Raidlight Equilibré front pack

My ongoing attempt to reduce my camping packsize has led to some pleasant overnighters with a 30l pack. The only sticking point I have is with my camera. I use an SLR, which is something I won’t compromise on regardless of weight. I figure when I’m old and my knees are shot I’ll get some pleasure from having photos of my adventures on the walls, and my keeper rate is much lower with a point n’ shoot. So I have a logistic challenge, I don’t like stopping to get my camera out of my pack and often by the time I’ve got my pack off and wrestled it out, I’ve missed the shot I wanted. So how to remedy the situation?

A few people have recommended a chest pack, so I took a bit of a punt on this, on the off chance. It’s designed primarily for adventure racers, so it’s certainly lightweight. It attaches with a couple of clips that slide onto your rucksack straps and has a threading system at the back that you pass your waist strap through. It’s fairly roomy and can take my Canon SLR with a 17-35mm lens, which is nice. I can’t get the D3 in, but not many bags will accommodate that beast, so it’s no shame to it.

There’s a few mesh pockets which will take gels and one on other side that will take small bottles, or in my case Mcvities hob-nob bars (don’t say I’m not up on the latest sports nutrition).  There’s a clear map pouch which velcros onto the back, which is handy. It will also take a Nexus 7, which is kinda cool. There’s also a long tube up to which will take a bigger bottle, or in my case a wee tripod. There’s a bungee which is handy for stowing hats and gloves temporarily.

In real world use it takes a bit of getting used to, but so far so good. I’ve had a couple of moments where the clip on one side has worked loose, but I’ve come up with a better system for attaching them and it seems very stable now. It’s fitting the purpose and I have a camera and tripod to hand and a zip pouch for filters and an intervalometer. I also have a map and compass in front instead of in the sack lid, so I’m  likely to refer to them more often, which might help with my temporary location finding misdemeanors.

 

I think this will be standard issue for a while.

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13 Comments

  1. If you get the budget for it (or Xmas pressie from the missus? ;-)) – why not get a Canon EOS-M mirrorless camera? Much more compact than a DSLR too!

    I suggested the EOS-M rather than a Micro Four Thirds for the one big advantage: Canon also made a mount so that you can fit EOS lenses onto it and it’ll work perfectly which would save a lot of money lenses-wise!

    That’s what I’m thinking of getting myself. Can use my existing Canon lenses and save myself a lot of money! 😉

    Then maybe you can find packing that 30L rucksack a lot easier 😀

  2. I’m wary of the eos-m purely on the basis of sensor size and low light performance, like I say I’m lightweight for everything but won’t compromise on image quality, i’d need to play with one before I could be sure

  3. I believe the EOS-M is using the same sensor that’s in the EOS 650D as well. Not decent enough? Guess I’ll wait for a review on that front!

  4. Don’t get me wrong, a crop sensor in a body that size is great and helps take the focus away from M4/3 for size. My issue is I prefer full frame if I can get it, I do shoot with a crop sometimes and find it annoys me. I can see the benefit of the EOS-M in terms of size, and for people moving up from P+S it’s superb, but I’d be spending a fair few quid for effectively the same thing I already have, just in a smaller body. The Sony RX-1 on the other hand…..

  5. Also check out ‘Aarn packs’. They transfer the weight into the belt instead of pulling on the top of the shoulder.

  6. Gotta get it. Going to Brazil and Argentina.NN something pick -pocket proof, they will have to look me in the face to open it while I gouge them in their eyes. I bought a gopro camera that I want to keep. p.

  7. Hi, only just recently found your site and really enjoy reading it. Based on your review of the Jottnar Asmund shell, I purchased it too. The front pack in review here, this is where you carry your SLR? I have an EOS 40D with a really nice all-around L series lens on it and I cannot imagine it fitting inside of this pack. Or did I read your review wrong and you don’t carry your SLR in it?

    Thanks.
    Eric

  8. You’re right Eric, it’s where I carry my camera. It was a tight squeeze for a Nikon D3, but I’m using a D750 now and it’s fine even with fairly large lenses.

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