#F stop gear series

Unlike many similar systems, the ICU can be Velcro’d into the bag’s aluminium frame. F-Stop is far from the first company to use a system like this but in my opinion, they have nearly perfected it with a few smart ideas. The ICU is also fully customisable with hook and loop dividers giving the user the ability to tailor the unit to their specific needs. Like the name suggests this is a means to keep all kinds of valuable camera goodies safe and happy. Most of F-Stop’s bags are built around their ICU system (with ICU being short for the Internal Camera Unit). Let me say it again, 20 YEAR! Obviously, this does not cover neglect or inappropriate use but it’s still impressive to see a brand slap that kind of a warranty on a pack.

#F stop gear series

On all their Mountain series bags, they have a 20-year limited customer warranty. One of the things that impressed me the most about this pack was the warranty that F-Stop puts behind it. Overall the entire bag oozes quality, with more bells and whistles than most people will ever need. I’m not sure what kind of voodoo magic they put into these things but they are easy to open yet secure. All along the face are some of the best zippers I have ever used. After rubbing up against lots of granite rocks and being caught in the rain, the pack currently shows little wear. Most of the bag is covered in 420D ripstop nylon, which is not the lightest material but it is very tough and weather resistant. The good thing is there is barely any load placed on the back and shoulders, and almost all the weight of the pack sits comfortably on wearer’s hips when the belt is fastened. Personally, I recommend making it as snug as possible to distribute the weight of the bag more evenly over the shoulders and upper back. The shoulder straps are able to be adjusted in both lengths (adjusting how high the bag sits) and also how snug the bag fits against the wearer’s back. When you’re carrying 25-35 pounds of gear/ clothes/etc, that makes a tremendous difference.

Once the bag is loaded and fitted to your body, it literally feels like you’re carrying half the weight you actually are.

It brings a whole new level with well over twice the padding and “cushiness” on both the hip and shoulder straps. One of the things I instantly fell in love with when I first got my F-Stop Tilopa, was just how comfortable the bag felt. Primary materials: WR-treated, 420D ripstop nylon with TPU laminate Quality and ComfortĬamera bags tend to get heavy fast due to the weight of the equipment. In the four months that I have had this pack I have taken it into the forests of Germany, streets of Madrid and up into the European Alps. Being a full-time military photographer I primarily used this bag to carry around my camera gear. I then reached out to F-stop about testing one of their bags to see if I liked it enough to become my new primary camera carrier, a few weeks later a Tilopa showed up at my doorstep. Back in November, I noticed my current camera bag was starting to come apart at one of the zippers. Fast-forward 15 years and in the photography community they are a brand synonymous with quality and cutting edge designs. Initially, the company’s goal was to combine camera bags and performance backpacks into one, creating a bag to fill this void in the market at the time. F-stop Gear is a camera bag company that has been around since 2005.