Customer Reviews

Kata Ergo-Tech Series Prism U Personal Gear Backpack for Digital Camera and 12 Inch Laptop Computer

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, you're probably wondering why I gave it 4 stars and said nothing else compares. I took off one star for a few problems that I've had, otherwise without those it would have been perfect and received a fifth star.

I bought this bag 2 years ago when I was getting ready to travel to London on a business trip and I was bringing my DSLR along too. I didn't want to carry a laptop bag along with a camera case so I was looking for a good solution. At the time, most information about this bag said it would fit a 15 inch laptop and I happened to have a 15 inch Apple Powerbook. When I got the bag I immediately tried it out and found that with some perseverance the zipper would actually close. When I'd load the laptop with the rest of the bag empty the closure was so snug I worried about it busting the zipper, but it never failed. However, if I tried to load the laptop with other stuff in the bag it wouldn't work. Here's the other bad news about the 15 inch Powerbook. A year later I upgraded to the newer 15 inch Apple Powerbook and the radius of the corners were sharper than the previous laptop and it wouldn't close no matter how much I tried.
Here's the other two things that kept it from being a 5 star bag: the sternum strap belt pulled off one side and is impossible to get back on. I accidentally thought I was pulling down on the strap to tighten the bag against my back and the strap pulled off. The last gripe was that one of the cool little outside pocket zippers came off the bag. The stitching came undone and the zipper pull came off. I had to eventually put the pull on backwards and hand sew the bottom so it wouldn't come off again.

Now that the griping is out of the way keep in mind that in spite of those flaws I LOVE this bag. I actually just bought a smaller laptop for personal use just so I'd get more use out of this bag. On my trip I was amazed by several things that this bag did exceedingly well.
1. It is small and inconspicuous, great on crowded trains and in museums
2. It fits a ton of stuff, and is easy to get to all of it
3. Its comfy to wear fully loaded walking hours upon hours
4. The material and padding gave me confidence in the safety of my equipment even in light rain
5. Its interior is adaptable, this was a huge plus
I'm sure I could say more, but this I've already said a mouthful. This bag is awesome if you want to carry your laptop, DSLR, ipod, battery charger, notepad, etc. for your daily treks. It's not for overnighting or hiking into the back country with your tripod and snowshoes. If you don't want to shout out to every passing pedestrian that you're carrying thousands of $$$ worth of equipment in a huge bag this is it.

The description of the bag (on amazon and kata-bags.com) state that the elasto-guard sleeves for the camera are in the top compartment, but mine are in the bottom compartment. I'm a little concerned that the weight of things in the top comparment could damage my dslr in the bottom compartment, especially since the LCD screen hugs the bottom of the top compartment. If you want to get an idea of what the camera compartment really looks like check out the Kata Sensitivity V backpack, as it has the camera compartment in the lower portion of the bag. Besides the surprise of the camera compartment not being where I thought it would be the bag is great. It's slightly bigger than I thought it would be. My Dell Latitude D420 fits great as does my Sony Alpha 350 with 18-70 lens attached and the extra 55-200 lens fits perfectly in the elasto-guard sleeve. There's room for a third lense as well. I'm just disappointed that the bag is not as setup as described.

Many descriptions of this backpack state it fits 15 inch laptops -- this is NOT TRUE. Other than that, it's really pretty awesome. The yellow fabric inside sticks to Velcro hooks, and it includes a memory-stick case and a pen case with Velcro on them.

Awesome bag...I just wish I didn't have to carry my laptop in a separate case...especially after spending so much money on it!
-Zach

I bought this backpack to carry my camera when I travel. The area designated for the camera is secure and well padded. My complaint about the bag is it must be sized for a man with broad shoulders, it is always falling off my shoulders (unless I secure the additional buckle across my chest). The top compartment is handy but not very big. I use the secret back compartment to keep my wallet and important papers in, I can't feel them there and no one can steal them. The shoulder pads rub on your bare skin but are fine if you are wearing a long sleeved shirt. The water pouches are nice as are the cell phone & i-pod pocket. I wanted a small bag to carry my camera in and I guess this is it, it just isn't "perfect".

This is, without a doubt, the best camera bag I've ever had...and the fact that I can also carry a small laptop is an added bonus. OK, it's not perfect if carry really long lenses, but for carrying one or (even two smallish - Nikon D40/60 are what I carry) digital SLRs with standard lenses for everyday use (mine are Nikkor 18-200 zoom and 60 mm micro) it's perfect. Lightweight, great padding, convenient, small accessory and bottle pockets.

It's a nice durable bag but It's bigger and bulkier than it looks in the pictures. The straps are very wide. I have broad shoulders and I still need the chest strap to keep the straps from pulling to the sides. The camera compartment on the bottom is only big enough to fit an SLR with a short lens. If I carry my 5D with the 24-70L lens, I have to keep it in the top zipper pocket in stead. It fits in the camera compartment perfectly with most shorter prime lenses though. But you would have to put your larger zoom in the top compartment.

My main disappointment with this bag is the laptop compartment doesn't fit a 13" laptop. It could have easily fit my laptop if they extended the zipper area by only a half inch in each side(major design flaw). It's only usable to hold books and papers.

I will most likely get a lowepro that can fit my laptop to replace this bag very soon. I don't recommend this bag at all. The lowepro slingshot which is much smaller than this bag can hold just as much stuff(minus the document pocket).

The perfect backpack if you carry an assortment of gadgets. Although my 14" laptop won't fit in the laptop compartment (didn't expect it to really) the compartment is perfect for storing magazines and documents. It is not overly big and no bigger than the Gap sling bag I replaced it with. It is comfortable to hold and also looks really cool.

I was using a shoulder bag for two years. The weight of my SLR, bettery,charge, flash...etc was killing me if I went for a day trip. I compared dozens of camera bags on the amazon and on the net, from $30 to $200 sth, from sling bag to backpack. I finally picked up this one. I have been using it for the recent trip to DC (several days walking in DC), Shenandoah, Newport... took it to everywhere. I am a 5'5 medium build woman. This backpack fits me very well(tighten the front staps if you are wearing short sleeved shirts, so the shoulder straps can be away from your bare inside arms). I put everything into it: one SLR with 200mm lens, Flash, diffuser, bettery for camera, bettery for Flash, bettery charge, keys, wallet, pen, tour books etc. I swich the bag to the front for quick access to the camera if I wasn't holding the camera in my hand.

I love this backpack, it gives me a lot more freedom to enjoy my trips and photo taking.

PS: Shipping was awesome, the backpack was packaged as if it was a baby.

Nice Bag, Enough space for camera with kit lens, plus a telephoto and prime in one compartment.

another compartment for another stuffs.

the laptop compartment might be a bit small and tight.

lacks a compartment for tripod.

Couldn't ask for a better camera bag! It is durable, light wait, has a lot of pockets, and holds everything you need for a day walk.