Peak Design Everyday Backpack Overview
The Peak Designs Everyday Backpack is quite comfortable, and doesn’t require a break-in period to conform to your posture. It has both chest and waist clips for fit adjustments, which are a necessity for an adventure bag. Carrying somewhat heavy gear can often reflect awkward loads on the back, especially when climbing over rocks and through trees. On urban shoot days my bag normally weighs in at 15 pounds; the Everyday Backpack had no issues with this amount of camera gear; no annoying pressure points to be concerned about.
Backpack Capacity
This 20L pack can hold a surprising amount of gear, while protecting the essentials with confidence. The Everyday pack has one main customizable compartment that can be accessed from the top or either of the sides. There is a tablet and laptop sleeve that can be accessed without opening the main compartment — ease of entry for hectic environments.
Here is a list of my bag contents for the review:
- Nikon D810
- Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8G
- Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8G VR
- Nikkor 35mm f/2D
- Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
- Nikkor 60mm f/2D
- 15” MacBook (Mid-2014)
- Manfrotto MT294C3 Tripod
- Remotes, batteries, memory cards, etc.
- Bottle of water
- Light rain shell
Camera Bag Versatility
After using this bag for a month on photo-walks through cities and car camping adventures, it was clearly proficient at securing and holding our camera gear. Accessibility is also a focal point for this bag; When you store your camera or lens quiver, you aren’t saying goodbye until there’s time to dig it out again. This pack absolutely helped in achieving many everyday tasks; as a gym bag, school pack, or a carry-on for airplane travel.
The Bags Value Point
The biggest value comes from the ease of access to your gear and it’s ability to hold so much equipment in such a small pack. This pack is slick and thoughtfully engineered. It will last long enough for it to see many different uses. I would recommend it to street shooters and people who travel daily to capture their content.
Review Background
During the past month, I’ve used this bag for work and play; on beaches, through cities and for storing gear on car-camping adventures. It got tossed, went through dusty environments, and came with me to shoot some city nightscapes.
My first impression was that it was slick, clean and modern. We received the 20L bag in “Ash” which is light gray with leather touch points and blue accents. When I first went through the pack to see all the pockets, straps and other features, the design was functionally different than any pack I have used before. But I gave it some time, mainly because I knew that Peak Design puts a lot of time and thought into designing their products for the end user; the photographer. This pack was full of small, yet helpful features that I pleasantly discovered in my different working environments. The Everyday Backpack does a great job of integrating lifestyle with work.
Main Camera Compartment
The camera compartment makes accessing all your camera gear super easy. It holds everything you will need for urban photography especially well. I enjoyed using this backpack for storing my most used camera gear in my car as well; it doesn’t scream expensive technical equipment like many tech packs do. Chasing impromptu photo opportunities is a passion of mine, as I have other responsibilities that make it hard to plan photo-shoots ahead of time. This means I have my camera gear near my daily; this bag is small enough to accommodate everyday carry. I use a full frame D810, and for some of my landscape work I use filters on my massive Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8. This means my gear is large and bulky… yet somehow it still all manages to fit into this small, sleek 20L backpack!
Accessibility and Mobility
Peak Design’s FlexFold Dividers with pockets on three sides makes grabbing the gear you need a simple task — as it should be. With just three dividers, the compartment can be configured to securely accommodate all the gear variations that you would most often carry. I used the dividers to make shelves within the main compartment; I stored my camera body and an attached lens on the top shelf and I folded the dividers on the bottom into two shelves, to accommodate 3-4 other lenses.
Zippered pockets on the inside of the side access panels to the main compartment are designed to help with camera accessory organization. There is a quick access pocket in the top of the main compartment that I didn’t find until my second week with the bag — surprise!
I have gone through several different camera packs, and few offer accessibility like this one does. You can see everything from the different pockets and compartments — that’s a stress reducer that I can appreciate.
Tripod Attachment
The tripod attaches to the side of the bag via the side pocket, and a strap that can be tucked away into the water bottle pocket. It’s secure and the side panel pocket can still be opened even when the tripod is mounted.
Style Points
This pack doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. And trust me, so many tech minded packs do. Peak design shows that it’s possible to make a tasteful, functional, and minimalist backpack without compromising ease of use and security. One of the main reasons why I would buy this backpack is the aesthetic appeal. The Everyday Backpack was designed by modern creatives, for modern creatives.
Until next time, see you out there! Oh, and if you know a photo enthusiast who loves gear, share this review!
Photography and review by: Brandon Huang @jbhuang