Ruggard Thunderhead 75 DSLR & Laptop Backpack

This backpack is HUGE and extremely well designed. It's actually bigger than I anticipated, which is a good thing, because I was concerned it would be a bit too small. I wanted to replace my  AmazonBasics Backpack for SLR/DSLR Cameras and Accessories - Black  which had lasted me three years (still going strong, btw - just time for a bigger bag).First off, the Thunderhead 75 is built like a camping backpack. It has thick padded arm straps, lumbar support, chest strap, waist belt, shoulder lift straps, compression straps, and more than a half dozen organizer pockets and pouches within the larger compartments. The pictures really don't do it justice.The velcro sections in the main compartment are easily configurable, though I do wish they had a bit more strength to them. One of my first configurations pulled loose when I lifted the bag, and the smaller dividers are made of nylon instead of the soft side of the velcro, so the included elastic straps won't attach to them. It's a relatively minor issue, but a little bothersome. Once I got everything set up, it held together nicely.The things that really makes a professional camera bag shine are the number of options it gives the user. There are so many organizer pockets here that allow you to easily keep track of what equipment is in your bag. This is great because you can spot at a glance whether you forgot something or whether it's packed, which means no leaving something behind by mistake because it shared a pocket with seven other items. Anytime you can cut down on the mess inside the bag, you reduce the amount of downtime you need to find it. And the bigger the bag, the easier it is to organize.Unlike some of the other larger backpacks I saw, this one is designed to hold photo equipment exclusively (plus a laptop). So there's no larger open storage compartment. That was great for me because I'm not traveling far with it - I'm just carrying it along to gigs with a bunch of other gear and I want to have my hands free. That said, if this bag was properly packed, you could easily take it with you on a longer hike or through an airport without discomfort. It's small enough for overhead compartment but maybe(?) too big for under the seat.My only real complaint is that the waist belt is not removable. This is a relatively minor quibble because I was able to tuck it inside of the lumbar support section (which increased the size of the lumbar support - an added bonus) but I won't be carrying this on long enough distances to justify the extra bulk of the waist straps, so being able to detach them when not needed would have been a nice design enhancement.All in all, I'm glad I purchased this bag over the  Think Tank - Street Walker Hard Drive  - it's about an inch bigger in all dimensions, it's less expensive, and the front compartment is larger. It's a great upgrade from my Amazonbasics backpack, which while fine in construction had just gotten too small. The Thunderhead 75 has two to three times more carrying capacity.Will update if anything changes after more prolonged use. AmazonBasics Backpack for SLR/DSLR Cameras and Accessories - BlackThink Tank - Street Walker Hard Drive

This backpack is a lot bigger than I expected. I've added some pictures of it on my back just to give some scale because that's what I missed when I ordered it. It's too big for my needs and I will return it, however, the quality of materials and manufacturing is very high. It is rigid and padded so it will definitely protect your expensive gear and the shoulder straps and waist belt have thick padding as well. I would recommend this bag to anyone who has A LOT of camera gear that you need to carry for a very long trek.

Oh my Gosh! This bag is so worth the money!! I have shopped and researched bags for three weeks. I even sent back a nice Lowepro that did not fit all my gear. This backpack fit EVERYTHING with room to spare. I am a pro photographer and travel a lot to equine events in remote locations. I needed a rugged bag that could fit two cameras with lenses attached. It fits my Canon 7d with a 70-200 attached and my 50d with a 17-70 (with the hood attached- not with grips, but the bag is plenty deep to handle grips). It has tough zippers and a good rain cover. The 75 has more pouches, pockets and slots than you'll probably need. The laptop section is well padded and fits a 17 inch laptop. Shoulder straps and waist strap are padded and fits well. Can't say enough good about this backpack. It also meets airline regulations as a carry on and maintains it's size even loaded up. I've attached a photo of it in Santo Domingo Chile where I shot the World Young Riders' Endurance Championships while using the new bag. LOVE it

For the money, it's a good product, Primarily used for photo equip & accessories.

Did not like several features: 1) a 16" laptop wil almost fit, but requires that the corners be eased around the laptop, making it quite a squeeze 2) becuase the laptop covers the camera and equipment, the taptop must be removed before the camera can be accessed. Because of 1), that makes accessing the camera quite a chore and finally 3) Overall it is quite large.If you didn't have laptop, it would be quite suitable. The straps wide and well padded (contributing to the large size). Would be a good bag for carrying heavy camera gear for long periods, especially beause a part of the load would be on the waist strap.