こんばんは。

Today’s photo is of my Liberty Water Bottle, which I got a couple years ago. I like it because it isn’t too big and is great quality. I bought a 16 oz. black one which has a ninja/motorcycle helmet kind of design (with a poor attempt at the kanji for “mizu”), but it looks kind of suspicious since it is all-black. I guess I am just a bit paranoid about it, so I slapped some stickers on it to make it a little more conspicuous.

Even though my Liberty bottle is relatively small, it’s still just a tad too wide to fit comfortably in the water bottle holder on my Patagonia Minimass bag. It’s a really tight fit, and since I keep my Anker battery in the interior pocket on the other side of the holder, it has even less room and doesn’t slide in easily. So, I left the Liberty at home while I was traveling in Morocco, and I just re-used a small plastic water bottle that I picked up at the store. It made me a bit sad to use the environmentally unfriendly bottle, so I think I’d like to find a slim eco-bottle soon.

The Patagonia bag is pretty great, but the only downside is the single small water bottle pouch. If only it were a little wider! Perhaps a little DIY project is in order to remedy it. Or if there is an add-on holder that I could latch on somehow, that might work. Must look into this!

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Update: After fiddling around a bit, I moved the large battery back to the other side of the interior to make room for the water bottle. I think it will work!

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I bought a new backpack a couple of weeks ago – the JanSport Hatchet Backpack, in Grey Tar. It’s has a 28-liter capacity which I’d consider a medium-sized pack, bigger than my Patagonia Minimass messenger bag, but smaller than my North Face Router (41-liter) backpack. Not only is it smaller than the Router, it is much lighter (but less rugged). The design of the top flap is what really attracted me to this bag. And not only the look, but the function. As with everything, there are pros and cons. So let’s dive right in with my JanSport Hatchet backpack review!

First off, the JanSport Hatchet comes in several different colors, including some special designs from custom shops. I went with the most incognito color, which is called “Grey Tar”. I think the dark grey material (subtly two-toned) paired with the black straps looks very handsome, and the blue/yellow zipper pulls are a very nice complement. The JanSport logo patch in faux leather is a nice dark color as well. The inside of this version is a nice bright blue which is great. It’s much easier finding stuff in brightly colored interior than a black interior. (Especially for people with poorer vision like myself!)

The straps have a nice soft texture and include a sternum strap. It’s very comfortable to carry, either on one shoulder or both shoulders. It’s got a standard haul loop on the top, and there is a small cutout for hydration pack tube.

Each side of the backpack has a large elasticized pouch for water bottles or other items, and above those are compression straps to cinch down the pack a bit. I keep my Panasonic TS2 camera in one of these pouches.

The left side also has a zippered pocket, which is nice, but it’s pretty tight if you have something in the water bottle pouch. It’s great to have the drink pockets on both sides, which something my other bags lack.

The back has some daisy-chain style loops in the straps (where I have a green Camp USA Nano Carabiner), and also two loops at the bottom of the pack, for strapping on other items. I guess some people strap their yoga mats there. In the center, there is a small zippered pouch hidden under a flap. It’s not so big, but it doesn’t stick out too far. Inside this pouch, I keep my Totoro zippered container which holds stuff like aspirin, eye-drops, gum, and other semi-perishables.

Above that, on the main flap, is a vertical zipper which opens a pocket on the lid. You can see in the photos I have my makkuro-kurosuke from Totoro/Spirited Away. This pocket is really convenient to access. I keep my wallet and keys in there, but it’s a large pocket (the full size of the flap) so you could fit a lot in there.

One of the things that drew me to this backpack was the way the main compartment opened. When you zipper open the flap, you have easy access to the contents. On a conventional backpack, you are reaching into it from the top. With the JanSport Hatchet backpack, you have a larger opening to access your stuff.

This is pretty nice if you have a lot of things at the bottom of the pack. For myself, I put my padded camera-bag insert in the bottom, and in it I keep my Instax Printer, extra pack of film, Instax photo album, my small camp towel, and my Fujifilm X100T camera.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have the main compartment filled with stuff, it might fall out when you unzip the pack since the opening comes down halfway. In that case, it might be better to put the pack down on its back and open it up laying flat. Another drawback of this flap design is that the zippers are a little harder to operate since the ends of the zipper tracks are not so taut. It just takes some getting used to, but even so, it isn’t the easiest bag to open.

The rest of the main compartment consists of a lightly-padded space for a large laptop or hydration pack (I keep a clear file with papers in here), a smaller soft-lined sleeve for tablet-sized devices (I have my Kindle and Zebra McKee Colored Pens here), then two side-by-side pockets for smaller items, one of which is soft-lined. I keep my Anker battery, small notebook, Moo-cards in small Altoids tin, and a set of chopsticks. There is also a narrow mesh pocket which I’m not sure what you’d use for. Finally, there are two loops, one at the top of the pack, and one in the middle which has a carabiner attached. On the inside of the flap itself is a large, zippered mesh pocket. This is very nice since you can see what you have in this pocket without having to open it.

Overall, I’m disappointed in the interior organization. For instance, there are no dedicated spaces for pens, nor are there any zippered pockets inside. In comparison, the seemingly much-smaller Patagonia Minimass messenger bag has many more pockets, including zippered, velcroed, pen pockets, and mesh. It actually organizes all of the items nicely, while the JanSport Hatched has run out of pockets! So, what is going on here? Well, the JanSport designers should have taken full advantage of the height of the backpack and extended the top of the laptop sleeve farther up towards the top edge of the backpack (up to the hydration opening). There are at least four inches there that they could have used to put more organizational pockets. Instead, it’s just a lot of wasted surface area.

Because of this lack of organization, I am using some extra bags and storage units. For pens, I have a red and white striped pencil bag that I found at Daiso. I hung it from the top loop (along with my ugly doll) and it hangs loosely in that wasted space. It actually hangs too low, so I am looking for a different solution that I can fill the space at the top of the backpack. For electronics-related items, I have a brown LINE character zippered pouch. It holds USB cables, USB wall plug, two camera batteries, LensPen, SD memory cards, and USB memory sticks. That just sits on top of my Instax Printer.

There may be other storage hacks I can apply to add more storage. For instance, if I can find the right kind of bag or pouch, I can fasten it to the mesh pocket so that it will sit high up in the interior space. It’s disappointing, though, that I have to look at adding more organization to this backpack. On my North Face Router pack, there are so many places to put things, I was wondering, “What should I use this pocket for? And this pocket?” But with the JanSport Hatchet, it was the opposite. I was wondering, “Where the heck am I going to put these cables? Where should I put the spare batteries?” etc. Even the Patagonia Minimass bag had more options. I guess I was expecting more from the backpack.

But, the advantage of the backpack is that it can expand a bit in that top area. I have no problem stuffing my jacket in there, which would be impossible with the Patagonia Minimass.

Also on the plus side, the JanSport Hatchet backpack was relatively inexpensive. I found it on sale for $40, and I had an REI dividend to use, so it only cost me $30 including shipping. That’s only a third of the cost of the Patagonia Minimass, and a quarter of the price of the North Face Router pack. So, I guess the phrase, “You get what you pay for,” definitely applies to bags and backpacks!

What’s kind of neat is that if you have the flap open, you can use the strap that is on the outside of the flap to loop around a hanger or something, and the backpack can hang on the wall totally open, like some kind of giant travel toiletries kit.

Here’s a look at most of the stuff I keep in the JanSport Hatchet backpack. I just noticed… I have 5 “creatures” along for the ride!

In conclusion, the JanSport Hatchet backpack is a comfortable, stylish, and functional backpack which has the potential to be great but falls short because of the poor interior organization. Still, for the price, it’s a pretty good backpack. Plus, JanSport backpacks have a lifetime guarantee, so if anything goes wrong or wears out, they will replace it for free! So, I’ll be using my new backpack regularly, while I look for ways to improve the interior situation. 3.5 out of 5 stars!

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How are you doing? I guess I am ok today.

As I have mentioned a couple times in the past, I am a bit crazy for bags, backpacks, and messenger bags. Tonight I was shopping online and came across a great deal on a cool mid-sized backpack. It was on sale, and also I had an REI dividend to use so I got a great price on this JanSport Hatchet Daypack. I love the design! It looks like it will be a nice addition to my small collection of bags. Its 28-liter capacity seems right between my Patagonia Minimass messenger bag and the cavernous 41-liter capacity North Face Router. I like the Router backpack, but it does get huge!

The only thing about the JanSport is that I am not sure exactly what color REI will ship to me. The website says “Grey Tar/ Shade Grey”, but those are actually two different colors. Both look nice to me, but I am hoping that the darker “Grey Tar” is the one I get. It has a bright blue interior which makes finding things easier.

Today was another cold one, with another frozen windshield. The layer of ice this morning was a little thicker than the last one, but still it melted away quickly once I got some warm air coming up from the dashboard.

I think I am ready for some warmer weather already. I am truly a summer person! 

Stay warm tonight!

-B

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• Tablet
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Kindle
• Sony A77 DSLR
• 16-50mm lens
• 10-20mm lens
• 100-200mm lens
• 35mm lens
• Spare battery
• Cellphone
• 2 Chargers
• Extra cellphone battery
• Assorted cables and card readers
• Notebook
• Pens and pencils
• 2DS and 3 games
• Earbuds and MP3 player
• Water bottle
• Small bag with medicine, bandaids, lipbalm, gum, etc.

The backpack was large, but handled all that gear with ease. The main problem was that it was HEAVY. Also, my camera gear was stuffed into the main compartment which meant that is wasn’t easy to take out and use. Plus, walking around in the summer heat in the city just wasn’t so practical. I still thought I wanted to bring all my stuff with me, but what a hassle it was!

I remember a previous trip to Japan. That trip I decided to just take a waterproof point-and-shoot camera. That was actually a super-fun vacation! And the small camera was a big part of it. Sure, the picture quality wasn’t close to my DSLR, but I enjoyed my trip quite a bit more. I didn’t have to worry about the weight or how to carry all my gear. I just put the camera in my pocket and was all set! Thinking back to that trip, I wonder why I didn’t connect my enjoyment of that trip and the small camera.

In April, I went on a business trip to Stockholm, Sweden. Because I thought this might be my one chance to go there, I should take my DSLR kit and big backpack again. I thought that I didn’t want to miss a great shot. I also took a small Fujifilm X-F1 compact camera as a backup. As you can probably see, camera gear is an important part of my travel kit…

This was a trip where I learned a lot about what kind of traveling I wanted to do in the future. Once again, the backpack was heavy and I rarely used the big camera rig. It was just too much of a hassle to keep at-the-ready. My compact camera was my camera of choice for most of the trip. In fact, the DSLR stayed in the hotel safe! And I have to say, I was happy with the results I got from the Fujifilm X-F1. The photos were more than “good enough”. And I didn’t have to worry about where to put my backpack when we went out for dinners. I left it at the hotel.

My next trip was a solo trip to California to visit my folks and see a concert. I was catching on to this “travel light” concept by this time! I decided to leave the backpack at home and just bring my small Patagonia bag and my Fujifilm X-F1. Also, I took my Kindle, Tablet, keyboard, various cables, card readers and chargers. Traveling lighter was definitely something I was starting to enjoy! And the photos turned out great! Hey, I don’t need the DSLR and all the lenses to enjoy photography!

On my last trip, I went to Stockholm again on business. This time I pared down even more. I left my tablet/keyboard at home. My camera was now my Fujifilm X100T. I also didn’t take a water bottle… why do I need that when there is water available wherever I went? I only needed one small USB cable and plug. My only personal computing device was my cellphone. (I did take a work laptop, but that was used exclusively for business) Here’s what was in my bag:

• Fujifilm X100T
• USB cable/plug
• Spare battery
• Pen
• Notebook
• Kindle
• Earbuds
• Cellphone
• Cellphone battery
• Small bag with medicine, bandaids, lipbalm, gum, etc.
• Work laptop

My carry-on bag (the Patagonia Minimass) was so light! And when I was on my day off in Stockholm, I didn’t even carry my bag. Just the camera across my body, cellphone, and extra camera battery in my pants’ coin pocket. It was great not having a bag! And I enjoyed myself even more. My shoulders didn’t hurt, I didn’t have to worry about a bag in small shops or crowded museums. I’ve come to realize that having more stuff just gets in the way of having better experiences. It’s not only the distraction of the extra weight, but the distraction of extra things to think about. The less I have, the less I have to worry about. And that means more time and mental energy to spend on simply enjoying where I am. If you haven’t done so, try traveling lighter. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised that you can get by with so little!

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Multiple Bags

The other day I listened to a relatively new photography podcast called “Your Itinerary” whose focus is travel photography. In that particular episode, the host interviews a VP of a camera bag manufacturer. During the conversation, the thought that no one camera bag is perfect for all situations kept coming up. I agree with this thought, and am happy that I can now feel less guilty about satisfying my love of messenger bags and backpacks.

The Current Lineup

Before I bought my new bag, I had two main bags. The first is my REI Messenger bag, with a padded insert for carrying camera gear. The second is a North Face Router backpack, also with a padded insert. Both are good for carrying my dSLR and lenses, the messenger bag being more nimble since I can get the camera out of the bag quickly. The Router holds a lot more and since it’s a backpack, the heavy load is distributed between both shoulders. If I get really tired, there is also a waist strap so I can use it as a pseudo backpacking pack.

The Missing Link

The problem with both of these is that thye are large. Lots of times I don’t want to carry them. I mistakenly thought that I could carry either of these wherever I went and have access to my beloved dSLR (actually SLT, for you purists). But now I realize that a smaller bag would be better for an “everyday carry” and since I have my Fujifilm XF1, I don’t need to carry the dSLR for general walkabout photos. The XF1 and RAW can produce some great photos.

The New Bag

I did some research online, watched video reviews, and then went to REI to check out the bags they had in person, specifically looking for a small messenger bag. The Patagonia MiniMass stood out as the best one, and REI had it on clearance! What great timing! Unfortunately, they didn’t have the color I wanted in stock, but I ordered it online and had it shipped to the store. After a week, I had the bag in my possession.

So, how is the bag? In a word: Great! It’s small, but not too small, comfortable, the pockets and storage are for the most part well-thought out. I can fit everything I need into it, and in fact if I wanted to squeeze the dSLR and an extra lens in there, it could do it.

Here’s a list of stuff I currently carry in it:

• Nintendo 2DS
• Fujifilm XF1 camera
• UltraPod Tripod
• Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet
• HP Bluetooth Keyboard
• Nixon Wallet
• Cellphone
• Small electronic items: Charging/USB cable, battery, card adapter, extra SD card
• Small sundries: lip balm, aspirin, pepto, bandaid, instant coffee packet, tea bag
• Small Gerber knife/bottle opener
• Thin Notebook from Muji, Letter-sized clear case for papers
• Red and blue pens
• Microfiber Cloth for lens cleaning and whitebalance
• Small Camp Towel
• Kindle
• Keys
• Sansa Clip 4+32GB MP3 player & Sony earbuds
• Morale boosters: Ugly doll and Ghibli dust bunny

As you can see from the list, there’s a lot that I carry! But in reality, it does not weigh that much. It’s a nice little kit and I can even shoot RAW, edit on my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet, and post to Instagram all while on the go. One useful feature of this bag is that the two cover-straps also double as compression straps, so you can expand or slim down the width of the bottom of the bag. I wish I had this on my larger messenger bag and backpack!

Of course with any bag, there are a couple of things that I’d change. Well, just one in fact! There is only a single outside pocket for a water bottle. This pocket is perfect for carrying the Fujifilm XF1 compact camera, but I wish there was another pocket on the other side so I could carry my 12oz. Liberty water bottle. Since that bottle has a handle, there may be some way to attach it.

All-in-all I love the Patagonia MiniMass messenger bag. It fits into my life perfectly!

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I finally got a backpack that I am pretty sure I will keep for a long, long time! It’s the North Face “Router” backpack in Cosmic Blue/Asphalt Grey. There is so much about this model that makes it perfect for me. But first let me tell you about my backpack saga…

Not too long ago, I had two backpacks. One of them was a real backpacking pack, the REI Flash 65. I used it to go on a short backpacking camping trip where we had to hike to the campground carrying all of our gear and food. This pack fit me perfectly and served me well. But, I haven’t gone backpacking since then! So, it’s been sitting in my closet for a couple of years. Through the magic of Craigslist I sold that backpack to someone who could actually use it.

My other, more useful backpack was the North Face Base Camp Hot Shot which I loved and used often. The problem with it was that it was simply too small to hold my camera gear. It has a 30-liter capacity which is a nice size but with the camera padding, it got a little cramped inside. It was however very tough and durable, and extremely water-resistant. Again, using Craigslist I found someone (in the same neighborhood even!) who wanted to buy it from me.

While I still had these packs, I had done my research and decided on the North Face Router model. I visited REI a few times and even brought my camera gear (in the padded insert) to see how it fit in various backpacks. The Router was the best backpack for the camera gear and also my other stuff. Its 41-liter capacity is a big upgrade from the smaller packs. Why didn’t I go for a dedicated camera backpack like a Lowepro or Kata? Well, I wanted something that didn’t look like I was carrying expensive gear around in. I prefer to just get a regular bag, and put in the special padded insert. I do this for my REI messenger bag too, and it works great. (I still use the messenger bag, but a heavy load using just one shoulder gets hard after a while)

Now that I had decided on the right backpack (and color I loved) I just had to find the right price. I waited for a while and finally decided to buy it at REI. I know they often have big sales, and sure enough, along came one such sale: 20% off any single item for REI members. So I went to the REI near my work, but to my dismay, they were all sold out! Just a couple of days prior, they had several in stock. But now, I was staring at an empty space where the Router models were supposed to be. And what made it even more exasperating was that no other backpack models were even close to selling out! I did a quick check online to see if either of the other Austin-area stores had them, but they were all sold out too! Just my luck…

Later that evening I was chatting with my brother and he asked if I could get the same discount if I ordered from the REI website. I checked and yes, I could still get 20% off with the online order! So I placed my order and a week later my Router backpack was ready to be picked up at my local REI. I finally got the backpack I had my heart set on!

As some of you may know, I sort of have an obsession with bags. I’ve owned and have gone through a lot of them. But I am excited about this one because I feel like I am going to keep this pack for a very long time. It’s relatively expensive ($145 list) compared to other backpacks, but it’s very high quality and it has the volume, configuration, and style that I really like. I don’t mind spending more money on something that I know will last a long time.

Besides the main compartment where I keep the camera gear, there are two other large compartments. The one closest to my back is for laptop and tablet. There’s a tablet sleeve that sits kind of in the middle, which is perfect for my Dell Venue 8 Pro and Bluetooth keyboard. In the laptop area, I keep a folder with papers in it, my Kindle, and a small notebook. The third large compartment is closest to the outside and has all the little pockets and places for pens, wallet, etc. Then on what would be considered the outside of the bag is a small fleece-lined cellphone pocket, two vertical “Napoleon” pockets, a water-bottle pouch (I keep my point-and-shoot camera here), and a snug-pocket for I don’t know what… another water-bottle pouch would probably be more useful.

To carry all of this gear, the Router has nicely-shaped padded shoulder straps, fully adjustable with sternum strap (and integrated whistle in the buckle). Also, there is a nice light-duty waist strap, which can be stowed away in the ventilated back pad if not being used. The back pad also has a semi-rigid plastic support plate. It’s a very slick setup, and really comfortable!

I have to admit, 41 liters is a lot of space for a daypack, and the Router is probably too big for most people. But I like to carry my camera with me wherever I go, so this bag suits me just fine. I’ve only briefly listed what I carry in it, but maybe in another post, I will show a more detailed set-up. I’m still working out what goes where, so it might take a little while to get it all sorted out! I actually think it’s fun to pack stuff, and also see how other people pack their bags. I’m weird like that.

Lastly, if you made it to the end of this long post, ありがとう!! (Thanks!)

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Yesterday I sold my North Face Base Camp Hot Shot backpack on Craigslist. It was a great bag, but just a little too small to carry my dSLR and lenses. I loved the water-resistant material, which was super tough and a cool green color. That material is why this backpack has the “Base Camp” moniker; it’s the same material that the famous Base Camp Duffel bags are made of. But, I need something just a little bit bigger than it’s 30l capacity. I currently have my eye on the 41l North Face Router backpack, which holds the dSLR padding nicely. It’s a little pricey, but I think it will serve me well. It also has better organization and a dedicated tablet pocket. I am in no rush so I will keep my eye on ebay and other sources to hopefully find a good price, and perhaps look around for other models. In the meantime, I will get by with my REI Transit messenger bag (with dSLR padding insert).

Speaking of the messenger bag, the one I am using is just about perfect for my gear. The reason I want a backpack (besides the fact that I am a bag junkie) is that using both shoulders (and sometimes the waist strap) to distribute the weight is much easier on the body than just a single shoulder-strap. Comfort counts, especially when travelling!

So the old backpack is gone, but I’ll keep some good memories: mainly that it served us well on our last two Disney trips. In fact, it was almost perfect for trekking around the massive Disneyworld Orlando!

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This is my semi-analog camera bag. I’ve got two cameras in here, my Nikon F and the Olympus E-PL1, in B&W mode. The Nikon has a 50mm lens attached and the Olympus has a 50mm Minolta MF lens and I also have the 14-42mm kit lens in the bag. Other gear includes a Vivitar 45 light meter, a couple rolls of film, and an SD card reader which can connect directly to my cellphone for remote uploading. I also have my Totoro bag in which I keep a couple spare SD cards and my Sansa MP3 player. The bag itself is an Aosta canvas bag that I bought at Yodobashi Umeda several years back. I replaced the insides with some bright orange padding, while the original, larger padding is being used in my messenger bag.

The Totoro bag moves between this bag and my dSLR bag. So, in the morning, I can easily choose what I want to take with me. I don’t usually shoot too much film (just for convenience sake) but it is kind of fun to anticipate what the developed photos will look like. In fact, I’m not sure how old the film is in my other cameras, my Olympus XA, Minolta X-700 and Minolta a507si.

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Got a padded insert for my “analog” camera gear. Fits great! FYI, I have my Nikon F, Olympus E-PL1, and light meter in this bag. Yes, I know the Oly is digital, but I’m using an old Minolta MD lens on it.

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