Crumpler Sinking Barge - versatile option for me?

I currently use a 6MDH as my daily camera bag, and it is the perfect size for me. However, I have been looking for another bag that can occasionally carry my laptop (13" MacBook) as well as my camera body and at least 1 other lens. I am also planning on some traveling this summer, and have thought about some sort of smaller case for my camera and lenses that would fit in a carry-on bag, something like the Crumpler Buckets.

Enter the Sinking Barge. While I'm not normally a back-pack kind of person, this looks like it would hold everything I need, and be better than a messenger-bag style for carrying the weight of all my gear. Plus, the camera insert in the front section is supposed to be removable, so I could put it in a carry-on bag. Even if all my lenses don't fit, I can put the less-frequently used ones in separate cases inside the back-pack or carry-on bag.

Those of you that have a Sinking Barge, is there any reason it wouldn't be able to handle the above functions? Also, how big is it really? The pictures make it look like a pretty fat bag, and I am not a very big person (5'1") so I'm worried it will be too big for me to carry around regularly.

Are there any other bags that would be better suited to my requirements?

I'm kind of partial to the Crumplers, just because they've worked well for me so far. I've pretty much ruled out the 7MDH and Brazillion DH as too large for me to carry, and the messenger bag style would eventually cause problems for me anyway due to the weight when fully loaded.

Everything should fit inside the Sinking Barge just fine. I tried out both the Sinking Barge as well as the Customary Barge in a Crumpler store. I ended up going with the Customary Barge because my laptop (bigger than your MacBook) wouldn't fit in the Sinking Barge.

They are both very comfortable bags to have on your back, but I think you are right to be concerned about the overall size of the bag for your frame.

The Crumpler website has a picture of it on someone who is 5' 10" here.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately no one near me carries this in store, but I decided to go ahead and order it from Amazon, if it doesn't work out their return policy is pretty forgiving.

Based on that picture you linked, the size of the bag is pretty likely to be too big for me. Drat.

The bag was delivered yesterday, and I really like it. It's exactly what I was looking for in a combo camera/laptop bag. Unfortunately, it is also huge. Even with all my gear loaded it's not too heavy, but between the wide shoulder straps and the height of the bag it is uncomfortable to wear, not to mention how far it sticks out behind me.

I guess I'll return it and keep searching.

You might want to check out this thread. It shows a 7MDH set up for a laptop. It might work for a 6MDH also.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=383571

ggt1_02 wrote in post #5048466
You might want to check out this thread. It shows a 7MDH set up for a laptop. It might work for a 6MDH also.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=383571

The 6MDH just holds my camera gear, so I don't think there is any way to fit my MacBook in it as well. If I can't find a backpack I like, I will be ordering a 7MDH and following that thread to configure it for a laptop.

Crumpler makes a bag called the Brazillion Dollar Home, but based on the size of the 6MDH, the BDH is another bag that would be perfect for what I need but way to big for me to carry.