March 2010

After going on a short jaunt with my new Lowepro Fastpack 250 backpack, here are a few things I noticed.  

Tough

The bag is tough, providing enough protection for all the gear inside.  It also has a semi-rigid structure to help retain its shape and not cave in on your equipment.

Big but small enough

At first glance, the 250 is large.  Bigger than I had imagined.  It’s not necessarily the right size for casual toting of your DSLR equipment, but it can hold it all.  The 250 has a laptop pocket which is more than spacious enough for a 15-in MacBook Pro.  The MBP slides in easily without worrying about getting scratches from the bag’s zippers.  This laptop space is also good for a notebook since it can’t fit anywhere else.  The bottom half of the bag held my camera and gear and a bunch of chargers, cables, GPS, and other junk.  I put the easily accessible items in the top half of the 250, stuff like my iPod, earphones, snacks, and reading material.

Although the Fastpack 250 is big, it easily fits in the airplane.  The bag has lots of room in the overhead bins and slides in nicely under the seat.  Because the bag is a semi-rigid and retains its shape well, it’s easy to stow without spilling over.

Comfort

Even fully loaded, the Fastpack 250 was comfortable to wear.  I more or less wore the backpack everywhere, not wanting to leave behind my equipment. Still there were no straps cutting into my shoulders and no backaches.  I didn’t use the waist strap, instead using it like a bumper against the small of my back.

The simple pleasures

What makes the 250 a solid pack are its simple pleasures. The adjustable side pocket for water bottles – excellent! This pocket can accommodate small or large (1 liter) bottles of water. The side zipping access for the laptop and camera are are more useful in my opinion.

All in all, I’m happy to travel with my Lowepro Fastpack 250.