If you feel like a mule lugging around a camera bag, laptop case and a carry-on luggage bag, then this is the solution to the problem! I've been able to consolodate my camera equipment, laptop and some personal travel items all into this one bag. The case comes with many moveable dividers so you may need to shuffle them around for a while and leave some out to get the perfect fit. The wheels and handle on this model are of great quality and are a necessity because when loaded, this thing weighs a ton! While it can be worn as a backpack, I don't really see it happening unless you're a Titan...It's HUGE! A friend of mine has the model without the wheels so he has to carry it. Let me tell you, it's a site to behold! After he saw mine, he wishes he bought the model with the wheels! The case is very expensive but if you travel with expensive, delicate equipment, the protection it provides and it's capabilities are priceless! I do recommend going to Lowepro's website to get it's full specs and capabilites before making a decision.
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This bag solves several problems when travelling by airline. You can fit most if not all your gear plus laptop and a few folders (for me it eliminates the need for a breifcase). The wheels make it simple to use when travelling. There are two limitations: First, once you get to your destination it will be combersome to use off the beaten path, so you may want to bring along a smaller bag, flat in your checked luggage to use in the field. Second, it weighs 10 lbs empty. Some airlines have weight restrictions for carry-on luggage, which this thing can easily exceed when full. Check your airline before you fly and be nice at the ticket counter!
One other note. Although it has the ability to carry a tripod, don't plan to travel with it that way; the bag will not fit in the over-head with the tripod attached. Put the tripod in another bag and attach it later if you want.
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I wanted a bag that would hold my camera gear, particularly a long lens (300mm f/2.8), as well as my laptop. The main purpose of the bag would be for air travel. For car trips, it's easy to toss two bags in the back. And for hikes, I probably wouldn't bring my laptop. But with airlines cracking down on the number of bags per passenger, I wanted everything in one bag.
I first tried the Kata R-103 GDC Rucksack, but it wasn't big enough. My Dell Inspiron is 14" x 10-1/4" x 1-1/2", and it didn't fit.
I tried the next size up, the Kata HB-207 GDC Hiker Backpack for DSLR system or DV/HDV camcorder. (Insertrolly optional). It's an immense bag so large I can't imagine carrying it for long. But my laptop wouldn't fit in it, either.
So I started looking at Lowepro. The Lowepro CompuTrekker Plus AW Camera Backpack (Black) was squarer in shape, rather than tapered on top like the Kata, so it seemed more likely that my laptop would fit. I went over to the Lowepro site to check the specs (Amazon's are often incomplete, or even incorrect), where I saw that they also made a version with wheels. Perfect!
I don't know how I missed this bag before. Perhaps I overlooked it because Amazon doesn't carry it. I ordered it from Amazon seller M Z Photo and got free shipping and delivery in two days as good as Amazon Prime. ;-)
And yes, at last, my computer fits! There's a pocket in front that holds a removable laptop sleeve. While the sleeve itself is too small, the computer does fit in the pocket. I can use the padded laptop sleeve without closing it (the outer pocket zips up easily around it and provides plenty of protection), I can put the laptop in without the sleeve, or I could buy my own sleeve that does fit. (If you don't understand what I mean, there are photos on the Lowepro site that show what I mean.)
The bag is well-made and well-designed. It's bigger than I expected, but it does conform to carry-on rules. At least if you don't overstuff the outside pockets. It's too large to fit under a seat, but should fit nicely in the overhead bin.
As others have said, this really isn't suited to carry as a backpack, though they give you the straps to do it. The roller mechanism makes the bag heavier than a backpack needs to be, and not terribly comfortable to wear. I will probably keep the smaller Kata bag to use as a backpack and daybag. Pack it my suitcase and take it out once I get to my destination.
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This guy went right back. First of all, it is huge. And not in any good way. It is big and clunky, but surprisingly it does hold very much. I had the simple Canon backpack and found that after moving all my stuff into the CompuTrekker I really did not have a lot of extra space. I also was very disappointed with the pockets which were too few and too tight. The computer pocket was really tight and barely fit my 13" MacBook. The fact that this is a backpack is useless. I am a 6' tall man and it was laughable wearing this. I tried several other camera bags that held a computer, camera equipment and had wheels and none of them were workable. One of my main issues is that I want to be able to go sightseeing with some camera equipment. If I bought the CompuTrekker I would have had to bring a separate bag to bring during the day. This is yet another thing to pack. I ended up realizing that the wheels was not going to happen. I bought the Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack which I can pack full for flights and then empty most of it and use it as a day backpack with just the camera equipment that I need.
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You get what you pay for with this bag lots of secure storage for your equipment. It is quite a LARGE bag it will easily handle your camera body, 1-2 large lenses, and another 2-3 smaller lenses plus flash and other assorted odds and ends, plus your medium to large size laptop, and cables and even a portable hard drive. As others have said though, this is not a bag you would necessarily want to carry on your back or take out on the trail once your get to where you are going. It also appears to be right on the edge of what would be acceptable for carry-on luggage if you weren't carrying anything else, you could probably handle it ok. For my purposes it was too large, so I sent it back, but I will tell you I was tempted to keep it because it is such a well constructed and durable bag. I went with this larger version as I have a 15.4" laptop and it could have easily accepted a 17". I do think though that if I had a smaller laptop I could have gotten away with the smaller version of this bag and would I would have kept it as I can see where this bag is ideal for keeping all of your "tech" gear together when you travel.
