Looking to get myself a decent backpack, something for my laptop and DSLR.
I have found a couple of camera backpacks, but they’re insanely expensive for what they are and I don’t need a bag for half a dozen lenses as I only have a couple and don’t intend to get a whole bunch.
I figured I’d get a decent “daypack” instead and use the bag I got for free with the camera to put inside it, as it suits my needs.
I know of one bag shop here in Xindian, but they don’t have a huge selection, so if anyone knows of a good place where I could find a good selection of backpacks that I can get to via the MRT, it would be great.
Targus backpacks are great. I know a couple of Bag to you places, but not MRT centric. If you do a search in chinese, I am sure you’ll find it. Apple stores carry it too.
I’ve got a Nike backpack that I bought in a generic sports shoe store for under $1000. It has a laptop section and I often throw a camera into the front bit. No padding for the camera, but with the camera bag you’ve got it’ll do the trick.
Thanks, but Targus don’t really make the kind of bag I’m after and neither does Nike.
Crumpler are sadly outside of my budget (NT$5800!!! ) but I’ll see if I can’t find the stores near the main station.
This is when I really miss the choice from back home, I guess I’m just a bit too used to be able to pick up a reasonably priced daypack due to most sports shops carrying them…
Once you’ve been to a trade show that goes on for a few days and have had to carry all your gear with you, then you’ll know why a good backpack is worth its weight in gold.
I’m going to head back to the camera street and have a look at a Kata SENSITIVITY-V, but according to some reviews it may or may not be what I’m after. Hence why I was thinking about just getting something decent like a North Face bag instead and keep the camera bag I have.
I believe that the choice is there alright, you just have to find the shops in Taipei. I remember having seen a lot low budget backpack shops just North of the railway station.
I myself mostly use a Lowepro MiniTrekker. I am super satisfied with that brand and the size too. Not too big so you won’t get tempted to carry along even more stuff (just in case you may or may not need it). Fully stuffed with equipment it weighs almost 10 kilo’s and yes, I have cursed on it many times on hot sweaty days. Since I kept expanding my camera stuff I thought I had the solution found in a bigger brother of the same brand, one that can be used as a backpack, has 50% more space and also has two wheels and a retractable grip so I can trolley that thing behind me. Eureka?
Nope, not at all. Way too massif and also I fear the vibrations when you ride it over less smooth surfaces. For my purpose it was not practical and a waste of money.
To bad you don’t give us more info on the focus of your needs. Are you a photographer that has to mail his pics to the office? Than leave that silly laptop in your hotel room. My laptop is a 12 inch but still about 1.2 kilo heavy (charger not even included). Are you more a journalist that has to bring home a few pics? Than consider saving (a lot) of weight and bring a compact camera. Nowadays those are so damn good that even I sometimes wonder why I carry all that stuff with me. Also, those tiny Acer Ee pc’ can do the job as well when it comes to writing and sending the story. Second hand they go for 3000 NT I have heard.
When traveling by plane I always throw my 12 laptop in my hard cover suitcase, wrapped in some clothing. I fly about 12 or 14 times a year and in the past 4 years that has never given me any trouble. The reason why the laptop in there? Because if it gets lost or stolen, it will be way cheaper than to loose my camera equipment. Even though I have top notch cameras and lenses I am considering of doing again a concession and simply getting a long range zoom lens on my 450 D (spare camera) and leave all the heavy stuff at home, hoping that my skills will make up for the loss in equipment quality.
I had a quick look at the Kata bag. Looks nice and very trendy, but doesn’t look very cheap either. I may be mistaken off course.
I am still cracking my brains why on earth you would want to bring along both a camera and a laptop… When traveling from A to B I can get but other than that?
The trick to come home with good material lies in traveling light. In that way you will bring it along more often, get a lot less tired and shoot your pics more often. And the secret of good pictures? Shoot as many as you can (and throw away the junk later).
Well, I’m not a photographer by trade, no, but I do use my camera quite often to take pictures of boring IT products
Computex is one of those times of the year when I need to be able to carry all my gear with me, i.e. notebook, camera, my camcorder, a bottle of water, some other bits and pieces and still have a bit of room over so I don’t need to carry another bag for any literature that I might chose to keep.
I also visit a lot of local companies and need to carry the same gear when I go see them. I also go abroad from time to time to trade shows and other events and need to lug all this crap with me then as well. Will hopefully be investing in a new sub 2kg notebook soon though which will help a bit. I need to be able to edit and upload content when I’m out and about, which is a real pain in the… Also, I can’t edit HD video on a netbook.
A compact camera just doesn’t cut it, I’ve done that for too long and invested in a DSLR and the difference is like day and night when it comes to the quality of the pictures. I’m kicking myself a little bit for not getting a micro 4/3’s but then again, they’re not mean to be quiet as good.
The Kata isn’t cheap at NT$4k, but it’s cheaper than Crumpler. Hence why I’m considering getting something different into which I can stick the small-ish camera bag that I have now. But I also want something that’ll be comfortable to carry for 8-10h a day for several days in a row. Yeah, I know I’m asking for a lot, but hey…
I tried to have a look at the Kata on Sunday, but the shop was out of stock Going to head up to the shops by the main station and have a look, although I heard there’s supposed to be a place in Gong guan somewhere that has a good selection of backpacks, but I don’t know exactly where…
Yeah, but tell me where I can find a good selection. The best I’ve seen is in a local store here in Xindian and they only have about 5 models to chose between, of which only one suits my needs in terms of size. Ok, so they have some other brands as well, but I don’t really like those.
Let us know how you get on. I have my new netbook and I want to carry that along with two kids’ waterbottles, changes of clothes, snacks, etc. having them in separate bags is not working as I dont’ have enough eyes to watch all those possessions and two kids, too.
ok, the two places I’ve seen them are small selections-probably as small as you refer to, but I saw the one I linked above:
Go Hiking behind the carrefour on Bauchiao Road
Sogo,in the hiking section
The berghaus, Deuter, Osprey bags are great for hiking, but not suitable for day work/walking. I thought the North face bag looked ok, and was sturdy and well compartmentalised.
Ooh man, I don’t envy you. I remember walking around with my winter coat on my arm on a show as a visitor. That already was a pain in the b***. I refused to pay 2 Euro for a coat check, call me cheap, I dun care lol. Those shows were always steamy hot and lack fresh air. Makes me wonder if you still look “presentable” after a few hours carrying a back pack. Isn’t your back/ shirt soaking wet after 2 hours inside?
In the past 15 years I had to do those shows once a year as a salesman, mostly 7 days in a row. Horrible, after 3 days I could barely stand on my feet anymore (back pain) and mostly I would push one of those hostesses of her stool and take a seat behind the info desk (great pick up place for customers hehe). But still, day after day you would see me sink deeper and deeper behind that desk.
Knowing given details now I would definitely choose something more comfortable and classy than any backpack could deliver. Have you considered a pilot type trolley? backshop.nl/uk_new/prod_disp … 9&opdr=tel (89 Euro) umates.eu/product/TopWheels_ … tegoryid=3 (123 Euro)
No doubt sort like articles can be found a lot cheaper in town here.
You will keep a clean and dry shirt at all time, you can even wear a suit and not look cheap with a backpack on your back. A decent appearance is important when selling, hell, it is even important if you wish to be taken seriously anywhere. A trolly also gives a more professional impression, only I don’t know if that is of any importance in your case.
From the Kata picture it seems the material they use is neoprene (or whatever it is called), same as used for diving suits. Doesn’t that sweat like crazy?
I wish you good business and good luck choosing your gear.
Hehe, well, the advantage is that I’m not trying to sell anything, so I don’t have to wear a suit or even a shirt.
However, attending say Computex, you only need about 5 minutes and your back is soaking wet, but then again, that’s just life in Taiwan, right?
And indeed, after 5 days or so you’re a wreck, especially as not only are you attending the show, but then there are all the “social” events afterwards and in between the two you try to do as much work as possible. Hence why I need to have a mobile “office” with me.
I wouldn’t consider a trolley bag though, I loath them as I’ve tripped over far too many of them over the years.
Still, I’ll figure something out, just need to get my ass out and have a look around. Checked out the websites for those shops near the main station and one of those seemed to be a potential for having some good bags, we’ll see.
Ok, some success, went down to check out the shops in Xindian, not expecting much and it turns out that two of them has a fantastic selection of bags, 50-60 different models, albeit mostly from this brand tatonka.com/EN/index.aspx
I spotted three very good potentials, will have to bring my camera bag with me and see how it fits tomorrow.
They have everything from super light backpacks to huge hiking bags to more specialized things. The 20-30L packs are priced between NT$2-4k which is quite acceptable considering that some of them have really nice features.
We’ll have to see how good they really are once I get one, but it’s a lot more like the stuff I’m used to.
The ones I looked at has a partition about 2/3’s down so I can fit my camera gear in the bottom part and still have space for a notebook and some other stuff. I’ll just have to get a cheap padded protection sleeve for the notebook, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
They even have some combined backpacks/child carries for those of you that have smaller kids. Didn’t check the prices though.
This is one of the models I was looking at, but I also found a smaller 20L version that was near enough identical in terms of features outdoorgb.com/p/tatonka_andr … _rucksack/
I like those Tatonka bags a lot too-and I’ve been to all those shops, either across from the McD’s, or 200m down going away from Qizhang station on the right, BUT they are too short for my torso-and since they have waist straps that really cut into my back, I decided not to go for them.
I’d still like to hear of a good alternative to the North Face.
Well, the shop further down (up?) the road had a few Karrimor bags as well, but they didn’t quite suite my needs. They had another brand I haven’t heard of as well, but again, those models weren’t really what I was after.
When I was shopping for the perfect hiking/city bag Tatonka were my first choice by far. However, they just wouldn’t fit-yep, and they are adjustable (as are Deuter (I think, or some other brands). The shop opposite McDs has some nice stock on the second floor, those forest green bags are cute and they have excellent sections inside and tidy finishing details…
Since it’s hard to get a good fit, and since most waist straps will ride up off the hipswhen I move fast, I end up looking for bags that have a narrow band for the waist strap, so it’s unobtrusive around my tummy, while still holding the bag snug to the back.
However, that’s off-topic. I hope you can get a suitable bag for work and day walking. I am interested in the topic, and will give you any further suggestions I can think of.
That was the other brand I saw.
All their smaller bags looked crap though, at least for what I was after, although their hiking packs didn’t look half bad.
Didn’t see the model you linked to though, as that doesn’t look too bad.
) but I’ll see if I can’t find the stores near the main station.
