Customer reviews from Peak Design
Peak Design - Outdoor Backpack 45L - Black
Average customer rating
4.3
(276 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 276 reviews
5 Stars
171
4 Stars
59
3 Stars
25
2 Stars
11
1 Star
10
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
202 out of
232)
Customer Reviews for Peak Design - Outdoor Backpack 45L - Black
Customer Rating
4
Hook of breast strap is hard to hook into loop
on January 23, 2025
Posted by: Ivolino
Almost perfect but I miss an opportunity to grab my bottle when I carry the backpack on my shoulder. Osprey is doing this very well. Another think which drives me crazy is the buckle of the breast strap. It's so hard to click into the loops on the other side. I wish it would be magnetic.
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
What are you waiting for?
on January 23, 2025
Posted by: ThatMotoGal
from Los Angeles
Say Whiskey! Being my own photographer has its challenges; it means I have to carry my camera gear everywhere, but boy this backpack, the Camera Cue v2 in Smedium, the Travel Tripod, and the Capture v3 Plate sure have made the job much easier. I decided to give Peak Design a try and I'm loving it so far. I can keep everything safe and organized in this Outdoor Backpack (25L). Products are incredibly high quality and the designs are just *cheff's kiss*. I highly recommend it! This will be my go to brand for camera equipment from now on.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
1
Love PeakDesign but this is very disappointed.
on January 18, 2025
Posted by: y8rdoc
from Omaha Nebraska
Very gimmicky with poor design and space. I have countless PD products and love them. This is junk in my opinion. Not great space and too many gimmicks/pockets/cords. Way over thought for what you need. I got the 25L but really my Lowepro Protactic 450AW (25L) holds more including my 16 inch MacBook Pro and it's cheeper. This bag is way over priced for what it is. Again I am a huge fan of PeakDesign products, but this one will be given to the disabled vets. Save your money.
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Good build quality
on January 17, 2025
Posted by: Erwan
from Bordeaux, France
I was looking for an everyday backpack that can hold my hobbies and work stuff. The 45L is perfect, I can easily travel with it. I got the black one, and the 2L Pouch. It was recommended to me via r/onebag. This bah have a premium price, but for now it seems worth it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
4
Almost perfect
on January 15, 2025
Posted by: Hunor
from Gent, Belgium
I got this as a Christmas present from my wife. We travel a lot every year and we exclusively take the free carry-on option on planes and this bag is almost perfect in every sense. It's perfectly compliant with every airline's carry-on rules yet offers a lot of flexibility to push rules to the limit. The materials are very good quality, the side pockets are the best I've ever had on any backpack, I love that they are super deep and stretchy. It has loads of features, you actually need time to learn all it's possibilities.
The only things I would improve is something like a quick-access inside pocket. If you want to carry your passports you now either have to rely on the two back pockets (access is a bit too open), or you can use the inside deep sleeve but that's not convenient for quick access.
The only things I would improve is something like a quick-access inside pocket. If you want to carry your passports you now either have to rely on the two back pockets (access is a bit too open), or you can use the inside deep sleeve but that's not convenient for quick access.
The biggest issue however is the quick access rope. It's not bolted to the backpack, so you'd think that's great, easy to replace and extend the life of the bag if needed. But that rope is threaded through a special mechanism inside the bag and there is no zipper access to it. So the easy repairability suddenly becomes the biggest weakness of the bag. The rope is only tethered to the bag by a knot. I can easily see that knot loosening and coming undone at some point, at which point if you pull on the bag to open it the rope will be lost inside the bag and loop out of the mechanism. The only thing you can do is send the bag back for repairs if they will take it. I don't understand this design choice and it gives me anxiety. Maybe I'm not getting something but we wouldn't you allow a zipper access to that rope mechanism to allow repairability. If anything happens to that rope your bag is worse than any other bag on the market. Any seamstress can replace a broken zipper. But that proprietary quick-release rope makes or breaks the whole backpack.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Feature rich and fantastic outdoor camera bag
on January 9, 2025
Posted by: Kat
from Arlington, VA
Overall rating: 4.5
Overall, I've really enjoyed using this bag so far. I received it as part of the Kickstarter and have so far used it for day hikes and at a multi-day tech conference. For day hikes, it easily carried my Fujifilm XT30 in an X-Small camera cube, the travel tripod, a first aid kit, layers, snacks, and a 3 L water reservoir (filled up to 2.5 L). For the tech conference, I could fit both my MacBook Pro 16-inch and an iPad in the sleeve plus accessories and conference swag. For size reference, I'm a 5'8" woman with a slender frame, and it fits great. My 6'4" tall, broader framed husband also got the bag, and it's a bit small on him, though still usable.
Features that I particularly like:
* The bag is lightweight and very collapsible. I could stow it under a plane seat and pack it away in a checked back easily.
* Straps are much more comfortable than any other Peak Design bags. They did have a break-in period for me as they were very stiff in the beginning.
* The clamshell opening makes it so easy to access your things, especially if you are stashing heavier items towards the bottom of the bag
* The pockets on the straps are fantastic for stowing my iPhone Pro 15 Max, though you lose one of them if you put a capture clip on the strap.
* The water bottle sleeves are so stretchy and easy to stash large water bottles. I love how tall they are since they also keep a tripod in place.
* The kangaroo pouch and associated front pockets are also very convenient places for storage.
* The eclipse color is a gorgeous maroon-purplish color. The material wipes clean very nicely; I got a ton of orange/red mud on it from hiking out in Zion and none it remained.
* The bag is lightweight and very collapsible. I could stow it under a plane seat and pack it away in a checked back easily.
* Straps are much more comfortable than any other Peak Design bags. They did have a break-in period for me as they were very stiff in the beginning.
* The clamshell opening makes it so easy to access your things, especially if you are stashing heavier items towards the bottom of the bag
* The pockets on the straps are fantastic for stowing my iPhone Pro 15 Max, though you lose one of them if you put a capture clip on the strap.
* The water bottle sleeves are so stretchy and easy to stash large water bottles. I love how tall they are since they also keep a tripod in place.
* The kangaroo pouch and associated front pockets are also very convenient places for storage.
* The eclipse color is a gorgeous maroon-purplish color. The material wipes clean very nicely; I got a ton of orange/red mud on it from hiking out in Zion and none it remained.
Things I think they could have done better:
* Overall, I think Peak Design was not properly prepared for the official release of the bag. The bag is incredibly feature-rich, and I think more people would have been more satisfied if they had more detailed overviews and instructions. I backed it through Kickstarter and completely understand them not having the videos in place at that point in time, but everything should have been available by the time of the official retail release.
* As others have mentioned, the water reservoir routing is not compatible with all reservoirs. This is understandable since every brand does something different, but I think it would be helpful to have a list of tested reservoirs with maximum compatibility (similar to the screen protector list with their phone cases). Additionally, the reservoir loop not having a buckle is slightly annoying since my Platypus reservoir only has a hole through the top plastic. To use them together, I had to use a small carabiner to attach the reservoir to the loop.
* Overall, I think Peak Design was not properly prepared for the official release of the bag. The bag is incredibly feature-rich, and I think more people would have been more satisfied if they had more detailed overviews and instructions. I backed it through Kickstarter and completely understand them not having the videos in place at that point in time, but everything should have been available by the time of the official retail release.
* As others have mentioned, the water reservoir routing is not compatible with all reservoirs. This is understandable since every brand does something different, but I think it would be helpful to have a list of tested reservoirs with maximum compatibility (similar to the screen protector list with their phone cases). Additionally, the reservoir loop not having a buckle is slightly annoying since my Platypus reservoir only has a hole through the top plastic. To use them together, I had to use a small carabiner to attach the reservoir to the loop.
TLDR:
The bag is not perfect, but it is a really great travel bag and an even better outdoor bag for photographers.
The bag is not perfect, but it is a really great travel bag and an even better outdoor bag for photographers.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Don't let the bad reviews fool you! Excellent Bag!
on January 1, 2025
Posted by: mtnphotog
Extremely well thought out bag with only a couple niggles that could be improved on a version 2 but easily one of my favorite bags of all time. The negative reviews are mainly due to people not understanding how to use the bag or thinking it was something it isn't... PD has published an in-depth video on YouTube going over every feature.
Per usual with Peak Design, they took a novel approach to a lot of things and improved on them. The fit of the bag is great due to the adjustable height harness and running vest style straps. They wrap really well and have the right balance of comfort and breathability. The two sternum straps distribute the weight nicely on your chest. The only issue with them is they are hard to attach with thick gloves on in winter.
The stretch pockets on the sides are great for multiple sized items from water bottles to tripods to jackets. The included straps and loop attachment points all along the bag make it easy to customize the load carrying how you want and you can cinch down the 45L pack into a much more compact size if needed.
I really like the design of the main pocket access from the top because they created a quick way to open and close it without clips. You can also store wet gear and things you want quick access to in the kangaroo pouch created by the outer flap.
There is a really nice assortment of pockets on the outside for organization including a zippered and stretch pocket on the waist straps. The front flap also has two pockets for various items.
Being able to access the main compartment by opening the entire back panel makes it easy to get into all your gear. If you put a camera cube in there, you have full access to it without removing the cube from the bag. I see this bag more for general hiking primarily, so I use PD’s excellent packing cubes in the main compartment. This keeps everything organized and easily accessible.
By loosening the front flap and unrolling the main compartment top part, you can add a decent amount of capacity to this bag as well, pushing it into weekend backpacking territory.
The only thing PD didn’t fully think through was the hose routing for a water bladder if you put it in the back panel’s storage spot. It makes it challenging to fully open the pack from that side if you do use a bladder there and run the hose through the routing to the harness straps. There are ways around this though, so I wouldn’t consider it a dealbreaker at all.
The materials are top notch, per usual with PD and I know they will stand behind this product as they do with all their others.
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design
Customer Rating
5
Very pleased!
on December 28, 2024
Posted by: CyclingG
from Buffalo NY
Got this backpack on Kickstarter, was very happy and trustful of the whole process. Peak Design was a new manufacturer to me and I’m very glad I found them. I haven’t put this bag through all its paces but the quality of materials, versatility, and construction exceeded my expectations. We will see about the durability but their registration and warranty are very reassuring to me. Actually came back to buy some of the packing cubes and pouches and these have been similarly terrific
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting Peak Design