There are certain milestones in your online career as a photographer.

For instance, the first time someone other than you reads one of your blog posts.

The first time someone you don’t know leaves a comment.

The first time someone you don’t know leaves a nice comment.

The first time a gear manufacturer, usually a bag company, asks whether you’d like to review one of its products.

I have arrived at the latter. In my case, the bag manufacturer is Vanguard, who appear to have been on a bit of a mission during 2011. Some research showed that, in recent months, lots of bloggers have written about the bag I was offered: the Skyborne 51 backpack.

Disclosure and all that

The arrangement suggested by Vanguard was a simple one. They ship me a bag, I review it and then keep the bag.

I wasn’t keen on the last bit. Actually keeping the review product undermines a dispassionate mind and can colour one’s judgement. Mine is cloudy at the best of times. Besides, what if I hated the blessed thing? I’m short of places to stow the camera bags I liked enough to pay money for. An unloved one, freebie or not, wouldn’t make the storage issue any better. No, the review product would have to be returned*.

Vanguard agreed to take the bag back after I was done with it. That made me more comfortable.

Unsuitable whopper

I was keen to get a Vanguard bag that I could bring with me on my trip to Lapland. Unfortunately, the Skyborne 51 was the only one available for review. It’s a meaty bag that is bigger in several dimensions than the carry-on luggage allowed on some of the flights I’d be on. Vanguard assured me none of their customers had ever encountered problems.

Despite my reservations about its size, I agreed to have it shipped to me. After all, Vanguard did seem like thoroughly nice people with a respected product. So why not?

Idiot. As soon as the box arrived, I knew it was going to be too big and too cumbersome to haul around with me through airports on my two-day journey out to Lapland. Not only that, it wouldn’t hold all of the gear I wanted to carry with me.

That sounds contradictory, I know. Thing is, the 51 is designed only partially as a backpack for camera equipment. Part of it is given over to space that allows you to store other stuff. Like clothes and essentials that a seasoned outdoorsman or lady might need. So from a gear point of view, it’s a bit like a reverse Tardis**. It has less space inside than you’d imagine looking at it from the outside.

Therein lies the problem. I’m a documentary photographer. Small is my game, and I rarely find myself far from a place to buy a coffee. The 51 is designed for photographers who are out in the wilds and need to bring both photographic equipment and supplies with them.

From the start, the 51 and I were incompatible. For me, the bag was just too big and too impractical for my work.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

However, this doesn’t mean I can’t see the 51′s merits.

It is extremely well made and looks very good in a rugged, chiseled, wholesome, outdoorsy sort of way. It is confidence inspiring.

It is also surprisingly light. Thinking it to be heavier, I put far too much effort into pulling it out of the box it arrived in and consequently hit myself in the face.

It has lots of nice touches, such as magnetic clasps that keep the zippers in place, and a removable laptop sleeve that can be converted into a stand-alone bag.

It has a rain cover – if you can find it.

It oozes quality.

For someone, somewhere, it will no doubt be a dream bag.

Quirks

That said, the bag has some quirks that you will either love or hate. I really don’t think you can hang around in the middle ground on these.

For a start, the bag doesn’t open like a traditional photographic backpack. It opens on the harness side.

I understand the logic. If you’re out in the mud and you need to lay the pack down to access it, better to get the side facing furthest away from you dirty.

I have to say, though, that I found wrestling with the harness to get to the gear compartment annoying. The harness is well made, so it fights back when you push it away. It is more cat than dog in that regard.

Another quirk is the quick access panel on the left-hand side.

This feature allows you to get to your gear by simply slinging the bag off one shoulder. That’s fine. If you’re right handed. If you’re left handed, you’re going to hate this. That said, you can really only get to the outermost piece of kit, so it had better be what you’re looking for or you’ll have to lay the bag down in the mud anyway.

A gripe

I do have one real gripe. On the left shoulder strap, Vanguard have placed a holder. For what, I don’t know, but most people are going to want use it to house their iPhone or equivalent. An iPhone 4 or 4s squeezes in really, really tightly, provided you don’t have a bumper or any kind of protective armour around it. To get it back out, you have to pull with some force. Too much effort, and the sudden release will likely see you fling your phone a good distance. Out in the wilds, where the 51 is designed to be used, there are going to be very few forgiving spots for it to land. Really, the 51 should come with some kind of phone protection plan as standard.

Conclusion

I want to like the Skyborne 51, but sadly I can’t. To me, despite its good looks and rugged construction, it feels over-engineered. It’s a bit like a modern DSLR, with all those functions and menus. Too far removed from the essence of what it was designed to do.

But hang on.

I knew this was going to be the likely outcome of this review. So I’ve offered Vanguard an alternative. Two of my best photographic friends are landscape photographers Peter Cox and Neil McShane, with whom I produce ‘Dynamic Range‘. In an episode slated for recording early next year, we are going to do a group test of backpacks. Peter and Neil are much better qualified to discuss the 51 than I am. So while, to their credit, Vanguard encouraged me to write my review despite my reservations, the 51 will, I hope, get another go at the hands of more qualified judges.

Watch this space.

In the meantime, perhaps I could get one of Vanguard’s Heralder shoulder bag series bags to test? The Heralder 28 looks nice.

*All fine and well in the case of a camera bag. I sense I could bend my rules should, say, a Leica M9 be delivered to me for review.

**If you don’t know what a Tardis is, you have likely been deprived of BBC television for the past 50 years. You must write immediately to your television channel provider. Incidentally, Tom Baker was the greatest Doctor ever. Any suggestions to the contrary in the comments shall be ignored.

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