Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect pack for hiking and travel, July 11, 2008
I spent quite a bit of time looking for the right backpack for my new Canon 40D and lenses. I wanted to use this backpack as (1) a daypack for wildflower photography mountain hikes of 7-12 miles, and (2) a travel pack (airplane carryon and storage case during extended car trips) for my camera, lenses and laptop.
I needed room for a few lenses (17-55 f2.8, 60 mm f2.8 macro, 85 mm f1.8). I will add a telephoto, but I won't be going for one of the monster zooms. My computer is a 15" Lenovo T60p.
I visited several stores to try out different laptop/camera combination packs. I was looking for comfort, ease of use, and capacity for my specific gear. For hiking, I wanted room for more than just the camera and laptop. But I also did not want a pack that was too heavy, or uncomfortable to carry.
The Kata DR-467 is just perfect for my needs. It holds all my gear easily (including the lenses listed above, as well as a 430EX flash, chargers for both the laptop and camera, and a small external USB hard drive). There is still plenty of room for a jacket and lunch on a hike. The shoulder straps are padded and quite comfortable. The waist belt is minimal, not enough to support the pack weight, but it will keep the pack from swaying. The sternum strap is adjustable and fit me well. The included raincover is a nice touch, as are the several accessory pockets. The bottom compartment for camera gear pulls out for easy access. The padded insert is removable, allowing me to use it in another pack, if I wanted to, or to use the DR-467 as a larger capacity daypack when I'm not carrying camera gear.
The Kata DR-467 strikes a good balance between protectiveness and weight. It's got decent padding for the laptop and camera, but it's still only 3.2 lbs. It seems very well made.
I tried two packs that are heavier and more protective. The Kata R-103 GDC Rucksack is a bit heavier, has more padding and room for more gear, but isn't nearly as comfortable. On my 5'11 frame, the sternum strap on the R-103 felt like a choker collar, and could not be adjusted low enough. The weight in the R-103 pulled back uncomfortably away from my shoulders. It's a great pack in terms of padding, and extremely well made, but uncomfortable to actually carry. It's not specifically designed for extra non-camera stuff, although you can carry a few things besides your camera and lenses if you toss out some of the dividers.
The other pack that I seriously considered was the Tenba Shootout Backpack, Medium, in Black/Olive. This pack has the best waist belt/suspension system of any of the packs. The Shootout comes in three different sizes. I tried the Medium, but my 15" Lenovo laptop would not fit. That left me with only the Large as an option, which weighs over 9 lbs, empty! It's extremely comfortable, of course, but I wasn't willing to carry a pack that was over 9 lbs before I put any gear in it.
Several other packs didn't hold my laptop, or just weren't at all comfortable. There were three decent choices that I haven't yet mentioned. The Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack (Grey/Black), held my camera gear and laptop, with some room for hiking stuff. But the construction quality and comfort just didn't match the Kata or Tenba packs. It seemed a little flimsy. The Think Tank Airport Antidote, Small Airline Carry On Photo Backpack impressed me as an airplane carryon. It's very well designed for that purpose. But it's terrible as a backpack to carry any distance. I thought the Lowepro CompuRover AW Camera Bag (Black) might be a good choice, but I couldn't find one to try out.
In the end, the Kata DR-467 was the best pack for my needs, regardless of price. It happened to be the least expensive as well, but clearly is better made than many other packs that cost a good bit more. I'm very happy.
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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
KATA = Way Cool, January 10, 2008
this bag is great. first impression: its rugged and good-looking, obviously well-made. the military heritage is obvious, since its designed primarily for functionality and has a kind of stealth/spec ops look. definitely doesnt look like a camera bag, and despite its bells and whistles its fairly inobtrusive.
second impression: it's very intelligently designed: the camera compartment cantilevers out when you open it and slides back in when you zip it up. the yellow divider stuff which makes all your gear visible, can be reconfigured into various combinations and can hold a moderate zoom attached to the camera plus four other small-to-medium lenses. there's ribbed padding on the outside and gussets which expand the bottom when stuffed, so fitting a large DSLR with a grip is no problem. there are some nylon side panels that prevent your stuff from galling out when fully unzipped, and the entire padding section can be removed as well. on the side is a zip-out mesh pocket that can hold a small water bottle or be a convenient place to store lens caps in the field without having to remove the pack.
moving on, we come to the the upper section, made out of reinforced ballistic material with two nylon cinch straps attatched to metal d-rings. (havent tried this yet, but it would probably be possible to jury-rig them to hold a tripod by adding a QR nylon strap.) there are two vertical zip pockets with zipper garages and more high-visibility yellow material on the inside. perfect for filters, extra batteries, and other small items. in-between these two pockets is yet another pocket, with a mesh guard to prevent stuff from falling out. depending on what you're carrying, these three pockets can hold a variety of gear in a variety of ways.
in the top section is another larger pocket big enough to hold a second body + flash or several more lenses + a flash or a travel guidebook + lunch or a windbreaker + sunglasses. this section also has a cel phone and pen pouches. the bottom and backof this are padded but no additional dividers.
then there's the notebook section, which can hold a 17" laptop. it's worth getting this bag over the smaller version even if you dont use with with a computer because its one more layer of padding.
the back section has plenty of padding. fully loaded, it was heavy to lift by the top handle but the weight is distributed so very evenly. there's a chest strap and waiststrap for additional support for super heavy loads.
another nice feature is the insertrolley strap that can slide over airline carry-on handles and fits nicely into the recessed back section. it wouls have been nice if the waiststrap could have been tucked away when not needed but that's kind of a reach as far as complaints go. it says something about how the design of this bag that one has to really search for shortcomings.
the only other real con is lack of a tripod holder, but that could be worked around (see above). also, unlike some of kata's other bags, you can't clip a torso bag onto this one; not a big deal unless you want a backpack + torso bag combo, in which case get a kata bag that allows you that option.
kata bags aren't for everybody, and some of their models are just too high-tech. but for a combination of style, functionality, and reasonable price for the quality, the DR-467 exceeds expectations.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great backpack for the digital lovers, July 5, 2008
I picked up the DR-467 a few months ago (shop around for better pricing). I travel for work quite a bit and really wanted to take my DSLR and some lenses with me along with my much needed laptop. This backpack, though looks small, can fit quite a bit in it. I've packed it full o' goodies and it still fits under the seat of a plane no problem. Last night the front straps came in handy for strapping my tripod and a half-gallon water bottle. The shoulder straps come with thick metal clips for camera quick release straps (this is great so you save any neck discomfort from typical straps). I think my only peeves about this bag are the 3 vertical pockets along the front top pouch and the water bottle pouch which is WAY to small. As an added note I'm a big fella and this pack is pretty comfy and easy to take on and off both shoulders.
I'm not much of a writer so I'll just leave you with what I typically pack in here for travel:
Back Pocket:
Asus 15.4" laptop (G1 gaming model) in the back pocket.
Front Top Pocket:
Laptop plug
Mouse and Pad
Zune 80GB
4 pens and a sharpie
2 AA and 2 AAA batteries
Deodorant
A typical paperback book
Nintendo DS in a shell case with games
Field Guide Manual for my camera (basically another paperback book)
I tend to toss my phone and a small bottle of water in there too.
Front vertical pockets:
Random cables (usb for phone and camera, plug for DS, USB for zune)
Extra SD cards
Extra pencil lead
Any random change I wind up with.
Bottom comparment:
Note: this compartment is removable which can give you some space for some clothing if you aren't taking your camera.
Nikon D80 DSLR Camera
54mm Lense
25-55mm Lense
70-300mm Lense (with shade)
Wide angle macro lense
Zoom macro lense
Neck Strap
Extra battery
Battery charger
Cigarette lighter plug for battery charging.
Top mounted flash
I think that's about it. Great bag, I highly recommend it if you like to carry your DSLR and Laptop with you!
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