Bike Bag PT II

Had a chance to take these two bags out for a ride + hike. Overall both bags are great for active shooting where comfort and performance are as important as protection and accessibility. An added requirement for me was a “Day-Pack” area where I can stow a jacket, food, and extra gear. My notes are below…

COMFORT:
On a bike I think the Photo Sport 200 AW took that prize. I have a long torso and the Photo Sport 200 AW fit and contoured very nicely. I like its super light weight fabric and the added comfort it provides. We will see how it holds up to repeated use. As for the Kenti I love the slim sport straps and compact feel, but I did feel the bag was a little short for my frame…especially ridding on a bike. With the day pack section expanded the bag did feel a bit more balanced for me. Wearing the Kenti I did feel like I had a back pack on but the Photo Sport 200 AW just disappeared on the ride.

PROTECTION:
Both bags provide what I would call medium to thin protection, this keeps them both light weight and able to move with your body. Neither suffer from the “Foam Box” syndrome. I like the added ability to cinch the camera section with the interior cord on the Lowe Pro. This ensures your kit is compressed and not bouncing around on the interior.

PERFORMANCE/ACCESSIBILITY:
Both bags hold about the same amount of gear and accessing that gear is similar. I like the side loading aspects and to be honest these are the first bags I own that have this feature. Unclip the shoulder strap flip the back around and unzip the side pocket to access your gear.

The Kenti has dual side access on left and right of the bag and the two sections are separated by a wall of foam. This makes the F-Stop Kenti great for dual system shooting. Place your Mirrorless in the left and you DSLR in the right. This being said I did feel that the access zip areas were just a little too tight to quickly pull out a camera, I found myself struggling a bit at first. Also the side compression straps were more of an obstacle then anything. Maybe with more use this will change for me. I’m betting this is an intentional design feature to protect your gear from hitting the ground when the compartment is unzipped.

Both bags have an upper pocket area for “DAY-PACK” items. The Roll-top of the Kenti is a little odd initially. Once I used it and wanted to roll down the pocket back down it didn’t seem to close quite as tight as originally. Probably my doing. The large zip pocket on the back has a half zip opening that I found a little limiting to access everything, and the pocket is very slim. Hmmm.

I do love the pockets on the waist belts of both bags, I just wish the Kenti pocket was large enough to hold a filter or two like the Photo Sport does.

CONCLUSION:
I think if you are on a bike the Photo Sport 200 AW takes the cake for me for my body type and riding style. The Photo Sport 200 AW just seems like a more versatile sports pack. The Kenti worked well for the hike as expected, and feels like a more specialty bag. If I were going out shooting with two camera systems I would def be reaching for the Kenti even with its quirks.