Tamrac Adventure 9

Finally I've it. As mentioned before, Adventure 10 is not available in Poland and it seems it's also not available in Europe, so I decided to buy version 9 for testing during my nearest trip to Spain. Originally I wanted to take my LowePro MiniTrekker, but it lacks space for additional stuff - it's typical photo backpack and has only one compartment. I also own LowePro CompuDayPack, but photo compartment in this rucksack is definitely too small, so having my Adventure 9 I'll for sure sell CompuDayPack. Don't need it anymore (Maybe you wanna buy it? It's as good as new!).
Look how much stuff I can put in Adventure 9:

It's EOS40D with attached 17-55/2.8 lens+hood, 70-200/4L+hood, Speedlite 580EX flash (under 70-200), spare battery, charger, 2 filters, 4 cf cards, card reader, remote switch and I still have a lot of space. Of course upper compartment is empty and you can put even 400/5.6L into it. Besides we have a pocket for 17" laptop! Mine is only 11" so I'll have additional space for books or something. Below you can see a little zoomed image:


What's worse I was in the shop, bought Tamrac, but still had the problem with Off Trail 2 - can't decide if I should buy it and if it's good when you already have big backpack on your back!

Backpacks, Jerez and Sevilla...

As promised I visited torbylowepro.pl shop this week. I spent there over an hour watching different bags and backpacks, then I went out even more confused. It appeared that Orion AW is good in pictures, but complete disaster when you see it live.
I checked Off Trail 2 very carefully and it seems to be final solution for trip to Havasu Falls and maybe some other trips, but I still think it's not a perfect solution for day hikes, like one to Wave or Subway. My decision is getting closer to Tamrac Adventure 10, but it's unreachable in Poland. Maybe Tamrac Adventure 9 will do, although it's a bit smaller and I still don't know how to attach tripod to it. Maybe S-113 will help?
I should harry up with choosing my new backpack, because wanted to put it to the test during the trip to Spain.
And talking about Spain, I must brag about my hotel reservation in Jerez de la Frontera - I had luck to find quite a nice looking place with parking and breakfast included in price. The hotel is called Guadalete and is close to the city center and Bodegas - places where sherry is produced. Now I want to find some good place for Flamenco show and a good hotel for last night near Sevilla. Hotel Don Paco looks nice, but price is a bit too high - over 100 EUR including parking! If I don't find anything better, I'll reserve it. At least it's not far from the city center - as reported by maps.google.com it's in the walking distance:


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Bags, backpacks and toploaders

Imagine that you're preparing for a hike to the mountains and have to take tent, sleeping bag, foam pad or mat, clothes, food, water, drugs, etc. It means all of this stuff will finally be on your back. Now let's assume you are an amateur photographer and photography is the main reason to hike. You have to take a tripod+head, camera body, two or three lenses (10-22/3.5-4.5, 17-55/2.8 and 70-200/4L), filters, spare batteries, memory cards etc.
Of course you can't put it in the main backpack, because it's not designed for fragile equipment and it's not very handy to take off your backpack every time you want to take picture. You also can't take your regular photo backpack, because you have only one back!
What's the solution to the problem? I still don't know. Maybe you have any hints?
As for now I have two ideas. I had three, but one of them didn't work on my recent trip to Havasu Falls (see picture on the left). Aforesaid idea was simple - put your photo backpack into main backpack. Unfortunately it wastes a lot of your space and is even less comfortable to use your camera - it takes at least 5 minutes to take it out and next 5 minutes to pack it back. Waste of time and space. It didn't work.
So I have two ideas left. First is to buy one of LowePro TopLoader bags with special harness and put it on your chest. I have to go to the shop and check how it works. Of course it allows you to put only camera body and main lens on the chest and the rest of stuff must land on your back in special pouches. Advantage of such solution is easiness of using your camera - you can use it without taking your backpack off - until tripod usage is not considered. It might be my final solution for upcoming Phototrip.
The last idea is to buy LowePro Orion AW backpack - it's very smart piece of equipment that allows you to use it as a regular backpack or a beltpack. On the way to Havasu Falls I'd have used it as a beltback - unfortunately it can appear that I'll have a conflict with the belt from main backpack.
I don't have final answer to this trivially looking question, but this week I plan to visit torbylowepro.pl shop and see all the stuff with my own eyes.