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| Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack (Grey/Black) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Tamrac
Category: Photography
Buy New: $139.95
New (15)
Avg. Customer Rating:  46 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.6
Dimensions (in): 19.7 x 19.7 x 19.7
MPN: 5549 Gray/Black
Model: 5549 Gray/Black
UPC: 023554024292
EAN: 0023554024292
ASIN: B000F31KLA
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Adequate backpack for larger folks. July 25, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
It's hard to tell from the picture, but this is a fairly large backpack. I'm 5'8" and the pack goes from the bottom of my waist to the top of my neck. Empty, the pack is pretty heavy but it's very, very well structured and will stand up full or empty. Padding in the laptop and camera compartments are very good. I wouldn't worry about tossing this into an overhead compartment on a plane (though I wouldn't be brave enough to check it).
The laptop compartment is big enough to hold my 14.1" Thinkpad and my 15" widescreen Powerbook G4. I have doubts that it would hold a 17" laptop if it's widescreen so if that's what you own, bring it into a camera store, if possible, and try to fit it.
The camera compartment is plentiful. I keep a Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L lengthwise in one compartment. On the other side of the camera, I have a Sigma 28mm F1.8 and a Canon 10-22mm side-by-side. My Rebel XT sits in the middle with a 24-105mm F4 L attached and underneath the camera (separated by an included velcro pad) is my 430EX flash. There's just enough nooks & crannies to stuff tiny accessories in there including a Canon SD550 in a compact case. I managed to keep my lens hoods in there too. The included zip pocket can hold small, thin items like a charger, wireless remote, extra lens caps, etc. The pockets for holding batteries & memory cards are poorly designed. If you open up the flap fully while it's lying flat on its straps, items in the end pockets can slip out. I lost a NiMH AA battery for my flash this way. As a work around, you can pull out the red flag that indicates a full card/drained battery and that will keep things from slipping out, but that defeats the purpose of the flags. My only other complaint is that the velcro strap that keeps the camera in place is way too long, nothing a pair of scissors can't fix though. At first, I didn't like the idea of having to both unzip & unclip, then zip & clip to get anything out. But in real-world use, being able to just clip the buckles while leaving the zipper open is very handy.
The upper compartment is a bit small, but that's expected considering the capacity of the camera compartment underneath it. The pop-off pocket is a gimmick. It's cumbersome to remove and I don't find it to be all that useful based on its size and position in the back of the compartment. To get anything out of it, you'd have to dig through whatever else you might already have in there, or empty it out. A real set of organizer pockets to keep card readers, pens, business cards, etc would be much more useful.
The waist and sternum straps are useful though I wish there was a way to stow the waist strap when the weight of the pack doesn't warrant its use. The shoulder straps will need a LOT of breaking in. They're very stiff and the material is rough against your skin. It's uncomfortable hoisting it on and taking it off and found that I ended up scratching up my arms a lot. Wearing it with a jacket or long sleeved shirt solves it, but that's not always practical in warmer climates.
Selecting the right bag for you July 21, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I recently purchased the Tamrac combination camera and computer backpack back for an overseas trip. A friend recommended the combo backpack and I thought that it would suit me especially thinking that I could download my pictures to my immediately accessible laptop computer. I made a mistake! Don't get me wrong this combo-backpack is well made and ideal if that is what you need it for but my own assessment of what I needed was wrong after using it. I purchased another 2G SD card for my Nikon D80 and that meant not having to lug my laptop around. So one recommendation that I have to others is too really think through what your needs are and to think of all alternatives that are available to you first.
However there are a few things that I would like to see changed on the backpack.
Camera Compartment: It does what it says. It has a 2-headed wrap around zipper with 1 large and 2 smaller plastic clips / clamps which in all keeps the compartment closed. I wish they would have mated the two zipper heads with some type of clip arrangement which would prevent the zippers from separating. If you forget to zip the compartment and just do one or all of the clips there is a chance that small things can fall out (my opinion) when carrying. There is an elastic restraining strap to hold your camera in place but everything else is free to possibly drop out when opening the bag when it is sitting upright. There are some storage pockets, and a zippered compartment in the flap but you probably will place smaller items in them. Nothing bulky.
The material flap around the zipper head kept on getting trapped in the zipper head. I had to be continuously careful when zipping the compartment shut and you would not want to use this compartment without zipping it completely!
Laptop Compartment: Single zipper head. No clips / clasps on this compartment. Here again I would like to see the zipper head mated to a clip / clasp to prevent it from possibly opening by itself. Don't think of using this compartment for general utility purposes. It was well designed for storing a laptop so maybe a few magazines or small flat objects can be placed in it in lieu of a laptop. There is no flap covering the zipper which made opening the compartment easy.
Accessory Compartment: It has a 2-head wrap around zipper, including a flap covering the zipper. No clips / clasps on this compartment. Again I would like to see the two zipper head connected with a clasp. The zipper opens to the bottom of the compartment floor and things can fall out which they did for me. Also this compartment is limited in size.
Overall negative (my opinion). This was my first quality camera bag. The biggest drawback is getting to your camera and how to get to your camera. I am a novice photographer and usually store my camera in the bag. But if you were to change your lens, or filter, or get something out of the camera compartment what would you do? Take off your back pack and open the camera compartment. Right? Well think how you would position your backpack to get your equipment. Would you place the backpack upright to open the camera compartment flap, or flat on its back? Laying it flat on its back, which takes up twice as much space, minimizes the risk the something will fall out of the compartment. It also takes up twice as much room which makes it more bulky.
In any case I wasn't as happy with my purchase as I expected. I will probably sell this item and get a dedicated camera bag instead.
 Great for a day trip. July 6, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this bag for my husband for the coming vacation. It's just perfect to hold the equipments, but not much room left for personal stuff. It's great for a day trip, but if you're expecting something you can carry for a long trip, it's not the one.
The material is great, has lots of padded pockets for every accessories, and can hold a laptop securely.
Not As Well Designed As Other Tamrac Bags June 29, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Having greatly enjoyed the fine quality and convenience of Tamrac's Adventure 8 Photo Backpack , I eagerly purchased the Adventure 9 as a more versatile travel bag. I was especially interested in being able to consolidate my camera bag and computer bag into one unit.
The Adventure 9 certainly has more room than the Adventure 8, especially in the top compartment. The bag is sturdily designed and comfortable, and Tamrac have introduced some nice extra features. I like the removable inner pocket designed for carrying laptop and electrical cords, although it would be more convenient to have it adhere directly to the bag via Velcro, rather than having the cumbersome Velcro straps that lash to inner loops.
The padded camera compartment is easier to access than the Adventure 8, although one must be careful not to spill lenses and other equipment out on the ground.
The Adventure 9 is not all good, however. The see-through lined compartment has limited uses other than as a "collect all" pocket. Tamrac's special "Memory and Battery Management System" is pretty useless if if you utilize a memory case such as Gepe's CardSafe Watertight Memory Card Case . The memory management compartment just take up otherwise needed space.
Despite its larger size, the Adventure 9 has fewer compartments than the smaller Adventure 8. There are times when I would like extra compartments in order to stash small items and extra goodies, such as small bottles of sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and lens cleaner.
As a word of caution, the padded camera compartment is deeper than it looks in the advertisement photos. If your equipment is of standard size (in other words, not gigantic), you may have to be creative with the padded inserts in order to keep your gear from shifting or flopping around inside the compartment.
When accessing the camera compartment, the top quick release buckle tends to constantly flop down into the compartment. I'm constantly annoyed with it, shoving it out of the way to get to my gear, only to have it flop back into the way.
Both the Adventure 8 and Adventure 9 backpacks have waist straps. However, the Adventure 8 has a rear sleeve in which to stash the waist straps when not in use. For some unknown reason, this sleeve was not included in the Adventure 9 pack, leaving the straps to dangle needlessly below the bag. If it didn't reduce the bag's resale value, I would probably cut the straps off just to be rid of the annoyance.
According to the Tamrac website, the rear computer compartment holds 17" laptops up to 15 1/2" x 11" x 2". Most Apple notebooks run a bit slimmer than that, so access is not a problem. My computer, however, runs those exact dimensions and will not fit due to the compartment's zipper limitations. Tamrac should have designed a wider zipper opening for easier access. I'm fearful of forcing the computer, as it may tear the zipper or the compartment.
In conclusion, I was hoping that upgrading from the Adventure 8 to the Adventure 9 would allow me the same functionality as well as the added bonus of hauling a laptop. In the end, the bags shortcomings left a bad taste in my mouth.
 Great Bag June 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was concerned that this bag would not be large enough to hold my Canon 30D with a 70-200 telephoto lens on it. It is a tight fit but it does hold it nicely. It fits my camera and a 70-200, 17-40, 28-135 lens, shades - all in the main compartment. I keep all my other cords in the top compartment and my laptop is snug in it's place. This is a great bag.
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