On the exterior, it looks like any other climbing backpack. But peel back the layers, and you’ll discover that Vanguard imaginatively planned the VEO Active 46 backpack to hold loads of equip. It comes in four sizes (two greater than the Active 46 adaptation that I tried). It appears made for experienced explorers and travelers on long ventures. It doesn’t fair have loads of space interior; there are adequate pockets and capacity spaces so you can organize your adapt well.
It’s likely greater than most camera bags you’ve utilized so distant, so perhaps it’s not something you’d utilize for your week after week photo walk. The Vanguard VEO Active 46 appears to be pointed at individuals who need to carry loads of adapt over trips enduring a couple of days. With a few inventiveness, you might too effortlessly fit in the dress and snacks you’d require as well, in expansion to a portable workstation, an iPad, embellishments, and more. In reality, you might likely live out of this backpack for an whole week.
Table of Contents
- The Huge Picture
1.1 Pros
1.2 Cons - Equip Used
- Innovations
- Ergonomics
4.1 Pockets, Pockets Everywhere
4.2 What Came Interior The Best Compartment?
4.3 Sides - Construct Quality
- Ease Of Use
- Who Ought to Purchase The Vanguard VEO Active 46 Backpack?
- Tech Specs
The Enormous Picture
I think I would have to be at slightest 5’10” to not feel little whereas wearing this pack. I can as it were envision how overshadowed I would be if I had attempted either the Active 49 or 53 models. But expansive as it is, the plan handle behind it appears carefully thought out. There are pockets for fundamental travel things like control banks, there’s a segment for hydration, and gadgets can be cozily tucked absent. And whereas these highlights are in a parcel of climbing bags these days, Vanguard outlined this backpack to suit the long-term traveling picture taker. For the most portion, they appear to have gotten it right. It’s truly not a every day utilize sack, but if you’re somebody who does long voyages, it’s worth considering.
Pros
- Oodles of space
- Comfortable straps
- Padded abdomen straps
- Dual control wheels
- Airflow cushioning for back
- Easily straps over your baggage trolley handle
- Raincover, cards/cables pocket, and multifunction pocket included
- Powerbank region to effectively interface your phone to for charging without having to put it interior the backpack
- Metal outline keeps the sack upright and firm.
- Removable camera box insert
Cons
- The detachable camera box embed truly ought to have had snares and a bear strap. This would offer assistance in scenarios where you need to take as it were the camera equip out of the backpack and move around with it, taking off the fundamental backpack behind.
- It felt a bit overwhelming on my back, indeed with fair the Nikon Z6 II and 24-120 f4 Z mount focal point interior the camera box. Possibly it fair takes a few getting utilized to.
- If you’re a photographer who’s an eager climber as well, or somebody who appreciates investigating the outside abroad and needs to guarantee you have all your camera adapt with you, this is the sack to choose. You can effortlessly fit two cameras and up to five focal points in the camera box. The sack effectively suits a 14″ portable workstation and 10″ tablet. Don’t stress approximately your gigantic scene tripod; it’ll fit there as well. I as it were wish the camera box had a bear strap option.
Gear Used
We tried Vanguard’s VEO Active 46 khaki-green backpack with the taking after gear:
- A Nikon Z9 with the Nikon Z 35mm f1.8 S focal point (both on advance) attached
- A Nikon Z6 II with the Nikon Z 24-120 f4 S focal point (both mine)
- A Leofoto Mr Q tripod
- Nikon FTZ II
- Various filters
- Macbook M1 Air
- Samsung World Tab 10
- Clothes
Innovations
The incorporation of the metal outline interior the backpack is curiously. I by and by haven’t seen this in other bags of this sort. Indeed if you don’t have much adapt interior, or indeed if the camera box isn’t interior the backpack, it still remains decently upright much obliged to this.
Ergonomics
This is the to begin with backpack I’ve utilized that I’d utilize the word “chunky” to depict. Perhaps it’s since of those intensely cushioned shoulders and abdomen straps. They nearly feel like you’re holding a lightweight brick in your hand when you hold them. Indeed if they take a bit of time to alter to, you get utilized to them. They do fit cozily, and indeed on my moderately limit shoulders.
The most curiously and vital piece for those of us fixated with keeping our equip spotless is the above-seen camera box. This detachable embed comes with delicately cushioned detachable dividers that you can move to reconfigure the space interior it.
Seen here interior the camera embed box are a Nikon Z9 with the Nikon Z 35mm f1.8 S focal point joined, a Nikon Z 50mm f1.8s focal point, a Nikkor F mount 17-35mm f2.8 focal point, Laowa’s 10-18mm ultrawide focal point, a Nikon FTZ connector, and a Godox TT350s speedlight. I may have pressed an ND channel in if it had a defensive case. And there’s still room for an discuss blower and a little sanitizer bottle. An flexible strap with velcro is kept as an additional line of security to avoid your camera from falling out, in spite of the fact that I’m uncertain what would keep your focal points from doing the same ought to you ever be in such a situation.
Access to the embed is conceivable by means of the raise of the Vanguard VEO Active 46 backpack, but this includes opening the zipper to get to the equip. I didn’t see how the cover of the embed seem be tucked absent when you stash it interior the backpack for less demanding get to to gear.
Pockets, Pockets Everywhere
The interior of the back of the backpack is moreover where you’d stow your tablet and/or tablet, and travel reports if you’d like.
The Vanguard VEO Active 46 is certainly more comfortable when the detachable midsection strap is secured. For one thing, it’s unattractive to take off it open as it’s prominent to see at. But Vanguard has included a take on one of the midsection strap’s paddings, which can take a smartphone or possibly indeed a compact camera.
The beat of the backpack has a lean nylon handle. I truly like the sparkly silver buckle that secures the best compartment. I wish all the other dark buckles were silver as well; they would include an additional bit of premium feel to the backpack. The upper compartment is free, and doesn’t have any cushioning or structure to it. It’s best utilized for putting away your sweater or hoodie whereas you travel. If you put any camera equip in there, be beyond any doubt to utilize a few cushioning around it. It’s the expandable portion of the backpack; roll it down and collapse it when not needed.
There’s moreover space in here to keep your smartphone, with an included USB cable to join to it. It’s effectively swappable ought to you need to alter it to a high-speed cable of your possess choice. I’d keep trade cards or often-needed cables in the zipped net take if I were to to utilize it.
What Came Interior The Best Compartment?
The rain cover, multi adornments pocket (where you can store cards, cables, and more), and the multifunction pocket (great sufficient to fit a 70-200 or a 1.5L water bottle).
Sides
One side has a space for a decently large-sized control bank. There’s a harbour in there to plug in the cable from the control bank. The other conclusion is likely what the cable in the best collapsible compartment interfaces to as well. Fair underneath this, on the same side, is an expandable take where you may store a bottle of water. A little tripod seem moreover fit in here, or you might hold a bigger one with the strap provided.
The other side has two buckles securing a huge zipper, which opens up the primary compartment of the Vanguard VEO Active 46 backpack. This is the as it were way you can expel and include the detachable camera box embed. These straps aren’t for holding a tripod; they see more for fair securing the side. You might too hold the tripod against the front of the backpack, utilizing the two straps there, and tuck in the tripod legs interior the multifunction pouch.
Build Quality
I’m fair beneath 5’6″, and the pack fits me beautiful well, but I felt like it would weigh down on my shoulders due to its estimate. And whereas it did feel like this when I to begin with raised it over them, it felt beautiful comfortable once I balanced the bear straps for a more tightly fit.
Ease Of Use
In terms of being able to store expansive sums of adapt securely, Vanguard nailed it. But when it comes to quickly getting to your adapt, be arranged to work out patience.
Let’s to begin with address the issue of the camera box embed. Valuable as it is to store adapt in an organized way, the zipped best cannot be evacuated in any way (at slightest not that I saw). This implies that, in arrange to get to your cameras through the back of the pack, you require to unfasten it. If the cover were detachable, I’d be able to get to the adapt quicker. This seem be accomplished by swinging the backpack to your front (whereas the midsection straps were secured) and fair unfastening the best of the zipper at the back. Slide a hand in and take out your essential camera, at that point zip up and swing the backpack around to your back once more. As it is presently, there’s an additional step of having to unfasten the camera embed box or at slightest move the fold out of the way each time.
Secondly, if the embed had a bear strap (or at slightest snares for this), possibly I might have utilized it as a bear pack for when I didn’t need to carry the whole backpack along. Envision you’re at a campsite and fair need to take a camera body and a couple of focal points along for a little climb. You can’t truly sling the camera embed box over your bear as it as it were has one handle. And indeed that is generally to fair yank it out of the backpack when you need to get to gear.
The sack doesn’t see like a conventional camera sack, so you’re likely not going to be the target of cheats and pickpockets whereas you travel overseas. It can carry loads of adapt as long as you inventively pack it. Fair know that you can’t get to that adapt as rapidly as you would with a standard camera bag.
Who Ought to Purchase The Vanguard VEO Active 46 Backpack?
Photographers who are explorers, travelers, and open air pilgrims that adore going off the framework can discover this pack as a great arrangement to their equip carrying troubles. It fits a parcel of adapt (in the event that you still need more space at that point Vanguard has Active 49 and 53 models as well) and can still take travel extras and clothes.
You fair can’t get to your adapt on the go as rapidly as you might need to, so treat this as more of a gear case on your back. That said, it will likely get less demanding to do this once you’re utilized to it. And it has no deficiency of pockets and sleeves for putting away accessories.
I trust future emphasess of this sack will have a bear strap alternative for the camera embed box.
Tech Specs
Color Khaki Green
External Dimensions 11.4 x 9 x 18.7 inches
Internal Dimensions 10.6 x 6.2 x 18.1 inches
Laptop/Tablet Storage 14″ Laptop/10″ Tablet
Volume (Liters) 25 L
Maximum Weight Capacity 24.25 lbs.
Item Weight 5.6 lbs.