Lowepro Street & Field Rover Light

I have the Lowepro S&F rover bag and I think it's great. I don't know any reviews off-hand, so here's mine. I've had it for a while now and never had cause to complain about anything. I take my camera gear with me wherever I go (well, not quite, but close) so I use a backpack to carry it. I also take it all hiking a fair bit so that's the use under which most of my opinions have been formed. I also take it to uni with me everyday as a general purpose backpack. Since I need to carry other stuff too, the S&F is perfect because it is organised in two halves - upper half for day-pack type stuff, lower part is the velcro-lined, foam divider type camera bag. It 'splits' in half around the middle via a zipper. So you zip it open and fold it backwards to reveal the inside part. This is also usefull if you need a low camera supportfor wildlife etc. Speaking of camera support, it also has a tripod holding flap that comes down past the bottom of the back and elastics that run up the back of it. I find that this isnt all that usefull unless you have a smaller lighter tripod that I use. Maybe the manfrotto carbon fibre would be OK. The flap folds up and sticks itself in place and so is invisible when not in use. It has lots of pocketsfor holding a lot of bits an pieces. There is a zippable completely waterproof plastic lined pocket inside, two triangle shaped pockets on the each side of top section accessible from the outside as well as two elasticised netting pockets at the sides of the back on the bottom half. These are good for drink bottles if you're hiking although they're squarish shaped rather than round. I find they also hold lenses quite well so you dont have to take it off your back every time you need something. Along the same lines, once you get used to it you can reach behind you and get things out of it without taking it off your back too - you dont have to zip it completely closed because it has a clip to hold it shut. The clip is actually there to hold the rain flap down while you're walking, but I use it to keep the bag shut but still allow me to reach around and get things out of it. The shoulder straps are padded quite well. The back is padded too, with two large thick strips running either side of your spine as you wear it. It's very comfortable. There is also a waist strap that is padded, and a chest strap. All of the straps are adustable. Shoulder straps are adjustable from the top and their length is adustable from the bottom. The waist strap seems to be adjustable to fit very large people... total length from end to end of about 170cm (~65"). This is slightly annoying actually because it means that you either have all this surplus strapping, or cut it off. I just roll it up. Although I've never had it wear through or puncture while hiking, it's made out of rip-stop nylon so if you do tear it it wont spread. The zips are the plastic toothed heavy duty type. The main zip around the middle has two zipper-handle-thingoes so you can undo it from the middle to each edge. It also has a plastic clip to hold it shut so you dont have to zip it open and closed all the time while you're walking. If anything comes loose or tears or anything like that, there's a lifetime warranty on all lowepro stuff. The padding in the camera section is quite good, about 1.5cm thick. There is five dividers inside that are covered in velcro so you can rip it apart, so to speak, and rearrange the dividers however you want. If you buy a different sized lens or camera, you can change the internals of the bag to fit it. This is usefull - I've needed to do it a couple of times. You can tear out the divider between the top and bottom sections of the back to make it one large bag if you want. I've never had a need to do that though. The bottom section is padded on all sides (including top and bottom). The velcro is heavy duty so it holds tight and doesnt loose it's 'grip'. You can also buy more of them if you need them. I have never had any of them come loose. All of the linings and dividers come out of the bag completely, so you can put it in the washing mashine if you need to clean it. The padded straps and back padding are not removable, but they dry quickly so it isnt a problem. The bag is splash proof, but not water proof. All the zips that lead to the inside are covered by flaps to exclude water. It's fine if you're walking in light rain or for a little while in heavy rain. If you get caught for a long time in a heavy downpour, your stuff will get wet from the seepage into the bag (but not much). There's lots of space to carry all your gear. For example, in the camera section of mine I carry: EOS 10D + grip EOS 30 + grip 420EX flash 50mm f/1.8 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 100-300mm f/5.6 L 2 x 58mm filter 2 x 77mm filter 3 x extension tubes Timer remote control USB cable 2x lens tissues The top section has easily enough room for clothes, food etc. It is 26cm (10") high verticall

See above

None really. Maybe the long amount of 'spare' waist strap gets in the way sometimes if you dont have a wide girth! But this is trivial.

Hasn't been required, but comes with a lifetime warranty.

I really love this backpack. For a while I had a regular pack to put all my stuff in, but I ended up putting that pack in my north face backpack anyways. I figured I should just buy a photo dedicated backpack since I do a fair amount of walking, and those shoulder strap bags are just annoying. Great affordable backpack(when it comes to camera packs), and fits all my needed gear nicely.

Very practical-lower camera portion, and an upper section for all other stuff, and more camera gear. Comfortable straps, good support. Good looks! Not monstrous like the Dryzone and Pro Trekker packs, just the right size for someone who doesn't own every possible lense and accessory.

Why can't they put the tripod holder on the side? You can't get to the lower compartment without taking the tripod off, which is a big hassle when some little critter goes walking by. Maybe a little deeper on the bottom compartment to accomidate two bodies, it gets pretty tight. Not a big complaint though. Would've been nice to have an outside pocket, but again, not a life threatening issue.

Haven't tested these outdoors, but I also looked at the Dryzone packs, and the Trekker packs.

Never had to use it.

A perfect backpack for me. Well balance, everything seems to get lighter when straps are firmly tighten around your body. What I like most with the design is how it is designed tto carry a tripod.

Tripod carrying capability.

can't think of any.

Kopho backpack

not neccessary

Just a perfect fit for my needs. Allows me to carry my equipment on a day trips. Easily takes EOS 3 with 70-200/4 attached, 2 more primes, 550 EX flash, and still is not full. This is my general bag, either in streets or in fields.

Great design and quality. I have not found any other product like this.

AW cover missing - but I will buy something separate in a hiking shop. Does not allow immediate access to the gear. But it is a feature, not a weakness. If I need immediate access, I carry a camera on a my neck - in that case a waist belt can keep the camera with a longer lense from swinging.

I bought the Rover Light to replace my old backpack that used to hold my Nikon F80, a couple of lenses and Manfrotto 190 as well as spare clothing,food,drinks and maps etc. when out in the hills. What an improvement! - everything is immediately accessible and really well protected, the folddown tripod holder is ingenious and very easy to use. The way the load is distributed and the quality of the padding along with the design of the harness make this feel like i'm carrying half the weight. Some of the other posts here criticise the lack of the AW cover - go out and buy a Lowe Alpine pack cover and the jobs a goodun as we say in Yorkshire. I've possibly been over generous with the value rating as we the same amount in Pounds as you pay in Dollars in the States (what is affectionately known as rip-of Britain!)

Ideal for hiking Very comfortable Good accessibility Excellent tripod holder

Cost in the U.K £90 - about $140!

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