REVIEW: Mountainsmith Parallax camera backpack

[Imaginos]

The Mountainsmith Parallax

Background
Throughout my younger years I spent a great deal of time climbing and mountaineering, and I was also actively involved in Search and Rescue in my home state of New Mexico. While I can lay no claim to having done anything particularly noteworthy (other than acquire numerous injuries and scars ) I did spend a good deal of time off the beaten path, in awkward situations (quite often vertical), and otherwise relying on good gear choice to make my time in the outdoors as enjoyable as possible. Now, with both my job and living in this horizon-less swamp you people call the East Coast, my ability to hike/camp as much as I would like has been greatly constrained. I am rather pleased that my recent rediscovery of photography has done a lot to change that, and my hiking/climbing/rescue heritage is obvious in my camera pack expectations.

Serious hikers tend to have an interesting problem for carrying camera equipment over unimproved terrain. The LowePro and National Geographic products (and their numerous competitors) are well suited to most established trails and typical outdoors shooting. The problem becomes clear when you want to take 1-2 bodies and 4-5 lenses over unimproved terrain (i.e. no established trail) or through difficult/technical hikes. That leads to an even larger problem of how to carry that much equipment for a multi-day hike in a reasonably sized pack. To my eye, there is no ideal solution for the latter as of yet. In terms of a technical day pack for a reasonably flexible field kit, however, there have been a limited number of backpacks on the market. These are the packs that I’m mostly interested in, and I’ve spent the last year or so playing Goldilocks as I move through the catalog.

Several weeks ago I reviewed the Mountain Smith Odyssey (link). While that was an excellent backpack, it was far too large for my needs (that pack is B.I.G). I sold the Odyssey and ordered a Mountainsmith Parallax (link) from B&H. Mountainsmith is one of the venerable backpacking companies; they manufacture products anywhere from casual hiking to hard-core technical alpine climbing. They do have a moderate selection of camera backpacks that tend to bridge the gap. Knowing full well that it’s not a complete description, I’ll say this: the LowePro kind of packs are designed by photographers for photographers. The Mountainsmith products are designed by hikers for hiking with cameras. There are numerous tradeoffs in proceeding from either paradigm—generally it’s a recurring compromise between stability and accessibility.

All of that said, having owned several technical backpacks and too many daypacks to mention, my expectations of the Mountainsmith Parallax were this: rugged, intelligent, and rich with features. The Parallax did not disappoint me.

Features
External: 18" x 13" x 12"
Internal: 16" x 11" x 8"
Laptop Sleeve: 12.75” x 10.25” x 2.25”
Volume: 1709 cu. in. (28 L)

The Parallax is a well constructed from rip-stop nylon and has the double-stitched/edge rolled seams that you expect to find on a serious backpack. Like most camera backpacks (that I have used) access to the interior is via a full-zip panel under the shoulder straps. This panel is thickly padded, not only for comfort, but for protection of the camera gear as well. Inside the two translucent pouches that appear designed for small document storage—much to my dismay, a white/gray card wouldn’t fit in them gracefully without being substantially cut down. Curiously, both pouches are made from a water-resistant material and have rain guards on the zippers…as if I’d open the main compartment and expose the camera gear to the rain in order to get at the dry storage?? Lastly, the back panel seems rather flimsy while open, but when fully zipped the interior dividers removes any rigidness problems.

There is a Velcro lined configurable interior compartment with padded dividers as you would typically expect. Two long L-shaped dividers create main storage on either side of the pack with a narrow channel in the center. Four dividers allow up to 6 bays to be created with two more smaller dividers for the center channel. The center channel is notable for its narrowness; it’ll hold a body or stack of filters/hoods, but it won't handle a lens gracefully. My 1D Mark III is a snug fit in the middle, but the outside compartments are large and easy to work with. Even the 82mm 16-35 2.8 L II is an easy fit, yet by some sort of black magic, narrower lenses like a 100 2.8 Macro do not seem prone to rattling around.

The internal dividers and pockets on the main access.
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The Mountainsmith website advertises the interior as being “fleece lined,” and while this is an interesting feature, it does cause some problems with the Velcro. The hook portion of the dividers doesn’t grab hold of the lining as aggressively as you would expect. At first this was extremely frustrating because it seemed to be a total failure of the Velcro materials, but some experimentation with dividers from other packs/cases revealed that it’s caused by the fleece/pile side of the system. You have to place the dividers deliberately, then spend a few seconds deliberately working them into position with a ‘wiggling’ motion before they fully attach. The fuzziness of the fleece will give a false attachment that promptly fails under any weight. If you work it in until the hooks can actually get to the pile, they perform as otherwise expected.

The shoulder straps have an internal foam core and the typical S-shaped contour owing to an internal frame pack heritage. The cross-chest stabilizer appears to be rather low on the shoulder straps, adjusting somewhat beneath the sternum rather than across the top as I am used to seeing.

At the bottom of either side is a typical mesh bottle pouch with an elastic drawstring closure. At the top and bottom of both sides is an adjustable attachment strap suitable for large tripods or a ridge rest. The left side had a rubberized carry handle, then another on top (both being obvious air-travel accessories but otherwise useful as well).

Shown with a 20oz bottle in the holder and next to a 1 liter for reference
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Along the rear of the pack is a cleverly designed set of monopod straps that ends in an enclosed foot at the bottom. This is to prevent snagging a rigid pole on something that you can’t see behind you as well as to keep the monopod from perpetually sliding downward. When not in use, a simple system of snaps and pockets allows the whole system to tuck away so that they too aren’t snagging on something. Midway up the rear are three nylon gear loops for clipping on all manners of accessories. The very bottom of the pack has two more accessory straps that, more often than not, I’ve pressed into service for carrying a wet rainshell. Also on the rear of the bottom is where the rain fly tucks away when it’s not in active use. Be warned that while the rain fly is a nice idea (because a wet bag is a hassle), it can’t be used if there’s an external tripod or monopod because it is a very tight fit.

The Rain Fly and Monopod holder. I have a hard time imagining a monopod that won’t fit in these straps.
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On the rear of the pack there are two half-zip compartments. The inner most compartment is for smallish laptops that will comfortably fit the 12.1” WXGA displays. There is enough room for a spare battery or AC adapter as well as a small number of discs and some other light accessories. Also in this compartment is a small mesh pouch that seems ideally sized for wallets and ID cards. The utility of this compartment is as questionable asthe wisdom of taking a laptop into the environment this kind of pack was designed for. It’s digital: don’t proof your shots in the wilderness, buy some more CF and take lots of pictures. That said, as this pack as been invading more and more of my non-wilderness uses, the laptop compartment has been seeing more uses. As you’ll discover in the conclusion, this pack does a lot more than just hiking, for which the laptop compartment becomes useful. However, much like my complaint with the Mountainsmith Odyssey, the laptop being positioned on the exterior of the rear puts it at risk of damage if the pack is suddenly dropped.

Outside the laptop compartment is the second half-zip compartment, which unlike the rest of the pack, is free of pouches and straps and tuck away spaces. There is one small pouch at the top with a hook inside (clearly a key holder), but otherwise it is an unencumbered space. I have mostly used this space to stuff some layering fleece and a change of socks, not only because it’s convenient, but to offer some additional padding for the laptop when I have it.

The laptop pocket and my fleece “stuff sack.” Note that the laptop is very exposed on the back.
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The last feature of note is a small pouch that attaches to the waist belts via a Velcro flap. There are two zip-close pockets with the smaller exterior pocket having CF-sized webbing and being ideally suited for loose cards or a full CF case. The top-zip interior pocket continues with the mesh CF retainers but will also hold three to four batteries (or one to two batteries from a 1-series). An alternate use is storing a filter (this is where I keep my CPL), or two filters if you’re willing to trade no-look access.

Overall, you should be walking away with the impression of a backpack that’s well-designed and ruggedly constructed. Here’s a picture of all the stuff I typically cram into it. I’ll note that the 1D Mark III and 24-105 4L aren’t shown because they are taking the picture, but they sure do fit nicely in the indicated locations. A 1-series is probably a tad wide for that center channel, but I have no complaints. A 5D or smaller will fit perfectly.

My typical internal configuration. Note that the 1D3 and 24-105 are not shown because they are in use for taking this epic shot.
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Pros

• Rich in features. This pack is idealy suited for carrying 1-2 bodies, 4-5 typical-sized lenses (24-105 4L or 24-70 2.8L), and 1 of the big zooms (70-200 or 100-400). In addition, you can fit in all the assorted widgetry that goes along with them such as a full sampling of filters, a blowers and lens pens, remotes, hoods, batteries, CF cases, and so on. The exterior offers no shortage of hard and soft points to strap on as much additional weight as your spine will allow. Almost every storage component on this pack is well designed and thoughtfully placed. Never once have I searched for an additional gizmo to store a piece of camera gear and not promptly found it.
• Economy of space and excellent flexibility in internal storage. The outside dimensions of this pack do not fully convey the amount of equipment that can be stored internally. Much more, the two half-zip compartments on the back collapse at a moment’s notice to reduce the overall bulk of the pack.
• Excellent use of exterior space Every exposed surface can be pressed into service for something. All four sides and the back have handy straps and storage for almost everything that won’t actually fit inside the bag. The only downside I see here is that to keep a body with a lens attached inside, I had to move the dividers around to where I gave up about 1 lens’s worth of storage space. That doesn’t bother me because I tend to carry the camera around my neck more often than not, just be aware that with my configuration you are guaranteed a lens change in order to fully store everything.
• Low forward profile. The narrow profile design is nice. It minimized the equipment that is wider than your shoulders (which helps a surprising amount in moving through brush and branches), but it does make the pack deeper (from front to back) than you would expect. This took a bit of getting used to, but it wasn’t an issue.

Cons

• No top adjustment for the shoulder straps. Trust me on this kids: getting a correct fit on backpacks that can carry more than 20 pounds is vital to avoiding potential back problems later in life. It’s not as easy as making it feel comfortable, it’s about minimizing the stresses on your body. While discussing this in detail is well beyond the scope of this review, in my opinion the lack of top adjustments on a flat-back pack is a critical failing.
• This is not a good hybrid pack. If you are looking for a backpack to carry all of this camera gear AND 1-2 days of hiking supplies, the Parallax is NOT it. To the best of my knowledge, that pack doesn’t truly exist. There are several options out there, but there are none that I would consider as having hit the correct balance between camera bag and hiker’s pack. In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I am a much more accomplished hiker than photographer and that’s more than likely skewing my opinion, but none the less, I see this as a serious gap in the camera backpacks products that are currently available.
• No padded waist belts. A pack of this size, designed for this much weight, by rights should have reasonably padded waist best. Not only would this improve comfort over long hikes, it would also add to the overall stability. The existing nylon webbing waist belt have compression tensioners which suggests the designers were thinking down this path, but as is the case on so many backpacks these days, they left this step in the design incomplete.
• No lumbar padding. As noted above, the padding on the back panel is lavish by comparison to most day packs, but it’s a uniform thickness from top to bottom. A correctly contoured lumbar support at the bottom would have done a lot to reduce the fatigue over a full day’s use, increase stability, and generally increase the ability to get a correct fit. For myself, I’d be willing to pay up to an additional $50 to get these last to feature to be included.
• Accessibility. Like any camera backpack, this is not a rapid-access solution. To get at anything internal it’s stop, drop, zip, and shoot. That can be time-consuming process that may cost you a shot if it’s a time-sensitive scene. And while I list this as a con here, keep in mind it’s not particular to the Parallax; it’s common to just about any camera backpack.

Conclusion

The Mountainsmith Parallax is an excellent general purpose pack, but it excels for day-hiking, and even more so on rough terrain and unimproved trails. In my mind it wouldn’t take an extensive redesign effort to turn this into a very rugged technical pack because all the basic elements are there: stability and flexibility. The only down side is that this pack is for camera equipment only. The facilities to host anything else are sparse if present at all. If this were your only pack, the maximum sensible endurance would be just under a day unless you’re unusually proficient. That said, this pack is formidable in all other areas you would expect from a backpack. It is rugged to the point where you can expect it last several years, it’s size is just about right for people looking to carry a serious SLR kit without being the hulking cavern of the Odyssey, and it’s design is a model of simple efficiency. There’s a lot more to this pack than just hiking. At around $150 each, you can probably get close to this level of capability with other packs, but dollar for dollar, I doubt one can do better.

From left to right: LowePro Slingshot AW300, Mountainsmith Parallax, Lowe Alpine Contour Mountain 50
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I do have other bags that I keep around for specific purposes, such as LowePro Slingshots in case I’m looking for rapid-access, but this is the single most all-purpose backpack I have used so far. More and more I find myself using the Parallax not just for hiking, but for zoos, urban and architectural, as a travel bag in my car, and just about anything else. If I could have only one bag for all of my camera equipment, this would be it. In truth, my Pelican 1650 now a repository for cleaning equipment, gray cards, and retired filters; most of my lenses haven’t been out of the Parallax in weeks unless they were being used. I still haven’t found the pack I’m looking for, but this one is a definite keeper.

[xpsentity]

Very nice review!

I'm in the same boat as you. Haven't found the golden pack yet.

[Mike-DT6]

Great review. Thanks for posting

Mike

[MillCreek]

Another very fine review, and I keep hoping you will find just the right hybrid pack. I will steal your idea when that happens!

[SteveNC]

[quote=Imaginos;4348360]

The Mountainsmith Parallax

Inside the two translucent pouches that appear designed for small document storage— Curiously, both pouches are made from a water-resistant material and have rain guards on the zippers…as if I’d open the main compartment and expose the camera gear to the rain in order to get at the dry storage??

I found this review quite helpful and your overall impression is essentially the same as mine has been over the last 4 or so years (I bought the very first mountainsmith camera pack, which (I think) was the predecessor to this model. I've used the mountainsmith camera pack in a range of environments including multi-day expeditions into the Bolivian Amazon, deep Canyon treks in Peru with 100-400L IS , 70-200 2.8L IS , 17-40L Canon 20D, TONS of batteries, hard-drives, etc and I wanted to point out that I wholeheartedly agree with your review except for ONE point about the waterproof pocket liners and their placement.

See enlarged, red text above. Notice the shot of the pack cover, specifically that it only covers the top, bottom, and backside of the pack from inclement (WET) weather. If you are in a torrential downfall and wearing a good outer shell, the water is going to bead down your back like a waterfall straight onto (and into) the unprotected back portion of the pack, exactly where the lid of this pack opens up and is most vulnterable.

This is why the pack has the waterproof lined pockets (in my opinion). Without these, water will seep straight onto your gear and defeat the whole purpose of the rain liner for this pack.

Also, think about situations where there isn't necessarily rain and you don't have this plastic lining. Think about a blistering hot summer day, you've just reached the summit of your favorite mountain, open the zippered lid and realize all of your protected gear is DRENCHED in your sweat that seeped through the unprotected backside. Another reason for the waterproof lining!

In my opinion, the Mountainsmith designers were ingenious to put this lining here.

Great review, by the way! KUDOS.

[ben_r_]

Excellent review! Great job!

[jverran]

just purchased this pack based on your review. I am stoked to get this pack!! Thanks!

[SteveNC]

Where did you end up getting it from?

[jcothron]

Well written review.. if I didn't already have an F-stop Satori on order I might look at something from the Mountainsmith line.

[Trainboy]

Only amateurs use backpacks.

[darosk]

Excellent job on the review.

[jverran]

B&H Photo $136.00

[jverran]

Trainboy, you must have 2 or three sherpas to carry all that gear I don't actually use the pack, it just stores my gear. I usually carry my Holga by its plastic strap, the pack is just for looks and lunch.

[Trainboy]

Originally Posted by jverran

I usually carry my Holga by its plastic strap

-twitch-
Your....holga.

Originally Posted by jverran

Trainboy, you must have 2 or three sherpas to carry all that gear

I usually leave the 100-400 at home. I'm lazy.
For anyone who was wondering, I'm citing the most reliable of internet sources, Ken Rockwell.