Lowepro Terraclime - Mini Review

[sockeyed]

I came across a new style of bag from Lowepro the other day - the Terraclime series (I bought the Terraclime 100 for $50 CDN).

Images from the Lowepro website:

They're simple and stripped-down, and made almost entirely from recycled materials. The exterior fabric has a canvas-like look and feel and the inside is a soft, silk-like polyester. Padding is light-to-moderate, and it comes with a velcro-fastening, adjustable 'camera wrap', which could hold your body with lens. It doesn't have the typical semi-rigid dividers that most bags do. When you're not using the wrap, it can keep your lenses from knocking into each other, or it can flatten out of the way on the bottom of your bag. There's an interior zipped pouch and two exterior pockets.

It's the right size for an M-body with lens, plus two more lenses carried on each side of the 'wrapped' body. I have also used it to carry my Nikon D700 and three primes.

If I had a complaint, it would be that the strap is a bit basic and could use some kind of padding for the shoulder. The clips to hold the flap shut are simple and solid, but take some getting used to for one-handed closure. With an unfastened top, there is probably a bit of danger of spilling the contents because the bag is not that deep.

My previous bag of a similar size is the Crumpler Four Million Dollar Home. This one is a lot less bulky (but also less padded) and looks less 'camera bag-like'). It's also cheaper.

 

[rickp]

thanks for taking the time to post a mini-review. i'm interested in the terraclime 100, but want to look at it in the store somewhere first.

greetings from hamburg

rick

 

[kanzlr]

I got one too because it is that cheap. It is a nice bag for a city trip because it holds a few extra bits but is still very small. And if we go out in the evening and I decide to leave the camera at home, it serves as a small courier bag for miscellanea.

It works well if you use the camera most of the time, but if you get it in and out frequently, the fumbling with the camera wrap is a bit of a pain. The good thing is that you can use the camera wrap with other bags too. I have something like a modern man bag made by Springfield and the M with lens in wrap fits in there nicely.

 

[kuvvy]

I too picked up one of these bags. It's well made and the materials have a good feel. The fastenings at first seem a bit of a pain but once the bag has been used a little fastening becomes easier. There are no dividers, just the camera wrap. The wrap is quite big, obviously more suited to a DSLR but I find it a bit bulky so I've been using a smaller lens wrap which fits my cameras better. The bag is nice as a general man bag and doesn't attract too much attention. The bag hangs well when worn across the chest but if carried on the shoulder it slides off very easily. I put a Bare Bones shoulder pad on mine (same as the Courierware) but while it adds a little more comfort it is stills slides off the shoulder. It really shoud have some grippy material added.

 

[gavinlg]

I have one too and I love it. As a smaller shoulder bag it's the best. Light, super thin, and super minimal.