with RCPU water resistant zippers, welded seams, weather flaps and a stashed rain cover that stretches over the entire bag in really nasty conditions.  The internal pod system features two compartments that are customizable to fit 2 extra lenses, and other accessories; but can be fully removed to provide additional room, or stash high dollar items in a hotel safe. A slim side pocket holds 4 extra memory cards, 2 batteries, and related small pieces.

We took this bag fully loaded on a few day-long adventures, and used it as a commuter pack during the workweek. The side access camera compartment was easily accessible in the sling position which was excellent for quick pictures. One note on the side compartment, this stores the camera sideways, which can put strain on the connection between lens and body.  I found that I had to tighten some critical screws on the connection after a long day.  I would recommend travelling with a small prime lens, or no lens when the camera doesn’t need to be quickly accessible. Padded straps and the stashable waistbelt dispersed the load and held the bag tight for less movement during trail hikes. The bag packed a 24-70mm lens, a prime 55mm, extra batteries, and a full size Canon DSLR with extended battery pack in the main compartment, with plenty of room in the top pocket for extra layers, a lunch and some water.  Keep in mind that there isn’t a laptop sleeve or compartment, a small 13″ computer could be stashed from the top, but my 15″ barely fit and was a beast to get back out with the camera pods in place.  When the pods were removed and the bag was open, it was roomy enough to stash up to a 17″ laptop and various work-related gear.

Overall, this is a stylish camera daypack that will protect high-end photography gear and support most day hikes.

Tags:  backpack camera camera case Daypack DSLR Thule waterproof