Clik Elite Venture 35 backpack (first impression/review)

I needed a new camera pack for hiking as my Tamrac Areo 85 is nice but not suited for hikes with lots of gear

So after deciding what I wanted out of a pack (must have hip belt, hydration compartment, tripod holder, enough room for my photo equipment, and enough room for a day trips gear) I did lots of research and finally decided on the Clik Elite Venture 35 <-Click to go to the Venture 35's page for more info an specs


First Impressions:

Build:
This bag is well made but is a bit on the heavy side (about 3.5lbs).
Its made from a water resistant nylon, with stretchable side mesh pockets, built in tripod carrier and has a built in rain cover (more on the tripod carrier and rain cover later)
The zippers seem to be of good quality and the zipper pulls are cord with plastic tabs
The shoulder straps, hip belt and back are all nicely padded with some kind of foam (not sure exactly what)
You'll find all your normal load adjusters that you would with any backpack as well was side compression straps and a tripod strap.
The camera compartment has ok padding but not a lot of it. Should be fine as long as you don't plan on just letting the pack slide off of your shoulders and fall to the ground to often.

Shoulder straps and hip belt:
The padding on both is a soft foam that is quite comfortable but seems a bit soft so we'll have to wait an see how it holds up.
The hip belt is a nice wide belt and is 30" end to end (not including the wedding). The webbing adds lots of extra length making the belt about 52" long (not including the buckle) so will even fit those of us with a bit more girth in the midsection
The shoulder straps can be adjusted in both how long they are and how far apart they are from each other. Each strap is independent from each other and held to the pack by very large and very strong velcro. The strap adjuster on the shoulder straps also have a cam lock to them so they do not slip once set. Typical adjustable torso strap is included as well

Tripod holder:
The tripod holder has two options depending on how long the tripod (or monopod) is. Each uses the wedding strap near the top of the pack to hold the top of the tripod (the strap adjuster on this strap has a cam lock just like the shoulder straps)
The feet of the tripod/monopod go into a pocket on the camera compartment door or, for longer legs, in a pull down pocket that flips down from the pocket the shorter legs go into.

Hydration compartment/Nalgene pockets:
The hydration compartment is out side of the pack between the back of the pack (that goes against your back) and where the shoulder straps connect. Specs say it will fit a 100oz bladder....and it will but I would not fill it all the way up. When the bladder is filled (even about 3/4 or the way) it will make the back of the pack curve out where it rests against your back (see photos in the photo link). Looks odd, feels "different" at first but so far it's not any more comfortable or uncomfortable then without a bladder in. I do worry that body heat will warm the water up a lot but I won't know till further testing is done
The Nalgene pocks are stretchable mesh and a very tight fit for a typical 100ml/32oz nalgene bottle. While a nalgene bottle will fit don't expect to get it back in the pocket while wearing the pack.

Rain cover:
The rain cover is built in and is stored in a pocket in the very bottom of the pack (forgot to take photos of this, sorry).
The rain cover is large! It is so large in fact that it will fit over and cover the entire pack even with a tripod attached. That was a nice surprise to me. It is the typical seam sealed light weight nylon with an elastic cord and cord lock.

Top compartment:
This is larger then I realized from the specs. It has lots of room for a typical day hikes gear (sweatshirt, a meal, snacks, and 10 essentials) with room to spare. It may even be large enough to fit enough gear for a light over night summer hike depending on gear.

Camera compartment:
It is padded ok but again don't start throwing around this pack around and expect your equipment to be ok.
The dividers are curved padded affair that will cup a lens, stood on end, nicely.
The specs list the pack as being able to hold a pro/gripped body and a lens up for a 70-200mm f2.8 (not attached) as well as plenty of other lenses (a body with a 70-200 f4 lens attached will fit in there but I don't see it fitting with a f2.8 attached)

On Clik's site they give an example list of what can fit in the pack. For now I'll just list what I have in it in the photo below: (the yellow divider did not come with the pack, another included divider is not pictured, and ignore the attached UV filters....waiting on my filter pouch to come in)

Left side, top to bottom:
Hitech P size ND/GND filters in case
Cokin P filter holder and adapter ring
70-200 f4L IS with tripod collar and hood reversed (this could even be stood on end at the top of the compartment if needed)

Middle, top to bottom:
Filter wrench
Accessory pouch (extra battery, lens pen, wired shutter release, micro fibers)
SD card holder (slid inside a divider)
60D w/sigma 17-70 OS attached hood reversed (clik wrist strap in body)

Right side, top to bottom:
Filters in hard cases (will be replaced with filter pouch)
Vivitar 2x TC (on bottom) Rokinon 8mm Fish eye (on top)
Zeikos extension tube set (on botton) Lens pen blower (on top)


So here are my first impresion Pros and Cons

Pros:
Lot of space
Rain cover fits even with tripod attached
Comfortable* (* we'll see how the foam holds up on trips)
Tripod holder is simple yet effective
Slightly adjustable shoulder straps
Well built* (* only long term use will show how well)

Cons:
Nalgene pockets are very tight
Hydration compartment is odd* (* we'll see how in function in the long run)
Camera compartment could use a little more padding

I hope to have a field tested review with-in a month or so but that will all depend on the weather and where my friends and I decide to go hiking. Until then here are some pics (more photos can be found in the link below the posted Pics)

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

Gremlin75,
I just received mine this past week and used it one time for a day hike and photo shooting. Excellent experience so far. As you said , time will tell more about this pack, but so far I'm very happy. Thanks for the review.
Kyan

What tripod legs are you using?

Hard Drive Disk wrote in post #14195802
What tripod legs are you using?

The feisol 3401