The bag is very comfortable to walk with, but the padding on the shoulder is too large, it is putting pressure on each side of the neck. I will not do any hiking with it. The material are quite sturdy, but the front part comes with no hole at the bottom, snow will get in and have no place to get out as it melt. The computer sleeve have absolutely no padding , so everything you put inside the bag will touch it. I am a big fan of PD products, but it look like and unfinished bag, good idea but…I will wait for V2 with real curved shoulder strap, padded laptop sleeve on both side, holes at the bottom and easier cinch system…
This is by far the best camera bag I have ever owned! I used it recently for a 2 weeks travel with my wife and 2 kids. i could bring my 500 f4 ii canon lens, R5, 24-70 2.8, 15-30 2.8, 70-200 2.8, mini 3 drone etc. Along with that, 4 water bottles on the mesh side pockets and front and top were filled with either little food and my coat. On the side I could attach a pocketable peak design tote to bring layers and mittens hat for the kids and wife.
It was super comfortable and I am 6 foot 215lbs.
The look is awesome and small compared to other brands and stille can bring as much if not more!
The only downside is the large insert size. I need it longer so I used the fstop XL insert and I am waiting patienly for a bigger insert :)
In this review I'll be comparing the outdoor backpack 25L with the everyday backpack v2 20L. I found the everyday backpack uncomfortable and bought the outdoor for more comfy bah.
Considering comfort, the outdoor backpack is far ahead, the straps are sooo comfortable. The sternum strap was a bit tricky to put with one hand at first, probably like the everyday backpack, but now I am used to it and can put both with one hand.
About accessing the gear inside of the bag, I'm a bit disappointed with the outdoor backpack, having to put down the bag and opening it all the way is far less practical than the everyday backpack with its side access. Maybe with experience I'll get more used to camera cubes and will prefer it over the everyday backpack.
For the top access I am happy with both maglatch and ultra cinch.
About pockets, I prefer the everyday backpack with many pockets and "sub-pockets". The outdoor backpack has not so much pockets, probably because the bag was design with the usage of packing cubes in mind.
About "rainproofness", I spend half a day under heavy snow and stuff in the front pocket were dry.
So overall a very confortable and modular bag (at the cost of camera and packing cubes), but I'm not yet convinced with the way I have to access my gear inside.
A good but flawed bag. Like all pd products it is well made. The harness is comfortable and adjustable. The camera cube does what it is supposed to. But.... The camera cube is very shallow. Small standard zooms stood vertically make the entire rear panel (especially if you are carrying a laptop) bulge out massively.
There is not even one small internal zipped pocket for small valuables or keys etc. I think this must be the only camera bag on the planet that doesn't. A huge omission.
The string closure mechanism is frankly ridiculous. It is very hard to open and then 'bursts' open. What's wrong with a good old zip.
The kangaroo rear pocket fills with rain. Not ideal for an "outdoor" bag!
The plastic coating on the rear and bottom marks up super easily. The very first time I used it it got totally marked up just being in the back of my car.
Look, ultimately it does what I need - carrying camera gear. My old F-stop was literally falling apart.
But overall it just feels badly thought out and over hyped and with basic features missing.
I used to have the PD 30L backpack, then the travel backpack, then the WANDRD Fernweh, now to the outdoor backpack for traveling. I love the white of this and the fact that I can clip the sling to the outside for extra storage. It’s spacious and the side pockets are enormous. The backpack straps are extremely comfortable for any load size.
Here’s my two gripes so far 1. The hip belt doesn’t fully tuck away nicely…it’s slightly smashed in there because it’s too long for where it’s meant to go. Seems like it would have been an easy fix 2. If you have a camera cube in the bottom and a laptop in the laptop sleeve, the laptop can knock into the camera which is no good. I kind of have to push my hand all the way down and move the camera further into the cube to make room to let the laptop slide freely down its sleeve. (Fujifilm XT-4, basic 14” MacBook Pro). 3. There’s nowhere to store the rainfly like there was on the travel backpack. I liked knowing I could pull it out when needed but not see it when I don’t. 4. An extra outer top pocket like many backpacking bags would have been greatly appreciated
Otherwise, material selection, fit, comfort, storage volume, expandability…top notch.