Hiking Camera Backpack and Travel Tripod Review

I go on tons of hiking trips and although I’ve been a professional photographer for some time, I’ve just now decided to get a legit travel camera backpack along with a travel tripod.  On past trips/vacations, I’d just bring my “C” camera (the back-up rebel to my back-up DSLR cameras) only because I didn’t want to lug around a heavy camera body, lenses and awkward camera bag that I currently have.  I have a hiking trip to Canada coming up and because I needed to make sure my backpack and tripod arrived on-time, I decided to purchase the items through Amazon (plus if they didn’t work out, I’d still have enough time to exchange them for something else).

I chose this hiking camera backpack from Tarion that includes two side pockets, a front pocket and an area above the camera compartment to house additional items…so lots of storage, making it a perfect carry-on item for the plane ride.  I have to admit, I was skeptical of the quality before I ordered only because it’s so cheap and because these types of bags go for 2-4x the amount on other sites.  I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at how great the quality is and you can’t beat the price!  Plus, I love the camel color- it’s the perfect accessory to compliment my fall colored hiking attire because that’s what it’s all about, right (j/k…kind of!).  It has buckles on the bottom to hold a tripod too which is great.  My only criticism is that I wish it had a compartment for a water bottle.  Since it doesn’t, I will likely end up strapping one on the bottom with the tripod.

The next item I bought for my hiking trips is this light-weight travel tripod.  It’s one of the lightest that I came across and is only 16.5″ wide when collapsed.  I tested it with my DSLR and my 135mm lens (my heaviest) and it held up great although any wind will definitely make it a bit wobbly.  My only gripe about this travel tripod is that the mounting plate is one you have to unscrew to get off vs. a quick release but still with the price, it does what I need it to do.

I hope this helps you decide on your own hiking travel camera equipment!  In case you’re not familiar with me, I’m a Cleveland, Ohio photographer and owner of Chelsey Hill Photography.  My work has been featured in many prominent publications including Click magazine, Milky Way Magazine & Huffpost.  I specialize in family, maternity and newborn portraiture servicing Akron, Canton and greater Cleveland, Ohio areas.