hey everyone, my name is Evan Thomas, I am photographer and travel video maker, and today
you are going to learn about the best travel backpack for use with a camera gimbal.
So this is the Lowepro Flipside 500 AW II, this is the biggest Lowepro bag in the Flipside
series.
And the reason I love it is because it's one of the few camera backpacks that will actually
fit a Zhiyun Crane or any other 3-axis gimbal.
Lowepro has been making backpacks for a number of years now, and I absolutely love their
quality.
I used to own a Manfrotto backpack but I found myself switching over to Lowepro because they're
a little bit more affordable, and it's a local California company which I love to support,
and last but not least they have an amazing, durable build quality.
So even though it's a little bit more affordable than a Manfrotto backpack, you're not losing
any sort of construction or you're not risking the safety of the valuables that are inside.
So the Lowepro flipside is a rear-access camera bag which means that you don't get to the
camera compartment from your standard side, it's actually on the side that's touching
your back while you're wearing it, and that is a safety feature, that will keep your belongings
secure when you're on a subway or you're in a busy, crowded market, or an airport in a
foreign country.
It's harder for thieves to access the bag if the compartment on the backside.
So this configuration is the best one I've found for use with a gimbal.
Unfortunately these gimbals take up a lot of space, they're very long, and as I mentioned
earlier, this is one of the few backpacks that actually has enough space to fit a gimbal
in it.
I had to make some sacrifices using this divider to allow space for the gimbal.
As you can see, this is how the Lowepro is normally configured, and it's a great configuration,
however for my use with the gimbal, this is the only way you can do it.
But I can still fit several lenses, media, hard drives, my GoPro kit etc.
You can set this up in any way you want.
These dividers come out, they're velcro, so I can configure this in any way I want, but
I've found that this is the best way for use with the gimbal.
The Lowepro Flipside also has a back panel, which houses a 15-inch Macbook Pro, there
are some compartments that are for CF cards, my camera doesn't use CF cards so I don't
use that, and it also has another zip compartment where you can hide things like lens caps or
filters.
On the front side you have a zip compartment, it's a great space to hold a book while traveling,
important things like keys, passport, pens, and any other miscellaneous things such as
batteries, camera cables, anything else you need to access quickly you can put in this
front compartment.
There are some hidden features you should also know about, such as this tripod holder,
which pops out the front of the bag, so I'll quickly configure a monopod to show you how
it works.
Here is my travel monopod and to connect it to the bag I simply slide it in here, then
pop open this top compartment, connect it around and tighten it down.
The monopod actually might be a bit small for this but if you have a tripod, it's a
bit longer and it works perfectly.
Another great feature about this bag is the weather protectant.
So let's say your out in the field shooting and it suddenly starts to rain, then you can
quickly open this hidden compartment on the bottom of the bag, and in just a couple of
seconds your bag will be protected from the elements.
This is a really great feature which I really like.
Another thing that I don't want to overlook is this handle here, this handle comes in
extremely useful while traveling.
Most travel bags don't have any sort of handle down here, but this handle comes in handy
when you're trying to reach up to your overhead luggage in an airplane, or you're reaching
down low and grabbing this out of the bottom of a bus, I've found that this handle comes
in very, very useful.
Real quickly before I go any further, I would like to ask a favor from you guys, if you're
enjoying this video, please click the like button, hit subscribe to see more reviews
and tutorials, and please do not hesitate to leave a comments, I get back to all of
the questions in the comments section.
So you may be wondering why this is called a flipside bag, well in theory you're supposed
to be able to take this bag, attach the waist straps, and then while you're out shooting
in the field, you can flip this bag around, and access all of your camera gear like this.
Quick access to your camera gear!
That said, I actually do not like this concept, I just feel that this back support is not
strong enough to hold all of my expensive camera gear, and I personally wouldn't risk
opening the camera bag in this way, instead I'd rather take the extra two seconds, and
set this on the floor like so, open it and access my bag.
The heavy weight around your waist just doesn't feel right, and again it's too risky for all
of the expensive camera gear I have in this bag.
The Lowepro Flipside 500 AW II is the best backpack on the market, that I've found for
use with a gimbal, there are more expensive bags that have more features, there are more
affordable bags too, but all things considered, this bag which retails for about $160 is very
durable, made with great construction, affordable, and it's one of the few bags that's big enough
to fit a camera gimbal while traveling.
If you're interested in this bag, there is a link in the description below, and please
do not forget to like this video and subscribe to this channel to see more reviews and tutorials.