Lowepro is a camera bag manufacturer that has been making carrying solutions for camera equipment for the last 40 years. Weather you are a professional or amateur photographer, Lowepro is constantly innovating and making bags for a magnitude of different situations and tasks. One of these new innovations is the Fastpack 350 that landed on my desk a few weeks ago.
The Lowepro-CompuTrekker Plus AW Camera Bag I reviewed last year was a great bag to cart a lot of camera gear around, but it was such a pain in the butt to try and get the camera out quickly to take photos. It could easily carry a laptop computer, two Pro SLR bodies, a bunch of extra lenses, tripod, and a slew of accessories, but it did have its share of shortcomings. I would literally have to take the entire back pack off my back, place it on the ground, unzip the bag and pull the camera out and shoot, then reverse the entire process to get it back on my back.
On top of this, the bag was really bulky and big, with not much more useable space for other personal things. I was really looking forward to spending some time with the Fastpack 350 as on paper. it sounded like a great bag.
Specifications
Lowepro claims the Fastpack 350 has the capacity to hold:
- 1 pro Digital SLR with lens attached (up to 70-200 F/2.8)
- 2-3 additional lenses or flash units
- 17” inch widescreen notebook
- memory cards
- batteries and cables
Interior Size Dimensions: 11W x 6.1D x 10.6H inches ( 28 x 15.5 x 27 cm)
Exterior Size Dimensions: 12.4W x 9.6D x 19.3H inches ( 31.5 x 24.5 x 49 cm)
*The dimensions meet Airline Carry On size regulations
First Impressions
In all honesty, my initial impressions on the shape and physical attributes of the Fastpack 350 when I pulled it out of the box was not a positive one. Unlike some of my other camera bags, the Fastpack 350 seemed really boxy and rectangular when I had it in my hands. It reminded me of a piece of equipment that Toy Story figure Buzz Light Year would wear. The key feature of the bag was the “Quick Draw” panel at the bottom bag. This pocket zips open East/West, unlike most bags that zip open like a clam shell North/South. There seemed like a plenty of padding and protection inside the bottom compartment for all the pricey camera gear. There also seem like lots of usable space in the top of the bag for a variety of camera and personal accessories.
I recall thinking the gauge of the zippers on the bag, (especially on the quick draw panel) seemed a bit small for pockets that would constantly be opening and closing. I expected that the teeth on this bag would be a bit larger for increased durability. The laptop compartment seemed roomy and large and nicely tucked under the breathable and padded back panel. I also noticed and appreciated the mesh pocket on the left side of the bag. This mesh pocket is plenty big enough to put varying sizes of water bottles in. If you are out and about with your camera gear, you want a place to carry a beverage!
Capacity Tested!
I had to test Lowepro’s capacity claims, so as you can see below, we packed the quick draw compartment of the Fastpack 350 with a very respectable collection of higher end camera gear. The compartment is very well padded with removable dividers to protect all the spendy gear.
We packed:
- 1 x Nikon D200 SLR with battery grip with 70-200 F/2.8 Lens
- 1 x 18-200mm
- 1 x 17-55mm F/2.8
- 1 x 60mm F.2.8
- 1 x 35mm F 2.0
In the top compartment we packed in a bunch of more stuff that a normal person would have with them. We loaded a bunch of camera accessories (Chargers, extra batteries etc), point and shoot camera, a couple cell phones and pens, a mini tri-pod, a flash unit, my wallet and keys. After packing in all this gear in the top compartment, we still had more room. I could have easily stuffed a lightweight jacket or long sleeve top.
The laptop compartment is straight forward. I don’t have a 17inch sized laptop, but I know my 14.1inch laptop would fit into this pocket with no problems. If you don’t have a laptop, you can use this space to put folders with documents, and even a couple books.
With all this gear in the Fastpack 350 the bag was about 23 lbs. The bag empty weights about 4 lbs. If I was to add some more things into the top compartment, a laptop, and a water bottle this backpack would be about 25-20 lbs in weight.
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“Fastpack” Feature
The key selling feature and innovative design to this bag is the super fast “Quick Draw” access panel via side loading access on the bag. This is suppose to be Lowepro’s answer to not having to take the back pack off your back and putting it on the ground to get at your camera gear via top load access.
You access the “Quick Draw” panel by unclipping the sternum strap, loosening the right should strap and swinging the bottom of the bag up towards your left hip. If this sounds all complicated, it is not. You can get at your camera in under 10 seconds with some practice and about the same amount of time to put the camera back in and the pack back on your back. Lowepro has an excellent video demonstration of this system in action. In my photo below, I show how the bag should end up on your body after you swing it around.
As you can also see, the bag is cut in such a way on the bottom of the bag, that it sort of cradles the right hand handle on the SLR body. At first I though this was a bit annoying as I could barley slip my skinny fingers in to grab the shutter grip on the SLR, but after I thought about the design, this is a pretty smart idea to prevent the camera from accidentally falling out of the bag when zip open the “Quick Draw” compartment.
There is also no need to worry about the entire “Quick Draw” compartment completely opening and all your gear somehow falling as the entire quick draw compartment is protected by a safety mechanism; The safety mechanism being the safety flap and the straps/clips on the front of the bag. When this safety flap is clipped by both clips, there is no chance that the zippers can fully unzip (East to West) to compromise the equipment inside.
The more I used this bag day to day, the more I like it and appreciate the “Quick Draw” compartment. I like that there are 2 padded memory card pockets on the inside flap of the “Quick Draw” panel for quick memory card changes. Getting at the camera is super fast compared to other camera bags.
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Comfort and Durability
I was excited to get out and test the Fastpack 350 the day I got it. I took it for a walk to the corner store about 25minutes away from my house. I live on a mountain and the store is at the bottom. I walked down and back up with the Fastpack 350 fully loaded with gear and everything felt great. The Fastpack 350 bag fit my body well and the strap adjustments, hip belt and sternum strap all aided me to securely cinch the bag to me so it wasn’t flopping or bouncing around.
The straps are very comfortable with adequate padding and strap adjustments. The weight was surprisingly well distributed on my back and at no time walking up and down the hill did I feel the bag being cumbersome and lopsided in weight. The day was pretty warm, and I much appreciated the breathable moisture wicking padded mesh material on the underside of the shoulder straps and the back of the bag.
It is tough to test the long time durability of this backpack, but most backpacks, the first thing to go are either the zippers or the straps where they mount into the main body of the bag. Time will only tell how long this bag will last, but I think it should last awhile as I took the fully loaded bag off my back a numerous times using only one of the shoulder strap to take it on and off my shoulder. Ideally when I needed to carry the bag when it was off my back, the well constructed, one inch thick, double stitched Cordura handle at the top was used. This handle loop at the top of the bag is a very very handy feature to have.
I don’t recommend this, but I even swung the bag around by one strap a few times as well to see if I could hear any fabric stretching or ripping. The straps seem to be well fastened into the bag as slinging 30lbs of weight around by a single strap can put a lot of stress where the straps anchor.
Missing Features
Over the last few weeks with the bag, there are a few features that I wished would have been on the bag. The first feature that is missing is a dedicated a rain cover. Lowepro claims that the Cordura fabric has a DWR (Durable Water Resistant) coating on it. DWR eventually wears off and the rain will eventually soak through if you are out in the elements long enough. Living in Vancouver Canada, a rain cover is a nice accessory to have. (It rains a lot here!) There were a couple rainy days that I used the bag and the exterior did end up getting damp.
The second feature that was missing was a place to attach and hold a light weight tripod or a monopod. There were a couple times where I was out with the bag and I had nowhere to put my monopod and tripod. Constantly carrying the tripod and monopod around was pretty annoying when I wasn’t using it. I think if people are out and about, hiking or traveling with this bag, they will not be carrying around super heavy duty tripods; Like myself they will want to take the lightweight portable tripods and monopods for those shots that require a bit more stability than just hand holding. A few well placed adjustable loops/straps on the front of the bag or on the water bottle side is all that would have been needed.
Keeping along the lines of straps and loops, I think the there could have been a few more straps on the outside of the bag to add additional accessories, keep the water bottle secure and to stow lightweight clothing. There were a few times when I was using the bag that I wanted to take my jacket off because I was warm It would have been great to strap the jacket securely onto the outside of the Fastpack 350. If there were tripod or monopod straps here, I could have used these!
The water bottle holder is great for most bottles of water, but if you place a full 1.5litre bottle of water into this pocket, the bottle is a bit tall and it does tend to slide side to side and slip out when swinging the bag around to get at the camera. A strap about 3.5 to 4 inches from the top of the water bottle holder would have been nice to hold down the bottle.
Shortcomings
There wasn’t a lot of things already on the bag that really bothered me. If I was to pick a couple design issues that could be changed for next year’s version, it would be to use larger gauge zippers on the bag. Larger gauge zippers offer more durability and ease of opening. The gauge on the Fastpack 350 seemed a bit small to me.
I would also put in place larger hand pulls on the zippers. Larger hand pull tabs on the bag would make it easier to open and close all the pockets on the Fastpack 350. I felt the pulls on the Fastpack 350 zippers were just a tad short.
I would also make the option to have a vertically adjustable and user removable hip belt. The hip belt seemed to sit a bit high on my waist and depending on the torso length of the user, an adjustable hip belt may be a nice customizable feature for a wide range of body sizes.
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Final Thoughts
I have to say I really like the Fastpack 350. The “Quick Draw” panel by far sets this bag apart from all my other camera bags. This feature alone makes me get over the boxy look of the Fastpack 350. Life is about compromises right? The “Quick Draw” feature works extremely well and will save you lots of time when you need to pull the camera out quickly to shoot some pictures and re-store the camera. If Lowepro were to add a few straps here and there and tweak a few things, this bag would be even better than it already is.
Longer zipper tabs and a few extra straps for a lightweight tripod or monopod are very easy low cost additions that could be implemented. Gone will be my days of using regular hiking day packs (ie North Face, Camelbak etc ) to cart around my SLR camera and lenses. Everyone that has ever used a regular hiking day pack knows it is such a hassle to dig the SLR camera out of the pack amongst all your other stuff in the bag.
A couple weeks ago, I went spring skiing up at Whistler Mountain. The day was super sunny and warm, so I figured why not pack the Fastpack 350 with some gear and really test it out. I was trying to learn how to Telemark ski, so I ultimately fell over numerous times on my front and back.
Although I landed on my back a number of times skiing, The Fastpack 350 worked out great and kept all my gear in one piece; nothing broke! I took with me an SLR body, 70-200mm F/2.8 lens and the 35mm F / 2.0 lens. I had room for a light weight jacket and a long sleeve shirt inside the bag, along with my lunch and a bunch of other personal accessories ( Sunscreen, wallet, keys, cell phone, energy bars, extra batteries, etc) All this “stuff” fit into the Fastpack 350 with no problems and I even had some room to spare. For hydration, I put my 3 liter Camelback bladder into the laptop compartment with no issues.
The bag is a bit wide so I would have to take the pack off every time I loaded the chairlift so I wouldn’t fall off the edge of the seat. Shooting pictures of my friends skiing and snowboarding in the sun was a breeze compared to previous occasions with the camera in the regular backpack. The “Quick Draw” panel actually makes you want to shoot pictures vs not wanting to take the photo because you have to go through the hassle of digging the camera out of the bag!
If you are looking for a good all round day trip bag to cart around some of your camera gear that enables you to access your camera very quickly to take photos, I would highly recommend picking up the Lowepro Fastpack 350.
Pros
- Quick Draw Compartment that enables you to get your camera out super fast
- Lots of useable storage space
- Comfortable and adjustable shoulder straps
- Weight is evenly distributed
- Water bottle holder
- You can fit a water bladder in the laptop compartment!
- Lots of protection and padding
Cons
- No rain cover
- Could use longer zipper pulls
- Bit on the boxy side
- Small gauge zippers
- No tripod/monopod holder
Overall Rating 9.0 / 10.0
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