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A nice backpack that holds my Nikon 200-400mm with D700 attached. It also holds another camera body, a 70-200mm lens, a 24-70mm lens, a flash, teleconverter, lots of compartments for spare CF cards, and three tripods, with room for more lenses and goodies. It holds almost everything camera related in the main compartment's Velcro-adjustable pockets.
What is really remarkable for a backpack this large is what it won't hold. It won't hold my laptop. The literature states that it will hold a 15.4" widescreen laptop in the sleeve. (Specifically 10.2W X 1D X 15.2H in.) My laptop measures 14" x 10" which, despite Lowepro's literature, is exactly the outside dimensions of the sleeve. It won't hold the laptop. The sleeve fits tightly into a pocket on the 400's back cover. The laptop won't fit in the pocket with or without the sleeve. I have a Thinkpad W500. The newest 15" MacBook Pro measures the same. It probably won't hold that either. My Lowepro Fastpack 350, a much smaller backpack, has ample room to hold the laptop.
The 400 AW is also short on storage options for pens, a flashlight, earplugs, iPod, and the kinds of things you would want when you check into a flight. It will hold those items, just not all in one convenient space like other Lowepro backpacks. It does have nice compartments for airline tickets, passports, books, and other flat items. Forget about packing a windbreaker, unless you store it with the lenses.
One of the storage options is a removable fanny pack on top of the 400. This is the only spot large enough to place a sandwich (outside of the lens compartment.) But you wouldn't want to put a bag of potato chips in there. They would get crushed. The fanny pack is physically large but only has two zippered compartments and doesn't offer much space for anything thicker than a paperback. It is somewhat heavy and has an extremely over-sized belt and clasp. You can detach the fanny pack and leave it behind, making the AW 400 smaller. But then you lose some storage space. You would never buy a fanny pack like this if it were offered separately.
This is an odd backpack. Loads of room for big lenses and tripods, but some of the features you'd want on an excursion or flight have been overlooked. (The Fastpack 350 has Velcro pockets designed to hold glasses, slots specifically for pens, etc.) The AW 400 is highly recommended if you have a 14" or smaller laptop, or none at all. The number of storage options for small items, while not centralized or well thought out, do suffice.
Bottom line: Great bag for traveling with your 400mm kit. For 15" laptop owners, Lowepro just barely missed the boat, but miss it they did.
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I travel often, and I wanted a camera backpack that could hold all my gear but still be small enough to carry on an airplane. The Trekker 400 AW is certainly big enough to hold my Canon 5D, 100-400mm lens, my four other lenses and two flashes and still have room for the other small items one might like to bring on an airplane. It is at the upper limit of carry-on restrictions and not likely to fit on the overhead bin of smaller commuter aircraft.
The bag is well-made and looks like it will give good protection to my photo gear. The water-resistant zippers and the all-weather cover appear sufficient to protect the contents from heavy rain. The bag does not look like a camera bag, and may not draw the immediate attention of thieves. The outside of the bag has a sleeve for a laptop computer and a padded case, but the laptop is not as well protected as items inside the main compartment of the bag.
The harness has lots of adjustments and is very comfortable, even when the bag is loaded. It tempts me to bring all my stuff on weekend walks with my dog in the local forests.
You can carry a tripod on the side or on the back of the bag. The tripod sits securely and is easy to attach or remove. The right side of the bag has a pocket for carrying a water bladder with drinking tube, which is nice.
The bag does not offer quick access to your camera. You have to set it down, release one or more strap buckles, and unzip the stiff weather-resistant zippers to get at what's in the bag. By then your Ivory Billed Woodpecker has flown away. There are not a lot of outside pockets, and if you carry a tripod on one side, it blocks access to that side pocket. If you have a water bladder on the other side, it takes up that pocket.
Summary:
Recommended for travel with large quantities of photo gear.
Recommended for hiking with large quantities of photo gear.
Recommended for hiking with camera gear in rainy weather.
Not ideal for daily use.
Not recommended if you need quick access to your camera.
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I've had the AW Pro Trekker II for years. Nice quality bag, but it has too many cords and belts and buckles, and the waist belt is totally superfluous and gets in the way. I used it once, on a month long trip, and then stuck it in my closet and ended up using a smaller bag from Delsey, that has the advantage of being simple and light, instead. If I needed to carry a lot of stuff, I used a Tamrac Pro 12, and just carried my tripod as an extra, which actually was more convenient than dealing with the annoyance of all those cords and buckles and things on the Pro Trekker II.
When these came out I was cautiously optimistic based on the pictures, and finally decided to take the plunge and get one. And it's a huge improvement. If nothing else, the ability to remove the waist belt makes it worth paying the (admittedly somewhat steep) price.
But there are other advantages as well: the sleeve system for carrying tripods and water and a long lens is better than the one they used for the Pro Trekker II. Not so many cords to get snagged on tree limbs and the like, and if you aren't using one of the sleeves it isn't in the way of everything else, which did happen with the cords on the Pro Trekker II. The tripod holder is actually pretty ingenious: they have a zippered pocket that contains the holder for the feet. Just unzip it and pull it out, stick your tripod's feet in it, and you're done. No cords to tighten or anything (you have to see this to know what I'm talking about here, but trust me, it's a nice system). It's only available on the middle holder, but that's where I like carrying my tripod, anyway. It also has more space for organizing things like your cell phone, MP3 player, and the like, which the Pro Trekker II lacked.
Cons: It doesn't carry quite as much camera gear as you'd expect. I get about as much in this as I get in the Pro Trekker II, although this is a somewhat larger bag. I haven't tried carrying a computer in the bag when it's loaded with gear, which is a good thing, because I don't think it would all fit. The waist pack is small and of limited use, and has to be moved out of the way before you can open the main compartment. The computer sleeve doesn't hold either of my 15 inch laptops, from two different manufacturers, but I have my own sleeve, and the computer compartment on the backpack does have enough room to hold it and either laptop (why their sleeve is too small, given the extra space on the backpack itself, is a mystery to me). There are still a lot of things to unzip and move around when you're getting at your gear -this is not something you're going to take for a short hike where you might want to take some pictures on the side. It's a very purposed bag for someone who plans on a photo-centric trip in the wild. And for that task, it's just about perfect.
Honest reviews on Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW Backpack
The size and design are good but could be better.
The structure is too weak for a professional class camera back pack. Especially weak are the partitions inside. I have tried to reinforce them but this attempt stopped at the quality of the inner walls. They get stretched downward, pulled by the weight of heavy items, too much. The product is not suitable for carrying heavy, professional cameras and lenses for an extended period of time.
I have tried many different products in the same class. Pro Treck 400 comes closer to my expectations than others but is far off when it comes to the ideal camera back pack for rugged environments.
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I am going to agree with the other reviewers here in that this backpack will hold everything but that every isn't very accessible in a hurry. I have my Dell Mini 10 netbook, my Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens, 70-200mm lens, 17-35mm lens, 50mm lens, two flashes and a bunch of accessories and still have plenty of room. It is very comfortable to wear even full of gear. The shoulder straps are extremely well padded as well as the waist strap. If you're a traveler, a hiker, a camper, or plan on doing a lot of shooting outdoors this is the backpack for you. But just know that shooting a mountain will be a lot easier and faster than shooting the aliens landing. If you want to carry your camera outside the backpack for those quick shots I'd recommend getting a Black Rapid strap. Overall I love this backpack, it is comfy and well built. If you need your gear really fast this is not the backpack for you, but if you are an avid outdoor person or you travel a lot I'd recommend it.
