Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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90 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost just right..., April 10, 2008
Almost just right..., April 10, 2008
By Brett Despain (Draper, UT USA) - See all my reviews
Still looking for the perfect bag...this one comes very close. I own a Lowepro Compurover AW and a Tamrac Adventure 9 bag. The Compurover is too heavy and you have to crack it open like an egg to get to the Camera compartment. The Tamrac is the perfect size, but you have to take the bag off and lay it on the ground or your lap to open the camera compartment, otherwise you risk spilling out all of your gear! Not good.
This Fastpack 250 intrigued me because the side access pocket allows access to your camera quickly without taking the backpack off. Guess what? it works. You really can get your camera out quickly while still wearing the bag.
I bought this as strictly a travel bag. I'm a pilot so I needed a medium sized bag that I could fit in the cockpit while carrying my 40D and 3 L lenses. I also need the top compartment of the bag to carry a few snacks, water and other supplies.
Okay here's the breakdown.
Pros:
1. Slim design, fits in cockpit and on top of my roller suitcase with ease. Also fits very nicely in the space underneath your seat in an airliner.
2. Side camera access in a serious advantage. I considered the sling packs, but I like the comfort and security of having a full backpack. The sling packs are uncomfortable after a while and hard to position to get your camera out without twisting up your clothes or coat.
3. It's lightweight and comfortable to wear. Significantly lighter than my other two bags.
4. Not as pricey as my two other backpacks. I paid less than $90.
5. Side pocket fits a good sized Nalgene water bottle.
6. Medium size and all black color doesn't shout "Camera Bag!" while wearing it.
Cons:
1. No all weather cover flap. A major oversight if you ask me. I took the one off of my Tamrac to use with the Fastpack.
2. No chest strap. I think it needs one.
3. It's almost a little small. I wouldn't go any smaller than this bag because you'll be leaving something home that you'll want later.
4. It needs a side or bottom strap that you can attach a monopod to. I'm thinking of having one sewn on. For now I've attached a carabiner to the top handle and strap on my monopod there.
5. Outside pockets are really worthless. They are sewn in flat and don't have room to expand. You can get a few filters and a flash card wallet in them but that's about it.
Like I said it's not perfect, but I'm giving it four out of five mainly because I like the overall size and design of the bag as well as the convenience of the side access camera pocket.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
vs the slingshot 200, May 29, 2008
I was considering the Lowepro slingshot 200 and the Fastpack 250, and boy am I glad I went with the fastpack. Here's a quick side by side comparison:
1. Camera storage compartment: pretty much identical between the two models.
2. Ease of Access: Much easier and more comfortable for the fastpack; just let go of the right strap and swing the bag around. The slingshot swings around and ends up on your chest, pretty awkward feeling/looking; the fastpack ends up near your left waist, allowing you to suavely draw your slr.
3. Size: the fastpack is bulkier than the slingshot, though not by much.
4. Price: the same for both models.
Other random fastpack 250 notes:
1. Laptop storage compartment: the zipper opens along the side, not around the whole backpack.
2. Cellphone pocket: my samsung t-629 fits very snugly.
3. I use this bag for school, storing a slim folder in the laptop pocket, and a couple of 8x6 books in the top compartment.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very solid bag, April 9, 2008
This, like my previous lowepro, is very strong, durable bag. It's a hybrid that serves well if you have carry on camera equipments, a laptop and minor stuffs (like cloths, a book and small personal items), but like every other bag, depends on your own needs, it could be very useful, or totally useless.
pros:
1. well built, I never had quality issue with lowepro and I wouldn't expect one with this bag either.
2. laptop compartment protect your very well, I carry my laptop every day with it, and never worried
3. good for one or two camera system, but limited lens. it's designed for large bodies, like D300, still got room in it, so any SLR should be fine.
4. good extra upper compartment, for books, everything, I can even put a jean, and several t-shirt, and/or limited personal items in it. yet it is just a little shy of A4 size, so keep that in mind when you consider it.
5. plenty of small pockets, ideal for all kinds of digital items.
6. very good design to flip around for quick access to cameras (see below for more), and no, it's not easy for thieves to take advantages of that without let you notice.
7. I once put around 25lbs in it, it you feels very good with very good weight support, you wont easily get tired
cons:
1. the bag, is bulky, though after used it I get used to it, but it is much larger than I think, especially I use it as everyday backpack to work, so in a peak hour subway train, you need to take it off and put on floor.
2. no all weather cover, I really dont understand why they take that feature off, maybe it prevent you from flip over with the cover on, but do u really want to use your camera in that condition? I still believe it's a better than none feature (given that said, the bag will shield off most moisture and light rains, I had it in ligh rain for 5 minutes walk one day and it protect my laptop and camera well, but still with out the cover, I'll always think twice if get heavier.
3. when you get ur camera, 2-3 lens, a laptop, and maybe even a book or so in the bag to make it a 20-30lbs monster, don't expect you can flip it around that easily. check the video, you see they only use the smallest bag in line for that demonstration. but should expect that when you just want to ``carry'' more things with it.
4. it really depends how you will utilize this bag, it might not be able to satisfy your need of capacity, but still, cameras, laptop and ``extra'' things? those are already a lot of things.
I like this bag though it's a little bit big, check out lowepro website for their video about it, you can have a feeling about its size and internal dimensions:
[...]
And if you dont put laptop in it, it's fairly easy to flip around.
Further some people worried about the upper compartment, afraid some weight might push down and damage the cameras, yet I tried, the separate in the middle is very strong, so that's also very good point. It's a hybrid, so there are compromises in design, and definitely not perfect. But overall if you want not just a pure camera bag, and want to put more personal things with you when travel, especially as airplane carry-ons, this bag is very good, and compare to 350 to see the better balance between size and usability.
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