Sling-action for mid and large size backpacks
Lowepro is famous for its SlingShot camera bags that use a single over the shoulder strap, yet have the sureness of a conventional two-strap back pack plus the benefit of letting you access the contents of the bag without having to remove it from your body. At PMA 2008 Lowepro has introduced two new camera bag ranges that cleverly provide convenient access to gear without needing to be removed and placed on the ground, but these are 'proper' backpacks and more roomy than the SlingShots. We had a look at some of the new Lowepro offerings on their booth.
First off we have the Flipside range. This is a narrow style backpack, with a characteristically tall and narrow design. You won't get a laptop in one of these, but it is surprisingly capacious for a DSLR body, some lenses and some accessories. Unusually, the access is from the 'back' of the bag that faces your own back when the bag is being worn. This has two benefits, there is no chance of accidentally leaving the bag open to pickpockets or allowing things to drop out if you forget to zip the flap up and secondly, you can swing the bag around, sling-style, open it up and access your gear without needing to remove the bag.
The Flipside bag design shown here means you can open the back-facing flap to access your gear without having to remove the bag. You just unhook it from your shoulders and swing it around and unzip the flap for access.p>
Here you can see the Flipside's tall and narrow design.
Next is the Fastpack. This backpack is also designed for equipment access while remaining worn, but the design is wider and more voluminous catering for larger bodies and lenses and there is a slot for a laptop, with the larger model accommodating one with a 17" screen if required.
A much larger bag than the Flipside, the Fastpack can be turned around and on its side while remaining worn so that the side-aligned flap can be unzipped for access to your gear.
It's good to see further bag innovations like these. We're planning to do a hands-on round up of camera bags later in the year.
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