Lowepro DryZone Rover (Grey)

Other products by Lowepro

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13 x 9.6 inches ; 5.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BVB0UC
• Item model number: 34732
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 24, 2003

Product Description

Product Description

A perfect combination of safety, extreme-condition protection and quick access, the uniquely designed DryZone Rover by Lowepro has a waterproof lower compartment for camera gear and other water-sensitive objects, plus a large upper compartment for accessories and personal items. Perfect for the adventure photographer out for a long day, this amazing pack also includes a Hydrapak hydration system.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for carrying lots of stuff, as a hydration pack it should have been better designed., February 21, 2006

By	C. R. Souser (Anchorage, AK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good field pack, February 24, 2007

By	Alex Joseph Hundertmark (Alaska) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Bag, March 8, 2006

By	JadeCat (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

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.