This might be controversial. If you don't like it or are lucky enough to have a local camera store that you like to support rather than buying online, by all means feel free... but I thought I would pass along a good experience I had buying online.
I've got a LowePro AW 300 Flipside that I like, but I decided to get a 2nd backpack for more gear. Obviously you can only WEAR one at a time, but I use 'em like luggage to take between home/car/work. So I was looking at the supposedly larger AW 400 Flipside. The Pine Green one goes for $131.73 on B&H. If you check eBay you find them at approximately half that but from China, so I was suspicious. Doing my due diligence I discovered that some might be knockoffs. However I also discovered an eBay seller that had the genuine article. So I'm passing that info along to the PDML congregation. The seller's name is bulessky. His store is here: http://stores.ebay.com/bulessky?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 He offers free shipping, but you must be prepared to wait for the item. I popped for the $7 extra for "ePacket delivery from China". I purchased it on August 13th and it arrived on August 22nd (middle of the U.S.). There is an unpacking video on YouTube that mimics the experience I had getting mine. It is in spanish, but you don't need the audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc_MzMth-dw It doesn't come in a box, but simply wrapped in a layer of tough plastic. Mine arrived in fine shape. Inside was a LowePro printed plastic wrap. The bag had all of the actual LowePro tags and sewn on LowePro tags and patches. It sure looks like the Real Deal when compared to my AW 300 flipside. Now for a mini-review: I was surprised that the bag was not a lot bigger (physically) than the AW 300, on first glance. However. it has a big section that unzips on the FRONT as well as the back. It would be big enough to slip a small laptop (or tablet) in and has compartments for other small items. At the bottom front is another zipper that accesses a separate front pocket. This looks like the perfect place to store my X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, something that is useless if left at home. The very bottom exterior also has a zippered compartment that holds the all-weather cover. You can wrap your pack to protect it further from the elements (rain and sand). Inside, there are movable padded dividers that would let you store 8 lenses vertically, in addition to a DSLR body with long lens attached. At the bottom is plenty of room, side-to-side for flash or other accessories. In addition to all the room in the bag, there are straps and places to hook on other items outside the bag if you like, such as tripod/monopod. There are open/elastic topped side pockets on both sides with more storage. The AW 400 also has big padded "hip wings" on the straps that you can put around your midsection. My AW 300 did not have this. This helps bear the weight and allow you to slip out of the backpack and grab items without sitting it on the (wet/muddy) ground. This is why they call it a Flipside. The main equipment compartment is not exposed to the public, but against your back, which makes riding public transportation with your equipment a lot safer. I'm super pleased with the bag and especially with the deal: I spent a whopping $63.70 with the ePackets shipping. Hopefully someone finds this useful. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
