Ok. Even though I believe I am done, I am going to add a few more posts with relevant information in case someone else wants something similar.

So, this project has not been all that fun. Mostly because the information out there is pretty poor, sometimes erroneous, the market really seems to target "Adventure" and "urban" and I am looking for something in-between, probably closer to a "travel" pack, a lot of new camera bags are aimed at smaller systems and not DLSRs, and, most importantly, I do not think a "perfect" bag is out there, even though some are close.

Mentioned above, I started with wanting to replace my small bag, hoping to get more carrying space for other gear. When I didn't find that, my search morphed and I started thinking about getting a camera bag based on ICUs that I could swap out of a camera bag.

Starting with my needs, my camera gear tends to travel with me whether it is for work, vacation, to see family, or even "local" trips. While I would love to say I am one of those "adventure" photographers, the reality is I do not have that kind of time and the guys I tend to do that type of stuff with keep having kids (notice a drop off of waterfall pics recently???). Fortunately, cute kids . So, I am not really looking for an "Adventure" pack, but "Urban" packs typically strike me as a bit ugly (a few are nice, most-ugly) but, more importantly, apparently the backpack industry think Urban shooters only use small/mirrorless systems. In other words, most "Urban" packs do not have the depth I really need for my 5DIV with L-bracket mounted.

So, first step is how much space I am really looking for. Trying to keep it brief, I usually carry with me: 5DIV

  • 5DIV with 24-70 II mounted
  • A telephoto lens (100-400 II, 70-200 f/2.8 II, or 70-300L depending on trip...and yeah, it is a bit weird I have the 70-300L..but I got it well before the 100-400II as an alternate to the 150-600S).
  • Screw in filters. Usually 6 of them (77 and 82 mm threads for 6/10 stop ND and CPLs).
  • G7X II
  • Often, that is it, but I could add 1-2 more lenses; the EF 16-35 often comes along if I think I'll want an UWA, then I sometimes add a prime if I think I'll be doing low light, or portraits, etc.
  • Sometimes I add a flash or two, if that is what I am doing.


In terms of the padded area in a backpack, this gets down to both volume and footprint and number of "cubes" needed for the different lenses. Of particular importance to me, can the 70-300L stand up vertically in one space or will it need to be laid horizontally like the 70-200 f/2.8 II and 100-400 II and take up two spaces. The difference:


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This needs to be compared to available ICUs I looked at:
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So, with the 70-300L needing at least 6.6 inches to stand up vertically, you technically eliminate all the ICUs (PacSafe are external dimensions, I never found internal dimensions and padding will take up some space). But, F-stop was close, but their "shallow" system was eliminated, it had to be their "Pro" series. Then, the F-Stop Pro Small would fit my small system (filters, 2 lenses, 5DIV) and the Large would more than fit my largest system (keeping in mind, if I travel with the 500 f/4 II, I will use a different pack, the Firstlight 40L).

The PacSafe PCI's are also very close. The Shimoda's are not far behind. But, I eliminated the Shimoda as it did not appear that there is a top padding to their ICUs if you were to use the ICU only (an email to Shimoda confirmed that, which is disappointing).

Based on this, I ordered the F-Stop Small Pro and Large Pro ICUs.

more to come....