Photo Backpack for hiking - must hold tripod in center, have space for food & water

The Clik Elite Hiker baackpack seems to be the closest thing to what I want, or perhaps the Tamrac Adventure series except those bags can't hold a tripod at all. The Clik bag puts the tripod on the side, which is a recipe for huge imbalance.

Is there anything out there that has:

Space for a decent amount of gear. Gear like:
Two 5D type bodies
100-400, 16-35, 24-105 lenses

Then space for day hiking essentials
"the 10 essentials"
water - hydration compatible preferred

Tripod attachment - in the center back seems to be the only place without throwing the pack off balance.


I've been browsing the threads on backpacks and I can't come up with anyhing really that looks promising. All the big camera backpacks seem to have a compartment for gear and nothing else. I don't want food next to my lenses.

Recommendations anyone?

Have you looked at the Lowepro Pro Trekker series. I have the 400aw. It is big!

Has a waterproof pouch to put a 60 ounce water pouch in(not included). Kind of wished I would have tried the 300. I carried a 7D, 100-400, 10-22, 100 macro, 24-105, and some lunch on several hikes in Glacier National Park last summer. Longest hike was 11.6 miles. Loaded up it is heavy. Has nice padding. I tripped and fell on my back and all was well except my pride. Felt like a turtle on its back in the middle of the trail.

Tripod fits in the middle back or I think on the side if it is small.

Zippers are a little stiff, but I think that is because of the water resistance. It also has a rain fly stored in the bottom.

Has worked well for me. All bags have there pros and negatives.

Have you looked at the Tamrac Expedition 7x? I believe it would be adequate for your needs and it holds a tripod in the center

D.C. wrote in post #11996984
Have you looked at the Lowepro Pro Trekker series. I have the 400aw. It is big!

Has a waterproof pouch to put a 60 ounce water pouch in(not included). Kind of wished I would have tried the 300. I carried a 7D, 100-400, 10-22, 100 macro, 24-105, and some lunch on several hikes in Glacier National Park last summer. Longest hike was 11.6 miles. Loaded up it is heavy. Has nice padding. I tripped and fell on my back and all was well except my pride. Felt like a turtle on its back in the middle of the trail.

Tripod fits in the middle back or I think on the side if it is small.

Zippers are a little stiff, but I think that is because of the water resistance. It also has a rain fly stored in the bottom.

Has worked well for me. All bags have there pros and negatives.

+1 on Lowepro. Excellent well made functional bags, I have the Pro Trekker 300 AW.

I'll be interested to hear what you end up with. I am in the same boat looking for a pack right now. The one thing I keep getting held up about is there are very few if any that allow for easy access to gear without taking the pack off. Some slightly smaller packs allow you side access that you can get to, with some requiring you to lower the pack a bit, but not completely taking it off. I hope that makes sense.

http://fstopgear.com/

Loka, Tilopa, etc.....and pick your ICU or all three

ChristopherMadison wrote in post #11998639
http://fstopgear.com/

Loka, Tilopa, etc.....and pick your ICU or all three

Ooooh! Those look extremely promising!

ChristopherMadison wrote in post #11998639
http://fstopgear.com/

Loka, Tilopa, etc.....and pick your ICU or all three

+1 I've held my friends and checked it out. Nothin else like it out there as it's really good at being both a camera pack and hiking pack.

Thread on the Loka:

https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=937528&high​light=loka

D.C. wrote in post #11996984
Have you looked at the Lowepro Pro Trekker series.

+ 1 for the Pro Trekker. They're exceptional bags...

Your best bet is probably with the f/stop bags. They were designed for backpacking with camera gear.

I've bene looking into the same thing for a few weeks now and the two that i've found and done a lot of research are the FStop Lokka (pain to get hold of in the UK) and the Burton Zoom 26l pack - which I'm leaning towards because of the price.

Give the Lowepro Rovers a look...the Rover AW II and the Dryzone Rover (waterproof version of the Rover AW). Either bag will accommodate all of your gear without a problem in the lower gear compartment, and the upper compartment can easily hold the essentials. The Rover AW II will hold two 1-liter Nalgene water bottles in the outer elasticized pockets, and the Dryzone Rover comes with an internal bladder and hose setup for drinking water (maybe on the small side, but can be changed out to a larger aftermarket bladder). Tripod mounts down the center on either pack. I actually have both, and each gets a good workout.

kurt765 wrote in post #11998726
Ooooh! Those look extremely promising!

The only thing, they are out of stock on the Medium and Large ICU's. They said they are expecting a shipment in April.

I'm still waiting hoping to have it before April 15th! I'll be heading to Arkansas to go hiking and Cave exploring

I have a Tamrac Evolution 6 (5786) and love it! It might be right up your alley. They also have the Evolution 8 (5788). It's bigger and holds a laptop. They also gives you the ability to convert it into a right or left shouldered sling pack... very slick.