Lowe Pro CompuRover in the field

So you have a photo safari coming up and you have decided you want to take your new laptop for decent reviewing. You know what that means; New Bag Time!!

Well that's my excuse anyway!

For the Kenya Trip we needed a bag to carry gear plus a 15" MacBook Pro.

So how did the CompuRover cope?

We did a lot of searching for camera bags that can also carry a 15" laptop, given we live in Australia it did limit the choices somewhat. After much discussion we decided on the CompuRover.

What did we put in it:

• The 15" MacbookPro in the padded laptop compartment.


• Upper section: Books, passports/ticket wallet, various other non camera related bits and bobs.


• Lower camera section: Given there was 2 of us travelling this bag was used to carry, 50mm lens, 550ex flash, better beamer, mouse, MacBook Pro power supply, Canon S3, Vosonic 80GB portable drive (backup), various computer cables, 1 power point adapter.

Overall weight: Don't ask!!

What worked:

• The laptop compartment fitted the 15" easily, spec says it fits a 17". I also used it to hold the spare laptop battery. It also came in handy to keep our "crossing the equator" certificates flat.


• The laptop comparment is easily accessable when the bag is on someones back, thus making security/xray checks less hassle. With the laptop in the bag become alot stiffer but not uncomfortable.


• The bottom section now expands out once the zip is open, making it much easier to get into. You do not have to tear the bag in half to get your gear out.

Improvements required:

• You cannot attached a padlock to the zip on the laptop compartment. The other compartments have double zips thus allowing a padlock to be used for extra security.


• The mesh side pockets are now pretty much useless. On the standard Rover they are very handy for water bottles etc.

Fully loaded we got this bag into every aircraft overhead, except for the Dash 8 (where it fitted under the seat in front). So if you have some regional (or smaller) aircraft flights you may have some issues.

Overall it performed very well and was just as good as our original Rover.
If I was travelling alone with full kit, the load of non camera gear would have to be reduced to handle the bigger lenses.

If you want a hybrid bag then the CompuRover could be for you.
If you want a bag to carry all your kit (and wildlife photographers have a lot of kit!) then keep looking.

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