# Lowepro Rover 45L AW



## jd7 (Apr 3, 2015)

Hi all

I am considering the Lowepro Rover 45L AW bag at the moment. I was thinking it might make a good bag for day hikes and short triips, and I could take out the camera inserts and put them into a larger ("normal", ie non-camera) hiking pack or other bag when I need to carry more.

Does anyone have any experience with the Rover? If so, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on it.

thanks


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## sagittariansrock (Apr 3, 2015)

jd7 said:


> Hi all
> 
> I am considering the Lowepro Rover 45L AW bag at the moment. I was thinking it might make a good bag for day hikes and short triips, and I could take out the camera inserts and put them into a larger ("normal", ie non-camera) hiking pack or other bag when I need to carry more.
> 
> ...



Taking stuff in and out is very inconvenient due to the way the inserts open. F stop has a much better system.


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## gregorywood (Apr 3, 2015)

jd7 said:


> Hi all
> 
> I am considering the Lowepro Rover 45L AW bag at the moment. I was thinking it might make a good bag for day hikes and short triips, and I could take out the camera inserts and put them into a larger ("normal", ie non-camera) hiking pack or other bag when I need to carry more.
> 
> ...



I recently was shopping for a day pack for hiking. I wanted to carry my camera with a lens mounted, plus an additional lens, water and some food and a rain jacket.

The Rover was too clumsy and too large. It doesn't "ride" well in my opinion. I bought this instead and took it to the deep woods of south central kentucky for a long weekend. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/768091-REG/Lowepro_LP36353_PAM_Photo_Sport_200_AW.html

It worked great, carried easily, was easy to access gear and it didn't cause me any back or neck issues. And, it's the perfect size for a day pack.

Greg


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## degies (Apr 6, 2015)

I have four different LowePro's for different walks or occasions

This is my review : https://degies.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/protecting-your-gear

I have seen many Fstop Mountain range bags often on outings and think I might get one as a new day out bag, but they do seem to cater for more than I need it. I think the main difference between the two is that the fstop is very much geared to a backpack and photo gear pack where as the lowepro is your photo gear with a bit of room for other items. 
For me the rover works well as long as I don't go off-world too much, and even if i do sleep-out it does cover the basics quite well.


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## sagittariansrock (Apr 6, 2015)

degies said:


> I have four different LowePro's for different walks or occasions
> 
> This is my review : https://degies.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/protecting-your-gear
> 
> ...



I think the Lowepro harness is ill-equipped for very heavy loads. It has an excess of padding but not enough rigidity- that just adds bulk and weight without transferring the weight to better load-bearing points.
I guarantee that if you fill up your AW 450 the way it is photographed on your website and try to lug it around, you will have an extremely sore back in no time. And forget even putting a 15" laptop in there. I have a AW 350 and I cannot fill it up and lug it around for long. 
Just bought a Tilopa and XL ICU. Will have to see how long I can lug a full XL ICU around.


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## jd7 (Apr 6, 2015)

Thank you all for your comments.

Not seeming like there is much support for the Rover really! I see Degies quite likes it, but I am not not encouraged by the statement in his review that the Rover isn't a good bag for camping or a long hike. Degies, what are your concerns about the Rover for camping or long hikes? Is it just the size, or something more (eg comfort of the harness)?

Gregorywood - Can I ask, how much gear have you carried in the Photo Sport 200 AW? Could it carry a 6D + 24-70/4 + 70-200/4, plus food, water and jacket?

I think I'm reaching the point where I will just get a couple of camera inserts - possibly some F-Stop ones, although I see Clik Elite and Mountainsmith have cheaper ones which might be just fine? - and put them in a good hiking pack. With the possible exception of the F-Stop bags (which I am not so keen on just because of the price for size factor), it just doesn't seem like there are good camera bags which have good/comfortable harness systems and allow you to carry enough for a night or two (on the trail or otherwise).


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## degies (Apr 6, 2015)

Hi JD7


jd7 said:


> Thank you all for your comments.
> 
> Not seeming like there is much support for the Rover really! I see Degies quite likes it, but I am not not encouraged by the statement in his review that the Rover isn't a good bag for camping or a long hike. Degies, what are your concerns about the Rover for camping or long hikes? Is it just the size, or something more (eg comfort of the harness)?
> 
> ...


The Pro 45L works for me, but I typically hike to a point where I want to take a image and hike back. I do not use it to fly to location as well because it has issues with the airline and overhead storage. It goes in as checked luggage. Occasionally I might sleep-out in a hut and will pack some supplies. I tend to try sunrise and sunset with some astro photography so I do not sleep much. SO here is what I tend to pack camera wise:
5d3
70-200
2x iii
24-70
16-35
580 exii
6 filters
gps with spare batteries for the camera and flashes and SD cards
PLB - Personal locator beacon
tripod - with one or two heads
raincovers for the camera and mylself
binoculars and a cleaning kit for the camera
iphone - I do not pack a notebook as I use the iphone on a hike. However the mac pro does fit, but I have no use for it on a hike so I leave it in the car 

Now on this I attach a sleeping bag and if there is no hut on the trail a tent. I will note that the heavier the pack gets the shorter the hike needs to get or the terrain needs to flatten out a bit. This is not a pack for mountaineering !
I don't think this is a bag you want if you need to pack heavy or for a 7 day tramp as you then need a pack for a hike and some option to add a camera. 

The AW 450 is not for hiking. However I frequently pack it as the stock photo and it will be over 25kg. I do travel with it, but take stuff out if I walk around with it in the city. If I do you can add another flash, Macro, SD Backup, batterygrip and various cables and accessories to the list above. If you find something you can pack with 25 kg and not break your back let me know
One thing to take note of is if you fly with gear. I am not willing to part with the glass and SD cards so it has to fit in the overhead and although they generally are lenient at the security check when they see it is gear they can enforce the 7kg limit for carry on luggage. 
PS I am not promoting LowePro , but just sharing my experience.


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## gregorywood (Apr 7, 2015)

jd7 said:


> Thank you all for your comments.
> 
> Not seeming like there is much support for the Rover really! I see Degies quite likes it, but I am not not encouraged by the statement in his review that the Rover isn't a good bag for camping or a long hike. Degies, what are your concerns about the Rover for camping or long hikes? Is it just the size, or something more (eg comfort of the harness)?
> 
> ...



In the actual camera compartment in the side of the bag, i can fit my 6D with the 24-105mm attached and still fit another lens along side of it in the separated compartment. I've carried either the 70-300L, the 70-200L or a combination of two small primes stacked. In the main compartment, I can carry food, a rain jacket, more camera gear, and with relative ease. The pack also has a separate zippered sleeve for a water bladder. I find it comfortable to carry as it rides well on my hips and shoulders. I hiked several all day adventures in the back country and was able work with the pack, my gear and food quite well.

Greg


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## tomscott (Apr 7, 2015)

I took one traveling for 5 months excellent bag


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## jd7 (Apr 9, 2015)

Degies and Greg - thanks for the extra info.

And a little more support coming for the Rover 45L I see! Being happy with the bag after having travelled with it for 5 months sounds promising, although Greg obviously had a different experience.

I did find a Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW in a store today. It did look quite good in many ways, but unfortunately I didn't have time to stop and play around with the harness and try it on. Also, it is a bit smaller than I had in mind (I'd like to have had a look at the Photo Sport 30L but they didn't have one), plus it doesn't have removable inserts for the camera gear - meaning it doesn't have the option of being a "normal" bag, and I couldn't use the camera inserts in a larger (non-camera) hiking pack when I want to carry more stuff. So, not perfect for what I had in mind, although it does seem like it might make a very nice camera day pack for hiking.

I also had a look at some Flipside Sport options. The seems potentially good if carrying camera gear is all you really care about, but doesn't seem practical as a hiking pack given the lack of space for non-camera gear.

Hhhmmm, I'm still thinking a couple of camera inserts (Clik Elite, Mountainsmith, F-Stop) and a good "normal" hiking pack might be the better option for me. I still wish I could find a Rover 45L so I could try it out for myself though. If it fitted well enough on me, I might still be tempted to get one on the basis it could serve as a day pack / short trip pack, plus it would give me the camera inserts to use in a larger pack when I need to carry more.


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