Review by TC for Lowepro Fastpack 250 (Arctic Blue)
Rating:
Lowepro quality and organization evident. This bag will NOT do or haul EVERYTHING but meets my needs for now. I have several digital camera bags(my wife might read this so i’ll leave it at that) and i needed a bag to carry a “loaded” Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS on my 30D body. The bag does this well with the hood still backwards but the remaining lenses can’t have on hoods in the lower compartment. This bag flew with me as my “personal item” and my carry on suitcase to Phoenix for a Grand Canyon (yes, i went down into the Canyon with it minus my Macbook), Joshua Tree NP, and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

In the bag: Macbook 13″, 30D, Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS, Canon 100mm Macro, Canon 24-105mm L IS, Hoods for these 3 lenses, Domke Protective Wrap, Canon 1.4 extender, extra caps, extra flash cards, camera manual, extra eye cup, lumquest soft screen, cleaning cloths and lens pen, Op/Tech Rainsleeve, case with circular polarizing filter, battery charger, spare battery, 4G flash drive, Dazzle USB to download cards, Petzl Tikka XP headlamp, sunglasses, hat, bandana, nylon shell vest, 2 bottles of water, snacks and gum. I attached my parka shell below the back safety panel.

I kept everything together and carried it all with me into the field and room and car. When I removed the long lens i placed it in the upper pouch and could work quickly removing the camera body and smaller lenses together especially when hiking for a while. I did fall over once while leaning over from a kneeling position shooting macro because i never used the hip strap and the pack shifted. The pack was very stable in the field and in the airport and plane.

Next trip i’m putting the XT body with macro lens in the upper pouch and only trade the wide angle and long zoom on the 30D.

Oh, my wife said the blue bag matched my windblock jacket and was pretty! This bag does not look like a camera bag so extra safety.

FINAL WORDS-can carry like a sling bag(i have one) or backpack with/without computer as good daybag without bringing it “all” with you. durable & tough- i’d put it backwards on a rock or dirt often & it’s not even marred. cleaned up well from debris after going through tight places. maybe this will help you to choose the right bag for youself the first time, but you’ll wind up with another as your gear changes.

Hope you enjoy the quality, comfort, reasonable price and the real reason you need this bag…to take YOUR images and EXPRESS yourself……SHOOT!

Review by awsg for Lowepro Fastpack 250 (Arctic Blue)
Rating:
I have been searching for a camera bag with light backpacking feature for a long time and finally settled on this one. The first impression is that the bag looks bigger than expected. But then once everything is put into the bag, you realize that the bag is the smallest size to fit all the stuff.

The top compartment for backpacking and the bottom compartment for camera equipment are nicely separated with padding. The laptop compartment has very thick padding (an inch of padding with both sides combined) This might have added some weight to the bag and for someone does not need the laptop capability, the Fastpack 200 would be a choice with lighter weight. The top compartment does not have the necessary padding for camera equipment as it is designed for personal items.

Many people are wondering (including myself) whether the bag will fit a 70-200 2.8 when making the purchase decision. The answer is Yes. I have a 30D with 16-35, 24-105 and 70-200 2.8 IS. There are two possible configurations.

First is to mount the 70-200 on the camera with hood reversed. But removing the divider in the center space, it’s a nice fit. The other two lens are put into the bottom 2 spaces. Both lens hood can be put into the outside pocket of the top compartment. With the 70-200 in the middle, the top spaces are too narrow for any lens. Even a 50/1.4 is a very tight fit. But it can snugly fit a flash and a 1.4X teleconverter.

The 2nd choice is to mount a different lens on the camera, say 24-105, and store the 70-200 on the bottom space with the divider in the bottom space removed. The 70-200 in the bottom space is a tight fit but it does fit, although the end divider is slightly bulged by the lens cap. In either configuration, the top space is only designed for flash and teleconverter like, maybe a small lens like 50/1.4, but definitely not for any lens bigger. The camera with one the 24-105 mounted and hood reversed will fit in the center space, although it must be reversed (upside down) since the bulging lens cap from the 70-200 is too close. The 16-35 will then fits in the center space with the divider put back on. The hood for 16-35 is too large to fit and can be easily stored in the outside pocket of the top compartment.

There are plenty of small pouches for memory cards, battery, and filters on the pouch outside the compartment. The water bottle mesh pocket strap is nice. Once the bag is put on the shoulder, it feels well balanced. The shoulder strap is nicely padded, wide and comfortable. The waist strap helps balance the bag and distribute some weight off the shoulder. With one shoulder strap released, you can swing the bag to the front for quick camera access.

The bag is not All Weather and it does not have a place for tripod or monopod. That’s not a downside since the one with these features would be much higher priced and for all different needs. My only complaint is that the cell phone pouch on the shoulder strap is too small for smart phones like Treo. If only it is designed to be 1/4 of inch larger!

Review by B. Davis for Lowepro Fastpack 250 (Arctic Blue)
Rating:
The Lowepro Fastpack 250 is an excellent camera and laptop bag. Although designed for a 15.4″ laptop it could easily accommodate a larger computer. I put my Nikon D300 with mounted 18-200 VR lens in it with no problems. The bag fits easily under an airline seat (even on a CRJ-200) and has room in the personal gear compartment for four paperback books plus some snacks! The only negative is that the carry handle could use some padding.