Davet Loc: Fort Myers, Florida

I love UHH and respect all your comments and welcome all advice. Has anyone used or does anyone have a a Pro Trekker 450 AW Camera Backpack From Lowepro ? I am thinking about this bag so I am up for some advice.

Dave

mikewskier Loc: NE Florida

I do not own one but did research recently... It is heavy! And may not be small enough to take as a carry on.

Bozsik Loc: Orangevale, California

Dave, I have a couple of Lowe trekker packs. What will you be using it for and what will the contents consist of?

N4646W

I don't have the 450, but I do have the biggest Treker they made back in the mid 90's. Great pack and versatile. Has taken a lot of abuse over the years. I used to have to do a lot of sweet talking to get it aboard commercial as a carry on. It will not fit under the seat, so most times the stewardesses would stash it for me or put it in an empty seat. It is comfortable even for a full day of rough packing. You can even rig it to a pack frame to carry even more stuff if your going out for a few days. The only other one that interested me was the National Geographic. But I blinked and it was gone.

Ron

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

All of Tamrac and Lowepro bags are awesome. I have a large Tamrac similar to the Lowepro you are looking at. I rarely use it though because when loaded with equipment, it's heavy. Too heavy to put on my back and take a hike. But if I travel with a lot of gear in the car, it's fine to keep in the trunk (boot for some) and fish gear out as needed. You may find that you have a need for more than one bag. I did. I now have 2 for really long lenses, that large Tamrac, 2 medium sized Lowepro's, a Canon bag that came with a kit that I bought, and another no name that came with my camera body. I use the two medium bags all the time. One is a backpack the other a sling bag. I use the Canon bag to hold all my speedlites and triggers. I use the small no name when I want to take just one camera to a family gathering or a night shoot. I keep a long lens in each of the two long lens bags. So the only bag I very rarely use is that really large Tamrac bag. Oh, I forgot, I also have a Pelican case for when I fly. It's a roller case, watertight, airtight, and is designed to fit in the overhead bins. But travel restrictions have changed since 2014 when I last used it. I don't know if it will meet those restrictions now or not but it too is very heavy; it's nice that it has wheels.

Dr.Nikon Loc: Honolulu Hawaii

Dave .., I have 3 low pros and love the low Pro Tactic 350 as pictured .. I have a 450 ... and a 500 LowPro... the 450 I gave to my Brother as I outgrew it .. the 500 held everything .. unfortunately .. the weight of all the equip killed me ...... then I stumbled upon the LowPro 350 Tactic ... ah... perfect ...I have added pouches .., small equip and additional tripod pouches to it ... so what can be mounted on the outside in pouches like my 8 Nikon batteries ..electronic trigger .., extra Arca Swiss plates ...water bottle .. cleaning clothes .. sandwhich pouch ...etc. there are times I take out all the inserts inside to accommodate my D810 .. bottom battery holder ..my 200-500 and my 24-70 2.8 ... and off I go ... like my last San Diego / SF last month .. I carried it on the plane ..., there is even a IPAD PRO pouch in the 350 Pro Tactic .. and yes along with the all the other stuff I had in there .. was my Full size IPAD PRO .. it was tight .., but the zipper closed ....

WHILE I was in the Bay Area .. Fry's had the 350 PRO Tactic for $119 .. I should have bought an extra ..... I bought one a year ago as did my brother at Fry's for $99.00 ... but have not found that price lately ..

LowPro is always coming out with new styles and designs .. I have been waiting to see if they can one better on the LowPro PRO Tactic .., but nada ..

Just so versatile ... usually I carry the camera and lens out and all the rest of what I need in the 350 PRO Trek .. that way I can carry the other 2 lenses inside and switch out on the fly..

I am going to buy another ...either eBay or have my brother in the mainland go to Fry's and buy it for me ... like I said it works so well for me ...

Hope this helps ...

CAUTION ..What works for one photographers needs doesn't work for everyone photographer ... I recommend you take 2 aspirin and call the Doc in the morning ...!

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SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Dave, the big question is, exactly how do you plan to use it?
I have two Lowpros, including an AW 350. It's a very nice pack but for daily use its just too big. The 350 seems more for long hard transport than everyday use. It lacks lots of outside pockets and mesh areas for misc. things like clothes etc.
The 350 is great when it has 25 pounds of equipment in it for long hard treks.
I LOVE the built-in rain fly and nice tripod carrier. The 450 must be huge!!
My everyday pack is a cheap little Canon Deluxe eg 200, $39. I like it way more than both my Lowpros. Good luck
SS

Davet Loc: Fort Myers, Florida

I love the difference in responses and am so grateful. I plan on using this for some hiking and travel. I want to be able to carry two bodies and a few lenses to go along with them. So I guess I still don't have a clue what I need. What about the Lowepro Whistler BP 350 AW Camera? Any ideas on this one?

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

Just ordered the Trekker 650 as I needed a larger bag. I've used the Lowepro Flipside 500 for the city as thew side that opens is facing my back (this way nobody can get to my camera or lenses when it;s on).

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

Dave,

I have the ProTactic AW450. It's a beast! That's where my 5DIII, with grip, lives along with a 70-200mm lens, 50 mm prime, 28-70mm, and a 600exflash. I can easily fit an extra body in there too. There's also a sleeve to fit a laptop. Add to that the small pockets for various accessories and it's a complete kit that meets the requirements of US carry ons. I'd check the foreign flights requirements.

This is the most ruggedly built camera backpack that I own. It has two access points in addition to the complete back opening. I know I can grab this and have everything i need for a location shoot. Dr.Nikon has given excellent photos. Mine is identical to that but bigger.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

LowePro makes so many products. I have the ProRunner 350 AW, which is probably similar but smaller. I like it. It holds a lot, has movable dividers, and has a separate compartment at the top for lunch, etc.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

I have the LowPro 400 Flipside. Don't know how it compares in size and function to what you are looking at, but it is a good, well made pack that holds most of what I need (5D Mk4 body, 24-70L, 70-200L, 24-105L, teleconverter, Lee filter set, EX 600 speedlite, Benro tripod, plus lots of little junk. It just holds so much that it gets really heavy, but is padded enough to not be to hard to carry for a couple of miles at a time.

Bill

gregm Loc: Near Sacramento, CA

I recently purchased a ThinkTank StreetWalker HardDrive. I did fairly extensive research and several store shopping trips before I made my selection. It's light, has tons of room and meets all my needs.

One thing that really sold it for me was the waist belt system. It comes with the standard small web belt that is removable if you don't use it. However, it also allows for use of your accessory belts like a Pro-Speed belt to added to the system. This is especially helpful for me as my Spider Holster is mounted on a Pro-Speed belt and now I can carry it all, use the belt to transfer some of the load, and then in seconds, remove the belt form the pack for walk-around use at my shooting 'spot'.

Worth a look...

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

I recently went through the same research for a backpack for day hikes or a few days. I looked at the ProTrekker from Lowepro since I have used a number of smaller camera cases from this company over the years and have been very happy. Back to the 450 Lowepro Protrekker. One thing that I do not like about the protrekker is that their backpacks are very heavy empty and there is a major question about whether this backpack would fit into a major airlines overhead and forget a commuter airline. I ended up going with a F stop AJNA backback with a large slop ICU (internal camera unit). This mountain bag is 40 liters and weighs a fraction of a the Protrecker. The ICU is removable and can fit under all airline seats and I can check my backpack since all the expensive gear has been removed. I strongly suggest the you research all backpacks and take weight and ergonomics very seriously since after several hours with a backpack hiking over hills weight and the rain quality of backpacks is paramount.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

"National Geographic"?