Wormhole physics and the Lowepro CompuRover AW

Some of you may recall the CDW commercial wherein an employee in the shipping department was going to revolutionize shipping by means of wormhole physics. Well, I don't know how that worked out for him, but I'm convinced that Lowepro has perfected wormhole physics with their new CompuRover AW (all weather) backpack.

Lowepro has been one of the biggest names in camera bags for literally decades, and I was fortunate enough to be able to check out one of their newest backpacks. The great thing about the CompuRover AW is that it's so much rolled into one package.

In my previous article, "Just in case: Protecting your investment," in the April issue of Connected Photographer Magazine, I stated that although I always thought camera backpacks were neat, I never had much confidence in their ability to protect my gear. All that has changed with Lowepro's CompuRover AW backpack, shown in Figure A.

The features

The CompuRover is a three compartment backpack capable of carrying a digital pro SLR with lens attached, up to four additional lenses, depending on size (up to an 80-200 mm), a 17" laptop, plus many other accessories and gear. It features an all weather cover, a YKK (Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, often known as Yoshida Company Limited) water-resistant zipper, and a contoured shoulder harness with removable waist belt, all wrapped up in a water-resistant, ripstop, ballistic nylon shell. Also included is a built-in Trekker tripod mount with slip-lock attachment loops.

The inside

To begin with, the CompuRover is a camera backpack, so of course there's room for your camera. In Figure B, you can see there is ample room for your camera body, with lens attached, and several other lenses.

And, this compartment is fully customizable, depending on the size and configuration of your camera, and the lenses you want to bring along.

Sitting above the camera compartment is the gear section. As you can see in Figure C, there is a removable, zippered pouch that can be secured to a lanyard and key ring attached to the inside of the compartment, a large, zippered compartment for additional gear, and yet another storage pouch that cinches with a slip-lock cord.

This section has ample room for external flash units, light/flash meters, filters and cleaning equipment, plus all the cables, disks, and accessories for your laptop as well.

And finally, a memory card storage pouch capable of holding eight CompactFlash cards, shown in Figure D, is sewn to the inside of the compartment.

The interesting thing about these compartments is that either, or both, can be completely removed from the shell of the backpack, creating one large compartment, allowing you to customize it for any situation, making the CompuRover useable for much more than just transporting photography and mobile computing equipment. It could easily become an overnight bag, book bag, or the typical outdoor sportsman backpack.

The final compartment of the CompuRover, seen in Figure E, is the padded laptop storage area, capable of accepting most 17-inch laptops.

A water-resistant zipper runs down the side of the backpack, securing your laptop between your back and the other two sections.

The outside

The water-resistant ripstop ballistic nylon shell of the CompuRover deceptively conceals the vast amount of storage space hidden inside. Flaps cover the zippers of the upper and lower compartments to protect them from moisture. Central on the outside of the pack is the tripod storage system shown in Figure F.

Without the tripod, this system folds up to create yet another pouch. On either side of the tripod system are angled, zippered pouches for storing maps, directions, tickets, or whatever else you might choose stash away. Under these, and on the sides of the backpack, are short mesh pouches in the shape of an inverted triangle.

Somewhat hidden on the bottom of the pack is a pocket containing the All Weather Cover. By pulling the attached cover over the pack, securing it with a slip-lock cord, your gear is protected from the angriest of Old Man Weather's tantrums. Since I forgot to shoot a picture of the cover, I grabbed one from Lowepro, shown in Figure G.

For carrying the pack, Lowepro has included a handle on the top in addition to the adjustable, padded shoulder straps, each with its own attached D-ring. The thing that differentiates the CompuRover from most other backpacks is the included, and removable, waist belt, as well as a sternum strap that connects the shoulder straps across the wearer's chest, all shown in Figure H.

Not only does the easy-adjust waist belt help distribute the pack's weight, it also has two loops stitched into each side that could be used to hold energy bars or some other such item.

The conclusion

The Lowepro CompuRover AW is without doubt THE best backpack I have ever seen or used. The weight distribution of the harness system is simply supernatural. I can only assume that Lowepro has used wormhole physics to store the contents in an alternate plane of existence, because even with ten pounds of gear in it, the CompuRover was no heavier over a ten-mile bike ride than when it was empty. And when it's empty, you can't even tell it's there. I wish my dive pack had been as comfortable to wear as the CompuRover AW.

No matter where your shooting location is, whether you have to hike, cycle, rock climb, or rappel to get there, or even if you're driving, across town or across the country, the CompuRover AW will take the gear you need anywhere you need to go. I could find absolutely nothing wrong with the CompuRover, nor could I find any way to improve on its design. Because it can serve as so much more than just a camera/laptop backpack, even with a retail price of roughly $170, I'm happy to give the Lowepro CompuRover AW our highest rating, 5 out of 5.