Dec 19
Lowepro Flipside 300 review
The Lowepro Flipside 300 Backpack (Arctic Blue/Black) is a tough, 600 denier water-resistant, polyester backpack that protects digital photo equipment against moisture and abrasion. The back compartment entry gives safe, easy access to camera gear, plus extra security. The outer storage pocket holds digital accessories and personal items, and the removable accessory pouch holds cables, chargers, manuals and other key accessories. It is carried by a backpack harness with a detachable waist belt. There is an adjustable sternum strap for comfort.
Size 25.8 x 17.4 x 44.5 cm (outer measurements) and capacity 1 pro DSLR with 300mm f2.8 lens mounted, 1-3 extra lenses or flash units, 1 tripod, pouch and pockets for accessories.
Now that I’ve tested the bag indoors, I can share my first observations.
Pros
- The bag stands upright on its own, even with the tripod mounted.
- Because the bag opens from the back, you can get at your gear without removing the tripod.
- The carry handle is nice.
- I didn’t put the bag under the shower, but assuming that it is water resistant as they say, then it’s nice to have such protection without using a separate rain guard.
Cons
- Lowepro seems to be awfully optimistic about the size. I started with a 300mm f4 mounted on my semi-pro camera and was able to squeeze in the 24-105mm f4 only after removing the glare guard and storing it separately. Luckily I will never go on a hike with three lenses so it will work, but how in the world they can put in a 300mm f2.8 and three other lenses plus accessories is beyond me! I was able to pack in the camera with the 300mm f4 mounted, 24-105mm zoom, glare guard, angle finder, two filters and remote control in the main compartment. And that’s it.
- The side pocket has a lot of small compartments inside it. The pocket folds out nicely so you can put in a lot of stuff, except that you can’t close the pocket afterwards. I thought it would be a good place for the remote control, but try as I might, I just couldn’t zip close the pocket so the remote ended up in the main compartment. Now the “roomy” side pocket holds a spare memory card, tissue paper, half eaten roll of Dextros and the small water level. All very flat.
- The waist belt is too flimsy. I tried to adjust the shoulder straps to move the bag up and down my back so I could make real use of the belt, but I just couldn’t find any position at all where I felt that the waist belt was carrying any weight.
- No matter where I positioned the pack, the lower edge always kept pressing my back. It felt uncomfortable the moment I put the pack on my back, and can’t imagine it would feel any better after a few km out in the field.
- The most comfortable I was able to set the bag was very low on my back so the painful lower edge was almost resting on my buttocks. With the tripod mounted, it means that the centre of gravity shifts low and far out from my back, which is just the opposite of the recommended way of carrying a backpack!
Conclusion
The idea of the bag is good, but it seems to me like no one ever actually tested it in practice. All the nifty details like accessory pocket, sternum strap and waist belt look good on paper but they just don’t work in real life. Of course, it’s one thing to try out a bag at home, and another to take it out in the field to use it. But all the cons I found in the bag at first try, I don’t think they will magically fix themselves after some use. I can hope that the side pocket stretches a little bit so it can actually hold some accessories, but the waist belt won’t suddenly start carrying any weight, or the sternum strap move upwards on its own.
It is very interesting that this series is still not showing up on Lowepro’s website. Maybe they are too embarrassed to show it. They sure should be.
To sum it up, if you’re considering of getting this bag – don’t! Unless of course you want to buy it second hand… from me…
I will be adding some comments after I’ve used the bag. Maybe it’s time for a mea culpa, but I doubt it!
Added 2007-12-22: I’ve now used the backpack for real. The edge that I felt sharply when I tested at home didn’t feel that bad when I was walking around, maybe my winter jacket helped a little bit as a padding. Although I still felt the edge on my spine, after a while it became a kind of a numbness instead throbbing pain. Not sure how it will feel on longer treks (this was only 3-4 km). But one thing that didn’t change at all is the waist belt. No matter how I adjust it and the shoulder straps, it carries almost no weight at all, meaning that my shoulders have to do all the work. And my shoulders sure don’t like it!
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Edit 2009-03-37: I found out that the sternum strap is movable, so the critique I had originally written about its placement is thus void – my bad. So I deleted that “con”, but there’s plenty enough cons remaining…
I have now also reviewed the Lowepro Flipside 400 AW, which I found significantly better!
Very familiar thoughts you’ve gone through! It is very hard to find a bag, preferrably a backpack, that fullfills all of your needs. There are normally two kinds of bags: suitable and unsuitable – people have a strange habit of buying the latter ones!
My first bag was Hama’s very big model at early 1990′s. It was horrible and I quickly changed it for Aquila backpack. Gosh, it even had a chair(!) and my 300/2.8 fit nicely into the bottom compartment! I loved it until I quit photographing and sold all the gear I had.
Couple’o years ago I started this hobby all over again and bought Tamrac Expedition 5 backpack. It was quite nice for storing the gear, as you too said about the MiniTrekker. TE5 was bad to carry, its waistbelt was tiny and quite useless. After getting 300/2.8 into my hands I realised that this is a no-go -situation. One day I wandered into my local dealer and spotted Tamrac Expedition 7 on the floor! It is a bit bigger than TE5 and has a real-world waistbelt and some sturdier features than its baby-brother TE5. For 100 euros I got a change to trade my old to this bigger one and I’m glad I did. The TE7 is much better to carry than TE5. Only thing that makes Tamrac worse than Lowepro is the lack of rain cover, but it is tolerable.
Now, to the dilemma again: You got to have at least two different bags. One for bigger gear and one for smaller.
I think I will abandon the idea of photo backpacks and just simply get a real backpack that feels good on my back. The insides of the bag is not really a major issue, I mean I got along fine for 2 years with my old backpack with the improvised foam padding. The only detail besides the carry system that I need is a solid attachment option for the tripod. My old backpack did that with flying colours because it was made for skiing trips so I could just slot the tripod in the ski holders.
The kind of sack I’m talking about is for example the Osprey Switch 26 found at http://www.addnature.com (can’t post the direct product link, it gets cut off). But I will most definitely not buy anything without trying it first, which is a bit of a problem in a small town… but I can wait.
What is wrong with us buying all those LowePros
Well, I got two, Computrekker AW plus (or something like that) stores the gear at home, gets taken outdoor just only if I need to have all my gear with. The one trailing me even today was the compromise Compu Daypack.
My problem is that I want to have a bag which can take both camera and laptop. On some trips I had larger one to carry everything, weeks worth of clothes and camera with one lens attached, no other photo gear. With new airline regulations I have to carry two bags anyways, so the daypack is better suited for that, through in camera with 2 lenses, 2 laptops and some other necessary crap and you’re good to go.
So what am I whining here? Both of my bags are just impossible to use! Taking out camera is impossible without removing the backpack! So annoying…
All in all, I hear someone might have a second hand backpack?
Miika, if you want to collect Lowepro backpacks, I’ll be happy to help!
Hehe, sounds like Minna’s issue might turn into Miika’s solution
)
Haha, there’s never too much camera-gear
But seriously, I will have to check it out, I might find it useful.
How tall is the reviewer? I’m 6’6″ and the bag feels just fine against my back.
Domke has compartment inserts you can buy which may make using a regular backpack a bit easier.
BTW, for the flipside: the waist strap’s primary purpose may be supporting the bag for quick access mode.
The waist strap is used for when you spin the bag around to your front for quick access to your camera. It supports the bag.
See http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3356&review=lowepro+flipside for a real, intelligent review of the bag. I suggest the writer if this “review” read it as well to get a few tips on how to write a professional review.
Hi Kevin, thanks for stopping by! You’re absolutely right that this is not a professional review, but it’s ok because it was never intended as one (nothing in this blog is professional, I’m an amateur photographer and happy about it!). It’s a personal review based on my backpack needs and user experience, and as such, very subjective. In this case, the Flipside 300 just simply didn’t fit my needs and this review explains why.
While professional reviews are good for getting an objective opinion about a product, I think that reading about personal user experiences can be helpful, too. There should be enough room on the Internet for both!
So Lowerpro should be embarassed about their bag because it doesn’t suit your needs?
Why, yes, absolutely!
Thanks for the review. Too bad it did not work out for you. I’ve owned (and will continue to) LowePro bags. My wife and I both enjoy the Alpine Lowe backpacks for camping. Anyone that knows camping/hiking as well as Greg Lowe and his company, will make a great photo bag. The challenge is finding the right one. Now, marketeers will tell you the key in selling is leaving out some KEY features so consumers will buy another one or upgrade. That said, I’m sure anyone will find something they need in LowePro. My problem is a find something in ALL of them
. I’ve owned Computrekker (sold it), Slingshot 100 and 200 (sold them), Inverse 100 (returned it), DryZone (waterproof–keeping it), Fastpack 100 (selling it), Primus and will soon get the Flipside 300 (and sell the Fastpack 100). I shamefully tried a Kata 3n1-10, that was cheap, shoddy construction and quickly returned!
Yes I’m happy to say that while the Flipside 300 didn’t work for me at all, the Flipside 400 AW is proving to be excellent! Yes I would change a thing or two if I could… but I suspect that the perfect product doesn’t even exist, so my photo bag problem is solved, for the time being anyway.