My Favorite Backpack

It's only fitting that I'm a bag collector. Afterall, I'm a female. I have a tendency to look at function first and then cuteness. Sometimes, it's the other way around. Sometimes, a bag will not work for me at all. Usually, I can tell at first glance or within 5 minutes of wearing. Since I'm petite, I prefer to use small bags. There are times, I have to go bigger. That's when functionality is key. Color plays a role as well. My preference is black. A lot of you know that black makes things look smaller. It's true. Also, black doesn't stand out like bright/bold colors do.

I finally found the right camera backpack for traveling and for local trips. I stumbled upon it while at my local camera shop. There is a reason to go to a store and "try before you buy". It's the Tamrac Evolution 6. Perfect size and perfect for my smaller DSLR camera, like the Nikon D5000 with the 18-200mm lens and some accessories.

This backpack comes in two colors. Black and brown. If I could afford it, I would have bought both colors. That's how good the brown version looked.

While in the shop, the salesperson proceeded to pull out all the velcro sections from inside the bag. I was a bit miffed as I wanted to keep the default configuration/sections in place. As it turned out, I uncovered that going with the default configuration prevents one from looking outside the box. The velcro is STRONG in this bag. Rip, rip, rip and more ripping...as the salesperson was trying to show me different ways to configure the bag. You could rip out all the velcro pieces and come up with an empty backpack shell. That was pretty cool to see.


Here's my review of my favorite backpack (pictures taken without flash):

There are a lot of zippered pockets/areas of this backpack. The front contains a buckled strap in the mid-section along with a small pocket at the bottom. This is where a tripod can be attached





Here the backpack straps are configured to be worn as a real backpack. Notice that I folded and tucked in the long straps into the elastic straps.





It comes with waist straps that can be buckled in the front for added balance. If you prefer not to use, you can tuck them away in this built-in pocket.





This backpack can be worn also as a sling bag. Here, you can see where I've crossed over one strap and partially tucked in the unused strap into the built-in pocket. Cool, huh?





Here is the right side of the backpack with the closed pockets





Here is the right side opened. The top pocket can hold small accessories. The bottom zipper area is where the camera is placed.




Here is the left side with the pockets closed.



The top pocket contains the rain cover that can be pulled out and cover the whole backpack. I've used this type of cover on another Tamrac bag and it really works! The bottom section contains an opening where you can store camera accessories (e.g. flash, blower, etc). I can fit my SB-600 flash and diffuser in here.




In this top zippered area, I have my 35mm, a case for my AA batteries, my spare Nikon batteries and pens.




One can also carry extra small lens, P&S camera, and even an small flash can fit inside here or a lightweight jacket can be folded and tucked into this pocket.



The lower front zippered area gives access to the main camera compartment. The velcro strap keeps the camera in place when this compartment is zipped open. There is also a zippered compartment in the flap to hold additional accessories.




Here is the bottom of the bag. Appears that you can hook or attach some straps to carry other things that you may need.




Overall, this is a very functional bag for me. When I place my D5000 w/18-200mm lens, extra 35mm lens, SB600 flash, diffuser, S90 P&S, spare batteries, air blower, extra SD cards, business cards, pens, etc...the total weight of the bag comes to 8 lbs. It's a comfortable bag to wear as a backpack and I do not notice the weight.