Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW III
Michael Topham tests a backpack designed with travel in mind
O £114 O www.lowepro.comLOWEPRO’S latest backpack in its Fastpack series sports a dual-purpose design, being split fifty-fifty between its so-called ‘camera zone’ and a spacious ‘open zone’ that features dedicated pockets and good space for personal items. The camera compartment employs a quick door opening that lets you drop the bag off your right shoulder to pull your camera out when you need to get to it quickly. Place the bag down on the floor, unfasten two buckles and you gain full access to the rest of your kit, with adjustable dividers allowing you to adapt the layout to your liking. However these dividers are rather thin and the padding is fairly firm.
I used the bag extensively while testing the Canon EOS R5, which fitted very well along with 24-70mm, 15-35mm and 70-200mm zooms. There are a lot of useful features throughout, including a top-entry laptop compartment that’s suitable for 13in models or large tablets, a side pocket for a water bottle and softly lined pocket to store sunglasses. The large zipper that’s used to enter the top compartment pulls effortlessly when the bag is crammed full and it’s surprising just how much you can squeeze in. It swallowed spare clothes and toiletries for a weekend away and I found the front pocket a useful place to store filters, cables and battery charger.
If you use a large filter system, the top compartment will easily accommodate it, though this will inevitably impact what else you might be able to fit alongside it. The all-weather cover isn’t sewn into the bag so you’ll want to use the dedicated attachment point to prevent it going astray. It does a fine job of keeping the contents of the bag dry if an unexpected downpour catches you out and can be pulled over in a matter of seconds.
Verdict
I was very impressed by the comfort and stability the bag provides when it’s loaded. The shoulder straps distribute the weight well and can be pulled together at your chest using the height-adjustable sternum strap. The waist strap is on the thin side and I’d have liked a little extra padding around the hip with a pair of pockets for quick access to keys and a phone. That said, the waist strap does a good job of preventing it rocking from side-to-side. In summary, I’d highly recommend this bag. It’s made to Lowepro’s highly respected standards, it’s comfortable, plus it swallows a surprising amount of camera kit and personal items for travel photographers who want one bag that does it all.