Countless hours spent researching blogs and reviews, measuring different configurations of the camera and lenses; and pulling together a table with measures of different bags; sending a friend a shop to play with different bags and finally looking at the option of making my own made-to-measure padding for some high-street (or even better low street) bag...
Result: there is no perfect bag (as mentioned by many) but this should not stop you from trying to get the best option for the job - or jobs...
So far I owned quite a few backpacks and shoulder bags - and they come irreplaceable. Contrary to the Ken Rothwell's comment, they are damn useful if you hiking for the whole day - they are the best choice for your back and and mobility. I can't really see much pleasure in climbing munros with a belt made of holster-like pouches around my waist. It may give you a quicker access - but out there it's quite useless - there is no rush most of the time, you have plenty of time to prepare, get your shot, swig some single malt from the flask. Wild Wild West doesn't quite do it for me...
So after a few years of walking and shooting and owning a number of bags (they keep shrinking I think as every year I just need more space!) I learnt that a comfy camera bag that can also take some of your walking gear (waterproof, small stove and a flask) is just the perfect option. You can walk for hours, some scrambling is not a problem and your back would be grateful at the end of the day... I ended up using LowePro Fastpack 350. If need more space for walking gear or even more comfort I would take my Berghause bag and put a photo shoulder bag inside it. Works perfect...
Shooting cities with the Fastpack becomes a bit more of an issue: it screams "camera inside", you can't really put it on the ground whilst shooting (no problem when you hiking!) and sometimes you may need a faster access just not to miss one of the opportunities... add if you are using one of the f2.8 80-200 lenses you probably are already wondering what bag would do the job...
The task: D300 + 80-200mm f2.8 + 16-85mm VR + flash + all the accessories for a short city break to fit into a bag that will not attract too much attention from the local pinchers (handy if you in Rome), is comfy enough to keep you going for the whole day, would give you enough protection for the gear and, finally, fast access when needed. Sounds like a cross of Mission Impossible and Tetris?
Many of the bags I looked at seem always either too small in one of the dimensions (around 10cm wide seemed bit pointless - unless you want to end up dismounting the lens all the time), far too big, or still too photo-bag like. Carrying Billingham sounded like screaming: look I have really posh bag here and guess what's inside?
I watched local students to see what "normal" bags looked like and made you not want to pinch them... finally found one that had the right dimensions, didn't look like camera or laptop bag (still can't understand what's the point of the City Disguise bags - they don't look like camera bags - just like a laptop bag!). LowePro Classified series. And the 160 seemed just right: would take camera with mounted 80-200mm, offered good protection (something that Crumpler Muffin lacked considering crazy Scottish weather), quick access and it did not look like a camera bag...
OK - not cheap but I decided to give it a go and see how it performs.
The verdict: it's great. Takes hell lot of gear; top access is fantastic and allows you very quickly move in the crowd; well padded with plenty of configuration options; the front pocket is just the right size for a set of Lee filters. It can also be easily mounted on a bike rack (if you cycling) or slipped into a larger backpack if you hiking for a wee longer.
Things that could be improved?
the padding on the shoulder strap is fixed - which makes it a bit tricky if you try to carry the bag "messenger" style - I will probably end up replacing it with a different strap...
It would add so much more flexibility if the padding could be removed (like an insert) - so you could use it as a normal bag but also use the insert with e.g. panniers or a backpack.
Other than that - it was worth all the research and trouble. If you considering the bag - just get it! Well worth the money (and with a bit of research you can get it 20% cheaper than the RRP).
Photos of the bag in action will follow...
