LOWEPRO WHISTLER BACKPACK 350 AW II
£359/$267 Gales and hailstorms in spring? This photo/daypack is built to withstand the worst weather conditions
This Lowepro split photo/ daypack is deeper and taller than its Protastic 350 sibling, and the main camera compartment is a centimetre shorter but 2.5cm deeper at 15cm. And if that’s still not deep enough, you can expand it a little by undoing a riser zip. You can also remove the partition between photo and daypack to stow a camera with a really long lens.
Built for the great outdoors in all weathers, the Whistler has sturdy exterior attachment points for skis or a snowboard, which can also be used to tether the bag to a luggage trolley. A large additional compartment at the front gives plenty of space for more winter extras, like a snow shovel, or for other essentials for different seasons of the year. Thanks to a waterproof divider, you can stash wet kit in the front section without worrying about leakage through to the camera compartment. The usual set of Velcro dividers lets you tailor the main camera section to take wide-ranging photo and video gear or a drone outfit.
Performance
Access to the main camera compartment is via a fulllength zip that runs around the back. This has the advantages of greater security and being able to lay the bag down on its front on wet ground to grab your camera kit, rather than on the rear surface that sits against your back. Without the photo/ daypack divider in place, you can also access your camera through the top zipper.
VERDICT Designed for the adventurous, this is an ideal backpack for everything from summer trekking to winter sports photography. It’s tough and has lots of options for attaching extra kit to the exterior.
Eminently suitable for mirrorless cameras with three or four compact lenses, this split photo/daypack can also just about accommodate a DSLR with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens attached, plus a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom.
As usual with split backpacks, the photo compartment is at the bottom but it’s easy to grab your camera with attached lens through a zippered side opening, just by swinging the bag around on one shoulder. Going up in size from the Lowepro Adventura BP 150 III, this backpack features a compartment for a 13-inch laptop, instead of just a tablet. Again, an organizer and top section are available for sorting and stashing your daily items.
Vital statistics are 54x20x32cm for the backpack’s exterior measurements, and it weighs in at 1.22kg.