Lowepro CompuRover AW II - first impressions.

[chancellor]

Folks, as some of you know, for my daily laptop + camera backpack I've been using Kata R-103 for sometime and loved that backpack. For anyone who wants to carry a laptop smaller than 17" and camera with some essential lenses and gear, I strongly recommend Kata R-103. After I purchased MacBook Pro 17", it unfortunately didn't fit in the compartment of Kata and I had to find another solution. After research I decided on Lowepro CompuRover AW backpack. I received a couple of hours ago and my initial concerns was put at ease. My first concern was to have enough room for 17" laptop - plenty of room (even too much :) - I would imagine that potentially an 18" laptop, should one exist, would fit without a problem). Second concern was to fit 5D+grip with 28-300L attached in the photo compartment - fits perfectly with extra room. The bag looks very sturdy and rugged. It also has an additional compartment (above the camera one) for miscelaneous stuff. So far I'm quite impressed with it. If anyone is looking for a backpack to fit 17" laptop with essential camera gear, I would recommend looking into this option.

Hope anyone finds this useful.

[Maeglin]

I wasn't aware that there was a II version of that bag (and there isn't, according to the Lowepro site), but I have a CompuRover AW as well and love it. I bought it for a Boston trip a few months ago, and it came in very handy for getting all of the expensive electronics and glass (and then some) into a single carry-on.

[chancellor]

Brian, thanks for the correction, I don't even know where the heck that "II" came over me. I'll edit the original message and the heading so it's not misleading.

[Lord_Malone]

I opted for the CompuTrekker AW. Great bag. I purchased it for long hauls, treks and travel. I primarily use my 75 AW with a LC3 lens case attached to it on a day to day basis though.

[chancellor]

Lord, I use 75AW as well when I grab the camera with the 28-300L attached.

[DavidEB]

cool bag. I got the rover plus AW, which is sort of the same bag, without a laptop compartment (for hiking). Excellent pack

One thing to beware of: if you put a tripod in the fold-out holder, and buckle the top of the tripod with the little elastic clip near the top of the pack, the weight of the tripod can slowly pull the zippers apart, if they are at top center position. I felt the weight of the pack sway, looked back, and saw my stuff (nothing fragile, just lunch water and jacket) strewn out on the trail behind me. I now double check that both zippers are over on one side.

[DallasG]

Thank you for your posting, I'm going to go research this bag now, I was actually on a quest to pack my 17 inch laptop and 20D + lenses and found your post!

Again, thanks! Adios.

[chancellor]

DallasG, I was on a similar quest for a while. This bag does the trick. Unless your "+lenses" part is really extensive, you should be very happy with the bag. Good luck.