I got it in a very understated pine green colour which looks quite at home in both urban and rural environments. Makes a change from all the black camera bags out there.

Being a Lowepro bag, the padding’s ample and like the Primus, it has a comfy waistbelt. It seems to fit me better than the Primus with a shorter back length. I quite like how there’s a back opening compartment to keep pricey lenses away from sticky fingers and the large outer front pocket for other bits and pieces like maps and pens.

There are Sliplock slots on both sides of the bag for lens cases and things to expand the bag’s capacity, I’d probably put my GPS on one of them. There are also two generous elasticated mesh pocket on either side which fits a 0.6 L Sigg bottle quite nicely. Splendid.

It’s rather stiff at the moment and needs to be broken in like my worn and well travelled Primus.

Official specs here.

The generous padding (as far as it goes for photography backpacks) worked wonderfully, my hips didn’t feel bruised after carrying it. Once filled up with my photography kit, water, food and other bits and pieces, it probably weighed in at a total of 5 – 6 kg.

I liked how the zips are back facing so there’s no issue of putting dirty straps/belt back on after its been laying in the dirt following lens changes or lunch getting. I didn’t bother using the side door.

We didn’t get caught out in any massive downpours so I can’t comment on the extent of its waterproof abilities. There were a few light showers, but nothing major. In the one real rainy period we had, we were inside the elephant house.

It’s been quite a positive experience and I really like the bag. If you can get it for a decent price, it’s definately worth it. A quick google shows that the cheapest price in the UK currently is £99.89 at Warehouse Express, still a bit steep I reckon, but then, you may beg to differ.

I’ll leave you with a pic of the bag on the floor of the elephant house. That’s my Canon EF 100-400mm peeping out of the Primus and to the right of it is Soph’s Pretty Boy backpack by Crumpler. The only reason my bag looks so much bigger is because of the ultra-wide angle lens distortion.

The shoulder straps and waist belt have plenty of adjustable bits and are nicely padded. From my initial test wear, it’s quite comfortable, sits well on my hips. It’s all pretty well made even if it is from recycled used plastic bottles. For those who know me, I guess it’s pretty appropriate that I’ll be using an ecofriendly camera backpack. It seems to tick all the right boxes from the outset but the real test will come later when I take it out in the field to see how it fares in its element.