Buyers’ guide
Vanguard Alta Sky 68 › £260 › vanguardworld.co.uk Vanguard has a multitude of bags and cases, recently introducing the Alta Sky 68 to satisfy the growing number of nature-loving, long telephoto lens owners. The Alta Sky 68 is a seriously big backpack. It has been specifically designed to take an 800mm super telephoto optic mounted on a pro camera body. That is a very specific (and expensive!) combination, but as Vanguard says, it’s meant to be an
‘ultimate gear-carrying and working backpack’ that’s not limited to long lens shooters. If you need a couple of cameras, several lenses, some battery studio flashes and a drone, the Alta 68 will swallow that up with no issue, and solve the problem of faffing around with two or more smaller bags. This is an incredibly spacious and well-made unit, but not lightweight once fully laden.
Tenba DNA Messenger family › From £110 › uk.tenba.com
Manfrotto Pro Light Frontloader › £149 › manfrotto.co.uk The Manfrotto Pro Light collection was introduced to cater for the pro image maker, offering great carrying capacity, very high protection levels thanks to its M-Guard Protection System, while also being light and comfortable. Four Pro Light models are available: the Backloader (£134), Flexloader (£224), Multiloader (£184) and, featured here, Frontloader (£149). The Frontloader’s main section is fully padded, found through a front access flap and customisable with supplied dividers. There’s space for a full-frame cam with fast-aperture telezoom. A side door offers access and a side compartment accepts a 15in laptop.
The third shoulder bag is the DNA 16, available in two variants: the Pro at £150 and Slim at £145. Both can take a 16in laptop and 11in tablet, together with a camera and several lenses. All DNA Messengers have a removable padded camera insert and waterproof boot for placing the bag down in wet conditions. They are MOLLE-compatible for greater capacity and Tenba offers accessory pouches.
One of Tenba’s most popular bag series is the DNA Messenger range, populated by three shoulder bags and one backpack. Starting with the DNA 9 Slim at £110, this compact shoulder bag is ideal for a small mirrorless or DSLR, plus up to six lenses and a 10in tablet. Next up in size is the £140 DNA 13 DSLR, that will take a full-frame camera with up to five lenses and space for a 13in laptop.
Groundtruth Rikr 24L backpack › £290 › groundtruth.global
Think Tank BackStory 15 › £235 › snapperstuff.com
predicts that to increase to ten million by the year 2025. The line-up includes the technical tote (£190), crossbody phone bag (£39), camera bag (£89), laptop bag (£95), as well as the 24L backpack. Key selling points of this clamshell-design bag include a magnetic main buckle, easy-access top pocket and recycled YKK zips. There’s a fleece-lined sleeve for laptops up to 15in, too.
A new name in the bag market, the Rikr range is a sustainable collection of durable, good-looking bags from Groundtruth. Every element, including accessories, is made from 100% recycled material, using plastic recovered from landfill sites, waterways and oceans worldwide. Each Rikr backpack repurposes 120 plastic bottles – Groundtruth has already removed 480,000 bottles from the environment, and
Think Tank Photo is a group of product designers and pro photographers that studies how image makers work, creating kit to suit their needs. Its carrying product range is extensive, with shoulder bags, roller cases, backpacks and travel duffels, supported by accessories and modular solutions. The BackStory series features two models – the 13, priced at £199, and the 15 (shown here) at £235. Its main storage area can accept one or two ungripped full-frame bodies, one with a telezoom lens attached, plus several extra lenses, a speedlight, 16in laptop and 10in tablet. A front pocket is spacious enough for any personal items, or a thin layer of stretchy pockets on both sides can house water bottles.
Lowepro ProTactic BP 350 AW II › £277 › lowepro.com/uk-en
accessories – plus an all-weather cover will keep rain, snow and dust at bay. A CradleFit pocket protects a 13in laptop and, for extra flexibility, it’s fully compatible with ProTactic accessories and lens cases.
Laudable green values aside, the BP 350 AW II is an impressive and rugged backpack with excellent protection. It’ll happily take a DSLR with fast standard zoom attached, spare body, up to six more lenses and
Lowepro’s ongoing sustainability drive means it has updated its ever-popular ProTactic camera bags. These are now manufactured using 64% recycled and solution-dyed fabrics.
30 Photography News | Issue 101
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