LowePro Pro Tactic Backpack Review: Pros and Cons

This year, I had the chance to try out the LowePro Pro Tactic backpack in order to review it here. The Pro Tactic series is one of LowePro’s best and most popular, so I wanted to see if it lived up to the hype.

We took the Pro Tactic on a huge USA road trip with us and used it to carry our camera gear on hikes, between accommodations, and through cities. The backpack ticked all the boxes of comfort, quality, and capacity and carried our gear faithfully.

I was swapping to this backpack from the Manfrotto Pro Light Multiloader backpack, and have compared a lot of the qualities of both backpacks here, both for short trips and full-time travel. Keep reading to find out which one I liked most!

Lowe Pro Pro Tactic Camera Backpack Review

I got the ProTactic BP 350 AW II, which offers amazing hard shell protection, an interior you can design yourself depending on your camera gear, and multiple access points. The backpack is definitely amazing quality, and offers a few different straps and pouches that attach to the outside of the backpack, which is conveniently covered in horizontal SlipLock straps.

The entire backpack is really customizable, from the outside straps to the inside velcro dividers, which you can arrange in any way you like for your gear. The backpack comes with a LOT of dividers, so you can even carve out a space for smaller things like batteries and charger cords. Below, you will find some of my favorite qualities of this backpack.

LowePro ProTactic Camera Backpack Review: PROS

Here are some of the best features of this camera backpack. Don’t forget to check out some of my ther favorite long term travel essentials that I always have with me.

Multiple Access Points – 4-Point Access

The backpack opens fully from the back, which is where the laptop sleeve lives. When you zip open the laptop sleeve, you can see the layout of all the dividers in the whole backpack and organize it as you see fit.

Once that is done, you can access your gear from both sides AND the top, too. I set mine up so I could access my camera on one side, and the most common lens I change to on the other side. I usually had my partner open and get the lens out if the backpack was on my back.

We didn’t use the top loader much, but you could easily use it to fit a drone, spare mirrorless camera, or larger lens. This compartment is the most easily accessed and most protected, with an armored FormShell turret and sturdy zipper.

Large Main Compartment with Velcro Dividers

The Pro Tactic has nothing but customizable space. Well, that and more dividers than you could possible use! You can set this backpack up exactly the way you want to, with tons of different sizes of divider for your big and small cameras and lenses, chargers, cords, batteries, and more. There are larger dividers and smaller ones, which is extra convenient. You can customize a slot for every single piece of gear you have!

Waist Belt + Utility Belt with Many Capabilities and Extra Accessories Attachable to the Outside with SlipLock Design

This is where the crazy customizability comes in with the Lowe Pro Pro Tactic – the fully customizable waist belt (to which you can attach tons of pouches and accessories) and the SlipLock design covering the whole backpack (these are straps that lay flat unless you attach an accessory to them, in which case they hold it sturdy).

The backpack can be quaint and smaller if you want it to be, and it can also be kitted out with all the accessories and storage if you want it to be. I have never had such a versatile backpack that you can really tailor to your needs!

There are lots of new SlipLock accessories to browse to see what fits your shooting needs best. There are so many options, from the bottle pouch, tripod holder, utility pouch, and tripod cup to the whole the modular belt (with zip compartments) that holds even more SlipLock accessories. With this much space for storage on the outside of the bag, the entire inside can be reserved for your cameras and gear.

ActivZone Supportive Back Panels: COMFY!

When I started wearing this backpack, the first thing that really stood out to me was just how comfy it was. It really sits softly and snugly on my back, and the waist/chest straps are helpful as well.

It wasn’t until I learned more about the pack that I realized it actually has special ActivZone structured panels for your back, shoulders, and waist that are ventilated for those longer days, too.

Laptop Compartment

If you need to work while shooting, this backpack also has a laptop compartment compatible with a 13 inch computer. This expands the backpack’s use beyond just carrying camera gear and allows it to be used for remote working as well, or just editing your content on-the-go.

Lightweight at Only 2 KG

For how armored and strong this backpack is, it’s extremely lightweight, coming in at only 2.12kg (for the 350). That is honestly really incredible! The Pro Tactic is able to provide all the support, structure, comfort, and protection you need without breaking your back (we’ll leave it to the cameras to do that…)

LowePro ProTactic Camera Backpack Review: CONS

Here are some things I didn’t love about this backpack.

Lack of Extra Storage Space for Everyday Use or Travel

It was difficult to squeeze a Sony a7riii, spare lens, and drone into the 350. It depends on your camera gear, of course, but with all this equipment in the Pro Tactic 350 there was no room for extra things like cords, chapstick, sunglasses, sunscreen, pill bottles, business cards, and bits and bobs that you would normally carry around with you.

The only way I found to store extra things was a small utility pouch that fits in the top portion of the backpack. I would sometimes put my things in the utility pouch and store it in the top portion of the pack as shown. But this limits the 4th, top access point as you must choose between having ‘stuff’ with you at all or using the entire backpack for camera gear only. I prefer having a section (or 5) of my pack for extra things.

There are a few flat pockets for a wallet or passport, but all in all, there isn’t much space for stuff that you don’t want floating around the entire backpack or stored in a little pouch.

Easier to Use Multiple Access Points if Shooting with Another Person

I found that the multiple access points were great on paper but not as easily used in practice. No matter what, you will have to take the backpack off and put it down to safely get a camera or lens out of the pack, even from the side access points. It’s sometimes uncomfortable to swing it around the side.

The only way I saw these being super beneficial is when you are shooting with a buddy and can have someone else open the side access point and get out a lens, and put the other back in. Other than that, you might as well be setting it down somewhere and opening the whole thing up anytime you need anything.

Laptop Compartment fits only a 13 Inch Laptop

Unlike other backpacks with full laptop compartments, the Pro Tactic only possesses a thin laptop sleeve that will fit a small, 13-inch computer without any room to spare. So there’s no way you will fit your laptop in its case – the backpack now IS your laptop case and you will have to squeeze crds and hard drives into the compartments surrounding it, if you can.

My Manfrotto Pro Light Multiloader has a whole laptop compartment in which I can fit my 17-inch laptop inside its laptop case, which holds cords, drives, memory cards, and more.

Water Bottle Storage Only Possible with Attachable Water Bottle Holder

The SlipLock capabilities of the backpack keep it extra sleek and convenient – if you don’t have anything attached to the outside. Once you attach the water bottle holder, tripod pouch, and other utility pouches, your whole getup can get bulky quickly.

This is a pro and a con because it’s awesome to have a whole utility belt and customizable attachments to tailor specifically to your shoot, so you can place any extra lenses, memory cards, filters, etc in the most convenient place for YOU for whatever your project is. If you need things at your fingertips, they are all there. But if you want the convenience of having all your stuff on you to move around, it’s not convenient to have all the attachments on all the time.

LowePro Pro Tactic Backpack Review: Conclusion and Comparison to Manfrotto Pro Light Multiloader

This is truly a perfect backpack to rig up with attachments and customize with your cameras, take out on a shoot, come home, and then reset. It couldn’t be better for the ease of customization, and I think it’s best for day use for different projects where you can set it up differently depending on that shoot’s needs. It’s not a backpack to use daily for travel or moving around town.

In any case, I would absolutely recommend getting the Pro Tactic 450, as the 350 was too small for my needs. But, I realize that not everyone will need the backpack for this reason, and might only take it out on shoots here and there.

For a shoot every now and then where you take out camera gear only, this backpack would be perfect with its customizability and tough armored shell. But to be used as both a camera backpack and everyday backpack, it fell short for me.

The biggest deal breakers for me were the smaller laptop compartment and the lack of storage space for extra things in the backpack itself. I thought 350 would be a lot larger than it was, and it’s entirely possible and actually probable that the Pro Tactic 450 would fit my needs better.

But all in all, I stuck with my year-old Manfrotto Pro Light Multiloader to take traveling with me, although it was much more warn and used. The multiloader backpack simply fits my travel needs much better.

It has a whole laptop compartment, TONS of extra pockets, fits more camera gear (it is larger, which is worth noting), and has an entire upper pocket with dividers to store extra stuff, which I really need in a backpack. It also has two water bottle pockets built into the side of the bag much more conveniently than the ProTactic’s attachable water bottle holder.

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I hope this review has helped you make a decision on which backpack is right for you! Comment below or DM me on Instagram with any questions you have.