Finding the right pack and Insert - Differences between the f-stop Bag packs

All of our items come with a 45-Day satisfaction guarantee, so if you get something that doesn’t work for you, just send it back (this has been our policy since 2007). Pack sizing is done primarily with Torso height, then secondarily with Hips and waist (Hip Belt), Shoulders & Neck & Chest (Shoulder Straps and load Lifters). Those will be the more important measurements than your height, although having gone through the pack fitting process for 20+ years I can make some generalizations about what will fit.

The first step is to determine 3 main factors:

1. Which Camera Gear you will carry:

The Equipment you plan to carry determines the Camera Insert as this is the primary need.

With for example two camera bodies, 100-400mm, 300mm, and a couple of other smaller lenses, and additional accessories like a flash and hood. This should fit in the Large Pro Camera Insert. But if you do not always carry ALL your gear, you can consider the Medium Slope or Medium Shallow (depending on the 300mm which needs the extra depth).

Weight of the total Pack:
As an example: The Loka UL is part of our Ultra-Lite series and has a max suggested carry load of 6-8kg, while the Ajna has a max carry load of 12kg. The weight of the pack will determine the comfort in use over time, using the pack on short trips (less than 1 hour) means that even an overloaded pack will be manageable, but if you are carrying a 15kg Loka UL for 8-10 hours every day your shoulders will be sore! The Loka UL also has fewer pockets and features, less weather resistance, and less of everything, it is Ulta-Lite engineered for fast and minimal.

We offer 5 backpacks from the Mountain series designed for Hiking, Short trips, short day trips up to multiple day trips, etc. Here is a quick of must-knows and what the pack is designed for.

2. What other gear you plan to carry on your adventures:

Tripod, Lights, Water, Food, Jacket, iPad, Laptop, Hard Drives, Clothes. This will help to better understand the total carry weight as well as the total volume needed. Does the pack need to be carry-on size or not? If a pack is compatible with a carry on has a lot of different factors ( Carry-on for which airline. Which plane. Which weight restriction?) The limiting factor is weight. We can’t control if it’s allowed to carry on

3. What environment do you plan to bring your pack in:

The last is the environment you plan to carry your gear – the DuraDiamond® is our more weather-resistant and durable series (just launched in 2021), the Standard Mountain Series with 420d Nylon Ripstop is a step below and of course, our Ultra-Lite series is the least weather resistant. The DuraDiamond® material is proprietary to f-stop and is stronger, lighter weight, and more weather resistant and has a rating of more than 20,000 mm

Mountain Series: