Overview of the backpack Crumpler Jackpack
Typically, the photobooks are such a container for the whole photo lab, when in a relatively small amount you can put a couple of DSLRs, five lenses to them and a bunch of other accessories. It's cool, but not very versatile. What to do if the farm has only one DSLR and you want to carry it with you, not in a protective trunk, which in turn lies in an ordinary backpack along with other useful things, but somehow more convenient. It turns out there is a solution. For example, Crumpler offers a whole series of backpacks in which only half the volume is for photographic equipment, and the second one can be used to carry other useful pieces, be it a laptop, an external drive, a windbreaker, a bottle of water, a container of food, etc. Moreover, The photo department can easily be adapted for other things. In this way, The working volume is used much more efficiently and, it would seem, in a very small backpack you can carry many useful things neatly laid out in their places. Crumpler Jackpack Half Photo just from this series. Today we will talk about it.
How it all began
His acquaintance with the line of Crumpler Half Photo, I started a couple of years ago, when I got a DSLR-camera, and I had to go to distant St. Petersburg, taking with me a working set of equipment. I wanted to place all the gadgets in one place, and not as usual - the camera in the travel bag, and the laptop with the tablet in a separate backpack Logitech Kinetik, which for travel is not very much adapted. As a result, I borrowed from Comrade Crumpler Cupcake Half Photo, which was almost perfect for my purposes.
At the bottom of this backpack is built a real trunk, which in my case fit an SLR, around perfectly included chargers, an external battery, an external HDD and other trifles. In the large department, there is room for a 13-inch laptop, a tablet, a few small document pockets and a flat change, plus a decent amount for overall things, whether it's food for the road, fliska, etc.
Since then, I've tried many other more traditional backpacks, but this kid remained a favorite and even lent him a couple of more trips. I did not like only the complete absence of external pockets with quick access. For example, a purse to put, a phone, etc. Therefore, I personally bought a similar Kata DR 467i with such pockets, but it had a slightly worse case, and there was not a department for the tablet in the accessory. Nevertheless, he served me for more than a year, after which he went to the new owner since the bulky DSLR was replaced by a compact mirrorless one.
But the love for this format of hand luggage has been preserved and flared up with renewed vigor when I came across the announcement of a new backpack from the series Crumpler Half Photo, dubbed Jackpack. And when I saw this product live at the local store, and even a couple of days before the next business trip, without long meditations I took out my purse and became the owner of the novelty.
Original work on bugs
The best hunting backpack is made of a rather unusual material. Reminiscent of a mixture of nylon and cotton, called Chicken Tex Supreme with a density of 1000d. The fabric is strong and practically not dirty. It is not 100% waterproof, but under a little rain it does not get wet through, inside the backpack stays dry, which I checked on my personal experience. Also, Chicken Tex Supreme very quickly dries, and lightning is partially protected from water:
The rucksack itself is very thin and compact (45x32x19 cm), but it weighs decently - 1.28 kg. Unlike its predecessor, tightening belts appeared in it, so as not to carry "air".
Another important difference is the outer pocket for things that need quick access, which was so lacking in Cupcake Half Photo. And in it, there is a small partition, and if to open a department completely, things from within will not fall out.
The entire back is occupied by a soft cushion for ventilation of the back, although I still sweated under it. I did not like the lack of ventilation grooves, for example, in OGIO Renegade RSS. Still, they work more efficiently than a continuous layer of mesh fabric.
In the back, there is also a thin handle for carrying. On the one hand, it is difficult to call it convenient. On the other hand - it is easy to hook on the hook, which sometimes happens (hang in the toilet at the station or a cafe, or elsewhere in situations when there is nobody to look after your backpack):
I loaded Jackpack Half Photo very hard, especially on business trips, but there are no complaints about the handle - it did not stop, and the cloth did not start at the bottom.
On wide straps there is a nylon strip for which you can attach something useful (a small cover for a small camera or a purse for money and a phone):
There is also a chest strap, the design of which was simplified in comparison with the previous model, which used a sled. In the hero of the review, the strap is simply wrapped around the strap and sewn at the base. But FASTEX is comfortable, and even there is a rubber band so that the ends of the belt do not hang out:
There is also a very wide waist belt with a pair of powerful "ears", as I call them:
If you fasten all the straps and tighten the straps well, then the backpack is practically not felt on the body - it hangs very well, and you can run around with it, jump and, in general, behave very actively. Here's how the backpack looks on a slim and compact person:
How it looks on my more bulky carcass is shown in the video review above.
It seems that everything with the straps is good, but if there is no desire to button up the waist, these healthy "ears" just hang on the sides. I usually bent them to the bottom. But nothing prevented to make a pocket for them in the bottom of the soft cushion, as it is realized in some backpacks Kata.
Nevertheless, the Crumpler Jackpack Half Photo sock is comfortable, the straps are moderately soft, and the Fasteks work just fine. On lightning, too, there are no complaints. They are fastened and unfastened easily, they are pleasant to work with.
All this is good, but no less important is the internal configuration of the backpack. So let's open the vaunted lightning and study the pockets and the individuals.
I'll start with the largest, top department:
The back of the laptop has a pocket for a 13-inch laptop, trimmed with a soft Nylex cloth. Finish line, but the lack of a rigid frame in the back did not like, although in Cupcake Half Photo such a frame was. It can not be said that the backrest is completely flimsy, on the contrary - it is thick and soft, the laptop will protect perfectly, plus the front of the pocket is also quite impressive. I like it more when there is a rigid frame.
The next pocket for the tablet, which perfectly fits iPad mini and all sorts of small things, like a passport and an external HDD:
In it, you can also shove a large tablet, but it will barely come up. Although Velcro will not allow the device to dangle inside or fall out.
This pocket and the rest of the main section are made of strong Ripstop nylon, which is good. The only pity is that inside the tablet pocket there is no soft finish. Although, as I was there carrying a large iPad and mini, not one was scratched.
We move further. On the front wall of the tablet section are a few small pockets, under them another bigger, plus the seats for four pens:
The rest is the main volume in which I was carrying an umbrella, a bottle of protein or water, a container of food and other things. It is large enough to hide things there for a 3-day trip in the warm season.
We pass to the second half of the backpack, to his photo department:
In fact, it is a single wardrobe with thick outer walls and adjustable partitions inside. It is completely finished with the help of Nylex and excellent protection for photo technics, as well as any other items.
In addition, as I mentioned above, this division of the backpack volume is convenient for the accurate and efficient placement of your belongings. But if desired, the trunk can be removed, unzip the partition between the sections and turn the Jackpack Half Photo into one big bag.
By the way, if you completely unbutton the lower section, it will not open 180 °, throwing out all the entrails. It has a fixer made of Ripstop-nylon.
I also want to pay attention to the central part of the coffer, namely, an additional partition, which is not in a very similar Kata DR-467i. With its help, you can fine-tune the department for a specific camera. In addition, this partition forms another small department in which I conveniently hide a small camera Sony RX-100. I use it to record video, and Fuji X-E1 answers for the photo.
The partitions are fastened with Velcro, and even after a long time of use they do not slip the material to which they stick, and hold fast enough:
The backpack is roomy, comfortable and ideal for people who constantly carry a large camera, laptop, and tablet. It is very well made of strong and high-quality materials, the excellent hardware is used and there's nothing to complain about in this respect. But there are some nuances.
Chest and waist belts are good, and the caliper is generally perfect, if you stamp on foot with a backpack on your shoulders for an hour or two, or even longer. But you can not hide it, and when there is no desire or need to fasten your backpack on your belt, then the "ears" just hang on the sides or below, if you bend them. I tried to bend them inward to the back of the backpack, but I did not like this option because the healthy phases rest against the back.
A rigid frame is only in the trunk, but the back of the rucksack itself is rather soft. Although this is a matter of taste. To whom as it is pleasant more. But he has an excellent configuration of the coffer, and in general, the Crumpler Jackpack Half Photo is very very capacious. In this case, things will not be piled up, and each will be placed in a strictly designated place for it. The accessory is great for small business trips for a day or two, or for large trips, when the plane needs to take with itself all the valuable equipment, including a large mirror fotik. He also showed himself well in the city cycle.