VANGUARD VEO SELECT 46BR BACKPACK, £109.99
There are plenty of backpacks out there – 60 on Vanguard’s website alone, with prices from £49.99 to over £200. This one is not their most expensive offering, but does have features worth highlighting.
#1, its proportions. It’s only 28cm wide yet has enough capacity to handle a reasonable amount of kit. I loaded mine with a Lumix G6 (a micro- fourthirds camera) with a 100- 400mm zoom lens on, a 25mm standard lens, a 60mm macro lens and a 14-140mm zoom, and still had room in the main compartment for a Nikon ED50 scope. My iPad Mini went in the tablet sleeve, a travel tripod went on the side and a few bits and pieces went in the top space. It weighed 6,900g, of which 1,380g were the bag itself. Carrying this load was comfortable and if the shoulder straps slip you can use the chest harness to stop that! There’s an airflow system on the back, a simple, tuck- away waist belt, and a top grab handle.
#2, the access options. Unzipping the rear gives you full access apart from the top daypack section – which can be removed. If you have removed it, you can set the pack up for top access. There are memory card pockets on the inside of the top access. But perhaps most usefully, you can access your camera from either side – so this works for left- handers as well as right- handers; and it works pretty well for quick- draw photography – release the pack from one shoulder, slide it round towards your front, open the side panel and grab your camera. As a bonus, in this position the pack provides a bit of support to rest on while you shoot. There’s a tripod foot pouch and tripod strap on each side of the pack. This works well enough for carrying a tripod – alternatively, the pouch would cope with a water bottle – though a deeper pouch would be better. And if you are unzipping the back panel somewhere damp you’ll appreciate the protection provided by the rubber- like material on the front of the pack. The base is protected from the damp, too, and if you’re out in the rain, you can deploy the seam- sealed rain cover. The pack is well- made, padded on every side, and is customisable – you can remove all the interior padded dividers to create a regular backpack.
There are also a few nice touches for air travel. You can use it as your carry- on, there’s a strap for slipping over the handle of your pull- along luggage, and a hidden pocket for a passport.
Available in black or green; 2 yr. warranty; Different sizes available. vanguardworld.co.uk