Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black)

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

I toted the former AW rolling trekker all over the world for two years. It is nice not to further ruin my back after over 20 yrs. of hanging a camera bag over my shoulder. I found the inside to adapt well w/ the dividers.

My major issue is that I thought the wheels to be too small. Unless you pull it along at a very specific (and inconvenient/uncomfortable) angle, the bag's bottom seams will scrape the ground and ultimately compromise the seams integrity. Also the zipper's quality is poor & they are always the first thing to go, as others have observed.

For the $$$ I expect better.

Greg in TN.

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

The bag holds all my gear well and safely (2 DSLRs plus several lenses and accessories. Construction quality is excellent. The main problem is that it is too big...and by that I mean the thickness or depth. It just barely fits in the overhead of a 737. As for regional aircraft, forget it. These require gate-side check-in. Also, the single shaft rolling handle means that the bag careens easily from side to side. I am reluctantly going to replace it with the Guragear Kiboko bag which will hold a similar amount of gear in a 4-pound bag that fits in the overheads of even regional aircraft.

If you aren't concerned about air travel, this is a good bag. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

I think they kept the same dividers they had for the model without wheels.
A camera doesn't fit in there because of the bump inside, created by the chamber of the pull-handle system. That could be fixed simply by adapting the dividers. If they had thought about it before I would not go back to B&H tomorrow to return it.
It is a shame, because everything else is great. This would be my 6th Lowepro. If the dividers were right I would give it 5 stars.

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

This seems to be the perfect intersection of a bag that holds all I need while not killing my back. The wheels are great when they can be used, and the backpack straps cover all other times. While this bag is rated as airline cabin compatible, I question that. Perhaps without the laptop within, then maybe so.
Also, the compression straps serve no purpose, get in the way, and therefore are best when cut off.
Like many Lowepro bags, the zippers are the weakest link. But the lifetime warranty helps mitigate that when the time comes.

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

I bought this for my fiance cause I was tired of seeing him carry his laptop and sling both his camera bodies and lenses in two different and heavy bags on his back. Everything fits inside, 17" MacPro, Canon 5d and 1ds, 3 lenses and some flashes too! He loves it, and the backpack straps are actually comfortable too!

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

I was tired of carrying a computer bag and my camera gear in separate bags on my shoulders. International terminals are long and tiresome. I dreamed of a single bag with wheels and found it in this bag. The problem is that a single bag with camera, lenses and a laptop weigh in at nearly double the maximum weight for allowed carry-on. EVERY airline has given me trouble. So much troubles that I actually had to check it as luggage on my last flight or miss my connection. I was sick to my stomach the whole flight. Good news is that the bag is built so well my laptop was safe at destination but I'll retire this bag after using it for 3 weeks rather than chance that again. I understand that even with two smaller bags I carry the same, if not more, weight however the agents rarely make you weigh bags that look within limits. The big presence of this bag caused them to always insist it got weighed.

Expertise: Amateur

Problems Encountered: Jonathan summed it up well in his earlier review.

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

Bought this bag 1.5 years ago to take a lot of gear overseas, expecting for it to become my main camera bag for traveling. But I've only used it three times! I bought a Vertex 200 and love it, always making sure I have another bag with me that has wheels. Surprisingly, I have never utilized the backpack feature of this bag.First the positives about this bag:- The quality is top notch. I have probably 10 or 15 LowePro bags and have never once had an issue with their quality. No doubt the zippers will last forever and the exterior material is impervious to anything.- Before I purchased it, I was afraid the handle would not extend high enough to pull comfortably, but it is fine there. (I'm 5'll''.)- The bag holds about all the camera gear I need to carry including my D200 w/grip and a 300/2.8 AF-S.Here are my complaints about the CT+AW:- It's huge! I don't think it actually can carry any more than my Vertex, but it's much much thicker. I often have to remove the stuff in the computer section to get it in overheads.- The wheels are too close together and too small. When I have my MacBook Pro, 300/2.8, and a full load of bodies/lenses, the bag becomes very unstable when rolling. On the last trip, it would often flip over to one side or the other when going around corners. Not fun!!!And whenever I would come to minor transitions on the floor, like on the jetway, the wheels would really bang against them and nearly jerk the handle from my hand. Made me concerned about it jarring my equipment. All my other roller bags have larger wheels and do not react so strongly to such transitions. I'm sure the weight of all the gear inside doesn't help. But that's what this bag is supposed to be for!- The handle doesn't work for me. I loved the idea of a single shafted handle, and they designed it out of much larger diameter metal pipe so that it is very strong when putting pressure against its axis. But where it suffers from having a single shaft is that the handle can twist some. You wouldn't think that would be a problem, except when, as mentioned before, you're trying to keep both wheels on the ground as it is about to flip on its side and you can't because the handle just twists.Also the T-shaped rubber handle is certainly comfortable to pull, but the rubberized T grabs onto everything like a hook and won't let go! Every single time I bent over to get my computer or iPod or something out of the bag when the handle was extended it would grab my shirt and I couldn't stand back up without getting untangled from it.- There aren't enough little zipper/Velcro pouches to put all the stuff you carry when you're shooting digital and carrying computer gear, especially that are easily accessible from the outside. The Vertex mostly excels there.- And yes, I agree with the other poster, my MacBook Pro won't fit in the otherwise excellent sleeve that came with this bag, and that's a bit of a let down.In summary, this bag is more like a camera backpack that has had wheels and handle retrofitted than a rigid, well-designed rollaboard that has been adapted to hold camera gear and be a backpack. But there are certainly compromises that would happen that way, too. Maybe there's not a great design that can do all three!!! I think I would be happy leaving off the backpack part, as I am unlikely to hike with something with the additional weight, so I'm usually somewhere that the wheels work fine.I'll repeat that I'm thrilled with my LowePro Vertex 200!

Expertise: Experienced amateur

Comments about Lowepro Rolling Compu Trekker Plus AW Backpack - for Film or Digital SLR Camera with 4-5 Lenses, Flash, Accessories and 15.4" Notebook (Black):

I bought this bag 2 weeks ago and love it but if you want toput a mac book pro in it the pouch for it won't fit in it. it only fits the old powerbook 15 model. i wrote to loweproabout it and they told me they haven't updated it yet. theysaid just don't use the pouch and stick it in the bag. what kind of customer service is that.

Expertise: Pro