Customer Reviews

Lowepro DryZone Rover (Grey)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The good:
A) This pack is great if you want to haul a large amount of camera gear as well as additional stuff you wish to take a long.
The camera compartment holds a body with lenses, a flash, and 4 additional lenses without a problem. Even able to fit my 8in 200-400 inside of the bag. The tri-pod slots on the back are also nice if you want to haul one along.

B) The top compartment also provides lots of storage providing plenty of space for personal gear, a lunch, and even in one case also a camcorder. It also of course contains the hydration pack area and a basic slot.

C) The dry bag will keep your camera gear dry in rain, snow, or if the hydration pack or something else decides to leak. It is actually rated to keep it dry if accidentally dropped into a river but I wouldn't suggest it.

D) The pack is well padded and has all of the proper tension straps and pads in all the right places to be kind to your back.

The bad:
A) The zipper on the dry bag functions VERY badly at colder temperatures (5deg F) and trying to follow a winter race I spent more time fighting the zipper than packing up all my gear.

B) The Hydration pack is VERY small and poorly designed.
Low Volume:
At just over a liter,if you are hauling in a backpack full of camera gear into the back woods you are likely to be left thirsty.
Prone to Leaks:
The design of the bladder chosen is also poor and is prone to leaking; it is the open the top and simply fold over the top a few times then use a binder clip to seal it.
Storage Area of Bladder:
The compartment for holding the hydration bladder is also not separated from the upper compartment like most hydration packs if it did leak it is immediately going to soak everything in the upper compartment. It also is too small to hold one of the bladders with a better seal design like from Camelback or another designer.

C) The size of the pack is a bit bulky and if you are looking for a lighter pack for carrying a camera and a lenses or two into the woods this pack is way too large. They need a smaller more mobile version with a good hydration system design and one that would be small enough to perhaps bike with without throwing off your center of gravity.

D) The back of the pack is not well ventilated and if even on a cold day my back got relatively warm with this on my back as it doesn't have enough of the modern ventilation design for the weight the pack is designed to carry, and especially as an `outdoors' pack.

E) The camera compartment may be a dry bag, but the upper compartment is supposedly made of a water resistant material, but I would feel more comfortable to still have an integrated rain fly (all weather cover).

F) Bag itself is heavy, even empty.

Summary:
I think it is a good pack for short distance photographic expeditions into the elements, or for a canoe or rafting trip. Not one I would recommend if you are going very far with it on your back or one you are going to use in the cold. Definitely not worth the MSRP of $395, but think Amazon's price of just under $200 is reasonable for it.

This pack gets the job done around water. I live in Alaska and need a pack that is easy to use and carry while keeping my digital safe and dry. Pelican cases are great but you can't carry them so I was forced to find and alternative. I like this pack because it is fully adjustable and has a compartment for all my other stuff.

The camera compartment isn't really a fast opening compartment but for day to day use I just snap the strap and don't bother with the zipper. The camera compartment is a little small if you need lots of gear or multiple cameras but for a few lenses and a camera body it works.

I think the water bladder, although a fairly decent one as far as they go, is fairly worthless. It's hard to drink from and every once in a while it leaks.

The upper compartment works great, I carry school books in there on a day to day basis and light day gear the rest of the time.

The tripod system is convenient and the extra straps make it easy to modify your load.

I'm a tall guy and the pack could stand to be a little longer but it still distributes weight better than most packs. I would say if you want to be sure your camera will be dry and have a back pack at the same time this is the way to go. It's padding and water proofing will keep your stuff safe and it's convenient and easy to carry design will make it a good choice for outdoors enthusiasts.

I put together an extensive review of this bag

[...]

Summary of that review:
Conclusion on the LowePro DryZone Rover: This is a very good pack. It's a nice design overall, and it fits me fairly well. The waist belt could do with a little more redesign, but as LowePro doesn't make multiple sizes to fit multiple people, the waist belt is about as good as it's going to get. The waist belt fits me "well enough", although I would have liked for it to fit more, but it's doubtful that will happen with a one-size-fits-all camera bag.

Getting lenses out quickly is not exactly an option with this bag, but what you sacrifice in quickness, you do get in waterproofing. For hikes where I know things aren't going to get wet, I will probably pick up something that can attach to the waist belt or to the pack for lenses that I want to interchange quickly.

This is a pack I will definitely be using again and again for 1-3 day hikes where I don't have to carry around backpacking gear and can just carry photography gear instead. And in light to moderate rain (you won't catch me out in heavy rain), I don't have to worry about my gear getting wet or covering the bag with a water proof cover.

However, the water bladder sucks. I suggest replacing it. Other than that, this is a great bag.

This bag is *great* as long as this is the bag you want.

Before purchasing this bag, I read a lot of reviews that including criticisms about the waterproof zipper (yes, it is a little harder to work than a regular zipper, but it is waterproof) or wanting a smaller version (sure, it'd be great if Lowepro made a smaller version, but currently they don't and that doesn't impact how I feel about this version).

I use this bag mostly for day hiking or hike-in-and-camp-overnight trips. The bag holds a LOT of gear. Often it is completely not necessary for me to take as much gear as I do, but I end up taking it because I have the space. This really isn't the kind of bag you want to be carrying if you want to be able to grab and switch lenses super-quick, as it is a process to get things out of the waterproof part. For me, it is completely worth the peace of mind knowing that I can fall in the lake and I probably won't ruin thousands of dollars worth of gear.

As far as a back-packing bag, I love it. It distributes the weight on my body extremely well. I am not super athletic by any means and I am easily able to carry the bag all day while hiking. My shoulders and back do not get strained at all. That being said, make sure you read the included documentation about how to adjust all the straps properly if you are not used to hiking backpacks.

The hydration pack holds about 1.5L of water. It is a little smallish I guess, but hasn't been a problem for me so far. If I needed more water, I'd probably just put a bottle into my bag to use as a refill. I had no problems with my back getting hot or sweaty from the bag, but so far I haven't used it in super warm weather. Days I've used it have been 60-78 F and fairly humid, but not hot.

The top portion in general holds a decent amount of stuff. On my last trip, I included a top layer, full bottle of sunscreen, food for the day for 2 ppl and various other small items (phone, wallet, keys). I have not yet used it to transport a tri-pod, so can't comment on that aspect.

Overall, i couldn't be happier with this bag. It is exactly what I wanted and can't wait to use it all summer. If Lowepro ever makes a smaller version of this (or even a version that holds more other stuff and slightly less camera gear) I will happily snap it up!

I have been using this pack every day for 2 years and took it on a 10 day raft trip to Alaska so I have tested it thoroughly.

I can comment on the durability. This pack is like new, even after being lifted and carried to work every day with heavy loads(I have put all my camera gear in the bottom and a MacBook (barely) in the top!

Regarding the zipper: be prepared to struggle with this and master it. It is the same zipper used on drysuits. The camera compartment with the zipper correctly closed is virtually bomb proof, and I have submerged it with no leakage!

Normally a little difficult to close, the zipper fails to close if dirt gets in it. Very fine dirt is the worst. I carry a tooth brush and Purell hand cleaner and use it to get the dirt out. Lubrication must be applied in a very thin layer or it cam make dirt buildup worse. A light silicone oil is best. I have even used WD-40.

If you are willing to work with the zipper this pack is great.

I bought this bad as I thought it would be useful for backpacking, as I am often caught out in the weather and wanted to protect my gear. While I agree with some reveiwers that the zipper to the waterproof compartment is a bit hard to work - if you use the wax it works quite well. Construction of the bag is exceptional - it has ergonomic shoulder straps and a good hip belt that is padding. There is plenty of room for a jacket and some food in the top - probably around 1200 cubic inches, possibly a bit more. The hydration portion seems to work fine, and unlike some people I have had no problems using it. There are plenty of placed to attach things to the outside of the pack, and much to my amazement I liked the idea of the tripod sleeve. It will fit any of the smaller tripods that are 18" or so long. I find the ease of fitting the camera section at least the equal of any I have seen, but coupled with the features of the pack and the build quality, it is better than anything else I have seen. If you backpack and want to protect your equipment, get this one. You can easily take the camera padded section out and use it as a daypack = seems to be at least 2,500 cubic inches, and is equal in comforct to a Gregory Zero.

I gave this as a gift and was a little worried after reading some of the reviews. The recipient was very very excited! We tested out the water bladder and it holds water very well, he had a back up plan in case...there are other companies out there that make smaller water bladders, it's not a big deal to replace it. The zipper on the waterproof camera case on the bottom is crazy hard to open and close, but they kindly include zipper grease with the backpack, so we put it on and the more you open and close the zipper, the easier it gets. I really think he will get a ton of use out of the backpack seeing as we hike a lot...and are in a hot climate (yay for the water bladder!) and we are also planning on hiking around lots of water as well (yay for waterproof covering) The price at Amazon is also outstanding if you visit Lowepro's website and inspect what's going on over there...

Got my backpack and fitted it and was on my way to Arizona. I went to The Grand Canyon,Zion and Brice National Parks.I carried 2 camera bodies and 3 lens.I had water in the hydrapak
that comes with it and a spare fleece jacket for the weather. It balances very good and was easy to get on and off. My tripod stayed in place and didn't shift. I am 65 and had 2 back surgeries, a new knee and hip put in. I was able to walk several miles at a time with no discomfort, and had my hands free for balance. My equipment was safe and didn't shift and was able to get to it when I needed it. Over all I am very satisfied with the backpack.

I purchased this in Nov 2008 for a trip to Kauai, which gets over 400 in. of rain a year--perfect place to try out a 100% waterproof camera bag.

Pros
* 100% waterproof compartment - a bit hard to open zipper, but that's to keep water out.
* traveled very well on plane, under seat in front of me.
* GREAT! Harness--to be expected from Greg Lowe and his team at Alpine Lowe (most innovative backpacking company on the planet--designed first internal frame pack!)

Cons
* To get to camera required working around tripod.
* The bungee cord snap closure came off, but still functional, had to reattach
* 2 outside slash pockets are awkward in shape--don't carry much
* NO SLIPLOCK accessory attachments

What I carried in it
* 1 Canon Rebel Xsi w/attached Canon 17-55mm f2.8 lens +lens hood
* 1 Canon 100mm f2.8
* 1 Canon rebel battery grip + 2 batteries
* Cables, cards, remote
* Cokin adapter, rings,
* 3 Cokin filters, 1 Lee filter
* 2 B+H 77mm filters
* Included water bladder (full)
* 1 Garmin GPS/Radio handheld clipped to shoulder strap
* 1 SLIK carbon fiber tripod
* 1 Manfrotto 488RC0 ballhead
* 1 sony digital camera (handsize)
* 1 480 EX flash
* Couple of books when I was on plane.

All carried VERY well!

Overall a great bag. I wore it on hikes (misty and rainy up Waimea canyon) and to Wailua falls (misty) and to Anini beach. Equipment stayed dry and it all carried very well.

Bummer that it does not provide quick access to the camera. Looking into buying a Primus AW next for just that reason for my dryer hikes. Will keep this when I'm bound for wet places.

The overall quality of both Lowepro packs that I have is good to excellent. This bag has been out with me in rain and snow and other typically wet Southeast Alaska weather. My only issue with this bag has been that the waterproof zipper on the lower case is a little sensitive and if you are not paying close attention and making sure the two halves of the zipper are lined up, it will separate. This is happening more as the bag gets into its second year of use. If you decide to get one, just make sure that you are watching the length of the rubberized zipper and that it is fitted together well before you actually try and zip it up.