Tamrac Adventure 9 Photo/Computer Backpack (Red/Black)

The backpack has essentially everything in the description, lots of padded room for your laptop, camera, and all the cords/batteries/memory cards you could need. The space on the top is plenty room for anything else you could need, and if you need more room, the divider is velcro so you can move it around to accommodate even a college textbook.

It's a great bag, holds my xps1210, my rebel xti with telephoto zoom and external flash with extra camera stuff. Only bad thing is as a travelling scientist, I don't have much room for any papers or small books - i have to cram it all into the computer compartment. Otherwise, a very good bag.

I bought this pack mostly to carry my DSLR and laptop through the airport. The lower camera pouch and laptop sleeve are both very well padded. The dividers for the camera pouch are a little big for my Canon XSi with kit lens but everything seems to be well secured with velcro. A downside to all that padding is the pack feels a little stiff and topheavy when fully loaded. It's awkward in cramped quarters fully loaded, like in an airplane aisle. It barely fits under the seat in front when in coach (you're not going to put it in the overhead bin, are you?). I'm 6 feet and the pack is just barely the right size for me, so it may feel too big for someone shorter. Ditto the previous comments about too many straps. It does seem to be well constructed for long hikes, with both chest and waist straps. Believe it or not, it is actually shorter than a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with a 488RC4 head. I don't know yet how I'm going to attach the tripod to the backpack, either on the side or underneath.

For a "serious amateur" photographer with one body and a couple of lenses, this is probably the best bag out there for day hikes and around-town jaunts. I did quite a bit of research before ultimately deciding on this one. It went up against a couple of Lowepro bags (i.e., Trekker II, Fastpack 100, Flipside 200) and a couple of Kata bags (i.e., DR-465 and DR-467). In shopping for a camera bag, I had a couple of main objectives: I needed a backack-style bag that would safely hold a few pieces of gear (a Canon XTi body, 2-3 lenses, and a SD630 point-and-shoot), a bag that did not scream "I am a camera bag", and one that would be comfortable to wear on relatively challenging day hikes (e.g., up Mt. Mansfield in Vermont) while accommodating a few non-camera items.

The pros:
* separate camera and "miscellaneous" compartments keep your lunch from contaminating your gear
* top "miscellaneous" compartment is generously sized (i.e., holds a couple sandwiches and granola bars, a trail guide, and one tightly balled-up rain slicker)
* mesh side-pockets are nice and stretchy (I've been able to fit a 1L Nalgene in there)
* build quality is very solid
* good padding in the camera compartment; plus the dividers are re-arrangeable to meet your specific needs
* straps are well-padded and the bag is very comfortable to wear over long periods of time (plus the chest and waist straps help to better distribute the load across your torso)
* does not scream "I contain $2000 worth of camera gear"

The cons:
* no tripod loop (depending on how big yours is, you could try to jam it into the mesh side-pocket but you'd still need to jury-rig a stablizing strap around the top)
* access to the camera compartment requires you to take the bag off (this may not be a big deal to you (it wasn't for me) but could be major...)
* not "all weather" (it would do well enough in fog or light rain but if you're expecting a heavy downpour, you might want to reconsider)

Other miscellaneous remarks:
* It was a close call between the Adventure 7 and the Adventure 9. This one (Adventure 9) is a little bit bigger and thus a little bit more expensive. It does (however) have a "slot pocket" in the back for a laptop -- this actually counted as points ~against~ the bag at first but after taking future travel plans into consideration, it made more sense to spend a little more and get that built-in feature.
* As mentioned above, it's a great candidate for day hikes and jaunts around town. That said, you'll want your hiking and/or travel partner to carry a small bag as well. There's enough room here (like I said) for a couple sandwiches, a trail guide, and YOUR jacket but your partner will be on his/her own in that department.

The only thing against this product would be its size, it's pretty big. But it would have to be for the functionality you get/need in an SLR+Laptop combo pack. I carry a D-200, Apple Macbook Pro, and all the cords/cds/ipod/cellphone stuff I want, and I still have space left over in the top pocket. Very easy removal of the laptop (important at the security screening in Airports). I even carry a tripod in the side pocket (don't bother strapping it to the bottom of the pack).