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This is my 2nd Kata [pronounce kat' ya I understand] sling camera bag--meaning that there is only one strap that goes over one shoulder. The bag can be placed in many positions: on the back [high or low], on your side [not too comfortable that way though, but does offer some variation], and pulled around to the front to be carried on your chest/stomach. The most significant aspect of this wonderful bag is that you can carry it comfortably on your back, and when you want your camera out, you just pull it around to your front, unzip the bag [very easy, and can be done from back to front or front to back], and pull out your camera.
In my bag, I carry all of the following almost all of the time:
* Canon 7D,
* a 70-300mm lens,
* a 17-85mm lens,
* a 10-222mm lens,
* an off-camera flash in its bag [Canon 430ex],
* 4-8 compact flash drives,
* a circular polarizer for each lens,
* 2 graduated density filters and required attachments,
* lens cleaning solution and tissues,
* a level that mounts on the camera,
* a shutter release cable,
* the manual for the 7D,
* the manual for the 430ex,
* 1 or 2 tripod mounting plates,
* a pre-packaged plastic rain poncho,
* a notebook and pen and
* when flying, my passport.
If I attached the detachable lens bag to the front of the bag, I can carry another long lens or my old 30D camera. It took some time and experience to learn how to pack the bag, but I would not trade this bag for anything.
One of the reasons I was attracted to the Kata sling bag in the first place [about 6 or 7 years ago] was that I did not want to take a backpack off every time I wanted access to my camera; what a bother that is. I have a bum shoulder that makes putting on a two-strap backpack arduous, and often painful. No such issues with the LightTri 317 PL or any of its sling bag cousins.
My first bag is still in terrific shape, but as I accumulated a few new lenses, I bought this bag [the LightTri 317 PL] because it is larger--and lighter.
Now, there are some improvements that could be made. Both Kata sling bags are made of a material that Velcro is able to attach to, thus making it plenty easy to manipulate the various dividers. My first Kata sling bag had 4 or 5 dividers, plus a little [2x3"] pouch to hold memory cards; but the newer LightTri 317 PL had only 2 dividers and no little pouch for the cards. If you order one, you may want to find out how to obtain more dividers.
Another issue, again minor, is that Kata provides this bounteous strap to go over a shoulder, but there are no pockets in that strap for loose change or bills, a phone, a wallet, or other little item you want to carry and have quick access to.
Both Kata bags I have owned are also designed without a handle to grab when you want to carry it with your hands instead of slinging it over your shoulder [like getting on a plane or moving it in your house or car]. Seems an easy issue to resolve, and I have not seen such an addition in any of the new generations of these camera sling bags.
Each of these issues is minor, indeed, just an annoyance; and I would not hesitate to buy one of these bags on the basis of any of these points. But maybe Kata will read this review and get their designers to work to remedy these little issues.
So, all-in-all, there is no doubt in my mind I will carry a Kata sling bag forever. I have carried one or the other bag six days in Yosemite, 14 days in Yellowstone, across Hawaii, to Thailand and Cambodia, to Hong Kong, and in several Baltic cities, including three days in St. Petersburg. It never fails to impress me at how easy it is to carry my camera gear, how comfortable it is, and the ease I have in accessing my camera gear without removing the bag. I can wear it for 4-7 hour stints with no problem. I am a big man, but approaching 70, so when I say I can carry it over my shoulder for 5 hours while walking, you should get the impression that the sling bag makes carrying bulky camera equipment less than cumbersome and not too tiring.
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.I have never purchased a bag or carrying accessory that was not Lowepro until this purchase. Admittedly, I was a bit apprehensive about venturing out to a bag or brand that is not readily available in my local camera store for a trial fit. But my concerns quickly vanished when I received this bag.
I usually keep my equipment in the Lowepro Event Messenger 250 shoulder bag, but this bag would be entirely overkill for an upcoming trip to Washington DC. The size, weight, and poor access to my equipment wouldn't be practical on the hot, muggy days walking between our national monuments and memorials. My largest concern was finding a bag that would accommodate a camera attached to my Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS II USM lens that gave me immediate access. The length of this camera/lens combination eliminated most of the sling and backpack bags on the market which propose to enable easy access and provide the ability to shift the weight to shoulders/back. I arrived at the Kata KT PL-LT-317. It's not a small bag, but it delivered on all of its promises. It fit my 70-200 camera/lens combo without having to detach, and even fit another camera body attached to the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens. The bag is very sturdy and as much as I had to take it off and check it in, have it searched, or run my equipment through metal detectors, it held its shape and shielded my equipment safely. Armed with short-range and long-range camera/lens configurations at the ready, my gear was unencumbered, safe, and easy to carry.
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Best Deals for Kata Pro-Light KT PL-LT-317 Torso Pack
I have an existing Kata KT PL-3N1-35 Pro Light and purchased this sling so that I could have a bag for "light" use. I say light in quotes because with this sling bag one can heft a lot of equipment around. Usually works best with one DSLR and extra lens, small items BUT you can certainly load it with an additional small to compact digital camera without any issues. When its fully loaded, its advantage diminishes because its difficult to swing around for immediate access to camera. I use it frequently and find it very functionally useful as long as you have just a DSLR/lens and some light accessories (flash and extra cards). Anymore and you may as well carry a backpack..Good product. Would definitely recommend.
Honest reviews on Kata Pro-Light KT PL-LT-317 Torso Pack
very nice designed pack, I have a full-frame camera with 24-70mm lense, 70-210mm lense. I use to bring these two as my standard equipment. this pack can hold them without any problem. There are still extra space, so I put rain cover inside as cusion. the outside pocket can put your filter, basic maintenance tools and so on into it. the attached lense pack I put a 12mm fish eye lense into it. it fits perfect. sometime, I even don't have to take that extra lense pocket.The pack is feel good when you took on. the wide and soft belt distributed the weight to your shoulder and also very durable. it's also very easy to pull your camera out of it, just like the introduction. really easy and fast. all details are taken care of by the designer, the zip and handle are really easy to open and close even with thick grove.
