I need a large (50 Liter-ish) hiking backpack

[vietiscool]

I was looking at the F-stop Tilopa but i don't know how much space the ICU takes up. I need to bring along food/snacks, water, clothes, and field equipment along with my camera equipment.

I'm going to be studying abroad in Costa Rica and we'll be camping for days sometimes, so I need a good bag.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[hi-landr]

Greetings,
I think the fstop Satori would be a better bag but only if you get it with the large icu not the new xl.
I have the new xl and in my opinion it is to big for the bag and therefor I am ordering the slightly smaller icu.
other than that it is a great backpack.

Good luck.

[jcothron]

another vote for the Satori, but as indicated above get the large ICU instead of the xlarge. The xlarge takes up the vast majority of the pack.

Another thought however... it sounds like you're goingto be doing true backpacking, and will need to carry sleeping bag, tent, etc. As nice as the F-stop bags are for carrying extra items, I don't think I'd try one for much more than an over-nighter. Another option is to get a regular expedition pack, and perhaps put an F-stop ICU inside it for carrying your gear, or for that matter just wrap it and pack it.

[vietiscool]

i've been doing some research and i also think that's the way i'm going to go. i'm gonna get a regular bag and just find some way to pack my DSLR into it.

[Tim Snow]

What I do is use a Think Tank Digital Holster 30 loaded with a 5dII and 24-70 and put that into whatever daypack I'm using. It's a good comprimise of gear protection vs. extra weight. For shorter dayhikes, it fits beautifully in the floor pocket of my Vaude Gallery Air 30+5 (http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-de.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Vaude/Products/15234/SubProducts/152342320&Locale=en_NL&NavSignature=5,1,4)
In my experience, if you're out hiking/backpacking with friends for a few days, it's not worth dragging out your whole kit unless you are planning to shoot for stock or editorial/commercial use. Just have fun out there.

[Fstop-Ian]

Hi

Just curious if the gear in your signature will be the extent of your camera gear?

If that is the case then I would say a large ICU may also be a little big for your needs. We do have a smaller ICU coming out in May. It sounds pretty good for your needs. And you can always get a Satori or any of our packs with whatever ICU you choose.

What ever brand you choose, I think the key for your ease of use is just making sure you have the rear access on the pack. It makes life so much easier.

Enjoy Costa, where are you headed?

[Vascilli]

You don't have much camera gear, I'd look at even the small ICU.

[NorCalNomad]

If you do get an f-stop pack I would LOVE to see how the inside looks with the ICU in there

[jcothron]

If you do get an f-stop pack I would LOVE to see how the inside looks with the ICU in there

Take a look here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=821088

[vietiscool]

Enjoy Costa, where are you headed?

all over, i'm doing a study abroad program with the monteverde institute. we're gonna be there and in the cloud forests for the majority of the time but i'll also be spending plenty of time in san jose and the neighboring areas.

and yea that's all my camera equipment.

i decided against the satori because i found a really good deal on the granite gear nimbus meridian. i'm gonna pair that with the think tank holster as suggested by tim snow. i think it'll be better to have my camera in front of me anyways as it'll increase my chances of taking pictures with it instead of fumbling in my backpack to get it out.

thanks for the suggestions guys.

[Fstop-Ian]

Sounds fun, last time I was there I covered a race called La Ruta. Basically went from coast to coast crossing higher elevation mountains and through wet muddy but beautiful forest. The race was 4 days and was really nice to see a costa rica I had not seen before. It was really cold in the hills.

Enjoy

[Vladimer]

IMO i would go another way. If your only bringing what you got in your sig then its rather similar in size to my setup.

I use a lowepro 170aw bag, not complety waterproof as in how a dry bag would be (folds down and becomes air tight) but most of my trips are to the rockies so its usually snow in which the waterproof exterior shell that surrounds it works very well, unless your holding your bag upside down or when its warmer you let it sit in a puddle which would allow the water to come in through the zipper.

With this i normally use a deuter alpine type backpack. I use 2 wire gate carabiners to attach the lowepro to the side of my hip. 1 beaner on the waist gear loop and one going to the side of the backpack. This ends up being very comfortable with the weight of the being supported by the backpacks suspension.

I do this because it allows me to comfortably access my camera bag without having to take a heavy backpack on and off repeatably which if you have done at all... sucks and you really dont feel like wanting to take a picture till you actually have to stop :P

With this setup you can use your camera whenever and if you toss the shoulder strap in your pack or camera bag then when you drop your pack off in camp/tent/bivy/cabin/hole you can still run around with your camera bag without lugging around a big backpack.

As for backpacks if your using them outdoors and your going to be using it alot, do yourself a favor and get a good quality one. Most cheap backbacks have a very bad suspension system and weight alot of pounds even empty. Try to stay away from zippers on the sides or somewhere if the zipper fails then your stuff falls out. Exception to this would be if there are compression straps on the sides going perpendicular to the zipper so if it does fail then you can still keep your pack semi secure at least with the straps. Always try to think of the worst case scenario because bad things do happen, whether it is a tear, rip, puncture, failure and you dont want to be stuck with all your stuff and a backpack that decided to not cooperate.

Oh and side compression straps are the best. Longer the better so dont cut them thinking why are they so long lol, i've seen it done. They are there to strap your tent/poles/wands/skis/tripod/whatever to the sides

Hope this helps at all, just a different perspective for carrying your camera if your doing some actual hiking or living out of your pack in which in my opinion a backpack by a manufacture that actually deals with that is far superior to a backpack made for a camera to live in.

Deuter, North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Black Diamond etc.. are all pretty good quality brands. If your in Canada MEC is a good alternative if you want some quality and a cheaper price for large backpack.

[vietiscool]

i got the Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian and the Think Tank Digital Holster 10. Still deciding whether or not i want to get the body-strap for the holster.