Tamrac 5277 Expedition 7

walterick

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00 from gift

Summary:
I love this bag. Looking at it sitting on my floor makes me want to strap it on and go... anywhere. It looks great, feels great, and holds tons of stuff. The construction is excellent. I hold a medium format sustem and a manual focus 35mm system in it. It gets heavy. But no sign of tearing or ripping anywhere.

I carry somewhere in the vicinity of 10 lens and 2 bodies in this bag. That's 1 medium format Mamiya with the standard lens on it, plus 4 other medium format lenses. My Nikon FM2N rides apart without a lens. I have 5 35mm lenses in there. Plus 3 extension tubes for each system, one teleconverter, one extra film back, filters, film, and a bunch of other stuff like lens cloths, first aid kit, and tp. I carry 7 rolls of 120/220 film in one back pocket, and 7 rolls of 35mm in the other. I have gotten clever and realized that the extra pocket in the back will hold a 72oz camelback bladder. So I can hike and drink without stopping. Also, I learned that when not carrying a tripod in the back, the straps make a great holddown for your extra jacket or wet gear.

Strengths:
Great solid construction
Holds... well, everything.
GREAT padding: on back, lumbar, shoulder straps, and waist belt.
Handle on top for carrying by hand
FITS INTO OVERHEAD STORAGE. I had to cram it into one airliner's bin, but so far, so good (barely!)
Additional strap around upper chest
Outter pockets for film, are water-proof zippered
"Rain fly" to draw around large zipper
Carries tripod securely
Extra outter pocket for the other stuff you need
Adjustable dividers

Weaknesses:
Film pockets are clumsy to unzip - tripod foot pocket gets in the way at the end
Film pockets don't... hold film very well. There are little sleeves inside for something, but I ignore them and smush them down to make room for film.
Chest strap doesn't snug enough for me
I would prefer a larger pocket in the inside flap, instead of three smaller ones. Those filters and things get tight in there.

Similar Products Used:
Smaller shoulder bags.

JMSetzler

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $179.00 from Ebay

Summary:
The Tamrac Expedition 7 is a very well constructed backpack with the capability of carrying a large collection of equipment in a single bag. The shoulder straps are nicely padded and comfortable to wear with a heavy load on board. I can fit my camera body, 5 lenses (two of which are Canon L lenses), and all of my accessories in this bag without any problems. The zipper construction is strong and the sewing appears to be very durable as well. The bag also supports my Bogen 3021bpro tripod with the 322RC2 head. The tripod mounting straps hold this rig securely. The Expedition 7 also has a lumbar pad on the bottom that adds to a very comfortable fit. I have a 'thick' upper body and a lot of backpack bags are uncomfortable for me, but this one fits very well. Tamrac also has 'add-on' accessories for this bag that can expand its carrying capacity. I bought this bag, even though I prefer shoulder bags, because I ride a motorcycle. Having the weight of my gear on my back rather than on a shoulder makes the motorcycle trip much easier with this large amount of gear. The only issue I see, which is not a weakness in the bag, is that shorter tripod leg sets would work better strapped on the back when riding a motorcycle. My Bogen 3021 set is over 25" long when folded (not including the head). This leg set hangs below the bottom of the bag enough that it makes the motorcycle ride a little more difficult than it could be. I have ordered a new leg set that is about 20" long that should solve this problem :)

Strengths:
* Very durable construction * Lumbar pad support * Comfortable shoulder straps * Strong zipper construction

Weaknesses:
This bag has no real weaknesses. The photographs I see of it online usually show a large lens in the pack. The lens hoods that go with these lenses usually are not pictured and they require a little more room.

Similar Products Used:
None

Customer Service:
N/A

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Adorama

Summary:
The Expedition backpacks are really really well built, and offer excellent back support. One critical feature of the Expedition 7 is that most of my lenses can fit upright in the bag, which dramatically increases storage space in comparison to smaller expedition bags. The excellent padding and straps come at a price though. It's a pretty bulky bag, and while Tamrac suggests that it will fit under an airline seat, I wouldn't try it. I use it as my all-in-one bag for carrying my equipment from one location to another. For actual shooting I use the Tamrac MAS system with hip pouches. One real benefit of this bag is that it can accomodate additional storage bags as part of the pack that can also be worn on the hip. It's a really great well made product, but very bulky.

Strengths:
Very well made, accomodates the MAS system pouches, can carry a tripod, excellent shoulder and hip straps.

Weaknesses:
Big and bulky. A smaller Expedition bag might be more useful once you're in the field. I use the MAS system hip belt.

Similar Products Used:
numerous bags and the MAS system

Customer Service:
Don't know.