Better then F-stop bag?

I'm a big fan of the Kenti, planning to get one for excursions but will have to wait a while as I just bought a thinktank roller bag for work. Seems like it would be almost perfect for carrying your gear if you want a smaller/low-profile bag when snowboarding. Might even work with one of f-stop's additional purchase accessory straps to strap your snow board to the side or back, but I don't snowboard so I wouldn't know if you would find that useful (a lot of Osprey bags for snowboarding and skiing have loops to attach snowboards/skis/hiking poles onto their exteriors, so that's where my assumption/guess comes from).

Snydremark wrote in post #17270047
I have no problem recommending the F-Stop for snow and abuse:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/dSYi​fp Me and the snowmobile- by Guideon72, on Flickr

That day even included a serious miscalculation and a 35mph 'get off' on my part; everything was fine.

I hate to go off topic but I have to ask... How is your camera mounted to the pack strap in this shot?

Capture Clip from Peak Designs.

I have been looking for a better solution for carrying photo stuff while hiking. We do a a lot of back country day hikes and the occasional horse packing trips from back country camp to camp . I have been using a standard cheapo hiking day pack with all my hiking and emergency supplies stuffed in and my photo gear just plopped in or wrapped in a shirt or something. I have wanted something that was a good 60/40 split between hiking and photo gear, I want something that does not scream I have $$$$$ in this photo backpack come take me, when its in the truck or when I am in a more public space like a touristy spot in a Nat Park, and I wanted something that was easy to customize, as my kit is ever expanding and evolving. What started with a 40d and 2 smaller lighter lenses and seldom a tripod, has now morphed into a 6D, 16-35 mkI, 24-105 and Tammy 150-600, and nearly never leaving home with out a pod of some kind,

At 1st I was thinking a Maxpedition or 511 3day pack and some padded pouches form Crumpler or similar. but decided that would not be much of an upgrade from what I have and nothing I looked at had the compartments laid out right for a easy access photo pack as well as good hiking/even light overnight bag. But I do like the modular nature and customizability of the Palls/Molle webbing for putting other specialized pouches in and on the bag.

With that idea put to the side I stumbled across these guys and this pack the Naneu K4
http://naneubags.com …hiking-camera-laptop-pack

Not cheap but not out of line for the role I wish it to fill, as you can spend twice this amount on both a very good hiking only pack or photo only pack. It seems to fit my bill very well, though its just a little large at 2100 Cubic Inches. I was all set to pull the trigger on this thing but decided I was going to hold off till the weather changed over and just finish the season with what I have.

Then I stumbled across these guys looking for a pouch that will fit my recently acquired tamron 150-600 Kinesis photo gear
http://www.kgear.com/b​ags.html

They make a pack as well thats similar in size to the K4 and is much more customizable, not only with the ability to attach many different types of pouches to the in and outside of the pack but also with the shoulder straps and waist belts as well with modular attachment points. Its their own system not the military molle type but seems to work well. They are more known for their pack belts it seems. But you have to buy all your pouches and pockets as a individual item and that can be a little more cost prohibitive. But as I think I would kit a pack out it still comes in a litter higher than the Nanue but also a few bucks cheaper than a Clik Elite 35L SO...............

All this long windiness aside I have yet to make up my mind between the 2, I very much leaning towards the Kinesis for the modular nature and the fact that it would work just as well as a hiking only pack as would as a hybrid. If we were to go on a longer several day over nighter, or longer horse trip those pouches can be tossed in that gear and provide good gear protection in situation as well.

I suppose I have done nothing but complicate the issue I will stop trying to help now
.

TLN wrote in post #17269721
. It's more a traditional backpack(i.e. for hiking) then camera bag(not that comfy).

The f-stop backpacks are super comfortable, though.

stickshift wrote in post #17270412
The f-stop backpacks are super comfortable, though.

This is one of the biggest things that I've appreciated with the F-Stop. When I fully load that sucker, it comes in between 35-40lbs and I can wander around all day with that and not be all fatigued....and I'm in pretty miserable shape for my age

I have had half a dozen or so bags. Most were used for one major trip and then be put aside. Finally settled on a F-stop Loka last year and I'm still loving it 5 trips later.

-alex

I have a F Stop Tilopa, Mindshift r180 and Mindshift panorama.

The f stop Tilopa is the best built, but the Mindshifts are not far behind. Mindshift r180 is probably most comfortable, mainly due to shoulder straps.

Tilopa is my hauler. It fits everything and asks for more. The reason I went with the Tilopa over the Loka is that you can use the straps to make the Tilopa about the same size as the Loka, but you can't expand the Loka. The Tilopa, with a pro insert, can fit in the overhead of a CRJ 200 as long as you have it strapped down to the depth of the insert. As long as you are ok with carrying your camera outside your bag, this bag with a capture clip is a great combo.

Mindshift r180 is my bag I use to get everything to a site that the cameras will be out of the bag at all times (like a football game). It hauls a lot (gripped 5d3, 1d4, 120-300 w/1.4x extender attached, 70-200 2.8, 580 exii, 24-105 f4, monopod, plus accessories), but not as much as the F-stop. What is great about this is that once I get to the site, I can take the beltpack out of the bag and use it to carry accessories/lenses while I carry the cameras.

Mindshift panorama - awesome everyday camera backpack, will become my go to. Went to disney and Biltmore recently and this was perfect. Great access to my camera and hauls enough for a day trip. I had a 5d3 ungripped with 24-105 attached, 580exii,
and a few accessories in the beltpack and a good amount of space left in the upper portion. What I liked about this bag is that it is easy access to your camera very quickly, but keeps the camera in the bag so you don't have to have straps or worry about banging it on something. Also, the ease of taking it off and on while at Disney to ride was great. With the Fstop, I would have carried my camera around on a capture clip to get quick access to it (the people I travel with are great at waiting for me to take a picture, but by the end of the day getting the camera out and putting it back in everytime you want to take a picture is annoying and slow) and then every time i wanted to take it off, I would have to take the camera off first and get someone to hold it or set it down and then fool with the backpack.

All of the alternatives listed so far don't offer the front access. I find that single feature the tipping point for usability outdoors. It is so much easier to stop, drop the bag on its back and open the cargo compartment take some shots, put stuff away and get moving again, without having to worry about dirt, snow or water. Also, in less than ideal urban situations I don't have to worry about people being able to access my gear when in tight crowds, subways, lines, etc.

jecottrell wrote in post #17273354
All of the alternatives listed so far don't offer the front access. I find that single feature the tipping point for usability outdoors. It is so much easier to stop, drop the bag on its back and open the cargo compartment take some shots, put stuff away and get moving again, without having to worry about dirt, snow or water. Also, in less than ideal urban situations I don't have to worry about people being able to access my gear when in tight crowds, subways, lines, etc.

I'd argue that it is nicer to drop the bag on its front, open the rear cargo compartment, take some shots, put stuff away and not have to worry about slinging said dirt, snow, water onto my back and other clothing.

The Mindshift bag is actually engineered so that you can swing the camera compartment around in front of you without having to remove the bag at all.

These bags don't make great urban carry bags anyway, given their size; there are many others that are better for close, tight environments. If that's the usage you're interested in, I'd hazard you're looking in the wrong thread.

I've seen Mindshift bags before I posted it.
What I don't really like about it, is that space is already divided on two: bottom is for camera, and top is for your stuff. With F-stop I can take ICU out and use it as regular backpack(and that seems like a pretty nice and comfy one). I can get another bigger or smaller ICU if I want.
Also F-stop features tons of places to carry extras: snowboard, tripod, poles, sleeping bag, girlfriend and so on.

Well, F-stop is quite pricey, but hey, why noone make an alternative to it? Just made it right for a hikers, add a back access for camera, and you're done. I'm surprised there's no competitors to f-stop.

What kills the mindshift for me is the pre divided area. Its just to small to pack all my gear. F-Stop would allow me to pack all my gear to a destination, then remove one or all of the ICU's and condense down for daytrips from basecamp (could be the car). I need a bag that can carry everything or only one thing. That's the versatility of the ICU's

TLN wrote in post #17273593
I've seen Mindshift bags before I posted it.
What I don't really like about it, is that space is already divided on two: bottom is for camera, and top is for your stuff. With F-stop I can take ICU out and use it as regular backpack(and that seems like a pretty nice and comfy one). I can get another bigger or smaller ICU if I want.
Also F-stop features tons of places to carry extras: snowboard, tripod, poles, sleeping bag, girlfriend and so on.

Well, F-stop is quite pricey, but hey, why noone make an alternative to it? Just made it right for a hikers, add a back access for camera, and you're done. I'm surprised there's no competitors to f-stop.

Littlejon Dsgn wrote in post #17273712
What kills the mindshift for me is the pre divided area. Its just to small to pack all my gear. F-Stop would allow me to pack all my gear to a destination, then remove one or all of the ICU's and condense down for daytrips from basecamp (could be the car). I need a bag that can carry everything or only one thing. That's the versatility of the ICU's

I agree with those, too. It's why I still have my F-Stop and 3 different sizes of ICUs, too. My last post was pretty specific to jecottrel's post which sounds like he isn't looking for the types of bags being discussed in this thread.

jecottrell wrote in post #17273354
All of the alternatives listed so far don't offer the front access. I find that single feature the tipping point for usability outdoors. It is so much easier to stop, drop the bag on its back and open the cargo compartment take some shots, put stuff away and get moving again, without having to worry about dirt, snow or water. Also, in less than ideal urban situations I don't have to worry about people being able to access my gear when in tight crowds, subways, lines, etc.

Gura Gear Uinta has both front and rear access. Just the overall build quality is joing like the f-stop bags, I sold 3 f-stop bags to buy the Uinta to take on a week long vacation and after that one week you could already see the Uinta starting to show noticeable wear and the waist buckle had already become loose. If I decide to go back to a backpack to carry for extended periods of time, I'll most likely go back to f-stop, but right now looking a backpacks for a 3-5 hr outing, not a hiking pack but a pack to wear around the city.

Anyone know, if dakine Mission photo and sequence have same camera block? Or sequence block is a bit bigger?