Photography by Tom Zeman - REVIEW: WRP MP-1 Camera Backpack

If you read my previous article ("The Quest for the Perfect Bag"), then you know that when last we left the Bag Wars, I was using a Lowepro Pro Trekker. The Pro Trekker is a great backpack style bag, with a superb strap and suspension system. Unfortunately, it’s just too big for airline travel. I know a lot of photographers have traveled successfully without incident for years, but the Pro Trekker is not carry-on legal. It’s too big. Sure, you get away with it more often than not, but I don’t like surprises at the gate that result in my gear being stowed below with the Samsonite suitcases and orange crates. So I decided to try Moose Peterson’s MP-1 bag, and I’ve been using it now for about six months.

The MP-1 is very different from most other backpack style bags. It clearly wasn’t designed as a “trekking” pack. The straps are more like those on a book bag or daypack, and while lightly padded, are more for short term carrying convenience and to sit flat, than for long term comfort. This is a bag that was designed for traveling, not mountain climbing.

Fully loaded, and I mean loaded, my MP-1 weighs in at 35 pounds. I was able to cram an astonishing amount of gear in there. I don’t bring the kitchen sink, but I do believe that you cannot anticipate your shooting opportunities. You might be looking for one thing and stumble across something else. If the correct lens is back in the car or your hotel room, you aren’t going to get the shot. So I build one kit, which contains everything I need for most of the shooting I do, and bring that always.

Despite being stuffed with gear and accessories, it still slides neatly into the overhead storage bins of airliners. On the larger planes with deeper bins it slips in lengthwise, I’ve had to turn it sideways on smaller planes, but it still fits perfectly. Clearly, Moose has done his research. At first the proportions of the bag seem a little odd, but it was obviously designed to be a perfect fit, whichever way it winds up being stowed.

The bag has a half inch of padding on the bottom and sides, which protects your gear during travel, but doesn’t bulk it up too much. There is no padding on the top of the bag, but you shouldn’t be piling anything on top of it anyway. The bag ships with two “not for climbing” carabiners on the zipper pulls. I use mine by looping them through the zipper pulls to secure them closed. I don’t want a compartment opening up by getting snagged.

Using the MP-1 takes a little getting used to. It sits nicely flat on its back, so shooting out of it from a vehicle or the ground is very easy. It has three zippered compartments instead of one large one, which is more zippers to open and close, but exposes less area to dust or rain, and the beefy zippers open quickly and easily. I always found the zipper on the Pro Trekker to be a bit difficult because of the weather flap. I don’t like struggling with a bag. I want to get in and out fast, so set up and tear down is quick and painless. If it’s a hassle, then you don’t use all your available tools, and your images suffer for it!

So after six months, what is my verdict? Well, generally I like it. I love the amount of stuff it holds and how it fits on planes. It doesn’t scream out “Camera bag!” in airport terminals, although more than one person has commented on, “What a nice looking backpack that is.” Working out of the bag is easy. The shell material is tough and dirt resistant.

On the negative side, is the attachment of the straps. They take a lot of abuse supporting all that weight, but are cutoff and end sewn into the shell of the pack. I would have liked to have seen the straps continue down inside the shell, stitched along their length. The left strap on mine started to come apart at that point and I had to send it back for repair. Fortunately, it comes with a lifetime warranty. It took about three weeks for my bag to come back, but the repair was free.

I would have liked a bit more padding on the straps. They get painful on long trudges from one gate to another, or to the rental car. Likewise, a bit more structure in the bag would have been nice. It tends to bend when being carried. Of course, these would add weight and bulk, which is contrary to the design philosophy.

I don’t know if this is the bag for the rest of my life, but it does solve a lot of problems and makes traveling more convenient. If your shooting location requires hiking, then you should consider a more robust alternative. But for most situations, it works, and I am pleased with it.

As with all equipment, you should analyze your needs and make a decision on whether or not this will work for you. Since getting the MP-1, I have sold my Pro Trekker AND my Lowepro Stealth, so this is my choice for the foreseeable future.

The MP-1 is available from Wildlife Research Photography.

UPDATE: This bag has been retired in favor of the much better ThinkTank Airport Addicted. Those thinly padded straps I complained about caused a nagging shoulder injury that I still haven't gotten rid of after two years. With comparable prices, $360 for an MP-1 and $389 for an Airport Addicted, the ThinkTank product is clearly the superior choice. One of those skinny straps tore off and had to be repaired on mine. Moose Peterson offers a lifetime warranty, which he does honor (not cheerfully), but the bag has to be sent to his manufacturer in California. From the east coast, it takes a week to ship it there, at least a week to be fixed, and a week to get back. It really wasn’t the most convenient thing to go three weeks without, so I’ve now opted for something a little more heavy duty.