Gura Gear Chobe 2.0

I have been using the Pacsafe Venturesafe X40 with F-stop ICUs for a number of years now. Very happy with it. About the only thing I'd change is I wish the belt would come off and, well, I wish they still made it as mine is beginning to show some age.

That said, I travel a lot for work and I do not always want to bring a full carry-on sized backpack with me, yet I still want a basic camera system. That had me looking and I eventually settled in on the Gura Gear Chobe 2.0. Many of you know, I am a big fan of Gura Gear. I own their duffle system (love it), and the Kiboko 22L used to be my primary backpack, but opted for the Pacsafe as I wanted the ICU/camera cube system and for my travel bag to carry more than just camera gear.

I bought the "Large" (holds a 16" laptop) Chobe this summer on a Labor Day Sale and will be transitioning over to it from my current computer bag, which has held up remarkably well, but is starting to fray (Samsonite).

I am writing this now rather than after I have used the Chobe, but it looks good and I am noticing a massive sale on the smaller version, the 13" laptop. Granted, massive sale is still $199. I wonder if everyone is opting for the larger version, as it is not on sale.

Anyway, the selling point of these bags is they have an internal compartment that is already protected that you can add an insert too that will hold camera gear. While their inserts are nice and, of course, fit perfectly, I also figured out that shallow ICUs/cubes (<5.1" depth) will also fit into this center compartment. Also, this professional wildlife photographer, Joshua Holko shows in this video that he actually doesn't use the insert, but travels with a second Big White (he uses a 400 f/2.8) in the bag. I have confirmed, my EF 500 f/4 II does fit in the large bag. It is tight, but I can add more padding on each side (tight) and more above/below (plenth of room).

The ICU that should fit is the Small Shallow Pro. I do not have this, but I have the almost exact same sized Shimodo Core Mirrorless XS25. Playing with it, I can fit my R5 with EF 24-70 II mounted, either the EF 70-300L or EF 100-400 II, and RF 16 mm with a charger. So, a nice basic travel kit. Looking around, other Shimoda's likely fit as well. Peakdesign cubes might fit, as they are rated at 5.9 inches, technically too deep, but there is some give.

So, why use ICUs/Cubes instead of the insert? I may not always, I may sometimes use the insert, but 2 reasons: 1) I can take the ICU out of the bag and walk around with just the ICU (using strap from the Chobe) and 2) Modularity, I can swap the same cube into out of my Pacsafe.

So, there you have it, I can use the Chobe 1) just as a computer bag, 2) with the insert, 3) with a shallow ICU, or 4) to even carry an extra big white lens (maybe not in the smaller version of the bag).

I am looking forward to it.