Mountainsmith Borealis AT Camera Backpack : The Kitchen Sink Pack for Serious Photographers

As a professional outdoor writer and photographer, I'm pretty discriminating when it comes to camera bags. A lot of companies make a camera backpack, but few make one built for rough and tumble adventuring.

I need a camera bag that can carry a camera, lenses, strobes, light stands and a tripod; that has extra space for a rain jacket, water, and lunch; and that's extremely well balanced so I can jump through boulder fields, teeter up trees or cross slippery river beds. Mountainsmith's Borealis AT Camera Bag is that bag.

I've been looking for a new outdoor-oriented camera backpack since the stitching blew out on my old one. The first thing I did when I got the Borealis was to inspect the stitching and craftsmanship. I was pretty stoked. It's made of bombproof nylon throughout, with heavy-duty Ballistic nylon at the important wear areas like the bottom. Oversized YKK zippers and double-stitched seams round out the package.

The Borealis AT has two compartments, a lower camera compartment that actually flips out, and an upper gear compartment. The lower compartment has a padded camera keeper that's good for one or two strobes, one or two medium sized zooms, one longer telephoto zoom, and a body. I was pleased to be putting my gear in the bag because the padding is extremely good. I was able to put enough hiking gear in the upper compartment for a full day out. If I wanted to, I could remove the padded camera compartment entirely and use this pack as a regular backpack.

From a camera nerd perspective, the pack is great. I keep all my compact flash cards in a super handy flash card wallet with a key ring attachment on it. Normally I have that wallet permanently affixed to my belt with a fabric "chain" so as never to lose it, but wearing a belt under a backpack can be uncomfortable while hiking. The Borealis actually has a key keeper in one of its outer pockets, which doubles perfectly as my CF card wallet keeper. I also like that the outer pockets are lined in soft fleece, so I can put fragile goods inside, like a spare flash, and they won't get scratched up.

One thing I really like about its engineering -- the compression straps that enclose its lower camera compartment and upper gear compartment. It's an incredible feature because I tend to overstuff my bag, and the extra gear bulging out is what tends to destroy stitching. With the Borealis the strategically placed compression straps add extra durability material will keep the bag intact for the long haul.

I headed up to shoot bouldering in Rocky Mountain National Park this past weekend, and found the bag to be extremely comfortable. The shoulder straps have just enough padding, and the extra wide waist belt helps distribute the load on my hips. Both the waist belt and shoulder straps have additional straps that allowed me to fine tune the fit based on my body type and the amount of gear I needed to carry. The back is well padded, and a mesh paneling on the back kept me cool and dry by allowing my sweat to evaporate off my back. That's an important features since it can get super hot and super cold over the course of a day in the Rockies.

What's really important about a good camera bag, aside from the way it carries, is how it's designed, and how that design affects is usability. I loved how the bag has a little tiny rain cover conveniently stowed in a pocket near the shoulder straps. It's always there if I need it, but it's so inconspicuous I don't notice I have it. Very cool. I did pull it out on the way back to the car the other day when an afternoon thunderstorm hit. Also, I love the way Mountainsmith has designed the tripod connector. I can bring a monopod, a tripod, two collapsible light stands, or a variety of combinations thereof. It's very versatile.

Available in two colors.

Bottom Line : Great full-size camera pack for adventurous shoots that require hiking and camera gear. (NW, June '09)

Price : $180.00; , .

Manufacturer's Site: www.mountainsmith.com

Share on Facebook 

Sign up Now for Email Updates on Gear Sales