DIGI PRINT MEDIUM HEALTHY BACK BAG, £65

You may well have seen Healthy Back Bags, which, according to the blurb, hug the natural curve of the spine, reduce strain on neck, back and shoulders and make heavy loads feel lighter. So, maybe a Healthy Back Bag would make a good birding bag…

There are plenty of choices in the HBB range – I was sent a medium ‘Digi Print’ to review. It’s a good-looking bag, seemed well-made, and is just a bit quirky, which I like. ‘Digi Print’ weaves a pistachio colour and grey together to create a ‘contemporary camo’. It can be worn on a shoulder or across the body, has useful pockets on the outside – two with magnetic closures, one that zips up, and a slip pocket that can take a water bottle, for example, and an interior, accessed via a full-length two-way zip, with a variety of pockets to help you keep things organised, including a large padded pocket for a tablet, plus two pen pockets and a key clip. And every Digi Print has a silver lining – to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

With a nine litre capacity this is not the biggest bag in the world. But it is big enough for a Lumix G6 and four lenses in a padded insert (not part of this bag), a standard iPad, a water bottle, some lunch and some other bits and pieces. By placing the camera insert on its end, I could swing the bag around to my front, open the zip (which is then on the top effectively) and access the camera. I found it easy to carry a reasonable load carrying the bag across my body, but felt the weight more when the bag was slung on a shoulder.

Capacity: 9 litres. 49x28x18cm. 540g. thehealthybackbag.co.uk