Reviews of Tamrac 5550 Adventure 10 Photo/Laptop Backpack -Gray/Black

Customer Ratings:

This bag is well made but it is way too big and cumbersome for me. I am a tall medium-frame woman but when I loaded all my gear in the lower section and tried to wear the pack for even a few minutes around the house it felt very bottom heavy and the shoulder harness kept pulling me backwards. No amount of adjusting would keep it in a comfortable position even with the waist strap on. The top compartment is spacious and I could definitely put a great deal of extra goodies up there.

The harness and waistbelt system is bothersome to me. There is no place to stow all those straps when not in use so I am afraid that if I try to carry it on a plane or even stow it in the car that they will be dragging and hanging on things. Also the bag is listed as carry-on compatible but you will see a disclaimer which says that the top portion needs to be squished down to make it so. I understand the Tamrac Extreme series which is much more expensive offers an option to stow the harness. I am considering the 777 which gets good reviews.

The quality of the bag is good but I gave it a 3 because I think that for the money it could have a few more pro details. I would not hesitate to buy another Tamrac product. Especially like the MAS and SAS system.

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I do video production for a living, and I'm always traveling. This bag has been all over the world with me, and it's still in fantastic shape. The quality is top notch, and it has an amazing amount of space. The fabric, the zipper, the buckles...it's all held up.

When I go on trips I can easily fit a:

-Laptop,

-DSLR

-Kit lens

-Extra lens

-H4N

-Lav Mics

-Laptop cables

-External Hard Drive

-Memory cards

-Batteries

With ease. The bag is a little big--almost outside carry-on size--but it's usually okay. I've had some airlines complain, I had to stow it once, but mostly I arrive to board my flight early (attendants usually only get angry when there's no space left).

Here's the bottom line: I've seen people complain in reviews about this bag being too big, or dimensions being too small. That's no reason to give a bag a bad review. Do your research! All of the dimensions are listed out above. If you're only 5'4", it's probably not a great idea to buy a bag that's 25" long.

I'm 5'11", and this bag fits me great. Yes, the bag is huge, but that's what I need! And if it's what you're looking for, don't look any farther.

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Well made and it certainly does the job but it's definitely bigger than I had anticipated. Simply just too intrusive as a day pack in my opinion and it is not my choice as such.

I pack it up for my weekend photo trips but I also bring a smaller pack to break out my gear for each days local jaunts with my cameras.

Would I buy it again ? No, but not because of quality...it's just too big for jaunting along the beaten path which is where I spend most of my time. If however I were hiking along a deep trail to do some shooting in a hidden valley, I would definitely shoulder it up in a heart beat and be very happy I had it ! It would not let me down for that type of use.

Honest reviews on Tamrac 5550 Adventure 10 Photo/Laptop Backpack -Gray/Black

While the Adventure 10 is certainly up to Tamrac construction quality, the bag design is certainly not worth about $170. The lower compartment purports to be tall enough for a long lense mounted on a camera body. My Canon 40D and the Canon 100-400mm zoom combination fits only if the lense hood is removed. So, I won't have a camera immediately ready. Had Tamrac gone another 1-2 inches, things in the camera department would have been perfect.

The top compartment is real disappointing. No place to hook keys, no places for pencils or a notepad. No internal zip compartment to hold valuables like wallet and travel papers. All there is is a big "hole" for things to move around and get lost. My $40 Canon backpack (albeit smaller) has all these things. Tamrac doesn't seem to think that being organized is an important thing in the field. It tries to make up for the deficiency by supplying one small zipper bag for the big "hole"

I'm keeping the bag. But, I plan to make modifications to make up for Tamrac's lack of foresight.

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I've taken this bag all over the world now, likely 30,000 miles or more. I first got it for a trip to South Africa where I needed something discreet for valuable camera and astronomy equipment. I've been everywhere since then as well, and this bag is ALWAYS with me. It fits on its side in most overhead carry on spaces, and in a pinch and if you don't have the top compartment overstuffed, you can put this under the seats on most planes (the top collapses down). I've traveled with this as my only bag as well. Equipment in the bottom, and clothes in the top. I've hiked to 13000' with it, and I've used it for short family trips. If I need a tripod with me, I just sling a Benro Travel Angel to the bottom.

I have about zero complaints about it. However, a few things could be improved a little. The waterproof compartment isn't completely waterproof (the back isn't plastic, just the front, so if you get soaked in the Rockies like I did, the stuff at the very bottom will get a tiny bit wet (not soaked, just a little wet on the edges). I don't really use the flash card compartments too much. Finally, it's a little difficult to reduce the size of the lower compartment, although possible. Other than that, this is one of my all time best buys!