The Karachi Outpost

I got the Karachi Outpost so that I could have a bag that fits all of my camera gear as well as my obese laptop. It is the largest backpack in Crumpler’s 2005 line and is the equivalent to their former king pack, Brian’s Hot Tub. I would have gone for the smaller Whickey and Cox but for two reasons: my fat old laptop wouldn’t fit in the pouch that said it was for 15in laptops, and I hope to acquire the 70-200 f/2.8 VR someday soon, which will require some more room. As you can see I haven’t filled it up yet, there’s still room for a storage drive in the accessories pouch as well as a lens in the main compartment.

This bag opens from the back, meaning you must take the bag off and set it down to open it. While not convenient for immediate access, it is a great theft deterrent and makes it much harder to accidentally dump all your gear.

This bag is extremely well-built and can carry all I show here and more. Accessories go in the zippered mesh pouch that can be removed from the bag entirely. If I had a second body, that’s where it would go, and Crumpler provides extra inserts for this purpose. The laptop goes in its own pouch, which can also be removed from the bag entirely.

All Velcro is of extremely high quality as are the zippers and stitching. Straps are very well padded, as is the back and the entire gear compartment. The front pockets are very deep and are pleated to expand. There is a zippered mesh layer that protects your gear from accidental dumpage and from rattling around should you not have a laptop loaded.

There is no built in system to attach a tripod. There are sturdy straps on the front that look like they could be jury-rigged to do so.

The Karachi Outpost is comfortable to wear and I believe will only become more so as I continue to use it. The straps buckle across the chest to provide more support.

I do not hesitate to recommend this pack to anyone looking for a large, sturdy backpack. But be aware: it is indeed large, and of course, when loaded down with gear, becomes very heavy.

Stuff:

Nikon D70  w/ Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 DX attached

Nikon  70-210mm f/4.5-5.6

Nikon 50mm f/1.8

Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro

Tokina 90mm f/2.5 AT-X macro

Tokina macro extender

SB-600 w/ Sto-Fen diffuser

Various accessories

Toshiba Satellite 15in notebook

Thanks to Adria Decker for photos and comments.

Review #2

Photos contain:

Top (left to right);

Nikon AF DC 135mm f/2
Nikon AF 35-70mm f/2.8D
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D
Nikon AF 24mm f/2.8D

Center;
Nikon D70  body (hidden)
Nikon AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8 IF-ED
Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 DG 1.4x TC

Bottom (left to right);
SB-800 speedlight (hidden)
Nikon AF 18mm f/2.8D
Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.5 (52E) Macro (1:2)
Nikon AF 20-35mm f/2.8D IF

This is a very short first impression review of the Karachi Outpost. Ok, I'm all packed for my short vacation. Just got this backpack and I must say the build quality of this bag is really good. I'm very impressed. It's a little big and one can be a little overzealous to stuff in things that one might regret lugging all the weight during vacation !

Some background infomation... My aim was to get a backpack that can take my laptop together with some of my lenses. As much as possible, I did not want a Lowepro. So the other option that attracted me was Crumpler's offerring.

Front side

Rear side

I initially wanted to get the "cheaper" and slightly smaller "Whickey & Cox" but after some thoughts about NAS, D200 and more lenses, I've decided to go bigger offering from Crumpler which is the Karachi Outpost. Why not I thought to myself... I'm glad I did. Blessing in disguise I think because the Crumpler shop at KLCC did not have stock for the Whickey & Cox. So for about RM 60 more, I got a bigger and more spacious bag.

Large sleeve compartment for my old notebook

The backpack comes with a sleeve compartment to slot the notebook inside the back together with your other photographic equipments. I've not tried other brands like Lowepro backpacks but when fully loaded with a 14" laptop (although capable to carry 17"), it's really nice to carry and the weight balance is nice as the bag is fully supported and generously padded against your back.

I like the way the entry of the back is from the rear side eliminating possibilities of theft on a trip when you're carrying the backpack. Downside is you need to put down the backpack before being able to access your stuff.

The rear of the backpack opens up and it's internal compartments can be configured to the size and shape of your lenses / camera bodies

The backpack has configurable camera compartments just like the Lowepro bags and the laptop sleeve can be optionally removed altogether from the bag. Also, every piece of the camera compartment can be removed and reconfigured. You can use all or none or somewhere in between for different lenses. You also have velcro straps that hold the middle part to hold the compartments so that it does not collapse easily.

Netting to make sure items stay put inside the compartments

There's also a zipped netting to cover and prevent your lens and body from coming out of the compartments.

Fully loaded

I've tried putting the D70 mounted with the AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8 f/2.8 lens with the lens hood reversed mounted and it fitted very comfortably. No problem if it's mounted together with a Nikon 1.4x TC. The Nikon 300mm f/4 lens which is a little bit longer than the AF-S 80-200mm f/2.8 f/2.8 can also fit with some adjustments to the inside compartments.

Alas, for what it's worth... Despite all the fact that the bag has very good workmanship etc. From what I'm told by the shop, the bag carries a 6 month warranty covering manufacturing defects. After that period or if at any time you want to do some repair work or stitching, you can send the bag in for a minimal fee of RM 25 flat and Crumpler KL will send it back to Australia for the repair works. The duration taken for this repair will be 2 months approximately.

So is it worth it? My wifey initially balked and complained about the price. But as soon as she saw the backpack's exterior and interior in the Crumpler shop, she had a complete change of heart !

Thanks to Jason Chue for review

Review #3

Photos contain:
Nikon D70
Nikon 135mm f/2 DC
Nikon 50mm f/1.8
Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S
Nikon F601
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Lowepro D-Rez 6
CF -> PCMCIA Adapter
AA Sanyo NI-MH 2300
USB Cable, Flash filters, lens brush

Mini Review
It's a great camera backpack. And good notebook backpack.
Pros:
- looks good / doesn't look like a "camera/notebook bag"
- even fully loaded has proper straps to distribute weight
- re-configurable to just notebook, just camera bag (as pictured) or plain old backpack
- nice colours (this one being black/gray and the other brown/tan)
- extremely well padded, armour like even.
- excellent security for travelling (opens from the inside only requiring you to remove the pack)
- seems to be well made
- water resistant (not tested)

Cons:
- smaller divider pieces have Velcro at the ends but you can’t Velcro things to them
- excellent security means less convenient to get at your stuff
- curved shape (which make it look good) means space not as usable on the sides
- expensive considering it's made in china like a lot of it's competitors.

Overall I’m very happy with my Crumpler Backpack. I foresee using this company again for future bag needs even though it's sometimes 50% more expensive.

Competition: The only other brand I have experience with is Lowe Pro. I have own(ed) a few of their products and have spent many hours in camera shops testing them out (to the dismay of store clerks I'm sure). The packs I specifically looked at are the CompuTrekker AW and the CompuTrekker Plus AW.

Colour: gun metal/black/mid grey
Model: KO-01A (2033) 

Thanks to P.T. (tracer99) for review