Best Bag for Hikes

[bobski1]

Planning to do a snowdon hike again soon. Last time I went decided to leave the camera behind which I regret. So now I'm looking for a bag which can handle things for the hike (water bladder, extra jacket, snacks etc) plus the camera, tripod and lens.

The camera bag I have now is quite compact and is useful as I can fit all camera things in but even then I think I could lose a few of those for the hike.

Any suggestions from people on what they use?

[z06tim]

I have this one, which is really flexible in the compartment set-up, and large enough to absorb a decent amount of gear:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Case-Logic-KDB-101-Kontra...

I think it may be an older model now, and the price looks higher than I remember, but it's still a lot cheaper than Lowepro and some others of this size.

[toasty]

I tried using my trusty Lowepro Protactic 450 AW for hiking while training for Kilimanjaro. While good for the camera, it wasn't up to scratch for the hike.

I replaced it with an Osprey Stratos 36 which was much more comfortable and had the essentials like bladder pocket and pole straps. I could fit everything in bar tripod but used a gorillapod to keep weight down.

My wife took the much more sensible option of taking a Sony RX100 instead of the DSLR for the climb and it'd have been my choice if doing it all again. DSLRs are just too heavy. Or I'm a wuss. Probably the latter, but my point stands.

[silentbrown]

Think about what you'll need for the hike first, camera second.

I'd take a regular rucksack for the usual clobber (waterproofs/extra layers/food/drink/torch/gloves/1st aid/map/compass/etc), and some kind of shoulder case for the camera. That way the camera is to hand easily without having to take off the pack, and is still protected from light bumps and scrapes.

Have a big enough pack you can stow the camera in it too, in case you need both hands free at any point. Also a camera case bumping on your hip all day can be a real irirtant,

Unless you're planning to be on the mountain for dawn/dusk, I'd ditch the tripod and take just one lens. By the time you're halfway up you'd probably want to throw them over a cliff to save weight....

Unless you're a squaddie or go up and down hills every day, aim to keep your pack weight well under 10Kg.

Llanberis path is relatively easy but a little dull. South ridge or Rhyd Ddu.gets you away from the crowds.

[Gad-Westy]

I've wasted a lot of money trying to find a camera bag suitable for the mountains. I do have one camera bag that I use occasionally (Lowepro photosport) that works okay for this sort of thing but only for shorter day hikes with one or two lenses at the most and tripod on the outside. The rest of the time I use a normal hiking rucksack with a padded waterproof insert for the camera and lenses (loads on amazon).

The problem with trying to find a camera bag that will do this is that, at least in my experience, I find it hard enough finding camera bags that are just the right size for my camera gear only, simply because I don't always carry the same kit. Depends what I'm shooting. When you also chuck in the variability of carrying outdoor gear too, the variables become huge. I also think it is much cheaper to buy a good quality hiking pack and padded insert for the camera. Dedicated hiking camera bag prices range from ouch to OMG with very little outside that.

[eein]

If you just have one camera and tripod a normal pack is fine. If you have more stuff like lenses, etc, and you really must take it all, then I good outdoors camera bag can be useful. I use a Lowepro Whistler BP 350 and am very happy with it.

Used it hiking, cross country skiing and even just wandering around cities. Carries loads of camera gear, can attach walking poles, skis or a snowboard to the outside. Also swivels around on the waste belt so you can access the camera part without putting it down.

However note that if you fill a bag like this up with gear it is very heavy.

[DavidY]

Use a proper rucksack, buy a Tenba BYOB insert, put your camera kit in that.

https://www.tenba.com/products/accessories/byob-ca...

[RobDickinson]

IMO get an ICU of the right size and add it to something you already have for hiking.

If yu are just taking camera gear then something like an fstop will be good.

[satans worm]

I use a Lowe pro rover 45 for my trekking around the Yukon or any other “real hike” .
It has a metal frame and proper hip straps to remove the weight of the pack from your back.
Lots of space for camera and non camera essentials too.
Only downside is the access zip is on the outside not inside of the pack but as it’s metal framed I guess you can’t get around that.
I noticed Thomas Heston has it too

[eein]

Another very useful thing when hiking is a strap clip like this one:
https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/produ...

As they say, very useful when you need both hands, but you don't want to take the time to put it away in the bag. Means your camera is always to hand so good for catching wildlife shots.

[Craikeybaby]

I've been using the FStop range for a few years, I have different sized bags and camera compartments depending on what I need to carry.

They aren't cheap, but the OP asked for the best.

[GravelBen]

eein said:

Another very useful thing when hiking is a strap clip like this one:
https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/produ...

As they say, very useful when you need both hands, but you don't want to take the time to put it away in the bag. Means your camera is always to hand so good for catching wildlife shots.

Brilliant things, I got a couple of cheap copies from Aliexpress a couple of years ago to try out the idea and they're still going strong so I never bothered replacing them with the genuine article.

Unless its bad weather or really steep/rough terrain (climbing or bush-bashing) my SLR lives on the clip when I'm hiking.

[wtdoom]

Another vote for lowepro pro tactic , just need to decide on a size