Lowe Mini Trekker anyone?

[Sherpa]

I'm looking at changing to a backpack to carry my gear and I've got a couple of questions about the Lowe Mini trekker. Firstly, is the 'classic' version reasonably waterproof or should I go for the AW version? As I live in the UK it's likely to be rained on when I'm out and about.

Secondly, do you think the following kit will fit comfortably in the pack?

300D body
18-55mm kit lens
70-200mm f/4 L lens
300mm f/4 L IS lens

Thanks for your help :)

[DaveG]

I'm looking at changing to a backpack to carry my gear and I've got a couple of questions about the Lowe Mini trekker. Firstly, is the 'classic' version reasonably waterproof or should I go for the AW version? As I live in the UK it's likely to be rained on when I'm out and about.

Secondly, do you think the following kit will fit comfortably in the pack?

300D body
18-55mm kit lens
70-200mm f/4 L lens
300mm f/4 L IS lens

Thanks for your help :)

I don't think that Lowepro made the AW version by accident so if you want to keep your bag REALLY dry ... :D

More to the point I wonder if this backpack may turn out to be a bit small for your stuff. I looked really hard at the Mini-Trekker too, just for size and cost. I went into a camera store and they were nice enough to let me try to put my gear in the bag to see how it's all fit. (I suspect that the store manager was looking to get the same bag and wanted to see for his sake as well as mine!)

Anyway I just couldn't get enough stuff into the Mini-Trekker bag. The backpack I finally decided on was the LowePro Nature Trekker III AW. It's a bigger bag than the MT, but not huge. I've got a 4x5 camera system sitting in a Photo Trekker bag, and IT'S gigantic! Mostly though the NT has got a much better suspension system than the MT and it's a lot more comfortable to carry for extended hikes.

I'm carrying a couple of bodies, a 10D w/vertical grip & an Elan II; a 16-35 f2.8, 24-85, 50 f1.4, 100 macro and a 70-200 f2.8 and a 1.4 extender. The Elan will be replaced with a 20D as soon as it gets here. I also bring a 550EX flash and of course "stuff". This bag has the tripod sling built in and that's important too.

So try to get into a camera shop and see if they'll let you try fitting up a bag. And maybe think that the bag you buy today will last for a very long time so perhaps think about getting one that you can grow into.

[BigRed450]

You may want to check out the Tamrac line of Photo Backpacks. I have the 5259 Cyberpack 9 and it is a tough bag....

http://www.tamrac.com/g_backpacks.htm

[pcasciola]

I have the Micro Trekker which is smaller than the Mini Trekker, and the equipment you listed fits fine in my bag. Snug, but it fits. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Here is my Micro Trekker with a 20D w/vertical grip, 300mm F/4L, 18-55 kit lens and 50mm F/1.8. The 70-200 F/4L is smaller than the 300mm F/4L (1" shorter and 1/2" narrower), so I'm pretty sure it would fit in the open space I have there. In facts, that's exactly what I plan on putting there next month.

http://www.casciola.com/pics/micro.jpg

[SDK^]

This is my Lowe Pro Mini Trekker AW with Canon 10D 100-400L fitted and it's just about big enough for all of the gear shown.

http://www.sdk2003.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Camera-bag-SDK^.jpg

[pcasciola]

I think we're on to something here. How great would it be to have a picture like this for just about every bag out there? It would have saved me a bunch of time picking out mine.

If everyone sends me their equipment bag pics and equipment lists (or post them on this thread) I will be happy to organize them for the group and host a web page with an index of all the bags and all the pics.

[BigRed450]

Ok then. heres my Tamrac 5259 Cyberpack 9

http://users.air.on.ca/cbjaps/jtphotographic/tamrac5259_in.jpg

There was a thread awhile ago exactly like this where everyone posted pics of their camera bags....

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36952&highlight=tamrac+5259

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[pcasciola]

There was a thread awhile ago exactly like this where everyone posted pics of their camera bags....


Thanks. I'll grab some from that page.

I've started the page. It's nothing special right now, but I'll throw it out there as a start. If I get 20 or more bags to do, I'll actually set up a database for it with some kind of search engine.

The Camera Bag Page (http://www.casciola.com/camerabags)

[G2Jim]

... Firstly, is the 'classic' version reasonably waterproof or should I go for the AW version? As I live in the UK it's likely to be rained on when I'm out and about.

No. It is water resistant to a certain degree if not much rain, but I used mine on a 3 hour hike in the rain and my gear got very damp inside. I'm planning on buying some spray-on water repellant before I ever take it out in the rain again. Other than that I love it.

[Sherpa]

Thanks for all the replies - they're much appreciated :D

The photos of your bags are a really big help - I wonder why the manufacturers don't do a similar thing on their web sites?

I think I'll take a closer look now at the AW version - I just looked outside and it's beginning to rain!

[redbutt]

I've got the mini-trekker and it is currently holding:

EOS 10D w/ Battery grip
Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L IS
Canon 28-135 IS
Canon 50 f/1.4
Tamron 19-35
420 Speedlite
Flashcards and other bits.

I like the bag a lot. The backpack aspect of it is great. It makes taking my gear on trips super easy. BTW...the rain shell you get with the AW version is really great....it saved my gear when the leftovers of Hurricane Ivan hit New York on the weekend I happend to be there.

[SDK^]

Great idea pcasciola :)

I'll post a photo of my new Lowe Pro Photo Trekker setup later

[Olegis]

Sherpa, the best thing for you to do IMO is - to go to the local store and check out for yourself. That's how I got my Mini-Trekker - I went to the local Lowepro importer office and tried a couple of bags. The Mini-Trekker hold all my gear with some place left for future purchases.

Today the bag holds the following gear -

10D body with some of the following lense attached
Canon 70-200 f/2.8L (non IS) with reversed hood
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Canon 50mm f/1.8 MkII with the hood attached
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 with reversed hood
Sigma 15-30 f/3.5-4.5
Canon 380EX flash with OmniBounce diffuser
Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer diffuser
X-Drive
Rocket blower
Spare batteries, CF cards, filters etc.

I don't think that I won't be able to fit anything else into that bag ...
8)

[Mogwyth]

Hi

I have a Mini Trekker and yes all your gear will fit. As to it's waterproofness, I can't speak for long term exposure to heavy downfall but in light rain it's OK and we were in Blackpool a couple of weeks a go and got caught in torrential rain, the bag felt quite soggy on the outside but when opening it up everything was bone dry. We was out in it for only about 10 minutes, it may well have been a different story if it had been much longer. What I do do is I always have a bin bag in the pack, just in case, I get caught out in a prolonged downfall with no chance of cover.