A few years ago a friend of mine Levi Allen started working with a company called Shimoda. They are a camera backpack company specializing in creating camera bags for the outdoor adventure creator. After seeing his in action and how it all worked I knew this was the bag for me.
After owning MANY bags and cases over my almost 15 years of film making and photography, I can honestly that the Shimoda bag is my favourite of all time. I’ve had this bag for over three years now and the only thing thats ever gone wrong with it is a tread on one of the buckles came loose which I easily sewed back on. No rips, no tears, no broken zippers and I toss this thing around. It’s durable.
Since this version of the Explorer 60 they’ve come out with a few new options of this bag in various forms, which come with some new add ons and features, but I’ve never had to even think of replacing this with the new one cause this thing won’d die.
I have taken this bag with me all over the world and it’s never let me down.
Here are my top 5 reasons that I love this bag.
It is carry on friendly. That means, for me, I can have all the gear I need with me the whole way when travelling without fear of it getting lost, damaged or stolen in my travels. Fits in an overhead bin both sideways and length ways, so you’re not that asshole taking up tones of space in a crowded bin.
This bag, as illustrated in my video below, can fit a crap ton of gear. 2 full size cameras, sound equipment, drone, 5 lenses, gimbal, tripod, batteries, laptop and all your accessories.
It’s modular, that means you can customize it in various configurations of what they call “core units” and velcro padded dividers. So simple and easy to use. You can even take those core units out and use them as smaller shoulder bags or cases when you want to take a lighter load with you, pretty sweet.
There are more attachment points for gear on the outside than I know what to do with. If weight wasn’t an issue you could strap an extra camera person to the outside of this bag and not worry about them falling off.
It was made by outdoor photographers and adventurers for that specific demographic. They thought everything through from the fabric to access points to durability. There are lots of camera bags similar to this, but in my experience this one is the best I’ve ever owned.
Their new line up comes with smaller and even larger bags than this and they keep upping their game by listening to owners of past bags in what things to change and why. I love a company that listens to its customers!
I hope that this little write up helps you in one way or another in the purchase of your next camera bag. I am not affiliated or sponsored by Shimoda, I just really like their bags, full stop.
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