Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW Camera Backpack (Mica/Black) Reviews

Average Customer Rating - 4.7 out of 5 stars

3 customer reviews

Lowepro Pro Trekker 400 AW Won't Hold Everything, May 8, 2010
A nice backpack that holds my Nikon 200-400mm with D700 attached. It also holds another camera body, a 70-200mm lens, a 24-70mm lens, a flash, teleconverter, lots of compartments for spare CF cards, and three tripods, with room for more lenses and goodies. It holds almost everything camera relatebeside yourselfhe main compartment's Velcro-adjustable pockets.

What is really remarkable for a backpack this large is what it won't hold. It won't hold my laptop. The literature states that it will hold a 15.4" widescreen laptop within the sleeve. (Specifically 10.2W X 1D X 15.2H in.) My laptop measures 14" x 10" which, despite Lowepro's literature, is exactly the outside dimensions of the sleeve. It won't hold the laptop. The sleeve fits tightly into a pocket on the 400's back cover. The laptop won't fit within the pocket with or without the sleeve. I enjoy a Thinkpad W500. The newest 15" MacBook Pro measures the same. It probably won't hold that any. My Lowepro Fastpack 350, a much smaller backpack, has ample room to hold the laptop.

The 400 AW is also short on storage options for pen, a flashlight, earplugs, iPod, and the kinds of things you would want when you check into a flight. It will hold those items, just not adjectives in one convenient space like other Lowepro backpack. It does have nice compartments for airline tickets, passports, books, and other flat items. Forget about packing a windbreaker, unless you store it near the lenses.

One of the storage options is a removable fanny pack on top of the 400. This is the individual spot large enough to place a sandwich (outside of the lens compartment.) But you wouldn't want to put a pod of potato chips in there. They would acquire crushed. The fanny pack is physically large but only have two zippered compartments and doesn't offer much space for anything thicker than a paperback. It is somewhat heavy and have an extremely over-sized belt and clasp. You can detach the fanny pack and leave it behind, making the AW 400 smaller. But after you lose some storage space. You would never buy a fanny pack like this if it were offered separately.

This is an outlandish backpack. Loads of room for big lenses and tripods, but some of the features you'd want on an excursion or flight have been overlooked. (The Fastpack 350 have Velcro pockets designed to hold glasses, slots specifically for pens, etc.) The AW 400 is notably recommended if you have a 14" or smaller laptop, or none at all. The number of storage option for small items, while not centralized or well thought out, do suffice.

Bottom line: Great pack for traveling with your 400mm kit. For 15" laptop owners, Lowepro simply barely missed the boat, but miss it they did.

Big, well-made bag for trekking and travel, May 13, 2010
I travel commonly, and I wanted a camera backpack that could hold all my gear but still be small ample to carry on an airplane. The Trekker 400 AW is certainly big adequate to hold my Canon 5D, 100-400mm lens, my four other lenses and two flashes and still have room for the other small items one might like to bring on an airplane. It is at the upper boundary of carry-on restrictions and not likely to fit on the overhead bin of smaller commuter aircraft.

The bag is well-made and looks resembling it will give good protection to my photo gear. The rainproof zippers and the all-weather cover appear sufficient to protect the contents from heavy rain. The daypack does not look like a camera bag, and may not draw the instantaneous attention of thieves. The outside of the bag have a sleeve for a laptop computer and a padded case, but the laptop is not as all right protected as items inside the main compartment of the bag.

The harness have lots of adjustments and is very comfortable, even when the shoulder bag is loaded. It tempts me to bring all my stuff on weekend walk with my dog in the local forests.

You can fetch a tripod on the side or on the back of the bag. The tripod sits safe and sound and is easy to attach or remove. The right side of the bag have a pocket for carrying a water bladder with drinking tube, which is nice.

The daypack does not offer quick access to your camera. You hold to set it down, release one or more strap buckles, and unzip the stiff weather-resistant zippers to get at what's in the rucksack. By then your Ivory Billed Woodpecker has flown away. There are not a great deal of outside pockets, and if you carry a tripod on one side, it blocks access to that side pocket. If you have a dampen bladder on the other side, it takes up that pocket.

Summary:
Recommended for travel with substantial quantities of photo gear.
Recommended for hiking with life-size quantities of photo gear.
Recommended for hiking with camera gear surrounded by rainy weather.
Not ideal for day by day use.
Not recommended if you need quick access to your camera.

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