Posted by Dustin Diamond on February 10, 2010 at 2:35 AM
hi everyone...i am a newbie to this forum...so here it goes...
i am heading to central america (panama/costa rica)in june for 3 months...my primary work will be in the mountains and jungles....i am looking for a reliable backpack for tranport of my gear and laptop (laptop space is only for safe travel)...needs to be able to carry 2 pro bodies, 3-4 L series lenses(500 f4 being the largest), teleconverters, batteries, chargers, memory cards, etc. Comfort and water resistance are also extremely important.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Posted by Mitch Erwin on February 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Dustin, you didn't mention how extensive you would be carrying the gear around? But here is what I have and highly recommend it. for anything other than extensive backpacking - say anything over 10-15 miles loaded down with all your equipment. www.guragear.com - Kiboki bag.
Posted by Dustin Diamond on February 11, 2010 at 1:12 AM
Thanks Mitch. To answer your question....I will be carrying the gear around quite a bit....dawn to dusk. It is hard to know what will develope....many opportunities. So the goal is to be prepared for anything.
I looked at the Kiboki bag. It definitely has the space i am looking for. The straps look a little thin (uncomfortable?), and does the fabric on the straps wick water well?....also how are the zippers holding up?
Posted by Andre Joanisse on February 11, 2010 at 7:25 PM
Dustin,
I also recommend the Kiboko bag. The straps are not that thin and they are comfortable. There is a fair bit of adjustment so you can get it to fit your body. It does carry a lot of gear, I travelled around the world for 3 months with it and loved having it. You shouldn't have any problems fitting the gear you list. The bag material itself is fairly water resistant and if it is raining more heavily, you also have weather cover to keep the rain out. I carried it on day hikes without any problems.
The zippers are very good and very easy to open. The zippers are also reasonably "air tight" for a lack of a better description. I was in very dusty environments and the fine dust didn't get in the bag.
One thing it won't do is carry your laptop. For this I had the pelican 1080 hard back, great protection. The extra cables for the laptop easily fit in the Kiboko.
On my trip, I did a lot of flying, never had a problem taking the bag as a carry-on, just good they didn't have me weigh it !! In small planes, the bag would fit under the seat, on larger planes, in the overhead compartment.
Discussion
3 repliesi am heading to central america (panama/costa rica)in june for 3 months...my primary work will be in the mountains and jungles....i am looking for a reliable backpack for tranport of my gear and laptop (laptop space is only for safe travel)...needs to be able to carry 2 pro bodies, 3-4 L series lenses(500 f4 being the largest), teleconverters, batteries, chargers, memory cards, etc. Comfort and water resistance are also extremely important.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I looked at the Kiboki bag. It definitely has the space i am looking for. The straps look a little thin (uncomfortable?), and does the fabric on the straps wick water well?....also how are the zippers holding up?
I also recommend the Kiboko bag. The straps are not that thin and they are comfortable. There is a fair bit of adjustment so you can get it to fit your body. It does carry a lot of gear, I travelled around the world for 3 months with it and loved having it. You shouldn't have any problems fitting the gear you list. The bag material itself is fairly water resistant and if it is raining more heavily, you also have weather cover to keep the rain out. I carried it on day hikes without any problems.
The zippers are very good and very easy to open. The zippers are also reasonably "air tight" for a lack of a better description. I was in very dusty environments and the fine dust didn't get in the bag.
One thing it won't do is carry your laptop. For this I had the pelican 1080 hard back, great protection. The extra cables for the laptop easily fit in the Kiboko.
On my trip, I did a lot of flying, never had a problem taking the bag as a carry-on, just good they didn't have me weigh it !! In small planes, the bag would fit under the seat, on larger planes, in the overhead compartment.
cheers,
André