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Naneu Pro Alpha - Photo backpack/daypack
By HangTen
Photo accessories
17 April 2008 17:40
Read what forum member and website regular, HangTen, has to say about the Naneu Pro Alpha Photo-pack/Day-pack in this user gear review. You can submit a user review on any alreasy reviewed item by clicking on the link at the bottom of the review page, or you can submit your own by clicking here.
The Bag
I'd been looking for a new combo camera bag/day-sack for some time and had done quite a bit of research on-line, comparing the specifications and measurements of various offerings from LowePro, Tamrac and Kata, before coming across the Naneu Pro Alpha, one of a range of photo bags produced by this relatively unknown (at least in the UK) company. The description fitted my requirements and the price was very favourable - at £60 including postage it's a similar price to the Tamrac Adventure 7, but in my opinion a better design, and considerably cheaper (i.e. 1/2 - 2/3 price) than similar spec LowePro models.
I went ahead, ordered one (opted for the olive green - also comes in black and 'forest' camouflage pattern) and it arrived a couple of day ago. First impressions are very favourable - externally it appears to be well made out of tough, water resistant 900D nylon, tidy, strong stitching, tough webbing and durable looking plastic buckles and clips. Overall, the workmanship looks neat well finished.
Security
The design is that of a small military style back-pack, and importantly, from a security point of view, doesn't shout "expensive camera gear inside", in fact, it's very low-key and doesn't look in the least like a photo bag. Additionally, with security in mind, the access to the main photo compartment is on the opposite side to normal access, against your back; so although it means you have to take the pack off to get at your gear (you couldn't ask a friend to fish out a lens for you, for example), it also means that no light-fingered tea-leaf is going to be able to lift a piece of expensive kit while you're stood in a crowd - when the pack is on your back, all that's accessible from the outside are the top compartment where you might keep your sandwiches and a water-proof, and a couple of accessory pockets.
Comfort
The design has also been well thought out from the comfort side - the shoulder and waist straps are the broad, thickly padded variety as normally found on 'proper' hiker's rucksacks, rather than the bare webbing that is often found on camera bags and is lined with breathable mesh, as are the well-padded back-contact areas.
There's also a full range of adjustments, tensioning and compression straps to ensure a comfortable fit - this bag has been designed to appeal to walkers who are also photographers and on a trial yesterday, I found it comfortable to wear for several hours with a full load on a 6 mile moorland hike.
Capacity
The well-padded photo compartment is easily removable (simply lift it out); so the bag can be used as a simple rucksack if not required for camera gear. This bright orange compartment has plenty of padded, Velcro attached dividers, making it almost infinitely configurable to suit individual requirements. As an indication of what it will hold, it comfortably takes my Nikon D80 with attached battery grip and attached 24-120 lens; so a pro-spec DSLR shouldn't be a problem, there's about 3 1/2" (90mm) left spare beyond my lens cap; so the camera would still fit with a big(ish) lens attached - I measured around 8 1/2" possible from the front of the camera body. All in all, I've packed in: camera+lens, 3 additional lenses, flash-gun, spare battery & remote release - comfortably. Filters, filter holder, memory card wallet etc. easily go into one of the external pouch-pockets.
The day-sack section sits above the photo compartment and is accessible in the conventional way via a double zip. It's big enough to hold a pack-away waterproof, packed lunch, small flask, spare jumper etc. and also has an additional inner, zipped document compartment. There is also a further zipped section that goes the depth of the bag - it's slim, but would easily take a couple of maps or magazines.
There's a mobile phone pouch attached to one of the shoulder-straps, although this could easily be re-positioned on the waist belt if required - the waist belt having a number of attachment loops suitable for accessory pouches. Provision has been made for carrying a tripod, by way of a zip-away pocket on one side of the bag. There is also a (gimmicky) cheap plastic compass attached to a strap.
Conclusion
Not a lot of negative points really, however, the divider between the upper and lower compartments isn't water-proof - not good for your camera gear if your flask or water bottle leaks - I intend to use it with a poly-bag liner in the top.
The tripod pocket would be better if it extended a few inches lower - although it will take my Manfrotto 190 and 322 head, I feel it might be better balanced if it was slightly lower.
There's no 'AW' cover as you get with some of the LowePro bags - although you can get waterproof rucksack covers from camping shops for a couple of pounds. In conclusion, a great bag - comfortable, versatile, and secure, it does the job and at a very good price. Final point - it's within current air travel carry-on permitted dimensions.