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- Verified Buyer
this is basically Lowepro's take on Peak Design's Backpack. Lowepro obviously took a long, hard look at what worked and what didn't about it, improving almost everything to make it truly oriented for urban photographers. i had spent 2 weeks with a Peak Design backpack, collecting a list of deficiencies before deciding it wasn't able to meet my needs and returned it. when the Freeline was released, i noticed everything they had improved over the Peak Design backpack and pretty much knocked out my list of shortcomings, one by one.first, the exterior: they used a rugged, weather resistant material for the outer shell that's like tarpaulin but with a softer feel. the base is woven nylon outside a formed, foam shell so the bag stands on its own. all zips are weather resistant, external pockets are pleated and elasticated for expansion, and all tie downs are seatbelt nylon with steel G-hooks. the shoulder straps are rigidly formed and efficiently padded, helping keep the pack higher on your back and not allowing it to sag into your lower back. handles are everywhere: top and both sides, with a strip recessed into the formed foam back for slipping onto the handle of your wheeled carry-on. the side access flaps open in the opposite direction of Peak Design's because they designed their's backwards (try finding something in the internal flap pockets). finally, no hidden straps tucked about: all the straps you need are in place and can be removed if you don't need them. they're strong and hard wearing.the interior: Peak Design claims their backpack is an "everyday backpack" but you have to destroy your carefully thought out, and annoyingly placed, shelving to use it as an "everyday backpack," then realign it all when you want to use it for photography again. Lowepro uses 2 boards to create a collapsable shelving system that slides out when you don't need it, no reconfiguration required. collapse it flat to pull it out of the top, reverse to return it. an accessory bag is also included for the small items: in my case, i use it to carry my cleaning kit and wireless shutter remote. there's room for a 15" laptop and a 13" tablet; in my case, it's a 2016 15" macbook pro and 10.5" ipad pro and both fit without struggles in well padded, individual pockets. the top storage area, while not expandable like Peak Design, is capable of holding a lot more than you'd expect for a bag this size, with total loadout comparing favorably to my Lowepro Flipside Trek 450. that speaks to the efficiency in their design.looks are subjective, but Lowepro did what Peak Design took years to do: offer it in black. actually, it' the only color you can have. Lowepro also chose a more conventional backpack look that doesn't call attention to itself. with the Peak Design, you know what it is and it stands out in a crowd, looking like an origami turtle: not what you want while carrying thousands of dollars in gear.the only problem with the Lowepro is the shelving. they use a more conventional arrangement of flexible dividers attached with velcro. this is where the Peak Design is superior, IMO, with their convertible shelves with folding dividers. as you can see in my photos, the solution was to buy the shelves from Peak Design and put them into the Lowepro Freeline. the 30L dividers are a perfect fit inside the Freeline, giving you more configuration options and making the space more efficient, especially when reconfiguring to accommodate wildly different lens sizes, like a 50mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm after carrying 4 different primes the day before.
