Backpack for 8x10

[alberto_zh]

the divider were included with this backpack?

[alberto_zh]

I have been shooting 4x5 for a while now and have a great backpack setup that allows me and my OCD to keep everything separate and organized in one case (lowepro whistler 450). I recently moved into 8x10 and could not find very much at all about a similar setup for hikes more than a couple hundred feet from the car. After searching the internet / forums / dead links the most I could find is an F.64 backpack or a red flyer wagon (a cooler was thrown in a couple of times as well). I currently still own the F.64 bag but it was too limited in space and the hip belt was not very comfortable for long periods with a lot of weight.

Well all, I share with you the bag I bought on a whim and now love... the lowepro trekker 650. This bag keeps things organized the way I like, carries 6 film holders, a tripod, 4 lenses, all my accessories and does so with a frame that could be designed for long distance hiking. So far I've only used it over 12 miles but it is so comfortable compared to the F.64 I had to share.

Also, it fits in overhead bins.

Attachment 175091 Attachment 175089 Attachment 175088 Attachment 175087

the divider came with the bag?

[tykos]

the divider came with the bag?

https://www.lowepro.com/global/pro-t...w-lp36777-pww/
it comes with a lot of dividers

[Drew Bedo]

I do not backpack any longer. However, my 4x5 kit is centered around the Photobackpacker lens boxes, a box for the Zone VI body and Cascade wrap for the film holders.

Its all good stuff and works for me.

[mikeh721]

I have the F 64 bag and found it to be a good bag though the waist belt was not as long as I needed it. A little searching on Amazon I found replacement buckets and materials to make a extension. It fits great now and I can make extensions for $10 .00 plus shipping cost.

[Drew Wiley]

My gosh, how brand names have changed their faces! I remember when Jeff Lowe and his brother were making climbing packs for their own use, and then got requests to customize one-offs for others. Hence the size-adjustment feature to the frames. Last time I ever saw him was at a slide show he was giving of his latest unsuccessful attempt of an especially difficult route up Nuptse. Slideshows, do-it-yourself pack factories in the USA, true frame packs - almost nobody nowadays would even know what those were.

[John Layton]

For years I'd used an LL Beans "Guides Pack Frame" with a lower shelf attachment to schlep my gear - which usually consisted of a 4x5 or 5x7 kit in a Tundra hard case, older (heavy!) Bogen tripod or newer (much lighter) Gitzo CF, plus an assortment of other photo and hiking related stuff - all held on with three heavy duty bungee straps. Worked well for travel as the Tundra case is the exact biggest size allowable as carry-on luggage, while the pack frame and tripod fit into a large duffel with my other gear as checked baggage.

Did lots of desert camping trips with the above...but man oh man - talk about weight! Sometimes strapped my diy 11x14 onto that frame, with a homebuilt box fitted to the back of that camera which held three holders plus lens, meter, and filters - and which also protected the camera back. But again...wow...heavy!

More recently I got into a nice P-3 setup with camera and 3 lens inserts, plus three cascade cases for 5x7 - which is still pretty comfortable, although at around 30 to 35 lbs. (40 plus if I'm carrying lunch, water, and emergency and/or rain gear), the weight can be a real downer. Gone are the days when this weight felt like nothing!

At any rate, lately, especially for shorter (less than one mile) walks, I've taken to ditching the backpack in favor of a camera on tripod carried over a shoulder, plus a smallish shoulder bag with four holders, two or three lenses, meter, filters, and black t-shirt dark cloth - which saves further weight and still leaves me with a free hand.

But if my chosen location involves any real amount of walking I'll still use the backpack as this is much safer/comfortable for the longer haul, especially if the ground is uneven and where I really like to have both hands free.

[esearing]

My gosh, how brand names have changed their faces! I remember when Jeff Lowe and his brother were making climbing packs for their own use, and then got requests to customize one-offs for others. Hence the size-adjustment feature to the frames. Last time I ever saw him was at a slide show he was giving of his latest unsuccessful attempt of an especially difficult route up Nuptse. Slideshows, do-it-yourself pack factories in the USA, true frame packs - almost nobody nowadays would even know what those were.

It would be interesting to see then vs now items in the pack. The short hikes I have done on the AT seem to be more of a fashion show and selfie opportunity than a wilderness experience. I myself have walked the entire width of the AT several times.

back on topic =. Look at Atlas and Shimoda bags for larger formats.

[Drew Wiley]

I can't remember all the gear details. There were outdoor factories all around here. Sierra Designs started just across the tracks from my own workplace, North Face up town, Marmot a few streets down from there. The first North Face factory itself was right across town; and a friends of mine bought the original Sierra Design factory in Emeryville the other direction, and turned it into law offices. I still have a Class V down sleeping bag, whose factory was in the same area as that of North Face down near the water.
I don't remember where Jansport was made; but some liked its frame adjustment system. I used Kelty, a high quality brand with an external frame made in southern Calif., but now more of an import book bag line by comparison. The ownership of all these companies has changed, and with it, the product lines have morphed into something else entirely. So yeah, "fashion show" pretty much defines it. I've often kidded a friend of mine in a store mgt position at REI when they're going to put in a full aisle of designer logo pee bottles at $35 apiece.

Classic high quality frame packs are fairly common, even unused or barely used. People paid a lot of money for them intending to become backpackers, yet maybe took one trip and threw in the towel, and tucked them away in some attic or closet for years and years; and those finally turn up on EBay or sidewalk sales. I traded a half-empty quart of marine varnish for the last one I found at a garage sale, mint condition, wholly unused; and it probably cost $250 originally. Those things were built far more seriously and durably than packs today. Too bad I'm not as durable myself, but I'm not taking treks as rough as I once did either.

[John Kasaian]

I remember when Ascente opened their shop in Fresno (late 1960's?) making down stuff.
Us high school kids could buy factory 2nds for next to nothing
Good times!