Thanks for the article, very interesting and relevant.

Above all, thank you for making me discover that I have not been alone in thinking that most of the photo "trekking" packs out there are totally unusable for anything but light walking, especially so for large format gear.

The lack of a real good pack has been one of the most puzzling thing I have witnessed since I started photography 20 years ago and it is exciting to see that someone finally got it.

Packing the gear in sub-packs within a large technical pack has been my way of proceeding also, but this system appears to be very elegant and functional... it might convince me to start using my 4x5 gear again.

I am not sure how the pack itself ranks compared to the Osprey I have been using in terms of function and comfort, but even so, the "inner storage" packs are what interest me most in this offering.

Can they be ordered even without buying the pack itself?

Cheers,
Bernard

Mark comments about the lack of packs that are rectangular. Think Tank have made such bags for a while now.

Maybe these are the guys I need to make the backpack of *my* dreams. I'm currently using a Crumpler Customary Barge, which is good, but not quite there.

I'm looking for an air-travel pack. I want space for two bodies (a D3 plus a D300, and I sure Canon people have an equivalent); space for three fast pro zooms, or four fast primes plus a 1.4 extender, or some mixture of those. Space for the usual odds 'n ends: cleaning kit, memory card vaults, couple of extra batteries and charger.

A laptop sleeve, and pockets for the power supply, power cable and a ten- or twelve-foot Ethernet cable.

And (this is the critical part, that you can't get anywhere): a large dedicated top section for travel gear. By travel gear I mean personal prescription medicine, a jacket, a paperback or two, extra pair of glasses, notebook, pens, chapstick, cell phone pocket, iPod pocket, earphones, etc.

This all has to fit in a bag that is (itself) both light and small enough to fit in overhead bins. I know it's possible, because I went to Iraq with that kit packed in a Blackhawk tactical bag made for medical gear. The problem was that there's lots of useless stuff in the bag (from a photography perspective) and that makes it heavy -- 7-8 pounds on my bathroom scale.

For a travel bag, you're looking for the ability to fit in any overhead, and then carry a lot of stuff a short distance: not a technical pack made for long hikes, but a tote sack made with photography in mind. I found that I did not want a rolling case, because even you're in a city, a rolling case is often awkward; you need to be able to put it on your back. My bags now always have a carabiner on the tote strap, which can be clipped to my rolling bag any time I'm inside an airport or moving both bags on hard surfaces; but much of the time, our of doors, it's easier to carry it.

I tried sending some suggestions to Think Tank, and they thanked me politely -- and continued making bags which would allow somebody to carry 50 pounds of photo equipment onto a airplane, but not even an extra jacket. For most people traveling long distance, this extra stuff is critical -- especially things like prescription medicines and glasses; and anybody who flies internationally knows that you can always use space for stuff like earphones and iPods, especially if you wish to maintain your sanity.

JC

Think Tank Airport Acceleration. I have one, it rocks for air travel. (Some 30 International flights last year), + a DOmke vest to deal with weight issues and annoying airline staff.

I agree it dosn't have a dedicated spot for the 'travel stuff', but I found just dividing off a section using the provided dividers worked a treat. I actually wouldn't want a another 'section' as it would put the bag over size for the airline, or too small to fit the lenses etc.

I generally carry the 'junk' however, int he Domke, fits magazines nicely in inside pockets.


Mark

As Mark said.
I have an Airport Addicted and often carry a change of clothes and even shoes along with my camera gear. That's when I'm not carrying every piece of kit I own including large hard drives, book and millions of cables adaptors when on a long sojourn, but then I have a suitcase for clothes on those occasions.
And if you want a light bag that you can get a lot of stuff in [more than manufacturer thinks], The Lowe Pro Stealth is great. Though don't lay kit out as suggested, as it's the least efficient way of packing bag. Not much padding, but very useful bag. If you want one, it's been discontinued I think, so you'd better be quick. I used clothes as padding when just using the single bag when travelling.
A review here http://www.naturephotographers.net/jh0700-1.html I put laptop in front compartment, not in main compartment, a much better use of the space I found.

Maybe the reason you haven't had much joy from Think Tank is you want a carry on bag that has an inside like the Tardis and as I doubt they have Time Lords on the payroll, it's unlikely you'll get what you describe unless the cabin baggage size allowance is upped.

Even this backpack (based on the pictures) does not seem like it's really all set for "serious" hiking.

Where is the space for food, water, clothes, etc.. ?

It is a step in the right direction... maybe take this size pack, get custom internal pouches made for 35mm, and then you'd have room for the real "essentials".

They always seem to ignore keeping the photographer alive... but this one is at least the best so far.

Which particular pack are you refering to? There are several mentioned above.

Whichever pack you meant, the space for water, food, clothes is wherever you don't filled with camera gear.

In outlining what I need as a pack, I should have said this is not a pack meant for heavy-duty photo trekking. It's not for photography travel, but for business travel where you know you're going to have some time to shoot, and you'd like to use professional equipment to do it. When I went to Iraq in January, I went as a writer, traveling with a pro photographer/videographer. I took a D3 and three lenses, and had to fake the pack, because there wasn't really anything for a camera, three lenses, a computer, satellite phone, notebooks, glasses, headphones, etc.

When I was doing archaeological photography in the Middle East, I traveled with a rolling case (the largest legal carry-on size) plus a "brief case" that was virtually the size of the carry on. That's acceptable, because photography was what the trip was about. But if you're traveling on other business, and plan to shoot on weekends or other free time, then you need the pack I'm talking about -- room for a compact professional kit and then a lot of miscellaneous travel stuff.

There are actually a lot of good packs and cases IMHO for full-scale photography trips -- and I should know, because I've bought most of them. But there are niches where there is no good product: the OP's is one, mine is another.

I don't consider stuffing the unused slots in a photo bag to be a good solution: Do I really want to pad my jacket? Do I want to unzip the whole works to get out a water bottle, or a cell phone?

Neither do I consider a photo vest an option; I travel in a conservative sport coat and black or khaki slacks -- whatever will fit in best with the locals at my destination. A photo vest tends to catch the eye...

JC