A while back I reviewed the Thinktank Streetwalker Hard Drive, which is the sibling to the Mindshift Firstlight 30L I’ll be talking about today. As all of you know, I’m an avid outdoorsman and my photography is centered around that passion as well. And while I really liked the Streetwalker backpack, it wasn’t my favorite for outdoors use.
So, whenever ThinkTank saw my review of the Think Tank Streetwalker, they offered to send me a Firstlight 30L bag to try from their sister company, MindShift. It is definitely the more outdoorsy of the two packs and it improves on a lot of things I needed for my usage.
Mindshift Firstlight 30L Review
Right off the bat, you will notice Mindshift has not held back in terms of quality on this bag. It is outfitted with custom zipper pulls (which I absolutely love), highly water-resistant YKK zippers, water-repellent nylon exterior, a provided rain cover and a half-dozen other high-quality finishings/materials.
In terms of price, this is a rather high-end bag. But you really do get what you pay for with the Firstlight 30L. It’s fantastic and I have no doubts that this bag could last certain outdoor photographers a lifetime under heavy use.
Best in Class Organization
Of all the bags that I have tested, I have to give the slight edge to Mindshift and ThinkTank on their organizational components.
Their dividers are the best in terms of stability and rigidness. They stay locked in place better than any other dividers I’ve ever used. And that’s what you need when you’re traveling and adventuring with a camera backpack.
You also have unlimited options of how to organize the interior of the Firstlight 30L Backpack, as the entire area is soft-sided velcro.
More Internal Organization
In addition to the main compartment, I’m a huge fan of the zippers on the flap of the bag. They feature 3 sizable see-through mesh pockets. These pockets are stretchy enough to accept slightly bulkier items like a Zoom H1 audio recorder or filters. But they are perfect for organizing your cords, memory cards and spare batteries.
Initially, I was worried about the mesh not holding up. But I thrashed on this bag and put sharp/pointy objects in these pockets for over a half year with no issues. I guess if I had to get super picky, I would’ve loved to have seen some cooler zipper pulls like they used on the exterior of the bag…But that’s just because I’m a total nerd for those things.
Mindshift Firstlight 30L Comfort
We all know the most important part of any backpack is how comfortable it is. If it’s uncomfortable you can count on your trip being miserable. But I’m so stoked to report that the Mindshift Firstlight 30L is one of the most comfortable bags I’ve ever tested. As you can see in the picture above, the padding is super thick and robust. This helps to take all of the strain off your shoulders.
Hipbelt shown with the optional Mindshift Filter Nest (review here)
The hip belt on the Firstlight 30L Backpack is also a huge win in terms of its comfort. It does what every hip belt should do and takes a great deal of the pressure and weight off of your shoulders, and effectively transfers it to your hips. I know this may not sound like a big deal, but it really is something that a lot of packs don’t properly execute. And when you find one that does, it’s like magic.
Firstlight 30L with a Tripod
The Mindshift Firstlight 30L is capable of comfortably carrying a pretty substantial tripod, like my beloved Alta Pro 2+ from Vanguard shown above. But this is the one area of the bag that I had problems with and would’ve changed.
When you have a tripod attached to the front of the bag you cannot access the main compartment at all. You must first remove the tripod entirely if you want to gain access to that zippered area. I found this to be a bit of an annoyance in the field on more than one occasion when I wanted to do a quick lens change and shoot handheld. Others may not find this to be much of an inconvenience, but to me it was the only drawback of the bags performance.
Who would love this pack?
I’ll answer this question by saying where the Firstlight 30L fits into my system. I personally bring this backpack along when I’m going to be doing a lot of hiking for my photography. It’s spacious enough to carry 2 camera bodies, extra lenses, mics, backup hard drives, emergency gear and plenty more. It also accommodates the needs of outdoors photographers by giving us 2 extremely spacious water bottle pockets and a hydration bladder sleeve…Because, as we know, water is the most important thing you need while outdoors.
Mindshift Firstlight 30L (9 out of a 10)
Many companies claim their bags are well suited for adventure and outdoor photographers, but a lot of them get it wrong. They overcomplicate their products, skimp on quality or quite frankly make a mess of the organizational aspects. But, Mindshift really knows what they’re doing in this genre of backpacks.
The Firstlight 30L bag from Mindshift has been one of my favorites that’s come through here for testing. Minus the slight inconvenience and personal preference of the tripod carrying solution, this bag is as close to perfect as I could imagine. I would recommend the Mindshift Firstlight 30L hands down to anyone who needs a great outdoor photography backpack.
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