Lowepro Vertex 200 Review

I'm so up in the air about various bags for a trip to Antarctica this fall. The Vertex 200 is one of those bags.

I'm trying to fit:

1DMKII
1Ds
300mm f2.8L IS
70-200mm f2.8L IS
24-105MM f4L IS
24mm f3.5L TS/E
1.4x TC
2x TC
4 Extra 1D batteries
430ex
Wimberly Sidekick
Epson P2000
Other small things (cards, batteries, filters)

Demo,

Can you post a photo of a side view of the bag, i.e. how deep it is. Also how big is the laptop section, would it take a 15.4" sony vaio?

Thanks
Peter

This is the only side profile shot I have of the bag.. I don't carry a laptop, so I can't say if your laptop will work or not.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Thanks Demo.

Other reports seem to say that a Laptop the size of mine should fit, so I think I'm sold on this bag. Just need to look for a good price.

Peter

Thanks for the review. I just ordered one today and hopefully get it tomorrow. Fits just between the Minitrekker AW and Computrekker Plus AW in size but with laptop pocket on front which I prefer. I do not like that all the weight of lenses and bodies is on top of the laptop .

I got my bag thursday and have been using it all weekend. 6 hours on my back saturday and 6 hours sunday.

Maybe I am using it wrong but I thought the waist band was supposed to help balance the weigth so it would not be as hard for the shoulders as without. Well I used the waist belt and my shoulders hurt and I did not feel any kind of support from the waist belt. So since I have always felt the waist belts are in the way I will most likely cut it off before taking the bag on my next trip to Africa.

tommykjensen wrote in post #6045771
I got my bag thursday and have been using it all weekend. 6 hours on my back saturday and 6 hours sunday.

Maybe I am using it wrong but I thought the waist band was supposed to help balance the weigth so it would not be as hard for the shoulders as without. Well I used the waist belt and my shoulders hurt and I did not feel any kind of support from the waist belt. So since I have always felt the waist belts are in the way I will most likely cut it off before taking the bag on my next trip to Africa.

I think that it depends somewhat on how much "waist" one has. In the last couple years, I seem to have gotten a bit rounder and things like this slip off my waist easier than they used to, even including a classic D2 backpack that I have had for about 30 years and love the way that it performs. Anyway, I think that the secret (other than getting a thinner waist) is to cinch the waist belt very firmly, but do NOT draw the shoulder straps up too snugly, just barely snug enough to bring the pack up to a vertical position. If the shoulder straps start off too tight, then you will always be using your shoulder to support the load and, of course, you want your waist to carry all of the weight. I have thought about mounting the camera pack onto my backpacking frame, but then I wouldn't be able to use my backpack.

So, here are the two main "rules":

1. Carry all of the weight on the waist
   
2. use the shoulder straps only for balance and stability

Just remembered, one more:

3. If you don't have a waist, get one.

tommykjensen wrote in post #6045771
I got my bag thursday and have been using it all weekend. 6 hours on my back saturday and 6 hours sunday.

Maybe I am using it wrong but I thought the waist band was supposed to help balance the weigth so it would not be as hard for the shoulders as without. Well I used the waist belt and my shoulders hurt and I did not feel any kind of support from the waist belt. So since I have always felt the waist belts are in the way I will most likely cut it off before taking the bag on my next trip to Africa.

Hi Tommy.

I was always taught most of the weight should go on the hips via a belt with any decent backpack. The idea being to transmit the weight below rather than through the back, plus this tends to keep one's centre of gravity lower improving stability and reducing effort. I know it can take a lot of fiddling to get the adjustment just right, and often needs to be tweaked as you take layers off and on.

Although this view was scoffed at by some here recently, who thought you should have all the weight on the shoulders!

Please don't be offended, but I found the load belt on my SS300 a lot more effective after I lost a couple of stone over the last few months (partly initial illness followed by eating better to ovoid further illness!).

I was not very over weight but I definitely have more waste now (could still do with more). I always had the belt set to take most of the weight on the hips and not the shoulder (only about 10-20%), but before it was always slipping. It says much better now.

Thanks that proves I was using it wrong. But it might not change the fate of the waist belt anyway I still think its too bulky for flights.

if anyone is looking to get one of these I am selling mine
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=547927
its basically new

tommykjensen wrote in post #6051307
Thanks that proves I was using it wrong. But it might not change the fate of the waist belt anyway I still think its too bulky for flights.

I have taken mine on several plane trips (plus buses, trains, boats, and automobiles) and have never encountered a problem in putting it in the overhead bin except on a bus once. If you have not committed the unthinkable yet, I will post a few pictures showing my method of securing the straps to reduce bulkiness. I think that there may be better ways, but mine allows me to easily fit the bag in an overhead bin.

I have a VERTEX 300

This is a VERY BIG BAG that holds a lot of equipment. The image is not what I usually carry but, would give you an idea of the capacity of the bag. It is also capable of holding my 17" Toshiba notebook computer.

IMO, there are two downsides to this bag:

1. It is very heavy even empty and with its large capacity gets extremely heavy when loaded. Of course, I could carry less but, I like to have my equipment at my disposal.

2. The carrying straps are extremely bulky. When I have the bag filled with photo equipment and a 17" notebook; it will not fit into the airpost box that carry on (domestic flights) must fit in. I get around this by removing the notebook from the pack and hand carrying it during the boarding process. I have to remove the computer from the pack for security purposes anyway. After returning the notebook to the Vertex 300 - there is no problem in fitting it into the overhead compartments of a 737 airliner.

I wish that the heavy duty carrying straps (especially the waist strap which I never use) were removable.

NOTE: I use the Vertex 300 to carry my gear on flights and to act as a storage for my gear when on trips. I usually rent a sedan (although I much prefer driving a small SUV) because of being able to lock my gear in the trunk out-of-site. Since I don't use the pack for hiking, I really dont need the super heavy duty straps.

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I received my Vertex 200 yesterday. From the pics on there I had no idea just how much stuff it holds. I barly half fill it with my equipment. It seems like a great bag, I'm going to have a bit more of a play tonight to work out a good configuration then give it a good test traveling from London to Boston this weekend.

I just got this bag. VERY nice.