The Flipside 400 AW was purchased as a more photo-centric alternative to the Rover Plus AW. The Flipside allows easier access to the photo equipment and is lighter empty although the support system is not nearly as sophisticated as the Rover Plus.
Access to the Flipside photo compartment is from the rear of the pack. This has the advantage of keeping the back of the pack clean and dry when accessing it. The opening is slightly restricted at the bottom because of the load belt.
Storage capacity is reasonable although probably less than the Slingshot 300. It does have the advantage of fitting a reasonable length telephoto mounted on the body. Depth wise a medium length lens like the 100mm USM macro or 24-105mm can be fitted it vertically but this is about the limit. Pictured below clockwise from top left is:
(i) Hood for crop use of the 17-40mm (uses the 24-105 hood),
(ii) 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM inc hood and Hood for 60mm macro
(iii) 17-40mm f/4L
(iv) 300mm f/4 IS + TMA + 1.4XII mounted on 7D
(v) 180mm f/3.5 Macro USM + TMA
One limitation is the width of the pack, this means that it gets a bit tight with lenses that have the hood reverse mounted. The 100mm macro with hood, 300mm and almost any other lens with a hood across the width is already straining the zip closure slightly. There is scope for a Flipside 500 AW perhaps.
Lowpro suggest one should be able to access the bag by turning it around whilst the belt is still attached. I can’t see this being too secure even with a very light load.
The accessory compartment is accessed from above (shown below) and is much larger than might be expected. Plenty of room for things like cards, angle finders, batteries, warm hats and gloves.
Either side there are two water bottle pockets and above these a buckled strap. The strap is very useful for holding outer layers of clothing such as waterproofs, medium weight down layers or fleeces.
The AW cover is stored in the standard Lowpro position under the front of the pack. The provided tripod holder system is also Lowpro standard rather like the Rover Plus AW. This folds out and down.
I have problems with this tripod carry method. Firstly it means the pack can not stand on its case with the tripod in place; this is a lot less of an issue that it was with the Rover Plus AW as the user can still access the photo compartment with the tripod attached with the Flipside. The second issue is I find the weight of the tripod, even a small light one, is cantilevered behind my body centre of gravity. I find this pulls on my back.
I have tried this alternative tripod carry method, where two of the tripod legs are sitting in one of the water bottle compartments. An old webbing belt (donated by my better half) straps the two legs firmly in place higher up. The wide and generous carry handle is used as an anchor point. I find this a very comfortable way to carry the tripod and hardly noticed its presence. This usage is shown below side on. The back of the pack is to the right.
The last two views show the pack from the front and rear.
