Since 2016 I’ve been the proud owner of a Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20 litre in Ash Grey. I bought the bag back when Peak Design pitched it on Kickstarter and I can remember my excitement when the bag arrived and I loaded it up with my Olympus camera kit.
In the ensuing 5 years that bag went everywhere with me. It really became my everyday bag replacing my briefcase for work as it comfortably accommodated my 13inch Dell XPS, my Olympus EM1 with 12-40PRO Zoom as well as books, notes and USB drives, cables external hard drives and other computer peripherals.
When it came to travel, the backpack proved invaluable as my carry-on luggage comfortably carrying my entire camera kit (two Olympus EM1iis, multiple lenses (7-14PRO, 12-40PRO and 40-150PRO plus some primes), my laptop, toiletry bag, computer peripherals etc etc. Out on the street or trekking the countryside this bag did it all, from LA to Chicago, London to Edinburgh, Sapa to Hanoi, Barcelona to Venice, the bag clocked up some miles and never once did I find it wanting as my everyday camera bag.
Among the features that I grew to love were: the easy side-access panels allowing me to grab different cameras and lenses without taking the bag off my back; the easily adjustable and comfortable back straps; and the attractive design of the bag that looked sharp and fashionable. I’ve lost count of the number of strangers who’ve stopped and asked me about the bag, or the other Peak Design aficionados I ran into who raved about their Everyday Backpack.
Anyway, after years of faithful service, the other day I noticed one of the straps on my backpack was wearing and catching in the aluminum buckle when I tried to adjust the length of the strap. This started to become a bit annoying and so I reached out to Peak Design via their website and was directed to their lifetime warranty. I filled out the warranty form, included some photos and a video of the problem and within 24 hours got a reply from friendly staff member Irish informing me they would honour the warranty and that a new Everyday Backpack was on its way! Wow – that is service!
So the other day the replacement backpack arrived and to my surprise it was a new version 2 of the Everyday Backpack. I quickly noticed some design improvements (capability to take a larger laptop, more comfortable shoulder straps which magnetically stick when not in use, improved internal FlexFold organizers and external zippers). Check out the video below for a full overview of all the new features:
This afternoon, I loaded up the new backpack with my standard landscape kit (including Sirui tripod) and went for a walk around one of my local headlands. While not an epic sunset, I took some photos of this stylish new piece of kit and am impressed with a bag that improves on an already stellar piece of camera-carrying equipment. Combine this with Peak Design’s amazing lifetime warranty and this bag is worth every dollar!
Looking forward to taking this bag on lots of photographic adventures in the years to come.
A Photographer's Journeys 
Great looking diverse bag! It’s great to hear the honoured the warranty, makes for happy returning customers. I have two questions .. how much does the bag weigh empty, and can the metal tag/clip in the top flap be used as a bottle opener? 😀 Thanks for posting.
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Tone,
thanks for the response and inquiry. yes VERY happy with the Peak Design bag – the ability to swing it off either shoulder and use the side zips to access my two cameras is brilliant. Combined with the PD Capture Clip on my belt – I can run two cameras out in the wind and rain no worries. OK re bag weight empty it comes in at 1.7kgs (3.75lbs).
I run 2 Olympus EM1ii cameras and the trinity of PRO zoom lenses (7-14, 12-40, 40-150), a Sirui tripod and NiSi filters etc – and can walk for miles and miles without worry. If you’re shooting Sony/Nikon/Canon ‘full frame’ and lenses you may want to look at the 30 litre bag. Anyway, very happy with this setup and giving it heaps up in the mountains at the moment chasing the waterfalls!
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Thanks for the reply! I shoot Olympus too. I brought a backpack about 18 months ago from TopTom that is “waterproof” and weighs about 600g. It’s been pretty good bang for buck for only about $40, but the straps are starting to fray – though to be fair, it hasn’t been treated that kindly dragged through thick bush and muddy creeks. I’ve started considering replacement options before it fails. I love the idea of the PD capture clips and watched the video in your post. The weight is holding me back though, I like to travel light, perhaps I could trade some weight with a lighter tripod – I also chase waterfalls and fungi 😃 Cheers from Tasmania!
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Yep weight is a big issue when you’re walking a lot of miles through rugged terrain. I’ve done the Warrumbungles with this gear in late October 2020 (40 degrees!!). The walk up to the top nearly killed me – but it was the extra 2 litres of water that was the deal-breaker (and even then I didn’t have enough water!). Re tripod – I use a Sirui T-024X travel tripod – this has probably been upgraded but it’s super light and sturdy (for M43) and packs up to a very compact size on the side of the PD. I did the big waterfalls in the Blue Mountains last week which included the full Wentworth Falls Pass track – 25,000 steps on the FitBit and the weight of the backpack wasn’t too much of a problem. The guy I was walking with had his full frame Sony kit and a big tripod and he was suffering coming up those stairs at the end! 😉
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Sounds like some great walks! I’ll have to hunt out your posts 😀
I use an alum. Manfrotto Befree tripod (bought second-hand), comparing specs, yours is about 400g lighter @ 1kg. I also bought a Manfrotto Compact Action (cheap ex-demo bargain bin) @1.2kg, but it’s not flexible enough for fungi. I considered Sony FF but went Oly and don’t regret it for a second. I used to carry over 8kg of Nikon gear around once, madness!!
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