F.64 Backpack Review - The Best in Big

I'm not hatin' on you, but here's the truth:  my bag be better than your bag.

If you love big bags (and who doesn’t) then my absolute favorite is the F.64 Large Format camera backpack. It is the best big bag at any price, and it costs less than any other bag in it’s size range.  

As a one-man production band, I like to keep my gear compact, and as easy to carry as possible.  This means one backpack for all my camera and audio gear, a rolling bag for lights, and a separate golf bag for stands and sticks.  I can get my full camera setup, complete with back up camera, three lenses, gimbal, audio gear, and drone into the F.64.  Or three cameras and four lenses.  Or... you get the idea: it's big and it's flexible.

I kept my eye on the F.64 for almost 3 years before I sprang for one.  It’s designed for large format film cameras.  This not only means more space, but it somehow avoided the rat-race of bag pricing.  This well-made backpack comes in at the phenomenal price of roughly $140 bucks.  I honestly can’t tell you how much more room you get for the dollar.  The Mindshift Gear 26L, for example, give you 20% packing space and costs $100 more.  Don't even talk to me about Manfrotto packs.  The base unit comes with two side bags, and you can purchase more for about $20 each. 

The zippers are pretty strong, the shoulder straps are probably not comfy enough for long hikes, but they’re great for getting your gear short distances. Much of the bag is double-stitched for sturdiness, and I expect it to last a least a decade. I'm told that the backpack minus-the-side-bags qualifies as a carry on, but it pushes the limit so you might want to check with your airline just to be sure.  Not all airlines (or all airplanes) have the same size limit.  How big is it?

The Specs:  

• Exterior: 23"x14"x7"
• Interior Lower compartment:  13"x13"x6"
• Interior Upper compartment:  8"x13"x6
• Maximum volume: 8.5lbs
• Bag weight:  6.3lbs

What’s it missing?  Well, there’s one aspect of the bag that may give some of you pause:  It doesn’t have a slot for a laptop.  Depending on how you shoot and what other bags you carry, this may be a deal-breaker.  For day-to-day work, I find that I never take my laptop.  Unless I'm re-creating a studio setup for a client (extremely rare), it's just too cumbersome.  For longer trips, though, the lack of laptop space could be an issue.  It also doesn’t have a tripod holder, if you like that sort of thing.  I don’t, because they’re usually not very good for larger sticks, and smaller ones are easy enough to strap onto the side of the bag.

 You can’t find them very many places, but B&H and Amazon both carry them.  And like any product that starts to get noticed on YouTube, supplies may not last that long.  Honestly, I almost want to buy a second bag just for the future.  I’m not an affiliate, so I don’t get anything by it, just tell you what works for me.