One of the things that occasionally become an issue for me is having a camera bag that I can use both for under-seat air travel and extended day outings where I need to carry more equipment and clothing that does not fit in my sling bag. So not so big and cumbersome as an be an overnight hiking bag. A recent article has brought the new Gura Gear Kiboko City Backpack. This particular model is in the Kickstarter phase so it can not be evaluated other than through the specifications. However, for correspondence with the company I am told it will fit the GFX100s easily without difficulty and a few lenses. Guru does have available the 16 and 22-litre butterfly back bags. It is designed for quick access to equipment on safaris according to the manufacturer, and it is also very lightweight. According to Gura their standard 16 and 22-litre bags are designed to fit under airline seats and the 30-litre are designed for overhead bins. The implication is the city backpack should also fit under an airline seat.
In terms of fitting your gear, there should be no problem with full-frame mirrorless lenses and cameras, as it is designed specifically for mirrorless equipment. If you are using medium format mirrorless such as the Fujifilm 100s they suggested to me that this should not be problematic either. The quick access opening on the side of this bag is 4 inches by 6 inches and eleven 11 inches deep, which may be problematic for the GFX100s, (5.90×4.09).
Gura Gear Kiboko City Backpack
This is a new product and has a lot of key features, the three pounds ultralight weight, the swing round side access, rear camera access, expandable roll top and yes the water bottle pocket. Bag weight is very important as camera equipment can be very heavy. Also being able to carry all those other things you need with you is key as well. Rather than going into detail, all the details are available on the Kickstarter website. The included video is quite comprehensive.
Peak Design Everyday Back Pack
Usually, when you talk about the best-designed camera bags Peak Design is at the top of the list, like the Gura bags they are designed by photographers. The commuter bag that they make is the Everyday Backpack, which comes in 20 and 30-litre sizes.
Wandrd PRVKE LITE
When you ask GFX 100s users which bags they have been using for this purpose one of the bags that gets good reviews is the Wandrd PRVKE LITE 11-litre bag that rolls to 16 litres. This bag is your most compact option but according to the Wandrd site the 21-litre, of similar construction, would be more appropriate for more than two lenses.
Shimoda ACTION X30 BACKPACKS
The other bag that is favoured is the Shimoda Action X30 backpack. This bag comes highly recommended by many GFX100s users, is well built and perfect for carrying more equipment and personal gear. This 30-litre bag can be expanded by another 7-litres. However, it is quite a bit larger than the bags that have already been mentioned. However, they do make a smaller Explore V2 25 Starter Kit.
Tenba DNA Backpack
Tenba’s bag opens on the front which could present a security issue. The advantage of the camera section is it can be converted quickly to a packsack and the camera section with its protection can be removed. Like all Tenba products, it has a computer/iPad area, expanding water bottle pouch, a tripod system, and an accessory area. The expandable area at the top makes it ideal for clothing in unpredictable weather.
Sling Bags for the Street
In closing, if you have not invested in a sling bag for lightweight minimal kit outings, I have come across three companies that have excellent options in this style of bag Ona, Peak Design and Tenba.
