Peak Design Outdoor Backpack Review: A Pack Built for Adventure Photography

Every photographer—hobby shooter, amateur, or pro—knows all too well the risk of falling into the crevasse that is gear obsession. There's always another lens, strap, tripod, or filter that, you're convinced, will help you get that perfect shot. Then just when you round out your kit you discover film photography and eBay; God save you, no search and rescue team can extract you, you're doomed. I've been in and out of this chasm for a while. I've been using my role as a writer to poll some of the world's best photographers to find out what gear they use, hoping their insight can save me from this plight. There's one brand that's on every one of their lists: Peak Design. The company is well known for their straps and travel bags, and now they're releasing their most exciting collection in years: the Outdoor Line.

The Outdoor Line consists of a 25-liter and 45-liter Outdoor Backpack, a seven-liter sling, and a two-liter sling. They're all designed with rugged materials and the modular versatility that's made bags like their Everyday Backpack so popular. That pack isn't really made for the outdoors but I've seen plenty of people hiking with it; these bags, skinned with 210-denier ripstop and containing all the features outdoor bags, are. Peak Design launched the collection on Kickstarter in September but I was able to get my hands on an early sample of the 45-liter pack so I took it to the French Alps for a mini hut trip to see how it handles on some world-class trails.

Peak Design Outdoor Backpack 45L Features and Specs

The thing I've always loved in Peak Design's stuff is that there are so many features integrated—smartly, with design and form in mind—into the space that's available. So here's a list of what you'll find in the Outdoor Backpack. First, pockets: a main compartment with expandable roll-top and zippered back panel access, a front sleeve pocket, flexible mesh side sleeve pockets on both sides, smaller zippered front exterior pockets and a small zippered internal pocket, hip belt pockets, shoulder strap pockets. That hip belt is removable and stowable by the way, and the shoulder straps are easily adjustable. There's a laptop sleeve that also works as a hydration sleeve and pass-throughs for routing a hose to sip from. The front panel and pack bottom are waterproof, and PD is selling a separate rain cover for both bags too. The bag is 34.5 liters and expands to 45 with the rolltop and it's a one-size-fits-all design with built-in adjustability.

Peak Design Outdoor Backpack Pros

It's Perfect for Quick Trips

I landed in Geneva, Switzerland around 8 AM on a Tuesday. After a little more than an hour in a van, some repacking in a hotel lobby, and 30 minutes on a bus, I was at the base of Le Tour ski area hiking up towards the Glacier du Tour. My plan was to spend the night at the Refuge Albert Premier, a common jump-off point for mountaineers heading up higher to mountain peaks, and then wind my way back down to the valley the next day. The refuge has bunks and serves dinner and breakfast, so I could pack "light." Quotation marks, because by "light" I mean my DSLR, two lenses, a spare battery, a strap, my old Canon film camera and some 35mm film, plus layers (even in August it was cold up above the ice line), toiletries, water, and snacks, including the requisite baguette shoved down the pack's side sleeve. When in France.

All this stuff fit very nicely into the PD Outdoor Backpack. Not just fit, but fit in an organized way that was easy to access on the trail and at the hut without exploding everything. This is my ideal way to backpack; linking huts together so I can avoid carrying cooking and sleeping gear. If I'd had to, I could've fit a lot more in this bag though, even with the camera stuff filling up the bottom third to half of it. This setup can easily get me through an (albeit, smelly) week of hut hiking. And I'm pretty confident that with some strategic packing, I could easily figure out how to get camping gear in there too.

Modularity Makes Packing a Cinch & Access Easy

The one-two combo of modularity and access has been a hallmark of every bag Peak Design Makes. The Outdoor Backpack pairs perfectly with Peak Design's camera cubes, its main compartment containing three "units" of space plus one more in the expandable roll top, which translates to four small camera cubes or one large. I brought along a "smedium" camera cube filled with the digital setup, an extra-small pouch for the film camera, and a few of PD's ultralight packing cubes to organize my other stuff.

Accessing it all was easy—from the top and from the zippered back panel, which opens nice and wide. I really like Peak Design's take on the roll-top closure, too. They call it Ultra Cinch(!). With a single pull cord, you can close the whole thing up, and then you can just yank on a loop to get it open again. Underneath it, there's the lightweight fabric roll top, which has magnets in it, opening and closing with a satisfying thwap. Quick and easy, which equals accessible.

I didn't use these features, but it's also nice that the hipbelt is removable (it's pretty low-profile so I didn't feel the need, but still plenty supportive) and there are extra cords you can use with the bag's daisy chain-like "Cord Rails" to strap things to the pack's exterior. One more thing—there are built-in mounting places for one of Peak Design's Capture Clips on the shoulder straps and hipbelt; this is the best way to maintain access to a camera for on-the-move shooting.

So. Many. Pockets.

I appreciate a good pocket. One that's easy to put things into and pull them out of again later. Lots of good pockets? Even better. On my climb up to the refuge—more than 4,000 feet of elevation over 2.5 miles—I was constantly shoving snacks (bacon-flavored peanuts, mini sausages) in and out of pockets. When I started off again the next morning it was in the 40s, but as I descended I warmed up and it was nice to just shove layers into the big front pocket.

It's a Great Carry-On

One more thing: Peak Design makes a purpose-built Travel Backpack, but the 45-liter Outdoor Backpack is perfect for carry-on travel. All that access makes it easy to stay organized even through the security line and it fits neatly into overhead bins (even the small ones). Even if you aren't getting outside, this pack is good for traveling with camera gear.

Peak Design Outdoor Backpack Cons

It's on the Heavy Side

You might've had a hunch based on all the features I've ticked off so far—this ain't no ultralight backpack. It's made to be sturdy and comfy, not featherweight. PD claims the pack weighs roughly 3 lbs 15 oz, my kitchen scale clocked it at 4 lbs 2 oz (this weigh-out was post-hike, so maybe there are three ounces of sweat salt saturated in the fabric; it was a steep ascent). Ultralight backpacks of similar size regularly weigh 2 lbs or less, but many don't have internal frames and none have the back panel access that's ideal for photography. This weight puts the Outdoor Backpack more in line with typical backpacking packs. Still, those won't have the camera-focused features found here.

Squeaky Shoulders

This is a small thing, but I'll mention it. The interface where the adjustable shoulder straps link up to the pack body works by looping a piece of webbing around a run of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene cord. Towards the end of my trip, this started to rub-squeak as the bag moved around on my back while I walked. I could ignore it for the most part, but when I couldn't it was sort of irritating. I'm hoping it'll go away with continued use.

It's Not for Winter Sports

This is also nitpicking because nowhere does Peak Design say that this bag is for winter sports. But I really want it to be, and I'll probably try to figure out how I can rig skis to it.

What to Look Out for When Buying the Peak Design Outdoor Backpack

There are a few additional things to keep in mind if you're thinking about picking up one of Peak Design's Outdoor Backpacks. The first is that the 25-liter and 45-liter packs are slightly different. The 25-liter version has one less stretchy sleeve pocket on each side of it and it doesn't come with a hipbelt (you can buy one as an add-on if you want it though). It doesn't have an internal frame and its shoulder straps aren't adjustable either.

The other thing to note is that these are one-size backpacks. The 45-liter is very adjustable, but that doesn't mean it'll fit everyone. Peak Design recommends it for people with torso lengths between 17 and 20 inches. The waist belt can fit 24 to 52 inches.

Alternatives

Ten years ago, the only outdoor camera bags worth having were the ones made by F-Stop. Then that company sort of… fell apart. They're back again now and plenty of photographers seem to love them, but there's lots of new competition now that Instagram has turned adventure photography into an almost everyday pursuit. Shimoda's Explore Collection is excellent, and WNDRD's Fernweh and PRVKE are made for outdoor photography. Moment recently worked with Alex Strohl to create an adventure photography bag. Atlas Packs is another company making great dedicated adventure camera packs. And, you can always buy a camera cube (Peak Design's are really good) and fit it into the hiking/backpacking/ski pack that you already have and love.

Final Verdict: Is the Peak Design Outdoor Backpack Worth It?

Short answer: YES.

On my hike down from Albert Premier, I stopped at the Col de Balme Refuge for a snack and to take a few steps into Switzerland, just to say so. Other hikers were stopped there for a coffee and a slice of fruit tart (European huts are really something else) and I overheard a few saying it was their last day doing the Tour de Mont Blanc. I couldn't help but get a little jealous—or to begin planning a longer return trip in my head as I descended away from the col. If that ever comes to pass, I'll bring my cameras (hell I'll probably have bought another one on eBay by then) and this is probably the pack I'll carry them in.

That is to say, Peak Design has made a great backpack here. I'm surprised they hadn't made this bag sooner, with adventure photography on such an uptick. You'll have to pick up some camera cubes to really maximize using it, which adds to the cost, but that still keeps it in line with similar adventure photography bags. What sets this pack apart from the rest though is the incredible attention that PD's designers have paid to every tiny detail, top to bottom. I know that I'm encouraging bad habits by saying it, but this is a camera pack worth obsessing over.

The 45-liter Outdoor Backpack is now available for $330 and the 25-liter version for $250.

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